All posts tagged: mourning

Rate the Dress: Mourning in 1872-4

Published by The Dreamstress

Despite the fact that most of you thought Marie Christine looked like a “blinged-out sheep” with “an 18th century mullet” the essential loveliness of her pink dress (and a general weakness for diamonds on the part of some voters) brought her in at a respectable 6.5 out of 10.  How to improve the rating?  More flowers, less jewellery, and no rat-tail curls! This week I’ve tried to move as far as possible from frilly pink status frocks while still staying very feminine and detail-oriented.  You can’t get much further from pink party dress than a Victorian mourning dress. Admittedly, this 1872-4ish mourning dress from the Met is still clearly a status garment, demonstrating that the wearer could afford specialized mourning clothes and completely impractical garments that they couldn’t do any real work in. Impractical is one thing, but as long as a garment isn’t ridiculously confining by the standards of its time, we are more worried about looks. What do you think?  Is this frock an elegant way to navigate the social requirements of mourning …

Rate the Dress: a 17th century Woman in Red

Published by The Dreamstress

Almost all of you loved last week’s 1910ish Rate the Dress, but those who found it a little fussy, or the neckline a little high, or the bodice a little odd dragged the rating down from a high 9 to a 8.7 out of 10. I’ve belatedly realised that something a little Christmas-y might have been a good pick for Rate the Dress, so to keep in the spirit (better late than never), here is a holiday appropriate red and white dress for a pregnant woman. The only sombre note to this ornate ensemble is the black ribbon on her wrist, a memento commemorating someone who had died (hopefully not the father of her unborn child!). How do you feel about the outfit?  I’ve never done maternity wear before, so it is interesting to see what you will make of the shortened bodice, the red petticoat paired with the white top, and the elaborate patterning and lace trimming. Rate the dress on a scale of 1 to 10