Dress Designs

Dior: Designer of Dreams

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The Dior “Designer of Dreams” exhibition at the V&A Museum in 2019 was probably one of the profound fashion exhibitions that we’ve ever been privileged to view and it’s definitely served as a source of inspiration for us even though it’s somewhat removed from our normal area of focus. Below is a short video that gives a taste of that exhibition:

To further capture some of the impact of this exhibit, here’s a few pictures that we took during our visit:

 

And finally, where it all started… 🙂

Dior “Bar” Suit, 1947; V&A Museum (T.376&A-1960)




Behind The Scenes At The Met

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Here’s an interesting garment that we came across on the Met YouTube Channel that takes a look at an evening gown from 1898:

 

We previously discussed this gown in this post and this video takes a close look at the dress. Here are a couple of views of the dress:

Ballgown, Worth, 1898; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.1324a, b)

House of Worth, Ballgown,, 1898; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.1324a, b)

One interesting thing that stands out is the video shows that the bodice has green silk flower appliques that provides a background for the butterflies. It’s an interesting effect but unfortunately hard to make out from the regular pictures. After looking at the video, we were amazed at just how complex the dress is in terms of design effects- it’s more exquisite than we originally thought which just goes to show that to fully appreciate Worth’s work, it really needs to be seen up close in person.


Something In The Works

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And now onto something new- an 1890s jacket-bodice based on an original French design. Stay tuned for more! 🙂

Laying out the fashion fabric and marking for cutting.

Cut out bodice pieces thread markings.

Sewing on the canvas to one of the front jacket facings. Hair canvas was previously attached to the canvas before mounting the canvas to the fashion fabric.

Mounting the canvas to the jacket front facing pieces. The canvas is being hand-stitched on to minimize movement.

 

 


A Few More From Tombstone For The Holidays

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And to follow up on a previous post, here’s a few more pictures from Tombstone from a previous Tombstone Historic Home Tour. 🙂

Putting the final touches on a dress… 🙂

 

 

 


Something Different For 1890s Style

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Fashion design often involves the use of various optical effects to achieve a certain look and this was as much true in the 19th Century as it is today. Today we feature an interesting dress that was made by Huet & Chéruit, a fashion house that was started by Madame Louise Chéruit Louise Chéruit (nee Huet) later married married Prosper Chéruit on August 28, 1895. and her sister Marie Huet in the Mid-1890s:

Raudnitz & Co., Evening Dress, c. 1895-1900; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.2541a–c)

The fashion fabric is interesting in that it’s actually a silk print that’s meant to mimic fur- sealskin readily comes to mind here for us. Jeweled lace trim frames the neckline and the shoulders over a black silk velvet neckline. The arms and dress are also trimmed in chinchilla fur as well as the hemline. The outline of the train is further enhanced by chinchilla fur, acting as a framing device.

The above side profile provides a nice view of the train and the chinchilla fur trim. Here’s a close-up of the lower skirt:

The lace further enhances the overall effect at the hem. Now for a close-up of the fashion fabric:

Finally, here’s a portrait of Louise Chéruit:

Paul Helleu, “Madame Louise Chéruit,”1898

Although Louise Chéruit was to become more prominent as a couturière in the Teens and 1920s, it’s interesting to get a taste of the talent that was to come into full flower later on. It’s interesting that she is one of the first to give Paul Poiret his start in fashion.