tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post2230045025607235501..comments2024-02-05T10:19:47.449-05:00Comments on A Frolic through Time: Period Costuming and the Occasional Side Trip: If I Were To Make This Titanic Tea Dress, Here's How I'd Do ItZipZiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086335016901683883noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-82484048794990260192012-02-23T09:40:19.306-05:002012-02-23T09:40:19.306-05:00Dear Sarah,
You are right! I was sure I had read ...Dear Sarah,<br /><br />You are right! I was sure I had read it as a day dress, but the Met does not specify. It could work as a tea confection or as a dinner dress. It's not terribly low-necked.<br /><br />So glad you are going to make it. Such a pretty thing.<br /><br />Thanks for pointing out my error: will fix right now.<br /><br />Very best,<br /><br />NatalieZipZiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086335016901683883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-51336148847730322072012-02-21T11:04:11.355-05:002012-02-21T11:04:11.355-05:00The Met just states this as a "dress," n...The Met just states this as a "dress," not specifying day or evening wear. Would you call this a day or evening dress?<br /><br />By the way, your instructions have inspired me to make this myself! Thank you!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09347633926150485022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-73101738726305807242012-01-22T21:01:29.391-05:002012-01-22T21:01:29.391-05:00It would be very interesting to write a paper or a...It would be very interesting to write a paper or article exploring the changes in clothing construction/management. I feel like it would require a TON of research to do it well! Your point about Make do and Mend is really excellent - there was a need to thrift and the preservation of materials, but fashions and construction techniques had already shifted away from designing that in as a feature, so in order to make it work beyond minor changes (hem length, collar and cuffs, belt/sash, lace or other trim), things had to be taken apart and recut.<br /><br />I sort of had that kind of reworking mentally filed away with 18th and 19th century reworking, but it's really quite different, isn't it? As I think more about it, I suspect that it's not just the switch to the cult of the Designer away from the dressmaker working FOR the client, but also the Industrial Revolution. As materials became cheaper, there was less of a compelling need to preserve and continue using textiles, so the continued wearing of a dress (even a refashioned one) was going to have less potential to be seen as virtuous, and it was going to be more feasible for more people to buy new clothes/materials than in earlier years.<br /><br />I will have to keep mulling this one over and put some thought into the possibility of writing something up properly. But oh boy, to really cite it properly and just just be guessing in an authoritative manner (like so many fashion theory articles and books are written, sigh), it would take some seriously exhaustive research. I'm thinking - books & magazines & so forth that make mention of how often fabric or a new dress is/ought to be purchased, how often such sources talk about refashioning and how extensive the refashions are... Hm!<br /><br />And, yes, I am indeed in New Mexico now. I'm doing my master's in history with a concentration in public history (aaaaand also a thesis) at New Mexico State University. The libraries have really extensive archives, so I expect there will be lots of good researchy stuff to peruse. Plus I think I'll be able to use designing a 1912 clothing exhibit as my final project for my Interpreting Historic Places course, which will be a fun way to present information. Of course, it will just be a PowerPoint, not an actual exhibit, but still fun!AvaTrimblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07351000089253459996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-76870419594240800022012-01-22T20:47:31.782-05:002012-01-22T20:47:31.782-05:00Dear Ava,
Gee, that feels nice to hear. I do try ...Dear Ava,<br /><br />Gee, that feels nice to hear. I do try hard to document best I can, so am glad when folks enjoy that part.<br /><br />Plus, personally, I think you nailed it when you talked of the various factors that may have moved clothing into a less renovatable, less functional, more throwaway phase. Please, please do explore that! Sure, we had Make do and Mend in the 30s and 40s, but by then the instruction books were generally telling us to cut things up, not refit them. Fashions' changes were so speedy and stark, there was that finishing thing, and then, the cult of The Designer, well under way. Ooh, what a research project that would be! Are you in NM now? Most curious.<br /><br />Very best,<br /><br />NatalieZipZiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086335016901683883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-71328951117709287152012-01-22T20:38:03.424-05:002012-01-22T20:38:03.424-05:00Dear Lorna,
Oh good, I am so glad this dress will...Dear Lorna,<br /><br />Oh good, I am so glad this dress will get made and hope the construction musings and sources do some good. Would LOVE to see the results!<br /><br />Very best,<br /><br />NatalieZipZiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086335016901683883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-7127644061648218852012-01-22T16:45:23.472-05:002012-01-22T16:45:23.472-05:00Wonderful and informative! I adore this dress for ...Wonderful and informative! I adore this dress for all the reasons you note, it is such a nod to the 18th century and I wanted to 'give it a go' for the Titanic year. Your post is great, you've done my hard work for me, thank you! I probably won't go for authentic, just for the 'look' but creating a strong base to drape it all on, especially the grose grain ribbon, that's perfect. Thank you and if I do finish it, I'll let you know.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05285873564550568786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-39918206846581488002012-01-22T16:08:55.405-05:002012-01-22T16:08:55.405-05:00Natalie, your detailed, carefully researched posts...Natalie, your detailed, carefully researched posts are such a joy! My formally-trained-historian's heart always goes pitter-pat when I encounter such marvelous examples of costume scholarship - where it's both good historical scholarship and really functional, oriented toward looking at garment construction and techniques. <br /><br />This post in particular is really inspiring - I'm working on researching 1912 clothing (for the New Mexico statehood centenary more than Titanic, incidentally) to do reproduction work, and I want to do things right, but it's not a period I know a whole lot about, so I really appreciate this level of detail. <br /><br />And your short interjection is really interesting! Part of what I love about historical and vintage clothing/sewing is that things tended to be much more practical, even when they were, uh, foo-foo and fancy. Things were made to be altered and remade. It's interesting that the clothing of this period wasn't really done that way. I think some of the clothes later in the 20th century were somewhat adaptable, but I feel like once bag linings and hyperfocus on finishing the inside of a garment as well as the outside became prevalent, the adaptability and functional longevity of garments really suffered. I actually tend to incorporate a lot of 19th century style construction techniques into the mid-20th century vintage inspired garments, because I like the functionality of keeping things so they can be altered. Your interjection is really thought-provoking - gets me wondering about how and why these things changed, and the potential relationship with increased consumerism & an emphasis on designers rather than dressmakers creating clothing for the wearers. Hmm!AvaTrimblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07351000089253459996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-52600781755837522922012-01-21T22:45:12.766-05:002012-01-21T22:45:12.766-05:00Dear Mrs. C.,
Thanks a lot! That means a lot, comi...Dear Mrs. C.,<br />Thanks a lot! That means a lot, coming from someone like you with all of your experience. <br /><br />Cussed thing is right. Now, had I time, might I make another lingerie dress, or a summer suit in raw silk noil (I have an original and it takes great advantage of the nubby fabric)? Perhaps. But the calendar is booked solid and in January, with it so dadburned chill-blained cold and damp outdoors, tea and a book or some embroidery are more my speed. Or perhaps I am in a slump. It's more fun to watch you costume a play, or my friend Jenni do ditto, and help friends with their projects, than do something for the self right now.<br /><br />Hugs to you in the warmish section of the earth,<br /><br />natalieZipZiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086335016901683883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-31272822171234689702012-01-21T16:01:51.727-05:002012-01-21T16:01:51.727-05:00Or hip hop Hobble, anyone? ;-) Lovely post, Natali...Or hip hop Hobble, anyone? ;-) Lovely post, Natalie. An excellent way of getting a 1912 fix too without having to make one of the cussed things. They are such traps for young players, looking all louche and easy, like a kimono dressing gown thrown on, but OH NO! hehehe. VERY good point make too about the inflexibility. A sign of times where fabric was not as expensive and showing off just how goshdarned rich you are was a big deal. No wonder less rarified folk stuck with the less complex and more practical earlier looks!MrsC (Maryanne)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14440723067459232998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-42286095378936457242012-01-21T09:59:25.629-05:002012-01-21T09:59:25.629-05:00Dear Gail,
Yes! Some skirts in the natural form e...Dear Gail,<br /><br />Yes! Some skirts in the natural form era were tied behind the knees. Hop-hop, anyone?<br /><br />Very best,<br /><br />NatalieZipZiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086335016901683883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18213663.post-71613835272293701592012-01-20T21:06:26.872-05:002012-01-20T21:06:26.872-05:00I have seen a Victorian skirt called "tied be...I have seen a Victorian skirt called "tied behind the knees". It looks similar to the dress's skirt.Gailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04103922717518728513noreply@blogger.com