Last week I showed you Emily Warren Roebling in her court gown – as a painting, a photograph, and the extent gown.  Most of you appreciated being able to compare all possible versions of the dress, though that actually ended up dragging ratings down a bit, as each version showed you something you wished wasn’t so obvious in another.  It also made things a little hard for me, as some of you rated each different version, and I had to figure out what rating to take.  Overall, Emily came it at 8.9 out of 10, with kudos for balancing event appropriate fashions, her age, and the wacky factor of court dress. This week we’re toning down the formality, and cranking up the unconventional factor.  Gilbert Adrian was primarily a costume designer, responsible for some of the most iconic costumes of the ’30s & ’40s, and for creating the classic  broad-shouldered, slim-hipped ‘Adrian line’  silhouette.  In addition to film  costumes, Adrian designed ready to wear garments, though they often had a slightly theatrical twist, as with …

Last week I showed you an 1880s dress, with a skirt that had been re-made from an 18th century petticoat.  You were almost unanimously in favour of the petticoat – though not necessarily remade into a 19th century gown, a bit of re-use which frankly, horrified some of you!  The more recent additions to the ensemble got mixed reviews.  Some of you REALLY didn’t like it (it’s hard to get past our modern sensibilities that see quilting like that as a home furnishing look, rather than a clothing look), and some of you REALLY liked it.  The dis-likers brought the score down to a still very positive 8 out of 10. This evening dress by obscure French designer Raoul Lafontan features the soft, romantic, slightly transitional 1900s  silhouette, with the bodice moving from the more fitted 1890s style, towards the full pigeon breast of ca. 1904. The bodice fullness may be slightly restrained, but the colours, fabrics, and other design details are heading intp full-blown Edwardian mode.  The dress is made from fabric striped in …

Last week I showed you an 18th century Robe a la Francaise made up in a floral cotton.  It lost some points for the asymmetrical front fastening (which I actually thought was brilliant – it repeated the rococo serpentine line of the dress fabric), and even most of you who loved it felt it was not quite a star of the show dress, giving it an overall 8.4 out of 10. Since last week’s dress was a formal garment  done in a fabric that we think of as informal, this week’s dress is an informal garment, a playsuit, done in a fabric that we think of as formal, silk. This simple ’20s playsuit is made from lightweight blonde (unbleached) silk, trimmed with bands of silk printed in an unusual paisley inspired design in turquoise, vermillion and lime green.  The playsuit has a matching tie belt and bolero in the same paisley silk, the bolero further trimmed in the lime. While the playsuit is identified as Japanese, it was almost certainly Japanese for the Western market …