All posts tagged: Edwardian

Terminology: what is a lingerie dress or lingerie frock? (and blouse, and skirt)

Tea Gowns vs. Lingerie Dresses Start searching for the ubiquitous Edwardian white cotton & lace dresses online, and you’ll quickly find a name for them: tea gowns.  There are hundreds on etsy by that name.  Vintage Textile uses the term.  Augusta Auctions sells them in lots of three in every sale that includes 1900s garments. Those are NOT tea gowns (well, more precisely, they were never called tea gowns in any era in which this style of dress was fashionable).  Or tea dresses. Tea gowns is a specific period term that refers to a a totally different kind of garment.  This is a tea gown: As is this: And this. Note how different those examples are from the ones on all the sales sites?  That’s because they are totally different styles of garment. Tea gowns were made of rich, heavy fabrics, often in colours, and usually featured elaborate, trailing sleeves.  You can read more about them here. In contrast, the dresses called tea gowns by modern sellers are made in very lightweight, delicate fabrics, almost …

May detail, Cycle of frescos of the twelve labors of the months, Trento (Italy), Castello del Buonconsiglio (Bishops Castle), Torre del'Aquila (Tower of the eagle), otherwise unknown Master Wenceslas of Bohemia, after 1397

The Historical Sew Monthly 2018: Inspiration for Challenge #5: Specific to a Time of Day or Year

The Historical Sew Monthly 2018 is well underway now, and it’s my duty and honour to write the inspiration post for our fifth challenge of the year: Specific to a Time (of Day or Year). I was slightly panicked when I realised this theme would fall to me.  I’m not at all an expert at pre-1700s fashions, and this is a challenge that’s particularly tricky before the 19th century (ish), when specific garments for different times of day became common.  But with help from my awesome co-moderators, I’ve found examples from a range of eras – enjoy! In chronological order: This ca. 1400 cycle of frescos of the months from the Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento, Italy, provides a wonderful look at late Medieval fashions by season, with warm layers for winter snowfights: Flowing garments for spring romance (note the love-knots on the gentleman’s tunic): And sunhats and light shirts (and sandals!) for harvest labours.  The sunhats do double duty for this challenge, being both daytime, and summer, specific: Elizabethan costume plates also show wonderful …

Evening dress in two parts, Mrs. C. Donovan, New York (Designer), silk, sequins, via Europeana.eu

Rate the Dress: Edwardian Embellishment, American style

This week’s Rate the Dress turns from bold primary hues on black, to soft pastels overlaid with sheer black organza, and from sleek ’20s, to frothy Edwardian. Last week:  a 1920s little black dress with very bright beading by Patou The beaded and embroidered Patou number got a range of reactions.  Some of you absolutely loved it, and others thought the beading wasn’t quite resolved.  One of you docked points for the moustache belt, which I am confused by.  How on earth is a moustache belt a bad thing? 😉 I was intrigued by the number of commenters who felt that some 20s dresses ‘wear heavy’, and that this was one of them. The Total: 8.2 out of 10 A full point lower than the week before!  We’re slipping! This week: An Edwardian Evening Dress This dress (despite its weird pin-head) has been on my Rate the Dress list for some time, and this week seemed like the perfect time to showcase it. European dressmakers seem to get all the glory when it comes to …