All posts tagged: 1900s

A sewing secrets lace 1900s blouse

This is a the tale of a serendipitous sewing secret… When we’d decided on an ‘Anne of Green Gables’ theme for our Pukekura Park dress ups and photoshoot, I knew costuming ‘Priscilla’ was going to be a bit tricky. She’s petite, and I’m tall, and most of my outfits are made to fit me. I was super busy the whole week before the our trip, but figured I had plenty of white voile, and could make a simple white voile Wearing History Edwardian blouse in an evening. And then, late Thursday, I popped into an op-shop while waiting on a print job, and got lucky: I found an amazing lace tablecloth that I thought would be perfect for a blouse. It had flowers, and scallops, and greek key meanders, and was simply marvellous. However it was stained, and they wanted $3 which I thought was pricey for a small, stained, tablecloth, and it was a cash-only op-shop, and I had only $3 in cash, and they had a couple of sewing patterns I also wanted… …

An Anne of Green Gables in New Plymouth photoshoot

Published by The Dreamstress

Last Monday was Labour Day in New Zealand, so it was a long weekend. A couple of friends and I took advantage of the day off to have a girls weekend in Taranaki, staying in the cottages on Rachel’s farm. How do you know when you have awesome friends? When, as soon as you have agreed on a weekend away one of them says “we get to get dressed up and wear corsets and take pictures, right?” Yes! We decided on a 1900s Anne of Green Gables theme, as a good look to go rambling around a park for a couple of hours in. Also, it fit in well with the outfits I just finished for the Katherine Mansfield photoshoot, and my make for the Silver Screen challenge (gee, I wonder what my inspiration is…) Still, Miss Stella & I were up till 11 the night before we headed off, taking up tucks in a skirt for the petite Miss Priscilla, sewing her blouse in under three hours, re-shaping hats, and doing hems and …

Rate the Dress: Chiffon, stripes & tucks ca 1900

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I showed you an 1880s dress, with a skirt that had been re-made from an 18th century petticoat. You were almost unanimously in favour of the petticoat – though not necessarily remade into a 19th century gown, a bit of re-use which frankly, horrified some of you! The more recent additions to the ensemble got mixed reviews. Some of you REALLY didn’t like it (it’s hard to get past our modern sensibilities that see quilting like that as a home furnishing look, rather than a clothing look), and some of you REALLY liked it. The dis-likers brought the score down to a still very positive 8 out of 10. This evening dress by obscure French designer Raoul Lafontan features the soft, romantic, slightly transitional 1900s silhouette, with the bodice moving from the more fitted 1890s style, towards the full pigeon breast of ca. 1904. The bodice fullness may be slightly restrained, but the colours, fabrics, and other design details are heading intp full-blown Edwardian mode. The dress is made from fabric striped in …