For last week’s Rate the Dress I showed you menswear, and like most menswear Rate the Dresses, it wasn’t that popular in terms of votes and comments – it’s not that those that commented didn’t like it, just that very few of you commented.  I think we don’t really know what to do with menswear.  We’re so used to it being boring that super exciting and embellished historical examples are a bit weird and scary, and more restrained historical examples are, well, boring. The 1840s summer whites of last week straddled the line between weird and boring, but did it fairly well, so, despite slightly odd proportions, and an overall pyjama-y look, they managed a quite respectable 8 out of 10. I knew exactly what kind of dress I wanted to show you this week, but every example I found was in white or ecru, and I thought that, as a contrast to last week, I should probably find something that was a colour. In the end, I’ve succeeded in finding an option that 1) …

Last week I showed you an 1880s Pingat in a mix of black fabrics relieved with ecru floral lace.  Reactions too it were mixed, to say the very least.  Some of you were extremely disappointed in Pingat (in all caps no less!), while others thought it was understated sophistication personified – hard to get more of a contrast than that!  The thing that got the most agreement was that the beading on the skirt just wasn’t quite right – it either needed serious rearranging, or to go altogether. I’ll be back in a few hours with a proper tally of the score for the Pingat gown, but for now internet problems are holding it up, so we’ll just move on to this week’s Rate the Dress: There hasn’t been a lot of colour in my last few Rate the Dress selections, so I thought I’d best remedy that this week, and what could be more colourful than a dress completely in vermillion moire? This dinner or reception dress in red moire features elaborate detailing throughout …

Last week I showed you an early 1900s lace dress by Doucet.  Generally you liked the romantic lace, and the mix of textures, but while some of you loved it, some of you found it a bit fussy for your taste, and most of you liked it but weren’t wowed by it, bringing it in at 7.9 out of 10. Just as with last week’s dress, this week’s dress is all about texture, rather than colour. This  Pingat dress in black silk damask, black silk taffeta, and ivory lace might be severe, or boring, but the floral lace, dangling beads on the skirt front, and the textured spots of the silk damask provide contrast,  visual interest, and even, perhaps, a bit of levity. What do you think?  Boring despite the textures, or too much even with such a simple silhouette?  Or is it spot on?  (sorry!  Sometimes I can’t help myself!)