(For a while I intended to join in on the Historical Sew Monthly 2015, using it to put together an outfit for a Halloween wedding, but I realized that the themes were not lining up exactly with what I needed to sew. Before I thought I might participate properly in '15, I came up with … Continue reading From Hoop to Bustle: 1856-1875 (HSM #1)
Category: 1870s
Waistcoats: 19th and 20th Century
Apart from certain stylistic keys, I've always had a harder time dating men's clothing. It's just not as interesting to me, so I haven't taken the time to really study dated extant pieces and images and improve my skills. But lately I've come across more undated waistcoats while cataloguing - it's become something that I … Continue reading Waistcoats: 19th and 20th Century
Jennie Goodman's Wedding Dress (1878)
I've been sitting on this pattern for a while because this is, frankly, one of my favorites of the dresses I put online at the Chapman. CHM 1971.38.1 (pattern available at link) Now, the photo is not great. It's a decent view of the bodice, but you don't get a good sense of the elaborate … Continue reading Jennie Goodman's Wedding Dress (1878)
The House of Doucet (1816-1928)
Just as John Redfern began as a mercer, the Doucet family's business began in fabric and lace. In 1841, La Mode described the Doucets (then at 17 rue de la Paix) has having a "numerous and noble clientele", highly stylish in late spring for "trousseaus and corbeilles" - the corbeille being the gift of material wealth given to … Continue reading The House of Doucet (1816-1928)
Emile Pingat (1820-1901)
For various reasons, certain designers have stuck in the collective consciousness as being the single greatest creative minds of their times. Gabrielle Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet are good examples: as you know, some hold them up as the only important couturiers of the 1920s because they're the two remembered couturiers of the 1920s. When it comes … Continue reading Emile Pingat (1820-1901)
Mimic of Modes 