This is a truly special gown, I used this portrait for inspiration. Days of intense drafting, pleating, old silks, and antique lace later, I get to see it in motion on the big screen in: The Memoirs of Madam Moustache at the Wild Bunch Film Festival. And the finished product:
Fiona approves!
In the West, an honest dusty hem makes everything right…
She’s on my “some day” list…or whenever I can score some ever-elusive emerald green silk taffeta for my 1870s fashion moment. Meanwhile, she hangs out at the Musee d’Orsay, larger than life.
Here’s another view:
Alexandre Cabanel, Comtesse de Keller 1873
Morning fog, pumpkin spice coffee, freezer gets done today, dress fitting, and a bunch of westerns are on today’s lineup. All is well in the Canyon.
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… 😎