All posts tagged: Russia

Rate the Dress: Maria Alexandranova in double

No one could agree on anything from last week’s Rate the Dress.  Some loved the colours, some didn’t.  Some thought the sleeves too big, others adored them.  The low neckline and high camisa were popular with some readers, and deemed awkward by others.  And while some of you thought the model looked astonishingly modern and real, others found her a bit, well, red-eyed vampirish.  All in all, Bronzini’s Lady in Green rated an 8.4 out of 10. This week I present something entirely unprecedented: one woman, in one ensemble, as portrayed by two different artists.  You already know the artists and the model as you have rated Maria Alexandrovna in the past (she got a 6.5). Both Winterhalter and Ivan Makarov painted Maria Alexandrovna (yes, the Victorian Kristen Stewart) in a muted ensemble, lavishly trimmed in lace, and draped in pearls. I haven’t been able to determine if one portrait was taken from the other, or if both painters painted Maria from life (and if so, at the same time?). Certainly the poses and fall …

Cool new resources

I’ve discovered some great new or new-ish resources on the internet. First, I’ve known about the Textile Blog for a while now.  It’s a fantastic resources, and all of the articles are well researched, with the sources listed (something I need to aspire to – the source listing, not the research) The blog has had a recent upgrade, which includes a list of every textile related exhibitions on now at pretty much every museum, everywhere (OK, they are missing at least one that I know of).  I haven’t figured out a logic to the order yet, but it’s still a great resource.  Unfortunately, it makes me wish I could travel just about everywhere to see just about every exhibition! Second, I’ve found an exciting new blog.  It’s the blog I want to write but don’t have time for: Historical Fancy Dress.  It’s still new, so we’ll have to watch and see how good it turns out to be, but so far the indications are very promising.