All posts tagged: 1880s

Rate the Dress: Blue & Green should never be seen?

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week’s Rate the Dress was an 1830s dress in red, and while it got a few mark downs simply for being from the 1830s (sigh) most of you thought the combination of the colour and trim was fabulous, so while a few very low scores dragged it down, it still managed an 8.3 out of 10. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done any children’s wear, and while that’s always a slightly risky proposition, ideals of how we dress and present children having changed a great deal over the centuries, I’m feeling daring this week.  Maybe last week’s red dress has rubbed off on me. This mid 1880s ensemble for a young girl features a blue and white brocaded silk paired with a teal green taffeta, blithely ignoring the old saying about never pairing blue and green in dress.  The cut of the dress takes into account the young wearer: the simple silhouette would allow more ease of movement than one with a fitted waist, and  would allow longer wear for a growing …

Rate the Dress: Romantic Era Red Moire

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I showed you an 1880s Pingat in a mix of black fabrics relieved with ecru floral lace.  Reactions too it were mixed, to say the very least.  Some of you were extremely disappointed in Pingat (in all caps no less!), while others thought it was understated sophistication personified – hard to get more of a contrast than that!  The thing that got the most agreement was that the beading on the skirt just wasn’t quite right – it either needed serious rearranging, or to go altogether. I’ll be back in a few hours with a proper tally of the score for the Pingat gown, but for now internet problems are holding it up, so we’ll just move on to this week’s Rate the Dress: There hasn’t been a lot of colour in my last few Rate the Dress selections, so I thought I’d best remedy that this week, and what could be more colourful than a dress completely in vermillion moire? This dinner or reception dress in red moire features elaborate detailing throughout …

Rate the Dress: Pingat does late 1880s monochrome

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I showed you an early 1900s lace dress by Doucet.  Generally you liked the romantic lace, and the mix of textures, but while some of you loved it, some of you found it a bit fussy for your taste, and most of you liked it but weren’t wowed by it, bringing it in at 7.9 out of 10. Just as with last week’s dress, this week’s dress is all about texture, rather than colour. This  Pingat dress in black silk damask, black silk taffeta, and ivory lace might be severe, or boring, but the floral lace, dangling beads on the skirt front, and the textured spots of the silk damask provide contrast,  visual interest, and even, perhaps, a bit of levity. What do you think?  Boring despite the textures, or too much even with such a simple silhouette?  Or is it spot on?  (sorry!  Sometimes I can’t help myself!)