Well, last week’s dress was proof that not everything Worth did was perfection.  Due to a bit of un-subtle trimming, the dress had to bow out of the top ranks (pun totally intended) with a paltry 6.4 out of 10 – low by any standard, and terrible by the standard of Worth garments featured in Rate the Dress. I just can’t keep track of the day/time differences between NZ and CA, and when I’m supposed to  do Rate the Dress, so once again you’re getting it a little late.  Next week should be right on time though – I’ll be back home (yay! and sniff  at the same time) This week’s Rate the Dress is California inspired – and what could be more California than a mid-century playsuit by a Los Angeles designers collaborating with Jantzen, now in the collection of LACMA? While the artist is Californian, the inspiration for this playsuit’s design comes from much further afield, with motifs probably taken from African textiles, and a name that reflects the mid-century obsession with all …

Last week I showed you an early 1870s dress in pink and white stripes, with butterfly patterned lace trim, and black bows.  While not everything about the dress tickled my fancy, I thought the half &  half black and pink bows were a brilliant touch, but many of you did NOT agree.  In the same way, opinions differed greatly on whether the front to back skirt wrap was brilliant, or tablecloth-y.  In fact, the ratings were all over the range for the dress, bringing it in at a 7.4 out of 10. This evening dress in deep green silk didn’t come with more of a date range than 1910-15, but the  fullness at the lower hips and tapering hem, paired with the skirt drapery, place it firmly in 1914, give or take a year.  The mix of textures is typical of the 1910s, giving complexity to an otherwise simple design. What do you think?   Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

There has been no Rate the Dress for the last two weeks, because I was focusing on the Fortnight in 1916, but it’s back!  Last time I did a Rate the Dress I showed two things that have not, in the past, done very well on RTD: childrenswear, and blue-green combinations.  In this case though, reactions ranged from a sprinkling of ‘it’s a nice dress, not fabulous, but I shall give it a 7’ to a LOT of ‘I want to make it!  Love!’ 10s.  Big pockets and historicism for the win!  It came in at a perfect 9 out of 10. The last couple of weeks have been very stressful for me, for reasons that had nothing to do with the Fortnight, so I’m feeling the need for something soothing and restful in the way of frocks.  While I would never say ‘oooh, that colour is amazing!’ about a length of fabric the shade of this dress, I find looking at it very relaxing and soothing. For me, it’s a shade that’s very appealing …