All posts tagged: Edwardian

Rate the Wedding Dress

UPDATE: Ratings on this dress closed on March 9th. This week’s Rate the Dress is one that has been in my RTD file for a long time, but it’s never been the right one. This week is finally its time. Last Week: 1780s pick ups and pleats For last week’s 1780s mint green concoction you either adored the colour, or hated it, and either loved the pleats, or found them fussy, and either thought the silhouette was fabulously shepherdess-y, or far too extreme and boxy, and either thought the fly fringe was a fascinating touch, or weird and hairy. Most of you who loved the things loved most of the things, if not all, and very few of you hated everything, leading to a score of… The Total: 8.4 out of 10 A major improvement after last week, but not as good as a lot of other recent picks. This week: 1780s pick ups and pleats Our Rate the Dress for the week is a 1907 wedding dress featuring a full helping of Edwardian frills, lace, …

Historical costumes at Fernside thedreamstress.com

Frolics at Fernside

Published by The Dreamstress

Last weekend Fernside, an early 20th century home and gardens an hour away from Wellington in Featherston, held an open day in the gardens as a fundraiser for the local theatre. I’ve always wanted to see the gardens: they are a lovely example of a restored early 20th century garden. You can generally only see them as part of a (long, expensive) Lord of the Rings themed tour, as the gardens were transformed into Lothlorien for the the films. I’m not that keen on LotR (well, mostly I’m not that keen on long expensive tours where you’d just get trotted through the gardens to the most important filming scenes and then back out again, and can’t wander around), so I was really excited to have a chance to explore the grounds at leisure. And obviously, to dress up! We got together a group, and settled on early 20th c clothing, to match the grounds and house (and also, because it was the easiest to get dressed in a cafe bathroom in. We weren’t going to …

Rate the Dress: Edwardian Pinafore

Published by The Dreamstress

Pinafores and jumpers are all the rage in the sewing and fashion world at the moment, so I thought I’d get on board with the trend in Rate the Dress this week – with a pinafore-esque frock from 1906-7. And no, it’s not for a child! Last week: a 1910s suit in purple and black Either the Rate the Dresses I’m posting aren’t interesting a lot of people, or you are all super busy. Last week’s frock, while not attracting a lot of comments, did attract most who commented. With only two exceptions it got rave reviews: it was just what you all wanted to for a day of tea and shopping in London. The Total: 9.3 out of 10 Two full points up on the week before! This week: a red velvet Edwardian frock with a hint of pinaforeness While pinafores are all the rage right now, historically we generally think of them as a child’s garment. That certainly wasn’t always the case: pinafore/jumper fronts had their moments in adult clothing as well, particularly …