Punch Cartoon: Hussar Hessians and Pants

This is hilarious. Enough said.

Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Part 2, Franz Ferdinand

This is me with the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding in when he was shot. How cool is that? Also, all his stuff! Check it out.

Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Part 1, 1853 Hussar

When I went to Vienna for a dance week, I took pictures at the military history museum (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum) and promised to post them later. I am slow, but I have not quite forgotten. So today, I want to share one of my very favorite uniforms from that trip. I don't entirely know why, but I fell completely in love with it. It also really reminds me of the uniform from yesterday's post. The card proclaimed this a "Sommerattilla fur Wachtmeister der k.k. Husaren um 1853." Mostly I don't get German, but I guess it is an 1853 Hussar uniform. How wonderful would it be in a mid-19th century ballroom? I think it strikes an attractive balance between simple clean construction and fabulous military ornamentation. So pretty! Time for pictures - sorry about the glare, but you get the idea!

Oh, it is so pretty. Wonderful braid all over!

The cord on the back is so pretty. A very graceful line, don't you think? Plus, I found it really fascinating to see the back of one of those sashes - usually the back is covered by a jacket, and I never see!

Maybe that is a redundant picture. I still really like the back

The collar trim is cute. You probably don't often notice the back of a soldier's neck, but why not throw in extra ornaments anyway?

Fuzzy picture, but I want to try to show off the front trim. That blue and gold striped trim is charming, and the rosettes are neat, and the pattern is very striking for being so simple.

A much sharper detail shot on the rosettes and cords. Doesn't it make you want to learn how to fasten one of those cord and barrel Hussar sashes? What a great decorative knot!

I don't know what the stars mean, but I'm sure they're important. I'm more entranced by the cord patterns, though.

Oscar Arthur Bluhm - "Leutnant (und Dame)"

I know basically nothing about this painting, except it seems to have gone up for auction under the title of "Leutnant (und Dame) (um 1900)." But what I love is that charming late-century uniform with the great boots and a monocle or possibly glasses (but I'm voting monocle, because that would obviously cooler). And then there is the woman, wearing a wonderful trained skirt. I love trains. I am not completely confident that this is her whole outfit (as opposed to her being in a state of mild un-dress), but I'm going to pretend I am. In which case, I really like the fabulous and dramatic skirt with a cute belt (maybe, anyway) and a little nothing blouse. I am inspired to make trains... or possibly uniforms. Oh dear.

Winter Sports Wear in 1922

Finally, something for men who want to dress well. In fact, I was looking for something relating to women's ice skating clothes, but I happened upon this passage that was so charming I couldn't help but share it. I wish men actually thought of clothing this way. I am just in love with the statement that, given how lovely an ice skating scene is, "It is downright perverse to attach oneself to this scene without a bright necktie, gay muffler, or colored shirt." I yearn to be the girl in the orange sweater or, rather more likely given my color preferences, the scarlet coat. I wish everyone would arrange their clothing "with an eye to the picturesque." That is your homework today.

To be practical for a moment, this passage comes from a 1922 Vanity Fair, which I found available on google docs (how fabulous is that?) here. Check out page 76 to see the rest.

 "There is no wardrobe for winter sports other than that dictated by common sense. The activities of winter sports require warm, but not heavy or cumbersome clothing. Therefore a pair of knickers, a flannel shirt, a comfortable loose fitting jacket with a slip-on sweater, or some woolly type of waistcoat, are the things suited to these activities. As the articles mentioned are a part of every well-equipped man's wardrobe, there remains only the necessity of assembling them with an eye to the picturesque and to the gaiety befitting the occasion. There are no more decorative sports in the world than skating, skiing, tobogganing, etc. When one comes onto an ice pond, tucked away in some corner of the winter country side of a late winter afternoon, where young people are skating, the scene appears more brilliant than anything on the stage of a modern revue. There is something about the snow-clad landscape that cries for a red tam o'shanter or a green muffler. The girl one wants to skate with most is the one wearing the orange sweater or the scarlet coat. It is downright perverse to attach oneself to this scene without a bright necktie, gay muffler, or colored shirt. This is the day of bright colors in men's clothes. The correct sport shirt is made of a tropical weather flannel in bright blues, copper red, orange, salmon, or lemon yellow. A sweater, such as the Prince of Wales wears, is a riot in color and design, and is now the smart man's taste in place of the drab colored thing of yesterday. Even for town wear, the newest muffler is a striped affair of two or more bright colors. The country gentleman on Long Island resembles the Canadian woodsman more than his former self."

Nikolai Rostov's Hussar Uniform (War and Peace, 2007)

I have developed a serious thing for Hussar uniforms. Totally spiffy and dripping with gold braid, these just look so cool! The problem, of course, is that I can look at a woman's dress in a movie and evaluate its historical accuracy, but with uniforms I have no idea. In fact, if anyone has good sources for information I'd love to know. I am sure there are people out there who really really know their stuff when it comes to uniforms. From a totally ignorant but aesthetically appreciative point of view, I have been particularly admiring Nikolai Rostov in the 2005 War and Peace. Wow.

First he wears he puts on a shirt and pants (with braces). Look how high up those pants go.
Notice that he wears a black neckcloth with his uniform (and a really spiffy collar on that white shirt). That is the kind of thing I would never have anticipated. I wonder if it is actually accurate. For that matter, I wonder what this whole uniform is based on.
Now there's the dolman, his actual jacket. Look at the braid! Check out the buttons! And it has a cute little tail in the back.
Over that, a pelisse. You can see that when he is on campaign in the cold (Russia in winter), he wears the pelisse over his dolman and closes it. But in a much more spiffy and rakish fashion, he usually wears it slung over his left shoulder. I love it!
Then there are the accessories, of course. I have no idea what's going on with the sash, but I wish I did. The hat is... wow. With the scales and the tassel and the rosette... I love it! And he has a little satchel (apparently you call it a reticule... I'm having trouble with all the overlap in women's clothing and men's uniform terms: reticule, dolman, pelisse!). So spiffy!
And of course, I might prefer it in red. I'm not at all sure! Look at those boots, though. Beautiful gold tassles on Hessian boots. Does anyone know where to get Hessian boots?

White Uniforms and Tchaikovsky

I love these uniforms, and I love this music. I wish I knew more about men's military uniforms - if anyone knows more than I do, please please tell me! I absolutely love the red-lined tails on Prince Andrei's smashing uniform in War and Peace (the 2007 miniseries). I adore the shape of the jacket and the trousers with a red stripe on Count Vronsky's uniform in Anna Karenina (the 1997 movie). I also love the Tchaikovsky Swan Lake music. It is so sweeping and romantic (and in a movie, nobody gives you dirty looks for throwing in irritating retards that trip up ballroom dancers). By the way, I am putting these up because they are pretty, not because I condone the dancing. Don't even think about that. Just admire the pretty music and the gorgeous uniforms (although who knows if I would still like them if I knew more about men's uniforms - but if they are wrong, ignorance is bliss, because they look so pretty! Epaulettes!).

A Women's Regency Garrick

This is from Journal des Dames et des Modes 1817, and is an illustration of a "garrick." It is the same concept as the men's coats I've been posting (here and here), except that this one would look cute on me! I kind of love it. In fact, I could probably have been calling those garricks too, but I'm not sure how common the word is (since I haven't run across it until now), and "overcoat" is good enough for me. I can't count the cape layers confidently, since they are just too fine and delicate, but I think there are at least 5. I have no immediate plans to sew one of these, but now I kind of want one of my own...
A reminder, for comparison:

The 1812 Overcoat in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice

The costumer on the 1995 Pride and Prejudice was so cool. This coat shows up on a minor character briefly (when Elizabeth first visits Lady Catherine de Burgh, and then you also see one arm as Jane and Mr. Bingley get into their carriage at the very end). But doesn't it look familiar? Though it does have only 4 cape layers, not 5. Still, very classy.Forgive the poor quality pictures. I am hopeless with computers, and this is such a obscure thing that I could only get pictures by taking screencaps myself, so they are less than perfect.

Men's Regency Overcoat

I take it all back. Men's clothing is totally interesting. I just found this illustration from an 1812 Costume Parisian. It made me think of this rather drool-worthy coat from the MET that I've been in love with (which, now that I go back and check, is also labeled as 1812). Between this and the vest I posted a couple of days ago, I must admit that men's clothing can be fabulous.

Regency Military Uniforms

Something else for the men... gorgeous British army and navy uniforms. I bet you can't get one of these made by tomorrow, but they are lovely to look at, and there is always next year! By the way, we are practically at capacity for the ball tomorrow (over 100 people signed up). I am so excited!