Living in Southern California, it’s easy to forget that there are actually seasons like the rest of country. While most of California may lack the dramatic seasonal changes found in other parts of the United States, there are definitely changes in the seasons but they are more subtle. One of the more obvious signs is that the days are growing shorter and the position of the sun is beginning to shift (although the temperatures show little sign of change so far).

We have decided that Fall is here even if Mother Nature is not completely on board and towards this end, we have been working on a few new designs for the Fall.

Below are a few examples of our inspiration:

The above outfit is based on an extant circa 1900 ranch woman’s outfit. With its clean lines and brown/copper colored with leather fringe along the hem, it suggests the coming of fall and a sense of freedom. The changing of the seasons is no reason to scale back on enjoying life. 🙂

Now for something a bit more formal. This is an afternoon/visiting dress, c. 1880. The colors are a light gold, celadon, and ecru and while the colors are not in the usual fall color palette, they complement one another and suggest a turning of the seasons.

Here’s another view of Karin modeling the dress along with me modeling some “cowboy” clothes:

 Below are two views of a demi-polonaise dress that we made for a client:

The dress color is peach (a very light orange) and while one could argue that this is suggestive of spring, it also works for the fall. However, fall colors are not restricted to just shades of orange and brown. Below are some other designs:

Here we have an afternoon dress in a plum antique silk with dark plum silk velvet trim, a black lace collar with antique cut steel and antique lace accents. The shades of plum are completely complementary and they help give an enhanced three-dimensional depth to the dress.

The last set of pictures take the Fall even further and now it’s getting ready to snow any day. Winter is definitely coming…

The above day dress is made of an coral-cinnamon silk trimmed with vintage silk soutache from the 1880s and black fringe. The coral-cinnamon suggests that colder days have arrived.

Now for something a little more neutral, we have day dress made of a plaid trimmed with rust-colored velvet. Complementing the grey/black plaid are bands of copper-colored velvet on the cuffs and shoulders. A vintage 1880s muff and antique lace-on-wire chapeau completes the package.

Above is another day dress we made for a film production that utilizes shades of plum, burgundy and grey in a harmonious package that works as a day dress even in the most harsh daylight. Note that the fabrics have been carefully selected so that there is no shine; we let the textures of the fabrics along with the knife pleating and trim to create a three-dimensional effect that will read well on camera. Not all colors work well in harsh daylight but these do. This is perfect even on a cold, crisp sunny Fall day.

By now, it’s become obvious that plum, burgundy, lilac and lavender are excellent colors to work with and especially when it comes to outfits for the Fall. Below is a late 1870s day dress we made for a client that’s designed for the bodice to have a style reminiscent of an 18th Century waistcoat. The neckline is relative simple with the soutache taking center stage. Often times in design, it’s best to focus on one or two major style elements and keep everything else as a simple backdrop.

As it can be seen here, one has many choices of color and fabrics in selecting a suitable Fall dress. The above pictures are only a small sample of what we are currently working on and we are constantly trying new fabric/color/trim combinations. Let us design a Fall dress just for you! 🙂