I just taught this lesson a week and a half ago, so it is fresh in my mine.
I have done research as to what makes the S-shape silhouette. I also teach
this in my class and dress out forms to show the students how this look was
created. My grades or in (YIPPEE) so I have time to read the list again!
The S-shape gives an illusion of a very small waist. It is an illusion!
The silhouette is called pigeon-breast, but was first called the Marie
Antoinette Dip or Parisian Dip. The bodice and skirt waistline are worn
lower in the front and higher in the back. This difference from previous
silhouettes is that the back can be from 1-2" higher than a normal
waistline. . I have online an article from Delineator magazine, Sept.
1900, titled "The Dressmaker: The Maier Antoinette Dip" by A.L. Gorman. I
also provide online some examples of fashion plates and some of Butterick's
patterns for the dipped shirt. The rear pad is not as large as the previous
decade. The bust can be made larger with bust improvers. Alden O'Brien at
DAR in Washington DC has a wonderful wire mesh bust improver. The bodice of
the Parisian Dip creates a mono-bosom. The bodices for these dresses have an
inner bodice that are usually boned similar to a corset. If a woman is not
well endowed, this look needs an improver or stuffing in-between the two
bodices. The outer bodice generally has a generous amount of fabric
compared to the inner bodice. Most of the bodices that I have worked with
have a petersham band to hold the bodice in place. From the photos I have
observed, large women look really nice in this silhouette. Small chested
women do not create the silhouette well without enhancers. The skirts from
1899-the Edwardian period have really unique designs. I admire the
detailing and overlaid panels/yokes made onto/into them. The skirts in
period magazines are described by how many gores are in the skirt. The
skirt gores are generally in odd number, 3, 5, 7, etc.
The petticoats of this time followed the same waistline placement as the
skirt. I have several petticoats with the flat center front and layers of
ruffles in the back. One that comes to mind has five rows of ruffles on the
train or sweep. The top row (first) is the widest and starts near the
placement of our present day side seams. Each ruffle is about 1.5 " deep.
I have all of this measured and in my notes for the petticoat's photograph
on my computer. The second row of ruffles is shorter in length but the
depth is the same for all ruffles. Each row to #5 is shorter in length than
the previous. Row 5 is not very long. The rows of ruffles are set upon the
petticoat. The center back seam for this petticoat has mirroring wedge
shaped gores from about the knee down. The skirt's sweep of the Parisian
Dip skirt is very important to the silhouette. Last semester I found
another Delineator article about the different types of sweeps/trains and
their names for this time period. I plan to get this article and one more
on this subject online this summer.
The beginning of the Parisian Dip is smaller and more of a funnel shape,
almost V-shaped at the centerfront waistline. It almost comes in a point
just below the normal waistline. I have a lot of these bodices and no belt
is worn exteriorly. Most have a built in girdle at the bottom. The midriff
area in the lower front generally has several bones. Some of the girdles
have separate bones from the inner bodice. As the decade progresses the
lower front bodice becomes more rounded or bloused looking more like the
pigeon's breast (the real bird.) I need to look at my fashion magazines
this summer and try to pin-point around when in 1899 the Parisian Dip makes
its debut.
This style is also fashionable today for evening wear. Look at Jessica
Biel's Oscar dress,
http://www.oscar.com/oscarnight/redcarpet/?pn=gallery&g=0&i=4 This
silhouette has been all over the fashion mags since the Oscars. The dip is
becoming more pronounced every month generally with a dark colored belt. I
guess with Jennifer Lopez making having a booty fashionable, this silhouette
returning to fashion's limelight makes sense. It seems I recall my students
from the spring semester pointed out three actresses wearing Parisian Dip
dresses at the Oscars. I showed an Oscar Red Carpet video to my students
and they had to pin-point fashions inspired from previous decades. Most of
the students got the time frames incorrect on the Oscar project. But this
was near the beginning of the semester. The last week of class each student
is required to give me a current fashion magazine. Then as part of my final
exam, I hand the magazine back to them. I gave them 30 minutes to find 5
fashions that are inspired from the time periods they have studied. They
had to write an argument about why they thought each fashion was inspired
from a previous decade. Last Friday's final exam, only two students got one
time frame wrong. All the other student got their answers correct. This is
a good way to show the students how much they have learned. Try this with a
fashion magazine! It is fun! It is a game with me to try to find something
that has NOT been inspired from a previous time period.
Penny Ladnier,
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
www.costumelibrary.com
www.costumeclassroom.com
www.costumeencyclopedia.com
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