All posts tagged: 1870s

A tale of sewing secrets revealed…

One of the things that I really love about fashion history is that clothes are both individual and societal stories. There are general overall societal truths and trends, but there are also examples in every period of people creating things that were totally unique, making do, and making things up. There are a lot of examples of quite unique innovations in early NZ fashion history, as people attempted to follow European fashions with limited resources and without access to a full range of materials and patterns. This particular story of someone’s clever make do, and the unfortunate reveal of their secret has always amused me. During the recent windy weather I was meandering along Kaponga Road in the evening when I espied a fair damsel turning the Bank corner. She wore one of those arrangements the ladies call a ‘waterfall’ which the wind blew to one side, and shewed to my horrified gaze, a neatly tied bundle of straw, doing service as an improver. The story is recounted in Eve Ebbet’s In True Colonial Fashion: …

Rate the Dress: Walking in the pink, 1878-80

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I showed you a dress that transitioned between the 1830s and 40s. Based on your historical preferences, some of you wanted it to be more 1830s, or more 1840s, but most of you said “Oooooh!” and gave it a 10. Which is why it managed a 9.2 out of 10, despite few ‘Meh’s. Looks like we’re on a winning streak! Can we keep it up? Much to my surprise, last weeks dress actually received some criticism for NOT having enough trim. Some of you wanted trim on the skirt too. So this week, I’ve gone all out on trim: This afternoon dress, in lilac pink and puce silk taffeta, is trimless only in the sense that there are no added fabrics. When it comes to self fabric trim, Madame Grazini went all out. The bodice features fishbone pleating up the centre front, framed by a faux jacket in the puce, with self fabric buttons. The real tour de force is the skirt though: ruching, fishbone pleating, tiny pressed pleats, rosette ruffles, bows, shirring, …

A pair of ‘crap, these probably aren’t right at all’ drawers for Nana (and bonus stockings)

Published by The Dreamstress

Other than finishing the corset, the last piece of my Nana ensemble to assemble was the drawers. The drawers are now done, only well, they are slightly problematic. How so? Well, look at them: And the back view: So. Ummm, yeah. Sexy they are not. Now, the whole colossal camel toe + super saggy bottom thing is just kinda how most mid-19th century drawers fit, but this pair is taking it a little to the extreme. The problem is the cut. 1870s closed drawers were just open drawers with the centre seam sewn up, and so they have this weird quarter-circle shape with lots of extra fabric in the crotch area. Looking at Manet’s Nana, the line of her chemise is quite smooth over her front and hips. With such bulky drawers, that simply won’t happen. So how to achieve Nana’s look? Well, one possibility is that she isn’t wearing drawers (I mean, she is Nana!). However, the way the lace is falling at her hem makes me think she definitely is. The other …