All posts tagged: 1930s

PorcelainToy’s ‘Monsters’ Music Video – my screen debut as a costumer!

Exciting news! The launch of PorcelainToy’s ‘Monsters’ music video was on Sunday, and the film is now available online. Here it is, my screen debut as a costumer! What do you think? Can you tell the difference between my dress and the original? Is it the right mix of pathos and cheesy (just like the original White Zombie)? And isn’t Elizabeth de la Ray as Madge/Madeline gorgeous? Porcelaintoy ‘Monsters’ from Rater/Coder on Vimeo. The launch night was lots of fun. It was held at the newly refurbished Roxy Cinema (my neighborhood cinema!) with a dress code of black and white 1930s Gothic. I wore vintage dress trousers (probably 1940s) and took in Mr D’s vintage dress waistcoat (probably 1930s, with 1950s alterations) to fit me. Alas, nothing would make his vintage tails fit, so I added a late 1930s evening cape as a wrap, and a diamante brooch. I was aiming for “Marlene Dietrich as vampire” look. + = Well, hopefully! I think I need a white tie waistcoat, and a top hat to really …

Terminology: What is a picot hem?

Published by The Dreamstress

If you crochet or knit you are probably familiar with a picot hem, or a picot edge – a series of looped threads along the edge of your knitting or crocheting, which can be used for functional or decorative purposes. A ‘picot’ is a single one of these loops) If you are a really dedicated crafter, you might even know the same term from tatting (which is characterised by its use of picots), or know that some types of lace commonly use picots. Picot edges are less well known in sewing these days, but you should, because 1) they are awesome, and 2) they are a common sewing technique in the 1920s and 30s, worked both by machine, and by hand. In sewing, a picot edge is a rolled hem with a zig zag stitch sewn over the hem to hold it. It is usually worked on very fine, lightweight fabrics such as chiffon. When I first saw a picot edge, I thought it must have been a very simple, cheap, low quality finish, such …

Rate the dress: from zombies to jesters in 1932

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week you found the yellow and pink 1780s ensemble just a bit…uninteresting. It rated a lackluster 6.6 out of 10. This week is my 100th Rate the Dress, and I definitely want to give you something that isn’t boring and uninteresting. Because I’ve been working on the PorcelainToy White Zombie 1932 inspired frock and music video I thought it would be nice to do a 1932 rate the dress. And then I went looking for 1932 dresses to show you, and you know what? Most of them are pretty, but really boring. But I finally found one that I think is really interesting. I hope you will think so too! Is this harlequin inspired frock from the Met interesting? What about pretty? Does it rock your world as as example of art deco fashion design, or leave you unamused? Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10