All posts tagged: 19th Century

Pride, Prejudice & Pohutakawa Trees

Published by The Dreamstress

Theresa was in town recently, and you know what that means!  Dress ups!  And photoshoots! For this photoshoot we wore Regency, because the pohutakawa (the New Zealand christmas tree) were in full bloom, and I think my 1813 Kashmiri gown works beautifully with the blaze of red blooms.  Also it was too hot to think of anything that involved full corsets and layers of undergarments. This time we did something a little bit different, and Mr D came along and was our photographer, so (for once) we have lots of gorgeous photos of the two of us together. With two ladies in Regency wandering around a garden it’s impossible not to make Jane Austen themed commentary about the photos.  In doing this I’ve realised an unfortunate problem with Austen: other than Lizzie and Jane from Pride & Prejudice, there are no sets of two females that a pair of friends would really be happy to be.  Emma is insufferable, her friends silly. Fanny is a prig, her associates terrible.  Anne is great but none of …

High heels for kings, empresses and Nana

Published by The Dreamstress

For my Historical Sew Fortnightly ‘The Politics of Fashion’ challenge I present a carry-on from my Art submissions.  I’ve knocked off another little bit of Manet’s Nana’s outfit by making high heeled  1877 evening shoes. Like Nana’s shoes, mine feature very high Louis heels, a black velvet or suede ground (mine are faux suede), and gold decorations on the toes  – I went for gold lace with gold beading. I made my shoes by taking a pair of 1990s shoes that had the right basic silhouette, and (most importantly) the right heel: a high Louis heel. Unfortunately, they were cut far too high in the foot, so I had to cut them down. Then I bound the edges (an endeavor that required pliers to pull the needles through, bent one and broke two) where I had cut them. Next, it was time for the lace.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any suitable gold lace in the stash because I de-stashed my 1990s gold bridal lace bits because (duh) they were 1990s gold bridal lace bits, and …

Celebrating the common man (and what he and she wore)

Published by The Dreamstress

Next fortnight’s challenge in the Historical Sew Fortnightly is Peasants and Pioneers.  It’s all about making clothes for the lower classes – the most common group, but also the ones whose clothes were the least documented, and the least likely to to have survived. I’ve got a serious soft spot for the clothing of the lower classes across almost all periods.  They may not be as bright or sparkly as the clothing of the upper classes, but they often managed a restraint and elegance that the fancier clothes of the wealthy and fashionable of certain periods (*cough* *cough* *Elizabethan*) were sorely lacking in.  Their practical nature quickly weeded out any cumbersome additions which made work difficult. I think my favourite peasant outfits and images are those from medieval manuscripts and Books of Hours from the 15th century.  The details are just so clear (look at the beautiful torn and ragged sleeves on the white tunic in the first image below), and the colours so vivid, though the clothes probably weren’t so bright in real life. …