All posts tagged: silk razimir

Emily’s 1903 evening gown: matching the fabric

Having determined that Emily’s dress was made out of a fabric very similar to silk razimir, and having gotten over my initial shock at the extremely pink colour and decided that the colour was integral to the dress, I had to try to find the same fabric.  Or at least a fabric that acted in the same way. I searched, and searched.  I ordered fabric and fabric samples off the internet, and got peculiar corded silks, weird sclumpy twill weave silks described as silk ottoman by someone with no fabric knowledge, silk twill that was lovely but didn’t behave when you tried to pintuck it, and other unsuitable fabrics. I scoured the fabric stores in Wellington and further afield.  I did find one gorgeous piece of palest pink silk razimir (which the fabric store, also incorrectly, called silk ottoman), but alas, at $150 a metre it was beyond my budget.  Also, even if I could have paid $150 a metre, I would have been far too scared to dye it a deeper pink.  And it …