Last week’s crazy floral border print 1860s Rate the Dress certainly evoked a range of responses, and some interesting speculation on how much the ensemble had been altered, and when.  One thing you could almost all agree on was that the bodice was a bit blocky and awkward, but other than that there was no consensus.  Some of you LOVED the skirt fabric so much the bodice didn’t matter, some of you hated the fabric full stop, and some of you thought the fabric was amazing, but that it couldn’t make up for the terrible bodice.  All in all, the dress came in at a very disappointing 6.3 out of 10, showing that fashion has to be a bit more restrained and a bit better  made to get the nod from more of  you voters. This week I present a dress with two sets of images: one, carefully presented and perfectly steamed and arranged into shape, and another, an excellent set of reference images, clearer and brighter, but lacking the elegant crispness of the first. …

Whether or not you liked last week’s 1890s Rate the Dress ensemble hinged very much on how you feel about three  things: bright cherry red, big lace dickey-collars, and BIG sleeves.  For most of you, even if you really liked one or the other, all three were a bit much, bringing the rating down to 7.5 out of 10. This week I’m toning things down a little: going from red to orange, and from enormous sleeves to sleek 1930s.  This dress, which was sold by Whitaker Auctions in their Spring 2013 sale, combines demure and assertive, with delicate floral lace in bold tangerine orange, and a figure-hugging silhouette with sweet ruffled collar and an optional jacket. Without the jacket the dress is sleeveless, with a ruffled bib collar, and a slim skirt that flares at the hem. The back of the dress plunges in a deep, spine-revealing V. For a bit of coverage, the ensemble includes a matching jacket with cut-on sleeves and a sparkling button to fasten. What do you think?  Do you like …

Last week I showed you an 1860s dress in buff alpaca with red trim.  I was sure  the lopsided bodice trim would be noticed, and wondered how much it would affect the rating.  While you all agreed it wasn’t ideal, I don’t think changing it would have hugely affected the rating: those of you who loved the dress liked it despite the wonky trim, and the rest of you found the dress boring, even with crazy tassels.  So the rating came in at 6.9 out of 10, which doesn’t really reflect how any of you felt about it! I actually thought the dress was rather awesome.  It clearly had some issues (asymmetrical tassels just over the bust is not a good thing), but every time I looked at it I imagined it being worn by an 1860s superhero.  It’s  Crinoline Girl!  She’s firing lightening bolts from the zig-zags on her arms!  Whipping  her Tassels of Doom (alas, I’m not very imaginative when it comes to naming weaponry) off from around her waist and using them …