These are some of the most amazing gowns ever conceived and made. They are usually white...but sheer with some color [or not] underneath so they appear shimmery pastels. I've also seen actual pastel colored ones. Tucks, lace inserts, applique, embroidery....any one, any combo or all of the above can happen. I remember one at the Belle Epoch exhibit years ago at the Met Museum that had viewers regularly tripping the security alarm as they inched closer and closer to see the hand applique work on it. It was breathtaking! A simple gown of the fashionable high waisted column-with-poofy-draped-bodice silhouette in very very fine white linen over a blond coffee colored foundation. The entire thing had scrolling vines and leaves all over it in applique of the same linen... so there were two layers there [the colored foundation really helped show off the applique]...hand stitched on with Turkey Work...y'know that technique you usually see on hems where you pull the sewing thread tight enough to make little holes where each stitch is. The stems of the applique were very narrow....like almost 1/16th of an inch! The long slender leaves along the swirling stems had a center vein and some branching from it done in stem stitch. The gown was completely covered in this delicate, painstaking work. It was beautifully accessorized with a huge black hat with white feathers, black high button shoes, black gloves and black parasol. So you can make a "simple" one out of a single outrageously beautiful [and no doubt expensive] fabric. The way to help it not look like a wedding dress is with colored or black accessories
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