All posts tagged: 1910s

The 1910 Little Miss Muffet at the Village Fete Dress thedreamstress.com

Magic in them thar hills: an Edwardian photoshoot at Otari Wilton’s Bush

Published by The Dreamstress

Remember my yellow 1920s dress, and how I said it was magic? Now I think maybe the magic is in Otari Wilton’s Bush instead. I’ve never done a photoshoot at Otari Wilton’s that hasn’t looked beautiful: there is something about the trees and the angle of the light that is just perfection. Case in point: Theresa was in town last weekend, and, as we do, we had a dress-up photoshoot. I picked Otari Wilton’s Bush as our location, because Theresa had never been there. Theresa wore the 1910 Miss Muffet at the Village Fete dress, and I wore a brand-new just-finished dress from an original 1919 pattern, and my tricorne revival hat. I actually made the dress as a wearable toile, because I wasn’t sure about the pattern. And… We love it all. Out of 760 photos, at least 500 of them are good enough that I’d be proud to show you! (which is actually a problem, because I’m pretty sure you don’t want to see 500 photos!) So here is a quick look at …

Wool dress, 1911, part of the wedding trousseau of Vendla Brown b. 1880, Sörmlands Museum, SLM11205A

Rate the Dress: 19teens trousseau

Published by The Dreamstress

I have Edwardian on my mind, because I just finished a late 1910s dress, and photographed it, and am in love with the era in general. So this week’s Rate the Dress is 1910s, and you get to decide if you’re in love with it in particular. Last week:  a crinoline era gown in cobalt blue Sometimes I’m completely surprised by your reaction to a garment. Last week…not so much! It wasn’t hard to guess that the fabric would be quite popular, or that the extremely long berthe might not. (I also feel slightly vindicated that a couple of half-points were lost for fringe 😉 ) The Total: 8.8 out of 10 A very, very good show, but the machine woven perfection of the fabric could not match the heart of the hand-embroidered frock the week before. This week: a 1911 theatre dress, part of a bride’s trousseau This dress was part of the trousseau of Vendla Brown, nee Hallström (1880-1964). According to the musuem, Velda wore it to the theatre the day after her wedding. …

Evening Gown Of Cream Silk Satin and Orange Silk Taffeta, Hollander, L.P., 1916-1917, USA, silk, pearl beads, chenille yarn, aigrette feathers, Goldstein Museum of Design 1982.016.015

Rate the Dress: Holiday frocks for 1916

Published by The Dreamstress

Holiday party season has just stepped into high gear here in Wellington, and every venue in town is booked out for the rest of the month.  My seasonal event schedule is sadly lacking in soirees that call for elegant frocks, but I’ve been doing fantasy event shopping in various museum’s collections, finding dresses that I would DEFINITELY wear had I the occasion, and ones that I want to show you, to see what you think of them.  So the next few weeks are going to feature event-worthy (well, maybe) party dresses. Last week:  a bright spring green pelisse   Mixed reviews for last week’s dress, with bonus points for some people because the dress looked like a historical superhero costume! I was really intrigued by all the speculation of who it would look good on, and the claims that most women couldn’t carry it off.  Though it’s not easy to find, the pelisse’s fresh green colour looks really good on me – and is one I think of as very flattering on most women, at …