Dress of the Week: Striped Taffeta Day Dress

Oh, how I long for something bold and whimsical to wear during the day! Fortunately, this striped taffeta day dress is perfect for it.  

Day dress, 1820. Source: The Kyoto Costume Institute

Date: 1820
Country: Unknown
Medium: Silk taffeta

The early 19th century was a blur of white muslin imitating Ancient Greek statues and the classical silhouette, but by 1812 color and trimming were coming back in vogue. Gothic, Tudor and Elizabethan elements were making their mark on day and evening fashions. The waists were still high, but the skirts were getting wider and decorations on the hem and bodice were abundant.        

With this lovely brown and blue striped silk taffeta gown the Gothic influences can be seen in puffy sleeves and the cording and puff decorations on the bodice as well as the flounces along the hem of the skirt. Despite its very bold choice of colors (blue and brown stripes) and silk taffeta fabric, it is not an evening gown. It is a day dress, which means that it was an appropriate outfit for informal occasions before dinnertime. It could be worn around the house or while visiting close friends and neighbours. 

Jewel Beetles in 19th Century Fashion

Evening Dress, 1850, India? Source: The Kyoto Costume Institute

What a beautiful dress! Mid-19th century white mull with silk satin bodice, a floral pattern and a matching shawl. So elegant!

But look closer. Can you see it? The floral embroidery on the skirt and shawl is made of thousands of beetle wings!

Evening Dress, detail, 1850, India? Source: The Kyoto Costume Institute

Jewel beetles or buprestidae have iridescent blue-green elytra (the hard case covering the wings) that reflect light very much like sequins and have been traditionally used for beetle wing jewelry and decorations. The elytra are lightweight and very durable. They retain color for a very long time and often remain intact when the surrounding fabric has practically disappeared.  

Jewel beetle embroidery came to England from India, where Madras and Clacutta were the centers of beetle wing art. The exquisitely beautiful elytra had been used since the beginning of the Mughal Empire to decorate turbans, wedding dresses and ceremonial robes as well as for jewelry and even paintings.

Dress piece, muslin, Madras (Chennai), India, about 1880. Source: V&A Museum

Though the technique came from India, Europeans often used the wing cases of South American jewel beetles. They must have looked quite dazzling in candlelight. This style of embroidery was not only fashionable, it was also considered a suitable pastime for ladies of leisure, who were advised to use Walker's number 8 needle and green thread.

Once the vogue for beetle wings on ball gowns had passed, they were often altered for fancy dress parties and masquerades. Beetle wings also found a home on the stage. Probably one of the most famous instance of jewel beetles in fashion is the stunning green dress worn by Ellen Terry in the role of Lady Macbeth at the London Lyceum Theater in 1888.

Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth by John Singer Sargent, 1888

Ellen Terry's Lady Macbeth dress © Zenzie Tinker Conservation Ltd

The gorgeous emerald and sea green gown is crocheted and composed of 1,000 jewel beetle wings. It has recently been restored and it took artists 1,300 hours to return the tattered dress to its former glory. It is currently on display at Smallhythe Place.

While using bugs for decoration may seem like a strange Victorian caprice, some modern designers still use jewel beetles for dresses and jewelry.

Take for instance the young designer Holly Russell who created this sheer fantasy in 2009.

The Blue Jewel Beetle dress by Holly Russell, 2009

The dress is from Russell's Animals & Minerals collection and uses jewel beetle wing cases and human hair to create that slightly surreal effect.

And if you have seen the recent Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), you may recognize this gorgeous gown worn by Queen Ravenna.

Evil Queen dress by Colleen Atwood, 2012 

The dress was designed for Charlize Theron's Evil Queen by Colleen Atwood. It is made of turquoise and gold chiffon with jewel beetle detailing.

Jewel beetle embroidery is truly beautiful and it is a shame that it has been relegated to the world of high fashion and film costumes. I suppose people are just too squeamish about wearing insects; but maybe we should consider adding some nature's own iridescence to our everyday style.    

Dress of the Week: Candy Stripe Jacket

The weather is sunny and summery, but it's still very cold. So I thought a lady, such as myself, needs something bright and fun, but still warm enough to avoid early summer head colds.

Jacket, 1790, France, Kyoto Costume Institute

This is a French jacket from 1790s made of red and white striped plain silk with silver-colored buttons and an over-sized fold-back collar with scalloped edges. The metal buttons in two rows down the front make for a great accent. I also like the little fichu provided for warmth and modesty and the black ribbon around the throat.

By the end of 1770s, English country living was in vogue not only in England, but also in France, which led to more simplified and practical fashions. "Redingotes," or riding coat, worn by men, greatly influenced women's style and brought about pretty fitted jackets such as this one.

American Duchess has recreated this lovely jacket and it looks brilliant!

Source: Kyoto Costume Institute

Pineapple Bag: Past and Present

Some say that fashion is cyclical. Those who say that were probably shopping at H&M recently. As I was walking along the aisles of brightly-colored dresses and sunhats, I came across this fun little pineapple bag. "Hmm, this looks familiar," thought I.

And then it hit me! The resemblance is uncanny.

©The Kyoto Costume Institute

This three-dimensional knitted pineapple bag is called a 'reticule' and is one of the treasures of the Kyoto Costume Institute. In the late 18th - early 19th century, when women surrendered their voluminous skirts for the new neoclassical style, they also had to give up their pockets, and so a tiny bag for daily necessities was created. This pineapple reticule is made with yellow and green silk and decorated with silver beads and tassels. You can see a more detailed image here.

There was a certain taste for the exotic in the early 19th century, in part due to the influence of Joséphine Bonaparte, who was from the Island of Martinique, in part due to increasing interest in Egypt, Greece and Rome. And I feel like this zany bag was quite the hit of the season.

Now, if you're handy with knitting needles, you can make your own version of this bag thanks to knitter and blogger Isabel Gancedo who create very detailed instructions for it.

As for me, I will have to be content with the H&M version. Note to self, must learn to knit.    

Dress of the Week: Robe à l'anglaise

This weekend I will be going away to the country. No, not to my estate, but to an overnight theater boot camp. We will rehearse, eat, drink, and go for many delightful walks around the lake. I will need something lovely, but practical; elegant, but sturdy.

Ah, but of course! I shall wear this    

Robe à l'anglaise,1790-1795, Kyoto Costume Institute

Description:

Dress (robe à l'anglaise), England, 1790-1795
Brown plain-weave cotton with floral block print; boned at center back; petticoat of cotton whitework with all-over foliate pattern; fichu of cotton whitework. - Kyoto Costume Institute

It is simply perfect for chilly weather and long walks. The gloves will keep my hands warm and the bonnet will protect me against the wind and the sun. The green ribbon trimming gives it a touch of spring elegance. But it is the block floral print on brown English cotton that really inspires me. It's dark enough to withstand the mud and dirt of the country, yet the jovial print will make me look quite picturesque against the backdrop of the woods and streams.   

Dress of the Week: Spencer Jacket

The weather has been getting a bit warmer. It's almost +10C! So this week I felt I could go for some lighter attire, and we all know that a lady will always look lovely in a spencer jacket.

Jacket (spencer) and petticoat, 1815, The Kyoto Costume Institute   

I do love this high-waisted spencer jacket with long, tight-fitting sleeves covering the hands, of red cut velvet with piping and buttons in hussar style. There is something very daring about a woman who wears a red jacket with military-style decorations.

These jackets became popular between 1790s and 1820s. Since Regency dresses were very flimsy and offered little protection from winds and rough weather of Europe, ladies took to wearing spencers which provided warmth and added a dash of color to otherwise simple early 19th century ensembles.

Walking dress, Ackermann's Repository, 1817 

As the story goes, a spencer was originally a men's outer coat popularized by George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer, who one night, standing too close to the fire, burnt off the tails of his coat. Clearly, one man's misfortune is another man's fashion choice. The ladies saw this cute and practical piece of clothing and started wearing it, too.  

A spencer is very similar to a modern cardigan or bolero jacket and was usually cut short along the waistline of the dress.  

Dress of the Week: Redingote

April is here, but it's still a bit nippy outside. Spring is reluctant to start and a young lady cannot do better than this lovely redingote.

Redingote, England, 1810s 

Description:
Red wool flannel "redingote" with braid and wrapped buttons in Brandenburg style; bag of beige velvet, hand-painted with floral and scenic motif, chain strap; muff and palatine of swans-down.

A military style, "redingote". The full-length, wool coat protected women wearing thin, muslin dresses from the intense cold of European winters. The Brandenburg style, expressed in the wrapped buttons and braid that decorate the front opening, gained inspiration from the "à la Hussarde" worn by Napoleon's armed forces, and was often used on the high-waisted redingote. The coat worn for horseback-riding by English aristocrats came to be used as a cold proof overcoat and a rain-proof hunting coat in France around 1725. Later, this kind of coat was used by the army as well. What was called a "riding coat" in English became in French a "redingote", and was an item worn widely around the end of the eighteenth century. At the time women's clothing was strongly influenced by the functional and practical style of men's and military wear.

Source: Image and description from The Kyoto Costume Institute 

The lovely red redingote reminds me of this fashion print from Wiener Modenzeitung, 1917.  

Trimmed to mimic the epaulets and the Hungarian passementerie from the uniforms of hussars. The wrists are trimmed with fur and eight levels of button, cord, and fringe trim. The lady carries a piece of sheet music in her right hand. Her bonnet is decorated with a large rose and assorted flowers. I would love to wear something like this! Though those pretty little shoes seem too flimsy for the dirt and snow of early April.