All posts tagged: 1880s

Gosh Dagmar, you really liked your pearls, didn’t you?

I’ve posted about Dagmar of Denmark, known after her marriage as Maria Feodorovna of Russia, before. While I was researching her I noticed something. Maybe it was because of her rather impoverished childhood, maybe it was a family weakness for completely OTT necklaces, maybe it was because she had already cried her share of brides tears well before the wedding, or maybe she just liked the things. Whatever it was, man, that girl had some pearl bling going in all her portraits! From Dagmar’s diary*: 6 June 1867: A man came today to take my portrait with the new camera technology. How fabulous! I knew exactly what I wanted to wear: my favourite bow headband and every single pearl necklace I own. Also the bracelets. I looked fabulous. One of my ladies in waiting suggested that it might be a bit much as I’m not even 20, but I told her to stuff it. The nerve! 25 September 1874: The happiest possible news! The doctor has just confirmed today that I will be confined for …

Talk about un-natural shoe shapes…

Published by The Dreamstress

If you thought that last week’s red boots were un-natural in shape, check out these shoes from the Powerhouse Museum in Australia: Look at those insteps! Now, I’m high unusually high in the instep and the arch, but that is ridiculous! I do love the detailing on these shoes: the scrolls around the toe, the buttons, and most of all the tiny blue leather fleur-de-lys, or Chinese inspired patterns. They were made as exhibition pieces to show off the shoe-makers skill, so perhaps actually fitting a real person wasn’t an important skill for a cobbler!

The Corset Model Class of 2011

Published by The Dreamstress

I got photographs of all the models wearing their corsets on Saturday against a plain cement wall. Every time I have looked at the photos since then, I have cracked up. They remind me of the kind of pictures you take in Elementary School for a ‘me, myself, and I’ project. You have the kid who can’t stop grinning, the kid who closes their eyes in every picture, the kid who won’t smile because they think they look better without one (that would have been me), the kid who won’t stand still for even a moment, and the kid who probably should have been a model. We all look ridiculous, and absolutely gorgeous, all at the same time. It’s a total celebration of personality, and all the different facets of beauty that exist. Without further ado, I present Ms Oakes’ Corset Model Class of 2011. And finally, the erstwhile instructress: Ladies, you can teach me anytime!