More Stockings

I think I have been selling myself short. For years I've relied upon plain tall white stockings for historical events, occasionally switching to black or perhaps even simple striped stockings. No longer. I think I need a wardrobe of really eccentric stockings for doing historical events. Starting with this first and most ridiculous one...

OH MY! These socks are so wild. I wish I could find real information about them, but they claim to be from 1900. I wonder if they were part of a fancy dress outfit, or just a fabulous secret under some woman's skirt. I have never understood toe socks and think they are awfully silly, but I would totally wear normal socks with a sequined appliqued snake wrapped around my legs! Yes, I really would.

1810. Fabulous yellow color, insane Easter pastels for monster clocking. I haven't the patience for this, but they would be awfully cool with a nice regency dress.

1830, sweet and simple, but still quite interesting.

1846. It is a bit hard to see, but these have interesting lace stuff going on at the bottom. Just a little something extra!

1860, I like the pink!

1865, fabulous blue with yellow or gold.

1870-80, extra fabulous red! With sparkly gold!

1880-89, the two tone blue is interesting, with little designs even more so.

1885-89, with bird embroidery!

1890-1910, I am not sure I even really get the two-tone-ness of these, except as a devotee of red dance boots I do understand the need for a flash of red under one's skirts.

1900-1915, plain little polka dots, something you might actually find in a store.

1900, cherub lace inserts look really cool!

"Vintage Edwardian Stockings"

I wonder about pinterest sometimes. It seems super cool, certainly, but then I find something wonderful (on this pinterest board) and cannot discover anything more about it. For example, I am in love with these stockings. I wish I could see a picture of the rest of them, I wish I knew who owned them or why they are sure they are Edwardian, and I also wish I owned them. I don't do much embroidery, and I even so I'm not sure I could afford to do this much embroidery that won't likely be seen. But oh, they are lovely. And here are some printed examples of fascinating stockings to go with them. Wonderful.

"Vintage Edwardian Stockings"

"French Printed Cotton Stockings, 1870"

"French Printed Cotton Stockings, 1873"

"French Silk Stockings, 1865"

Parasol Pockets

So, I've noticed this thing about 1870s dresses. Sometimes they have a hilarious little triangular pocket. A parasol pocket? You tell me. I haven't found any contemporary mentions of such a thing, nor any paintings of a woman with an actual parasol in such a pocket. On the other hand, they appear to be a recurring theme in original garments. Is this absolutely inspired, or kind of dumb? You decide!

The New Dress, by Talbot Hughes

On one hand, I really love this dress. It is so beautifully fitted and attractive, the fabric is lovely, and it is just striking. On the other hand, it is also the weirdest thing I've ever seen. What is going on here? Is it an European dress with a drape? A fitted sari? Can you even do that? I just don't even know how to interpret this. I wonder if this is a thing I just don't know about, or if it is a lone occurrence because artists are weird and don't have to paint normal dresses. Anyway, it sure is pretty.

 But since the red and gold brocade is so inspiring, here is another Worth for you (although it is certainly a bit earlier at 1885). Oh yeah!

1900 Pink Worth Wheat Dress

Of course, it is a Worth. Of course, it belongs to the Met and not to me. Still, I love wheat as a motif. Not sure why, but it just speaks to me!

1825 Dress, Salem, MA

I love our now-annual regency ball in February in Salem, MA. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one great reason is that Salem was definitely the place to be in the historical time period we're discussing. So even though it is a little late for me, this 1825 dress is extra cool because it was owned by a Salem girl! This dress went to the parties we mimic! Anyway, you can check it out for sale on vintage textile. I also think it is actually a very pretty and interesting dress... the fabric is neat, the skirt decorations are tons of fun, and there are some detail pictures where you can look pretty closely at the stitches. So cool!

Ice Blue Swans Down Outfits

My most recent obsession is swans down. It is so fluffy! It is like fur, but possibly even better (and I do really like fur). I am completely in love with this 1870s blue quilted skating waistcoat (Manchester Galleries), which is obviously trimmed in swans down! In fact, I vow to make this. Solemnly so.

This 1885 dress is also lovely (Met). I adore how the train is trimmed all round with down, and how it is gathered up in a bow at the back. Trains, butt bows, and down trimming? I am so inspired!

Sparkly 1890s Bows

A friend of mine is beginning to plan out a totally sparkly and fabulous 1890s dress. She asked for a little help with inspiration pictures, and here is what I came up with. If anyone has any other pictures of beautiful dresses with sparkly bow motifs, let me know! Anyway, here we go.

This one is a little too early (1888), but otherwise perfect. I love the hyper-stylized bows with super-sparkle. Pretty pretty.
This one only has only one sparkly bow, and it is black (I believe she is planning something with those brilliant white swarovski rhinestones), but it is really nice anyway. According to the Met it is 1892-1894, and OF COURSE it is a Worth.
I was already in love with this dress, so even though it isn't a bow motif, I still thought of it anyway. You could just as easily do this with bows as with flowers, and I love all the sparkle!
This is just for fun - I actually think it is kind of unattractive, and it is certainly not what she was looking for. But that is one dramatically large bow motif at the bottom!

Hat of Grapes

I have finally gotten around to watching Downton Abbey. I've heard incredible things about the hats, so I was watching for them. In fact, there was not one hat that I adored or that particularly inspired me, but I do love the variety and quantity of them. One hat that struck me in particular is this one, not because I think it is pretty (or even un-stupid), but because it reminds me very much of an original in the Met costume collection. See for yourself.

Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion

This exhibit looks amazing. These are some of the most beautiful early 19th century clothes I've ever seen. I keep wanting to say "Regency," but technically you should call these things "Napoleonic," and in the US we're talking about "Federal," but regency is the best term for getting people to immediately identify what you're talking about - it is tough to know what to do about that. But enough of these semantics, here is the real point. This exquisite exhibit was up in Italy, and on the website you can vote for where you'd like to see it next. I beg you to go vote for New York. Seriously, if the exhibit were to come to New York, I would promise to go see it and write about it. GO VOTE!
Also, while you're there, check out the amazing photos. They only have a few up, but already I'm inspired to make several new projects based on what is there. You can also check out videos about the exhibit. Apparently Napoleon paid people well, but then expected them to spend a lot (and thus help out the economy). I find the notion of Napoleon walking up to some lady and saying "Yeah... I've already seen that dress at least twice before. Go buy another one," kind of hilarious. Oh Napoleon, you funny guy.