All posts tagged: 1880s

Rate the Dress: ca. 1888 Flight of Fancy

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I showed you a lady of 1660s as an allegory of…something.    Her  vivid teal-y blue and golden orange colour scheme met with general approval, as did the overall silhouette, balancing out the lower ratings from those of you who felt she was a little too generic mid-17th century, and her allegory a little too obvious, giving her a rating of a perfect 8 out of 10. It’s been said more than once in the comments on Rate the Dress that ‘Worth can do no wrong’ or ‘It’s a Worth – automatic 10’.  The is, I think, utter  rubbish.  Every designer has a bad day, or a client who insists on design features the designer isn’t thrilled about.  And the House of Worth was pumping out so many frocks in the last quarter of the 19th century that they had to have the occasional not-quite on to it garment. On the other hand, past ratings make it very clear that the design works of Jean-Phillipe Worth aren’t quite as warmly  received  as that …

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, …

Rate the Dress: Actual 1880s opulence

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I showed you a linen and lace resort-wear frock.  I had serious doubts about the dating onthe dress from the beginning, and the more I looked at it, the less 1880s it looked.  I think it really is from the early 1900s. I don’t know if a change in  dating would have had any effect on the results though: it would still have lost points for not actually being that comfortable for summer wear, and for the dull colours, and odd colour matching between the laces and fabric.  Still, it was a very attractive frock in some ways, and seeing it on the wearer did help you to visualise it, so the dress managed an 8.4 out of 10, which is pretty darn good considering that there was one rating of only 3! Since last week’s dating was a bit iffy, this week I’m showing a gown that is definitely from the 1880s.  No mistaking the bustle on this one! This day dress (probably for visiting) features lustrous  silk satin and lush patterned …