All posts tagged: 19th Century

Rate the Dress: ca. 1888 Flight of Fancy

Last week I showed you a lady of 1660s as an allegory of…something. Her vivid teal-y blue and golden orange colour scheme met with general approval, as did the overall silhouette, balancing out the lower ratings from those of you who felt she was a little too generic mid-17th century, and her allegory a little too obvious, giving her a rating of a perfect 8 out of 10. It’s been said more than once in the comments on Rate the Dress that ‘Worth can do no wrong’ or ‘It’s a Worth – automatic 10’. The is, I think, utter rubbish. Every designer has a bad day, or a client who insists on design features the designer isn’t thrilled about. And the House of Worth was pumping out so many frocks in the last quarter of the 19th century that they had to have the occasional not-quite on to it garment. On the other hand, past ratings make it very clear that the design works of Jean-Phillipe Worth aren’t quite as warmly received as that …

Rate the Dress: Yellow & black, satin & lace

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I showed you Joanna of Castille in full turn of the 16th century traditional Spanish royal attire – traditional in the sense that even within her own time, it was a historical costume. Though the pseudo-pregnant look wasn’t popular in a modern sense, you gave the dress points for being exactly what a Queen’s ensemble should be: striking, regal, and elegant, so it came in at a very impressive 8.8 out of 10. While last week’s dress looked to the past and tradition for its inspiration, and was full of subtle meaning and allusions, this week’s dress is all about the latest technology, and relies on simple, bold, almost blunt design for its impact. This mid 1860s dress from the Galleria del Costume di Palazzo Pitti is made from lavish amounts of silk satin dyed in the latest shade of aniline yellow. The bold yellow hue is further highlighted by the use of contrasting black lace trim. The lace is quite modern in design, and was possibly machine-made, further highlighting the dresses modernity. …

Rate the dress: Green in 1865

Published by The Dreamstress

Draped and layered 1910s dresses just aren’t doing it for you are they? First the blue chiffon and lace frock was compared to curtains and kids dress-ups, and then last week’s pale paisley 1910s frock was given the exact same criticism (only this time you said tablecloths) by some. And quite a few of you thought it was nice but meh. But some of you thought it was fabulous, so it did score enough 10/10 to bring it up to a respectable 8.2 out of 10 – which is pretty much exactly what I’d give the dress!. I’ve been doing a bit of research into 1860s fashions as a potential project for my HSF Heirlooms & Heritage challenge (not exactly a hint, because I’ve also discovered that thanks to some amazing family genealogy work I can trace a direct line of ancestors all the way back to Baldwin of Flanders in the 9th c (and, through Judith, all the way back to Charlemagne) so maybe I’ll get excited and do something early Medieval – or …