Thanks Patty, thanks Sharon! slide feet between... for waltz. But how is that for the knees, in a tango? Thanks for all these suggestions. Costume and dance both fascinate me and it's amazing how they go together, and what's possible nevertheless.
The problem with the "try it out" is that I can't. Since he can't see the dress before the wedding, not even have a hint about the design -- we can't practice dancing in unusual clothes. I couldn't wear a hoop skirt to one of the dance lessons, it would give away too much. Will consider trying it for later! We will have to have a Victorian ball around here... B M 2007/12/5, Sharon Collier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > The gentleman CAN slide his foot between, in fact, that is how we dance > the > rotating waltz. Try it before you reject the idea completely. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Rickard, Patty > Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 6:04 AM > To: Historical Costume > Subject: RE: [h-cost] What's your dressmaker's wearing? > > How wonderful you're keeping traditions in mind (of course, what more > appropriate place than a wedding). > > Patty > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of Barbara -_- M aren > Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:16 PM > To: Historical Costume > Subject: Re: [h-cost] What's your dressmaker's wearing? > > 2007/12/4, Cin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > > So, what's your > > dressmaker's dummy wearing today? > > > > Hi! > > The last time this subject came up, I didn't even own one. But had a > wedding > coming up and the crazy idea of sewing the costumes for it myself, so I > won > one on e-bay which seemed the right size, which I took home, adjusted to > my > measurements and proceeded to find that it was suitable to first model his > wedding suit on (a lovely 1830s frock, now finished). > > So now, it's a few weeks later, the wedding is even more imminent, I have > lost eight kilos and had to compress the top part of dummy beyond its > specification. There is one way it's good that I'm so late with my own > dress: If I already had it now, it wouldn't fit any more. > > And I've been thinking and thinking about the design! I want our clothes > to > match. I want an 1830s full skirt. And people from this list have even > convinced me that it's possible to dance a waltz in a hoop skirt. But our > wedding dance is a tango, which requires that the gentleman should be able > to slide his knee _between_ the lady's legs. Again, hoops are out of the > question! :-( I have since had the privilege to watch a wonderful show on > 'The Evolution of Dance', and it is amazing how obviously the dominant > dance > of each time corresponds to the fashion worn then (mainly by the ladies). > And tango is 1920s -- flapper dresses :-( ! And the close, fast-turning > version of Viennese Waltz that we will dance afterwards actually came up > with, and wants, the late Victorian flat front and narrow silhouette you > see e.g. in Renoir's famous dance portraits -- > http://claude-monet.org/artbase/Renoir/1841-1919/apc825799/apc.jpg, > http://artyzm.com/obrazy/renoir-dance.jpg, > http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/impressionism/images/PierreA > ugusteRenoir-Dance-in-the-City-1883.jpg. > > So now I'm trying to incorporate all that into the design -- and the dress > dummy is currently wearing the first layer of underpinnings -- a 'slip' > to > make the skirt stand out from the body -- and I'm making the tiers of > netting open in the front, so there will be fewer layers there and our > knees > can touch. Plus, a flat-fronted style should be more flattering to me, > anyway. > > Ssh! Luckily he doesn't read this forum AFAIK -- he mustn't know! It's bad > luck if the bridegroom knows the dress of the bride beforehand (in German > tradition). The sewing room is taboo for him, and when I have to cut large > pieces of fabric and need more space, I have to send him away or wait > until > he is asleep. Forgive my spelling of my name, I don't want it to come up > in > an accidental internet search, so he can't stumble upon this conversation. > (By German tradition, it's also bad luck to sew one's own wedding dress, > but > you can apparently revert that if someone else does the last stitch). > > All the while "Bridal Gowns: How to Make the Wedding Dress of Your Dreams" > by Susan E. Andriks is helping me a lot. It has a *wealth* of tips and > ideas > which are actually not just useful for wedding gowns. > > Love to all > B arb ara M > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
