Hello, strangers! I'm back to post again about those underbust stays from the pre-Regency, in preparation for the Short Stays Sew-Along. I saw these, as the label suggests, at Historic Cherry Hill in Albany, NY. (I don't believe there was any definite provenance, but the house was owned by the Van Rensselaers and most if … Continue reading Transitional Stays Pattern
Category: Uncategorized
Book Review: Patterns of Fashion 5!
Patterns of Fashion 5: The content, cut, construction and context of bodies, stays, hoops and rumps c. 1595-1795 - Years in the making, and I think we're all very excited to have it out at last! A little background, if you're not familiar with it: Janet Arnold wrote the original two Patterns of Fashion books (1660-1860 and … Continue reading Book Review: Patterns of Fashion 5!
“Dresses All Worn Long in the Evening”: Fashion in the “Provincial Lady” Diaries of E. M. Delafield
(In October, I attended the Costume Society of America Southeastern/Mid-Atlantic Symposium in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. My debut as a conference speaker! I presented this paper.) "Edmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood (née de la Pasture)", Howard Coster, ca. 1938; National Portrait Gallery x10669 Edmée Elizabeth Monica de la Pasture Dashwood (1890-1943), better known by her punning nom de plume … Continue reading “Dresses All Worn Long in the Evening”: Fashion in the “Provincial Lady” Diaries of E. M. Delafield
A New Kind of Transitional Stay
Hello! It's been a while - due to American politics, personal issues, and other factors, I just haven't had the energy to spend on historical sewing or writing about fashion (beyond what I do for AskHistorians; link to my profile if you'd like to read some short articles on a variety of social history topics) … Continue reading A New Kind of Transitional Stay
Magasin des Modes, 5e Cahier, Plate II
December 30, 1786 FRENCH FASHIONS. We said in the second Book of this second Year that women hardly go out in the morning but in night caps, when they aren't dressed; we should add here that many wear a chapeau-bonnette over the night cap. In this manner, they give an air of half-dress which saves them … Continue reading Magasin des Modes, 5e Cahier, Plate II
Mimic of Modes 