Dress of the Day: Elizabethan Costume

My theater group is putting on a production of Shakespeare in the Park, so this week I felt like a bit of whimsical costuming is in order. And since in Shakespearean theater all actors, regardless of the play's period, wore contemporary dress, here is a lovely Elizabethan costume.

Fancy Dress,  1890–1909, French. Source: Met Museum 

Fancy Dress, back, 1890–1909, French. Source: Met Museum 

Fancy Dress,  detail, 1890–1909, French. Source: Met Museum 

Date: 1890–1909
Culture: French
Medium: silk, metal
Dimensions: Length (a): 18 in. (45.7 cm) Length (b): 74 in. (188 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Orme Wilson and R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of their mother, Mrs. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor Wilson

Sadly, this is not a real Elizabethan dress. Historical clothes is very difficult to find and preserve since they age, wear out, lose color and are altered by their owners. There are very few real pieces left from 16th to17th century. We must content ourselves with imitations, reconstructions, and of course, wonderful peices created in other periods for fancy dress balls and masquerades.

This is a beautiful dark plum silk velvet gown decorated with faux pearls and embroidered with gold metallic thread. I especially love the lines of pearls sewn along the sleeves. The dress follows the late 19th century silhouette, but borrows elements from Elizabethan gowns, like the wide sleeves and the ruff collar. Costume balls were all the rage at the end of the 19th century. They were not just fun, but also educational. Guests were encouraged not only to research dressmaking of their character's time period, but also learn as much about the character as they could and portray him or her as accurately as possible. That way parties would become wonderful improv shows were all the guests were expected to 'perform' for their supper. Ah, if only our own Halloween parties were more like that.          

Source: The Met Museum             

Women of the Future Card Collection 1902

Women's History Month continues. And today we will go back in time to see what men of the past thought about women of the future.

Beginning of the 20th century saw a rapid and dramatic change in women's position in society. More opportunities were open to them in terms of employment, education, sport and recreational activities. Turn of the century was a good time to speculate about what the future may bring, and many forward-thinking individuals as well as satirists and wits turned their thoughts to what a woman of the future would look like.

This collection of cards from 1902 may not offer very practical work attire for the young ladies of the future, yet the they seem to take to these professions with gusto and self-assurance. I may add that I would like to be borrow that duck hat from the lady journalist.

Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion Exhibition

If you were in Milan this past summer, you are very lucky. It means you had a chance to see this breathtakingly beautiful exhibition - Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion.

Fashion has always had an interesting relationship to power. From Venetian sumptuary laws that were meant to separate courtesans from honest women to Marie Antoinette's infamous wardrobe, what people wore told those around them a lot about their social position, class and wealth. 

Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion maps out the development of fashion from the Directoire to the Burbon restoration. The restored costumes are presented with fashion plates from the period to show how the fashion ideals translated into cloth. The exhibition boasts a great variety of dresses for different occasions from marriage to motherhood to mourning. 

Photography by Jean-François Rémy-Néris

I love this walking dress! The color is beautiful and the shawl makes it so vibrant. I would love to have something like this for my morning calls in early Autumn.

Photography by Jean-François Rémy-Néris

A Simple, but elegant white ball gown. As one of Miss Austen's dashing heroes once said, "A woman can never be too fine while she is all in white."

Photography by Jean-François Rémy-Néris

I don't know what it is about this dress, but it just feels so wrong it's right. Maybe it's the pose, maybe it's the turban paired with what looks like a chemise de reine, maybe it's that huge sash or the fan that looks painfully out of place. But is it horrible that I wear something very similar during the summers?

As an extra treat, people are invited to vote for where they want the exhibition to travel next. Please help me bring it to St. Petersburg!