All posts tagged: 1920s

Rate the Dress: Scarlet Suit-ed

Last week’s Rate the Dress was very Southern California summer: perfect for sunsets on the beach and glam parties in the dawning years of Hollywood. This week’s pick is much more Wellington winter: just what you need for keeping cosy while going to an Edwardian soiree where you want to be sure you’re dressed better than that upstart Annie Beauchamp. Last Week: 1920s dress in complementary velvet hues Orange is having a moment, and that may have helped with the response to last week’s sunset hued number – or perhaps it was just that the luscious velvet was irresistible. When the dress did come in for criticism it was mostly for the belt: the braiding did not age well, and many of you thought it was clunky, heavy, and looked like a last-minute addition. Interestingly, I thought the belt, while it clearly had suffered the effects of age, was what ‘made’ the dress, and the beading was the pointless afterthought! It takes all opinions! The Total: 8.5 out of 10 That may be the best …

Rate the Dress: a 1920s mermaid

Since very patterned fabric and trim was divisive last week, this week I’ve gone for a very plain fabric, with no trim whatsoevery. But it’s definitely not boring a boring dress: whatever else it might be, all in one colour and trimless as it is, it’s distinctive. Last Week: an 1850s chine a la branche day dress There was a decided fork in the ratings branch(e) when it came to judging last week’s chine crinoline. Either you liked the fabric, or you didn’t. And either you were sure the trim must have been symmetrical, or couldn’t forgive that it wasn’t. The Total: 7.1 out of 10 Well, it’s an improvement on the week before – more jam with pips than vegemite in the universally appealing scale! This week:  a 1920s day dress with ‘scale’ scallops Since last week’s fabric was so divisive, and trim was so divisive, this week I present a dress that’s completely devoid of trim, and in a very simple, restful eu de nil silk chiffon. The dresses main design feature is …