Bavolet is the word I've heard for the curtain. I've probably mis-
spelled it :)
==Marjorie Wilser
@..@ @..@ @..@
Three Toad Press
http://3toad.blogspot.com/
On Jul 27, 2012, at 2:06 PM, Lynn Downward wrote:
Hi Lauren,
Welcome to millinary, a wonderful, terrible art.
I can answer two of your questions. however, the question of
symmetry (#2
and #4) depended on the year and the desire of the wearer. Sometimes
symmetry was all, sometimes asymmetry was the way to go. Perhaps
someone
with more experience in 1849 fashion can help you there.
However, yes, a straw bonnet would have that curtain in the back to
cover
your (naked!) neck. It could be made of the lining fabric or part of
the
trimming ribbon or even some of the fabric to match your dress.
There's a
French term that means 'curtain', can't remember it right now and that
ruffle at the back is usually called by that name.
The lining could have been shirred and look poofy or smooth against
inside
of the bonnet and/or (are you getting the terrible part yet?) she is
wearing a cap. As soon as I wrote 'women always covered their hair' I
remembered dozens of photographs of women whose hair showed.
Best wishes on your project. I hope you'll take pictures and send us
a link
to admire.
LynnD
On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 1:55 PM, lauren.wal...@comcast.net wrote:
Hi,
I'm working on a 1/12 scale (dollhouse miniature) of the outfit in
an 1849
fashion plate. (If you've subscribed to the Costume Gallery, it's
part of
the Year in Fashion: 1949 collection,
http://www.costumegallery.com/1849/ . It's the March 1849
Fashion
Plate : Lady with Children .)
I'm almost done with the gown and moving on to the bonne t. I am not
very knowledgeable about 19th-century headwear, and am hoping
someone with
expertise can give me a clue or two or three .
The bonnet appears to be straw, and I think it is more or less the
typical
shape of that decade, which I've seen variously described as
cottage/spoon/scuttle . I've read that by 1849 the brim, while
still large
in circumference, no longer extended very far out beyond the face,
which
seems consistent with the image . Other examples from the same year
that
I've seen had a straight top line rather than a break between the
caul and
brim. A ribbon trims the hat, more or less where the caul would
turn into
the brim if they were not continuous.
So far so good.
The plate doesn't show the back of the bonnet. Other examples from
around
the same time have some kind of fabric ruffle on the back at the
bottom of
the caul, coming forward as far as the ribbon trim.
Here are my questions:
1) None of the real-life bonnets I've looked at is straw. On these
other
bonnets, the fabric ruffle is made of the same fashion fabric as the
outside of the bonnet. Would a straw bonnet have the ruffle? What
would it
be made of on a straw hat?
2) The bonnet in the fashion plate has an elaborate bow and tassel
trim on
the visible side. Would there have been the same trim on both
sides of the
head ? Or just on one side?
3) There's something sort of poufy or ruffly going on inside the
brim of
the bonnet. Would the lining have been poufy or did fashionable
women still
wear caps under their bonnets in '49?
4) There are also flowers trimming the inside of the brim. Would
those
have been arranged the same way on both sides of the head, or
asymmetrically?
Thank you for any thoughts you might share!
Best,
Lauren
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