7 Comments

  • GentlewomanThief

    May 30, 2010 at 5:55 PM

    Oh you are cruel for making us choose between so many pretties! For me it was between the two stripe gowns and the black and cream. A closer look at the black and cream (not usually my colour choice, I'll be honest) make it an easy decision – those little ribbon bows fastening the sleeves are quite lovely (and I've not seen them before), I love zone-fronts, and the sash is fabulous.

    Though, having said that, I couldn't see the buttons on the first striped one, so I might be missing out on its true gorgeousness.

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  • American Duchess

    May 30, 2010 at 7:46 PM

    oh it IS hard, isn't it! What's going to be *harder* is matching the fabric of whoever is the winner. These are all gowns I absolutely adore, so it's all good for me, but I can see how it might be torture for you guys, hahaha. I'm not sure of my favourite of the bunch, but that cream with the black lace trim is one of my favourite gowns of all time. Others like it too – it looked like the last Burley & Towbridge workshop focused on this style of curved zone front.

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  • Sarah

    May 30, 2010 at 10:40 PM

    I actually made my own version of the last striped gown in red and white striped cotton… gotta say it's probably my favorite gown here too!

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  • American Duchess

    May 30, 2010 at 11:40 PM

    Whoa! You DID! It looks fantastic, I'm very impressed! On very close inspection on The Met site I've found our extant pink and white striped gown to be quite interesting in its make up. It's zone front, with the false stomacher thingy having decorative tabs at the bottom. The bodice swoops around to the back with no side seams, just an oddly curved side back seam, and a quartered back design. I can't tell if it's a separate bodice or en fourreau. Very interesting! So far it's in 2nd place (as of Sunday, May 30, 3:39 pm).

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  • Sarah

    May 31, 2010 at 1:48 AM

    yay! thanks! i only used that gown for inspiration, and the other half kinda came from the red and white striped 1790s jacket. oh, i was looking at the pics i have, and i think there is an en fourreau back on the original gown.

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  • Anonymous

    May 31, 2010 at 5:46 PM

    Please tell me the title of the book that you got these images from! I recognize them from a book I drooled over years ago, but for the life of me I haven't been able to find it since!

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  • American Duchess

    June 1, 2010 at 5:34 AM

    Small Dog – all the photos except the last one (striped zone-front) are from the Kyoto Costume Institute "Fashion" book. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in historical fashion, it's absolutely FANTASTIC. You can find a link to the book on Amazon on my resources page (click the "resources" label at the left)

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