All posts tagged: japonisme

Taking tea and talking about tea fashions at Premier House

Monday was the much anticipated (at least by me) afternoon tea charity fundraiser for Save the Children at Premier House, where I gave a talk about the history of tea, and the way it has influenced fashion. It was a fabulous day: the event completely sold out resulting in a sizeable donation for Save the Children, the sun shone brightly all morning, Premier House looked wonderful, and so did my models. I wore Japonisme, the chintz pet made its ‘soft debut’, Julie debuted as a model in the Raspberry Swirl, Chiara looked beyond amazing in Ninon (as always), and I also debuted a new 1900s tea gown that I haven’t told you about yet. Lots of excitement! With everything I do, there are so many people to acknowledge. Save the Children for having the event of course, my models for being gorgeous and supportive and keeping me calm and putting up with my running around like a crazy women during the dressing. Most of all, there are the people who contributed and supported in the …

Rate the Dress: 1950s does Japonisme

Published by The Dreamstress

Oh dear, oh dear. We were having such a good run with Rate the Dress, and then last week the grey & peach 1860s dress disappointed so many of you. There were some that still loved it, to be fair, but not enough to raise the rating above a 5.9 out of 10 (and if I had accepted Sineuve’s ‘-8’ rating it would have been even lower!) Let’s see if this week’s dress can bring back the wins? My selection brings together all the things I have been blogging about in the last few days: early 50s, mid-50s, summertime, & Japan, all in one perky party frock. Caroline Schnurer’s ‘Rice Bowl Dress‘ uses Japanese paper tie-dye designs on cotton, a backwards kimono-collar, and a very innovative parasol-inspired pleated skirt supported by vertical bones. What do you think? Is all that green fresh and summer-y? Does the pairing of classic style with some very innovative construction work, or is the whole boned-skirt thing just a bit too odd? And what would you think of the dress …

Favourites of me from the photoshoot

Published by The Dreamstress

These are my favourite photos of me from my photoshoot with Theresa. She got some wonderful images, and it’s great to see the Japonism dress in action. In other news, we’ve had crap, cold, grey, wet windy weather since this photoshoot, and I have too much to do and am feeling a bit flat (unlike my bias silk crepe seams, which is part of the problem). So sorry if my posts aren’t as perky as usual.