Hollywood Victorian

From the Atelier – A Paisley Tea Gown

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

In a previous post, we looked at a paisley house dress/tea gown from the mid-1890s and noted that the paisley shawls that were a staple of 1850s-60s fashion would up being re-purposed into dresses during the 1870s, 80s, and even 90s. Here’s one such example with this c. 1885-89 tea gown.

Tea Gown, c. 1885-1889; Kent State University Museum; 1995.017.0016

Although the design makes it look like there’s a robe over a separate under-dress, it’s really all a one-piece construction.

And the back is pretty incredible:

Of course, without physically inspecting it, it’s difficult to tell how exactly the paisley shawl might have been incorporated (or if a shawl was actually used versus yardage) but it is somewhat logical given the extensive use of a solid color as an underlayer. The investigation continues… 😎

From the Atelier – Fall is Here…

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

Happy First Day of Autumn! To celebrate this spooky pumpkin season, I thought I’d share one of the first ladies that started our collection in bright copper pumpkin silk faille. She’s all original, no shattering, and is fetchingly balanced on one of our own bustles. She’s homemade or Dressmaker made, completely hand finished and little to no signs of wear. Was she a wedding or special occasion dress? Only the Ghost Seamstress knows…

From the Atelier – Taking a Break

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / 1 Comment

It’s been a busy weekend here while we gear up for an October film production as well as create some personal dresses for the Fall. Yes, it’s the first day of autumn although it’s sometimes hard to tell out here in the Southwest (although the shifting light is one giveaway). While taking a break, I cam across this amazing dress mid-1890s wrapper on the Augusta Auctions website (way too tempting, I should stick to museum websites):

Wrapper, c. 1895, Wool Paisley; August Auctions

The interesting thing about this wrapper is how it incorporates a paisley design reminiscent of the paisley shawls that were in style during the 1840s-1860s. A lot of these were later re-purposed in earlier 1870s dresses but I have never seen this with an 1890s dress design. Here’s some close-ups:

Although the August Auctions website indicates this wrapper as being from the mid-1890s, it’s safe to say that it’s probably from 1895-96 (although we’ve been wrong before). This wrapper definitely falls into the “house dress/work dress/morning dress” category in that it’s more loose-fitting, front-buttoning and made of a wool flannel-like material (but yes, the woman wearing this dress would be wearing a corset). From the bodice details and the trim strips running down the front of the wrapper and the waist, it’s evident that these elements were purpose-designed and constructed for this dress style rather than being some sort of conversion.

Turning to the skirt, we see the paisley design in its fullness and it would have very well utilized a re-purposed paisley shawl (although Adam believes that this was all new-made). Of course, without actually examining the garment in person, it’s hard to be sure one way or another… 🙂 Well, back to work but this one will definitely stay in my mind!

 

From the Atelier…Tea Gowns!

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / 2 Comments

What do you do when the bias stripes make your eyes cross? Keep pinning. In a previous post, I mentioned that I was just tired of making brown dresses so I opted to switch to my new favorite color- green, or more precisely, a pistachio green. I also wanted to create a natural form tea gown with a mermaid tail…I’ve made a few for clients over the years but none for me. Well, time to remedy that! Stay tuned!