At 17:35 17/02/2006, you wrote:
>--- "Diana Habra" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>> Ooo...look what I found.
>> http://www.vintagetextile.com/new_page_238.htm
>> De
>
>I LOVE this website! I know that they show the details to help sell the
>clothing but it is AWESOME for us historical costumers that may not ever
>get to study garments like these in person.
>
>Thanks so much for sharing! I am trying to design my wedding gown which
>will roughly be from this period and I am trying to find out all I can
>about construction techniques. This new colonial dress will be a big
help.
>
>Diana
I agree, it's a truly lovely gown. The silk is to die for.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that someone had a go at
remodeling it to suit a much later fashion?
It certainly isn't helped by being mounted on a stand which isn't
tall enough, but it seems to me that the petticoat is the wrong
shape - it's too narrow - and something about the top ruffle doesn't
look right to me. Wouldn't they have repeated the lace embellishment
that is above the bottom ruffle? the info with the pictures says
that the brocade doesn't extend all the way to the back - could some
of the silk have been cut away, to make the petticoat less full and
change the silhouette, and then used to make the top ruffle?
The polonaising also doesn't seem right to me. A polonaise on an
English robe, yes, but on a sack? I've been looking through what
books I can lay my hands on, and I haven't yet seen a sack-backed
gown that is polonaised. The polonaise also isn't deep enough.
Regarding the polonaising only - not had time to check out the other
stuff - there are at least two polonaised sacks in collections that I
have seen, one in Bath, and one in the Museum of London. Also I am
sure there are many sketches/fashion plates showing this, usually in
the 1770's. I think the French artist Moreau le Jeune shows this, but
they may be retroussee dans les poches, which gives a similar look.
The lapels on the bodice and the front of the bodice are also don't
look right. The bottom of the lapels don't seem to be finished
properly. They don't have anywhere to go or to fit.
They often don't, according to "Costume in Detail" by Nancy
Bradfield, unless I have "read" the pictures wrongly. They frequently
just stop, in mid air as it were.
Have they been unpicked from the front of the skirt, which was then
moved back, making the split down the front wider?
These are some pictures of the styles that this dress in its current
state remind me of:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/100837015/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/100837016/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/100837017/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/100837019/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/100837018/in/photostream/
Of course, I may be completely wrong about all this. :-) ( I
*really* would LOVE to be able to examine this garment close up! )
Suzi
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