Wre’re in the final countdown here at Lily Absinthe as the departure time rapidly approaches for our departure for the United Kingdom. The Atelier is awash in fabrics and trim as we make out last-minute preparations…
We promise that we’ll have a ton of pictures to post here when we get back. 🙂
More progress has been made on Angus’ outfit and I just completed the signature Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat, scaled down for Angus:
Angus’ nwe hat- he’s not that thrilled at the moment…
For a seemingly simple hat, there was actually a lot of work involved and especially since it’s so small- basically doll clothes. 🙂 The final product isn’t too bad, all things considered (like having to recut fabric and starting all all…) and Angus tolerated it fairly well. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures of Angus wearing the whole outfit and when I do, I’ll be sure to post them here.
Just for fun, I decided to make an outfit for Angus so he would also have something to wear when we go out to historical events (I was going to make this for Clockwork Alchemy but circumstances got in the way). 🙂 To this end, I chose a Sherlock Holmes outfit pattern that’s made by McCall’s:
The instructions were very straight-forward with no confusing elements and construction was relatively easy. I used mostly scrap fabric from around the Atelier but I did buy a yard of an Armani wool plaid (expensive but Angus is worth it).
After the basic coat construction, I put it on Angus to make sure there weren’t any fit issues…and there weren’t. 🙂
Now to add the final trim to the coat and make the distinctive deer-stalker hat…more to follow! 🙂
In a previous post, we touched upon boots and how they were pretty ubiquitous as footwear during the 1880s and late 19th Century in general. While researching something else, I came across a couple of examples of formal shoes residing in the permanent collection of the FIDM Museum. First up are a pair of evening shoes from circa 1870:
Evening Shoes, c. 1870; FIDM Museum
In terms of style, the heels on these shoes are fairly low compared to some specimens out there (like today, heel height was often a matter of personal preference). The stockings that these shoes are displayed with are just as interesting with their elaborate design that serves to extend the visual line of the shoes up the leg- very scandalous… 🙂 Finally, the silk magenta fabric and bows really make these shoes a stand-out.
Next, there are this pair of evening shoes from the 1890s:
Evening Shoes, c. 1890; FIDM Museum
Constructed of a dark blue suede leather decorated with gold embroidery, these are reminiscent of 17th and 18th Century styles a la Versailles- can you say “Sun King”? 🙂 The accompanying stockings compliment the shoes with their lighter shade of blue and also decorated in the front with gold metallic embroidery which serves to extend the lines of the shoes up the front of the legs.
The above two pairs of shoes are elegant and their condition is simply amazing- they look as fresh as the day they were made. We have plans in the near future to hopefully delve deeper into the world of Victorian footwear- too often it’s treated as an afterthought.
T
oday we feature another gown from the FIDM Museum permanent collection, this time a dinner gown that was made by Doucet circa 1899 – 1900:
Jacques Doucet, Dinner Gown, c. 1899-1900; FIDM Museum
Unfortunately, I was unable to get any good full-length pictures of this gown and there was only one angle available however, I got some good detail of the capelet top which is the center of focus. As with many of Doucet’s designs, the capelet utilizes gold netting combined with gold metallic trim that simply reads “rich”. The rest of the gown is black with vertical stripes of black jet beading and serves as a backdrop of sorts to the gold capelet. This is definitely one of those “high 90s” styles that’s rich and a bit over the top.
This is an interesting example of Doucet’s work and I’ll be seeing about getting some more pictures to augment what I got. It’s definitely worth taking a look at in person.
