All posts tagged: 1900s

Evening dress in two parts, Mrs. C. Donovan, New York (Designer), silk, sequins, via Europeana.eu

Rate the Dress: Edwardian Embellishment, American style

Published by The Dreamstress

This week’s Rate the Dress turns from bold primary hues on black, to soft pastels overlaid with sheer black organza, and from sleek ’20s, to frothy Edwardian. Last week:  a 1920s little black dress with very bright beading by Patou The beaded and embroidered Patou number got a range of reactions.  Some of you absolutely loved it, and others thought the beading wasn’t quite resolved.  One of you docked points for the moustache belt, which I am confused by.  How on earth is a moustache belt a bad thing? 😉 I was intrigued by the number of commenters who felt that some 20s dresses ‘wear heavy’, and that this was one of them. The Total: 8.2 out of 10 A full point lower than the week before!  We’re slipping! This week: An Edwardian Evening Dress This dress (despite its weird pin-head) has been on my Rate the Dress list for some time, and this week seemed like the perfect time to showcase it. European dressmakers seem to get all the glory when it comes to …

ca. 1907 Edwardian swimsuit by thedreamstress.com

Can you swim in a worsted wool Edwardian swimsuit? Let’s find out!

Published by The Dreamstress

Yesterday I showed you my reproduction worsted wool Edwardian swimsuit.  Everyone wanted to know if I actually swam in it, and if you could swim in it.  Obviously I wondered this as well.  The swimsuit was lovely to frolic on the beach on, but could it actually work as a swimsuit. So I gave it a try! My reproduction swimsuit was made from worsted wool serge, and consists of a jumpsuit with attached bloomers, and an overskirt.  Both garments button down the front. I chose to swim with bare legs and feet.  While fashion plates generally show shoes and stockings there are enough period photographs that show wading women with swimsuits and bare lower limbs to make this equally plausible for a full swim. For the first swim I jumped off a little dock at Hataitai/Evan’s Bay beach.  It’s a popular swimming spot (as evinced by all the kids watching me), and very calm and safe, so a good place to try out the swimsuit. My first mini swim showed: It’s definitely possible to swim …

Edwardian swimsuit by thedreamstress.com

I do like to be beside the sea (in an Edwardian Swimsuit)

Published by The Dreamstress

It took three and a half years, but I’ve finally managed to do a photoshoot in the ca.  1907 worsted wool Edwardian swimsuit that I made for the HSF ‘Inspiration’ challenge back in 2014. I generally have to plan and prep for a photoshoot in full historical for a good few days beforehand, but this one was quite spontaneous. It was a gorgeously sunny and warm Saturday, after days of storm and rain.  Quite out of the blue, Mr D asked if I wanted to do a photoshoot that evening.  I thought about showing you yet another pair of shorts + a Miramar top, but that wasn’t particularly exciting.  It was too warm for most of my historical costumes, but then I remembered the Edwardian swimsuit: very little prep and ironing needed, and not hard to put on!  And certainly long overdue!   I’m wearing the swimsuit with the scarf I made to go with it, wool stockings from the Rosalie pattern, and cheap little slip-on sandshoes.  They aren’t actually that far from period originals …