Practicality. This was a difficult topic for me, as much of my research is done through fashion plates and the like, and I had no idea where to begin. (There is the Ouvrières de Paris series of plates I posted to Tumblr, but I couldn't think of anything substantial to say about them except to note all … Continue reading A Practical Wedding Dress (HSM #5)
Category: pattern
Day Dress (1865-1868)
Day dress, 1865-1868; CHM 1990.56.1 (pattern available at link) It's been a little while since I've shown a patterned garment from the Chapman, so I thought I would give you another. This one also goes very well with my previous post From Hoop to Bustle, as it comes from the years when women wore the … Continue reading Day Dress (1865-1868)
A Delphos Dress
"Delphos" dress, Mariano Fortuny, 1910-1930; CHM 1997.68.1 (pattern available at link) Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (1871-1949) is best remembered for two things: vibrantly patterned silks and velvets, and the Delphos gown, inspired by ancient Greek chitons (themselves imported from Asia Minor), which were made from a single rectangular panel of linen or silk sewn into … Continue reading A Delphos Dress
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)
Wedding Dress, 1905
Wedding photo of Grace Louise Fenton Ross, 1983.15.7 (Dress itself is 1983.15.4a-b, pattern at link.) It's possible that a lot of lingerie dresses in collections were worn as wedding dresses - around the turn of the century, they were very popular for that use. Being white, they fit into the already-established but mainly upper-class wedding … Continue reading Wedding Dress, 1905
Mimic of Modes 