Dress of the Week: Electric Light Fancy Dress

Since it's October, also known as Halloween month, my Dress of the Week posts will be about great fancy dresses of yore. First up is this electrifying, pardon the pun, gown from the House of Worth.

Fancy Dress, 1883, House of Worth. Source: MCNY   

Fancy Dress, bodice, 1883, House of Worth. Source: MCNY

Fancy Dress, bodice detail, 1883, House of Worth. Source: MCNY

Fancy Dress, bodice lining 1883, House of Worth. Source: MCNY

Date: 1883
Material: Yellow satin; golden yellow satin; metallic thread embroidery; paillettes and beads; midnight blue velvet; yellow tulle with applied tinsel; tinsel and looped cord edging; glass pearls; fringe 

The "Electric Light" is a really gorgeous gown created by Maison Worth for Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt II that she worn to the Vanderbilt Ball on March 26, 1883. Despite being just a fancy dress, the amount of work that went into it and the intricacy of detail is amazing. It is yellow and golden yellow satin with a midnight blue velvet underskirt and yellow tulle drapery falling from the shoulders. The dress is covered with gold and metallic tinsel and embroidery with clear and gold beads arranged in lightning bolt and starburst shapes. 

This gown definitely does not lack embellishment with metallic tinsel, cords, glass pearls, gold beads and copious amounts of fringe. The skirt has a very pronounced bustle, with the overskirt gathered at the center and open at the back to show off the lovely embroidery on the underskirt and train.

Mrs Vanderbilt as Electric Light, 1883 

The dress does look absolutely stunning and must have made quite an impression when Mrs Vanderbilt graced the ball with her presence. The idea of dressing up as a common utility may seem a little strange to us  modern folk, but it was still quite novel to the people in the late 1800's. Electricity as a fancy dress seemed to have been rather popular in Victorian times. 

Source: Museum of the City of New York

The Georgian House in Edinburgh

On my recent visit to Scotland I decided to take a look at a very particular attraction - the Georgian House in Edinburgh. For anyone who is interested in Georgian history, this house would be the perfect treat.

Exterior of the Georgian House, Edinburgh, Scotland. Source: Anson Clark    

Situated at  No. 7 Charlotte Square in New Town, the Georgian House was designed by Robert Adam as part of the Edinburgh modernization efforts. When the rich and powerful could no longer stand the dirt and squalor of Old Town, they decided to build a new elegant neighborhood, and thus the New Town was born.

Plan for the New Town by James Craig, 1768

The Georgian House has been restored and refurbished by the National Trust for Scotland. None of the original furniture or surroundings survived, so most of the details had to be reconstructed and all the bits and bobs taken from other places. But the resulting effect is more than magnificent. It feels like you stepped into the glittering world of Georgian Scotland.

The Kitchen in Georgian House gives a glimpse into the lives of the servants    

When visiting Georgian House, make sure to start from the basement. This is where they have the kitchen, the wine cellar and the china closet. You can watch a short film about the history of New Town and the lifestyle of the Lamont family, the first inhabitants of the house, in 1810.

The kitchen was my favorite space in the whole house. As someone who greedily devours all Georgian period film, I have seen enough parlors, ball rooms and bedrooms to last me a lifetime, but the kitchens and servants' quarters are usually left off the screen.

Still life with fruit and sugar loaf, 1720, Unknown artist

The kitchen had a a wonderful collection of period cookware and a whole assortment of things I have never seen before, so it was great fun to explore. On one side of the table I found a strange large whitish-gray cone. I was promptly informed that in the 18th century they did not have granulated sugar that we know today. Instead, sugar had to be purchased in large conical loaves. It was then broken into smaller pieces with the help of sugar nips. The cones were never seen outside the kitchen and sugar always arrived on the table in small manageable pieces in beautifully ornate silver or porcelain sugar bowls.

The white cloth signals that the food is ready to go to the dinning room. Source: Neil Holmes/The Bridgeman Art Library    

We often think that our ancestors were overburdened with technical incapacity, but I was amazed at how many clever devices they had to make their lives easier. The Georgian House kitchen hearth was equipped with a meat skewer that was designed to rotate automatically using the heat and steam from the fire. The scullery had a water pump that had been installed in 1819. I can only imagine how cutting edge and innovative this must have seemed to the young scullery maid who no longer had to haul the water from a well.   

Georgian House Dinning Room. The table is set for a 1810 dinner party 

The first floor has the Dinning Room and the Bedroom. The dining room is richly decorated with portraits and the table is set as it would have been for a dinner in 1810. I was surprised to see a bedroom on the first floor, but was informed by one of the guides that it was common for Scotland in the 18th century. The bedroom was located so close to the dinning room and other public spaces because it was often used as an informal sitting room by the lady of the house and her guests. The women would retire there after dinner and before going up to the drawing room.  

The lavish Drawing Room was used for balls and formal entertaining

The first floor had the Drawing Room and the Parlor. The Drawing Room overlooks the Charlotte Square and is the whole width of the house. This is where the family would entertain in a more formal style. It was also a place for balls and other social gathering of the season. The room is filled with portraits and paintings by popular artists  and has a large neo-classical fireplace showing off the master's wealth and fine taste. The mood is set by a faint sound of a piano recording playing in the background. I would not lie, I would have loved to start dancing in that room.

The Parlor is a private family room for the more intimate circle 

The other room on the first floor was the Parlor. That was a room where family members would gather for more informal pastime. It was a much smaller room and had a very cozy family feel to it. There were popular novels in the bookcase, newspapers on the table and embroidery on the walls, showing the elegant accomplishments of the young ladies' of the house. This was also the room where the family would take tea. The table had two tea caddies and a lovely silver tea set.

Tea caddy decorated with filigree, Grey Family of Nunnington Hall, Yorkshire.   

One of the things that drew my attention in the parlor was a lovely filigree tea caddy. Paper filigree, also known as quilling, was a popular accomplishment in the 18th and early 19th century. It involved curling colorful strips of paper into spirals and then arranging them into different designs to produce a very pretty effect.              

If you are wild about history, Jane Austen or just enjoy looking at beautiful objects and surroundings, I cannot recommend this place enough. There is a volunteer guide in every room who will help you with any questions as well as cards with detailed description of each room. The only drawback is that you cannot take pictures of the rooms or the exhibits. That is a bit disappointing, but you can always get a few nice postcards from the gift shop. This is the one that I got.

Sunderland Lustre Chamberpot, The National Trust of Scotland  

The inscription reads:      

Marriage 

This Pot it is A Present Sent.

Some mirth to make is only Meant, 

We hope the same you'll not Refuse 

But keep it safe and oft it Use. 

When in it you want to P-ss. 

Remember them who sent you 

THIS.    

You can find out more about the Georgian House here.  

The Striped Loveliness of the Sleepy Hollow Polonaise

As Sleepy Hollow (1999) draws to a close, our pretty protagonist Katrina Van Tassel, played by Christina Ricci, dons a lovely striped a la Polonaise dress.

Katrina's black and white gown, bodice

Katrina's black and white gown, back

Katrina's gown reminds me very much of this robe retroussée dans les poches of striped white and red silk. The pattern and cut are very similar, though the color scheme is different.

Source: Kyoto Costume Institute  

When the English enlightened habit of walking in the countryside and enjoying exercise made its way into the fashionable circles of France, ladies adopted this robe retroussée dans les poches.The skirt was pulled through the slits in the dress and arranged at the back to mimic the style of working-class women, who needed  their clothes to be comfortable and practical. The white and red stripes heighten the effect of the folds.

Yet this afternoon dress from the House of Worth from 1890s is quite similar to Katrina's striped gown. The style is quite different, of course, but it would seem that this frock also belongs in a Tim Burton film.

House of Worth, dress, front 

House of Worth, dress, back

In fact, I'm beginning to suspect that Mr Burton spends much of his time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a notepad and a pencil.        

The Worthiness of The House of Worth

This beautiful dress from the House of Worth is truly worthy of the modern genius of Mr. Tim Burton.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Evening dress, 1898-1900, French, Silk

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Detail of the bodice and the pattern on the cape. Looking at this lovely frock, I can't help but think that with it's swirling tendril motif  it looks very much like fanciful ironwork.

Source: Marina Solovyova, SPB-78

The black-and-white color scheme and the spiral pattern would make this dress an inspired choice for a Tim Burton film. In fact, I feel like I've already seen something very similar in one of his works. 

Miranda Richardson in Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Lady Van Tassel's web dress

Lady Van Tassel from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow is a very fashionable dame. This "knotwork" dress must have been inspired by the House of Worth evening gown.

Van Tassel's yellow dress

Van Tassel's yellow dress back

Though this little yellow and black ensemble also has a very similar pattern to the worthy example of House of Worth couture. The bodice of the dress is quite different since the story takes place in the 1700s, but the back with the little train is remarkably similar.

Sleepy Hollow is the quintessential Halloween film; and if one had to choose a director who has given himself over to this autumnal holiday, it would have to be Mr. Burton. This puts me in mind to dedicated a few posts this October to this remarkable servant of all that is macabre and spooky.