Little Dorrit and the Grand Tour

The following gown was created by Doll Clothes of Yore.






The costume designer in the 2009 BBC version of Little Dorrit used beautiful costumes from the 1820s and 1830s period. During this period, the fashion was moving away from the plain, straight ancient Roman-inspired gowns, to Romantic "historicism" which had slashed sleeves and many embellishments, reminiscent of the medieval period. By the 1830s, the very fashionable gowns had puffy sleeves and bell shape skirts.

Here's a timeline of gown silhouettes, so you get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/presentations/vicfashions/timeline.htm









These styles seem earlier than the ones above--probably 1820s.




Real examples from the 1820s:








Definitely 1830 gown...

Etsy Watch - December to Early February

Pippaloo


Jessica's Historical Designs



Doll Clothes by Evie
Sometimes her Civil War outfits are a little loose; quality is great though.



Neufeldtouch


AlohaGirlDollClothes


AGSeamstress


SewFunDollClothes

Ampmcreations


Cupcakecutiepie

Did Jane Austen write on such a desk?

I bought this bureau from another collector who had drawn up a blueprint and had commissioned a carpenter to carry out the design. The bureau is a low and compact writing desk that has an angled slant-top that opens and closes to reveal compartments used for storing envelopes, letters, and other writing supplies. They were popular in the 19th century, but there were made in the 18th century too. The regency style bureaus were actually very daintier looking than the one I showcase. The bureaus usually had drawers on the lower section, but I guess my Felicity gets to show off her tea set.




The desk has a mirror at the top and a little carving.



You can see what it looks like closed on the right.

Early Regency Cross-Over Gown 1790s

This is an early regency style dress made by Jamiehistoriccostime. It has a high waist and cross-over style bodice.

Here's more information about cross over bodice dress by American Duchess.














I was at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in the new Americas wing. It housed art from John Singleton Copley, John Sargent and much more. I'll have to go back to take photos. Anyway, one of my favorite pieces was a wedding gown circa 1799, in the Newport gallery. The plaque explained that diaphanous high-waisted, white flowing gowns where all the rage in Europe, reflecting a new interest in Greek and Roman styles. But in New England, the gowns were considered scandalous and too revealing. So this bride tried to be a bit more conservative, but still fashionable:

Modern Sundresses for Little Cousin

My cousin's daughter, called Amy, is now six-years-old. We're Asian-American, and I remember when I was little I could never find a doll that looked like me. I'm not a fan of the #4 Just Like You doll, and I did contemplate buying her a new Jess look-a-like. But then I started to get worried that a $100+ gift was too extravagant for my first Christmas present to her. What if horrors of horrors she was afraid of dolls? So I opted to give her my #25 whom I called Diana and had picked up from an AG benefit sale for $55. I rarely played with #25, and so she was in pristine condition. She also looked like Amy, who is part Vietnamese and Cantonese, and has big round eyes.

Anyway, I dressed up #25 in a Gwen white sundress that was on sale from AG for $10. My mother, who sometimes complains that I have too many dolls, saw me wrapping the gift. I asked her opinion about whether Amy would like the doll, and my mother with open mouth said "Wow. She's very beautiful! Of course, Amy's going to love her." Here is #25, as it would have first appeared to Amy on Christmas day:



I also packed into the gift box these two outfits made by 123MulberryStreet of Etsy, though my Ivy and Lanie are just modeling.







I wasn't there when Amy unwrapped her gift. But I saw her family during a reunion recently. Her mother told me that she loved the doll and it was her first big doll. I was worried Amy would have a hard time with the different outfits, but her mom reassured me that she was excited about changing clothes. (Ah, I love kids with fine motor dexterity!) In fact, her mom said that Amy spent a lot of time brushing the doll's hair, and that she had to warn her that she might brush it all off. So little Amy did come out and shyly thanked me, and told me herself that the doll is now named "Rosie Hannah Montana".

Ha! I have a convert! I'm already contemplating getting her a Kanani next Christmas.

LACMA Fashion Exhibit 1700-1915

When we were in California we dropped by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) which had a fashion exhibit showcasing textiles and costumes from the 18th to 20th century. It was meant to educate visitors about fashion trends, so the exhibit was divided into sections about silhouettes, techniques, and textiles. You can see the museum catalog book at Amazon. It's called Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail 1700-1915.
Here are some of my favorites:





Here's the full album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/zeemeems/FashionExamples


This other blogger though had a better camera than I, so therefore better and more detailed photos.
http://micheleroohani.com/blog/2010/12/01/giant-barbie-dolls-and-fetish-boots/

Too many Maid Marions?

Kit: "Ruthie, I told you to come as Merry Men not Marion! How am I supposed to form a band of merry men..."


Ruthie: "But they sound so similar!"


Kit: "Ah, well. I see your point."


Kit: "To the treehouse!"


Ruthie: "Kit, I don't know if they had treehouses in Sherwood forest..."
Kit: "Use your imagination, ladies!"


Kit: "Wait, Ruthie, are you using this as an excuse to be a princess...?"


Robin Hood's stories were set in medieval England. The outfits are actually Renaissance. The blue and red gowns were created by Doll Clothes of Yore. The 1930s style outfit worn by Kit was created by Helionhaze.