Last week’s Rate the Dress was an evening dress for an event that didn’t usually call for evening wear. This week’s Rate the Dress is a morning dress for…well, presumably exactly what a morning dress was usually worn for. Last Week: a 1920s evening-dress as wedding-dress   Last week’s wedding dress may have been a very unconventional choice, but it was a successful one! Almost everyone loved it, with the few slightly lower scores (it’s a good dress when 8 is the low score!) coming from people who just don’t like the 20s, and couldn’t quite get behind the corsage. The Total: 9.6 out of 10 Resounding approval for the brides pick! This week:  a first-bustle-era morning dress in border-print cotton This week I present an 1870s morning dress in a striking border-print cotton with trompe l’oeil ruffle effect. In the 1870s a morning (not to be confused with mourning!) dress was an informal dress, usually made in less dressy fabrics, such as cotton. A morning dress was worn at home in the earlier part …

I’d intended this week’s pick for Christmas week, but it felt so right for this week you’re getting it early. I guess I’ll have to find something different and fun for next week! Last Week:  a blue velvet robe de style by Poiret There was much discussion about last week’s dress and whether it was back to front on the mannequin, with most people leaning towards a high likelyhood that it was indeed on backwards. So, the dress was backwards, and the ratings were divided: if I broke the high scores and low scores in half at 6, We’d have two ratings: one of 9, and one of 4. But since I do a mean rating…. The Total: 7.7 out of 10 Sometimes the mean does not reflect the mode! This week:  a natural form era in red silk with rosettes and roses Last week’s dress was all about simplicity and innovation. This week’s dress is anything but simple: It is, however, from another era that was all about experimentation and invention. The late 1870s …

This week’s Rate the Dress goes from fish to flora, with a cornflower bedecked 1870s concoction. And concoction is really the only way to describe it… Last Week:  a 1920s day dress with ‘scale’ scallops Last week’s dress was quite popular, other than a small group that expressed strong dislike. More than 3/4 of the ratings were 8-9, which is extremely, and unusually, consistent. Very few perfect scores though: most of you weren’t quite on-board with the ‘fish tum’. The Total: 7.3 out of 10 Despite the strong showing of ratings 8 & up, the small core who really didn’t like the dress pulled the overall score down. The ratings have been creeping up over the last few weeks, but it’s been slow, and still not impressive. Maybe this week will break the 8 barrier? Or drop us down again? This week: an 1870s day dress in summer florals Today’s pick is an excellent example of an early 1870s crinoline-to-bustle era transitional garment. The sweet floral pattern and the frills are typical of the romantic 18th …