Nina Noir~

courtroyale:

Gown

England, ca 1800

This gown is made of very fine muslin embroidered with a floral pattern. The sheer fabric did not offer much warmth, so these gowns were frequently worn under cashmere shawls draped over the shoulders and arms.

Victoria and Albert Museum

(via a-harlots-progress)

Reblog, a thousand times reblog!!!!

defunctfashion:

Robe à l’anglaise | c. 1780

A dress of surprisingly modern taste appeared around the time of French Revolution, during the transition period from the gorgeous Rococo style silk dresses to plain cotton dresses after the Revolution. Simple dresses from that period have. This dress made of light plain silk taffeta has a “compères” style double front bodice. The sole decoration to this dress is black lace trim.
When wearing this dress, a thin “fichu” was placed in the large opening at the top of the bodice.

oldrags:

Evening dress, 1880-83 US, the Met Museum

oldrags:

“Arrow of Gold” evening dress by Paul Poiret, 1924-25 Paris, the Met Museum

oldrags:

Evening dress by Liberty of London, 1910 UK, the Met Museum

ornamentedbeing:

Coco Chanel

ca. 1924–26

The Met says: Gabrielle Chanel is the designer most responsible for establishing the modern way of dressing that encompasses comfort, function and simplicity. Following the first World War, the artistic and social mood was ripe for the pared-down, angular, sportif look that she represented, and her “casual chic” sensibility dominated fashion throughout the 1920s. While Chanel introduced the concept of the “little black dress” into fashion vocabulary, this example shows just how refined and varied the examples she designed could be. Here, strands of beads join to form an interlace pattern that defines the bust, the dropped waist and the dropped hipline. What appears to be simply a tubular beaded dress reveals itself as more complex and intriguing in the way the surface treatment references and delineates the body of the woman who wore it.

Can you imagine how bloody heavy this thing is? 

oldrags:

Wedding ensemble and shoes by Courvoisier, 1870 US, the Met Museum

ornamentedbeing:

1880 dinner dress

ornamentedbeing:

c. 1885-88

The Met says: The bustle silhouette, although primarily associated with the second half of the 19th century, originated in earlier fashions as a simple bump at the back of the dress, such as with late 17th-early 18th century mantuas and late 18th- early 19th century Empire dresses. The full-blown bustle silhouette had its first Victorian appearance in the late 1860s, which started as fullness in skirts moving to the back of the dress. This fullness was drawn up in ties for walking that created a fashionable puff. This trendsetting puff expanded and was then built up with supports from a variety of different things such as horsehair, metal hoops and down. Styles of this period were often taken from historical inspiration and covered in various types of trim and lace. Accessories were petite and allowed for the focus on the large elaborate gowns. Around 1874, the style altered and the skirts began to hug the thighs in the front while the bustle at the back was reduced to a natural flow from the waist to the train. This period was marked by darker colors, asymmetrical drapery, oversize accessories and elongated forms created by full-length coats. Near the beginning of the 1880s the trends altered once again to include the bustle, this time it would reach its maximum potential with some skirts having the appearance of a full shelf at the back. The dense textiles preferred were covered in trimming, beadwork, puffs and bows to visually elevate them further. The feminine silhouette continued like this through 1889 before the skirts began to reduce and make way for the S-curve silhouette.

omgthatdress:

Robe à l’Anglaise

1780

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

(via americanduchess)

oldrags:

Day dress, 1780’s, Museum of London

oldrags:

Dress, 1877-79

Is that another parasol pocket I see?