A different kind of robe a la francaise
In addition to all the recreation dresses that were in last Saturday’s talk, I used some real vintage garments as well. I own this beautiful early 1930s rayon robe, made in Japan for the Western market. The theme of Saturday’s talk was The Eastern influence on Western fashion, with a focus on Japonisme and Chinoiserie, so what could be better than a kimono inspired robe made in Japan for the Western market? Madame O has a beautiful 1940s peach pink negligee that paired perfectly with the robe (and being the darling that she is, of course she was willing to let me use it for the talk). The only thing we needed was a model. I got asked to do Saturday’s talk at the last minute, and coordinating models was touch and go the whole time. Enter Mrs C and Hortense (you have to say her name in the most glamorous French accent possible). Hortense is a French exchange student who came to Saturday’s conference with her host. Mrs C found her, pounced on her, …