I‘ve been slowly building a dress sample based on the styles of tea gowns and lingerie dresses from the 1899-1905 era for our Bridal line. This one is all fine sheer cottons, mostly pearl white worn over buttercream yellow, antique lace front panels and insertion, and dyed to match silk ribbon. Our original idea was to make this from white over blue…and then a friend gifted me with a bolt of vintage white and yellow dotted Swiss, and everything changed! 🙂
With its clean silhouette, the princess line dress was a very popular dress style during the late 19th Century, offering a wealth of fashion possibilities in terms of fabric and trim choices. Originally developed during the late 1870s, the princess line dress greatly influenced a shift in styles away from the bustle, instead focusing on a more slender, cylindrical silhouette. While the princess line was more common during the 1877-1882 time frame, one still sees exampled well into the 1890s as with this one that was created by Maison Worth in circa 1896:
Worth, Bridesmaid Dress, c. 1896; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.41.14.2)
The above example is a good illustration of the perfect princess line style: the waist is completely de-emphasized with a smooth canary yellow silk panel combining skirt and bodice into one unit. At the same time, the gold colored silk brocade sleeves, collar, and front inset panels present a contrast that draws the eye to the upper body. Although this dress is described as a “bridesmaid” dress, it would have been perfectly suitable as a dress for everyday wear (in contrast to today’s interpretation of the bridesmaid dress). Here’s some close-up of some dress details:
Rear view of the collar and shoulders.
Close-up of the collar.
Shoulder detail.
The above picture illustrates the front inset panels with beaded trim.
In terms of style, this dress is relatively restrained to the point of blandness and while it pushed no fashion boundaries, it does illustrate the basic characteristics of the prince line style. What’s especially interesting is that although the princess line style is attributed to Worth, there are very few extant examples of princess line dresses that can be linked to Maison Worth such as this one:
Worth, Day Dress, c. 1880; Galleria del Costume di Palazzo Pitti
We hope you’ve enjoyed this little excursion into the world of the princess line style. 🙂
This is a bit belated but here’s our wrap-up of the wedding we attended at Heritage Square Museum. First, there’s the venue and what can we say? It’s a wonderful collection of fully restored Victorian Era houses that have been relocated from various parts of Los Angeles to Heritage Square Park and then restored to their former glory. It’s a lovely setting for any sort of a historically-themed event and weddings are no exception. 🙂
All Set Up For The Wedding
The wedding itself was a marvelously planned affair with the ceremony taking place in front of one of one of the houses. The ceremony itself was relatively simple but very beautiful and was well-attended by family and friends. The reception afterwards was simply amazing and included a complete sit-down meal to include wine and champagne- unlike a lot of weddings, the meal was exquisite and much of it was cooked fresh on-site (before leaving, I discretely asked one one of the servers for a business card 🙂 ). Afterwards, the traditional wedding cake was served up along with an array of pastries and cookies. There was more than enough food for everyone and they even urged people to take home the leftovers- a complete class act and simply beyond amazing.
Sporting My New Boater…
And then the bride…we had re-worked a vintage Edwardian dress that the bride wore for her wedding gown and it was simply amazing to see in the outdoors- while all our work looks marvelous back at the Atelier, much of it doesn’t really “come alive” until viewed outdoors in natural light and this was no exception:
The Bride And Groom
The flowers along with the backdrop of the green lawn and the brightly-colored houses, it really set off the dress, making it stand out (as it should since she’s the bride). The bride was extremely pleased with the result and she thanked us profusely and that made it all worth it. 🙂
Naturally, the event gave us an opportunity to wear some of our best and we took advantage of the period backdrop to get a few pictures of ourselves… 🙂
Right Out Of An Impressionist Painting…
One More…I’m a bit more serious here…
After a long drive, we’re back at the LA Atelier and now gradually getting caught up on our various projects. 2016 has been an exciting year for us and especially with the introduction of out line of historically-inspired bridal designs. If you have any questions in regard to our designs, please feel free to contact us HERE. 🙂
Today we decided to take a walk about Tombstone and take in the sights.This weekend is “Showdown In Tombstone,” an event dedicated to commemorating the Gunfight at the OK Corral. For us, it commemorates the first time we visited Tombstone back in 2002 and since then, we’ve made it a tradition to come every year. So in the spirit of the event, here’s a few pictures of us, first at No. 11:
And then at the OK Corral: 🙂
And CS Fly’s Photo Studio:
And we’ll have some more for you tomorrow as we take in the events in and around Tombstone. 🙂