Antique Threads - Up to Dating Ruffles and Teacups (Historic Inspiration)

If you listened to my July podcast from the fashion gallery of the Victoria and Albert (V&A) in London, you'll recall that I was in sewist heaven when it came to studying fashions in the V&A's collection.

I haven't even finished blogging about some of my ideas from that trip yet - thoughts on creating new looks based on gorgeous antique and retro garments I talked about and photographed in the V&A - before a new book purchase*  get me heading out to search the free on-web collection at the V&A museum, to look up more details from several historic beauties mentioned in this delicious book.

What's the appeal? Not only are were the
edges of these silk strips left raw, the gathered band
was also twisted in a sinuous pattern.

As a result, I have fallen for a dress. 

It's one of those sewing danger things, right? Bad enough when the inspiration garment is something I might wear only once to a wedding or a performance at the opera, but I had to get knocked over by an embroidered silk doozy from the late eighteenth century. 

We're talking here about twenty or thirty yards of silk. We're talking about major ruffles and teacups. We are talking about something that would not even fit through the door of the mini van!

It's the pinked and scalloped strips of silk on this gown** from the late eighteen century that have me itching to come up with a modern way to use this style of embellishment. But I haven't been able to see past the style of this lovely, but totally impractical for modern times (!) sack-back gown. I couldn't see it in a vest, jacket or skirt. OK, I could but the look would have been waaayyyy too fussy. 

.

I had forgotten, however, about this outfit*** I pinned on my Pinterest Historic and Retro Sewing Board. Me oh my, it gives me ideas for deploying that really cool ruffle. 

Can't you just see that snakey, raw edged, twisted, ruffle in a very light weight denim? I can. It's slithering along the edge of a nicely flowing denim shirt or jacket. Perhaps it's just a touch narrower. And in combination with something like this floral skirt in a lovely, fluid voile - or maybe a homespun style check or plaid like the trim on this skirt -, it would really hit the spot.

I bet you know how it goes. Historically inspired, modern fashion is the kind of sewing daydream that keeps me....

Enchanted by Sewing!

~ ~ ~

Resources

* Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Fashion in Detail, by Avril Hart and Susan North 

Search the V&A Collections http://collections.vam.ac.uk

** Details on and photos of the glorious gold sack-back gown at http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O127134/sack-back-gown-unknown/

I have several Pinterest sewing theme boards at http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/ You don't have to join Pinterest to look at them.


*** I'm not sure of the original context for this garment. I saw it on someone else's board. The only link that comes up for it is 
http://p7.storage.canalblog.com/76/26/647625/85282790_o.jpg

Vintage Threads: Elsa Schiaparelli's Roses Get me Dreaming

Elsa Schiaparelli created this gorgeous design
for her autumn 1937 collection

I encountered this evening coat, designed by Elsa Schiaparelli, in the Victoria and Albert (V&A) fashion gallery, when I visited London in late May. If you come along on my audio tour of the exhibit, you'll hear a discussion I had with a Londoner about these lovely details, and the trompe l'œil urn design ... Is it an urn or is it two women facing in?   You may already recognize this famous double image created by artist Jean Cocteau designed to fake the viewer out. If you want to read more about the art movements that inspired Miss Schiaparelli's work, as well as more details about the garment, follow this link (http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O117953/evening-coat-schiaparelli-elsa/ )  to the V&A.

I've never really been that all taken by trompe l'oeil, but I do love roses! Don't you want a bevy of these beauties? I know I do, and of course the fact that I'm caught up working slowly and carefully through my denim skirt project (learning jeans-sewing skills without yet encountering the challenge of fitting jeans) gets me dreaming about switching horses in mid stream. Best to simply dream and plan these roses, and get the skirt finished, don't you think? 

You can check out other views
of this coat at
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O117953/evening-coat-schiaparelli-elsa/ 

How will I use these blooms on that great come-and-do-it-day when I sit down with needle and a mass of silken ribbons? Well.... despite the beauty of this sumptuous evening garment, I know that I wouldn't get a lot of use out of a similar long flowing garment. It wouldn't be too practical  in a software Meetup, on a walk to the grocery store, a bike ride or trip to class. Sure, I might wear it to the ballet, opera or theatre but those aren't places I go everyday. In fact I have a pretty hooded black velvet coat I've been using for special occasions since college, and it still works great. That was a lifetime purchase (I found it in a low-key consignment store), so I won't be creating another special occasion garment with these.

I'm planning to create and use my roses in a rather different way. I wrote about those plans in a posting I wrote in Stitcher's Guild/Artisan Square, when I visited to ask a few how-to questions. 

I think they (the roses) would look nifty as an embellishment on my denim jacket, placed in a similar way to the ones that Elsa designed.

I know there are a lot of ways to make fabric roses. I'm partial to spider-web roses - but I think these are made differently. They almost look like origami- and maybe some kind of folding technique would be best. Another woman touring the gallery wondered if maybe when they were originally made, did they perhaps stand up a little more 3D, and over time they've flattened out. If so, a little iron steam might do the trick, though the flattened origami-kind of look looks good too.

As you will see, if you visit the forum and read this posting (http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php/topic,21274.0.html ), I'm not an expert when it comes to ribbon embroidery. But I got a lot of pointers from the folks in the group. No, the life of a creator just wasn't the same before we had the power of the web, was it? (In fact we used to depend on family members, classes, schools, clubs, neighbors, groups and our local libraries. We weren't that all deprived.)

Some of the basics I acquired reading different people's answers. (Though you will get more ideas when you visit the forum). 

Folks Suggested...

* Either silk ribbon or a strip of heavy bias silk--folded, draped, and layered into a rose shape similar to ribbon embroidery. 

* Intense pink at the center of each rose may be a brush dipped into dye.

* The leaves and golden bits perhaps crewel embroidery.

This gorgeous vintage camisole has
roses similar to the embellishment on the Schiaparelli Evening Coat

I loved reading the different ideas and discussions about antique ribbon work. And what about the beautiful camisole photo that emerged from the question? Yes, another distracting garment!

With the resources and ideas collected in this discussion, I'm expecting it won't be too long before I have my own bouquet of ribbon roses. 

You may also enjoy....

Stitcher's Guild Artisans Square, Forum Posting - "How Would You Create Elsa Schiaparelli's Roses?" http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php/topic,21274.0.html


 The Enchanted by Sewing Audio Tour of the V&A http://enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2013/07/ench-by-sew-010-v-fashion-gallery-tour.html

Antique Threads: Miss Firbank's Pink Linen Cuff (Victoria and Albert Fashion Gallery)

One hundred of
Miss Heather Firbank's
garments can by found by
searching the V&A collection

In the Enchanted by Sewing Podcast for July, I took my listeners on an audio tour of London's Victoria and Albert Fashion Gallery. There I described numerous historic garments, as I encountered them. (You can listen to this podcast on line, or download it to your iPhone, Android or other mobile device http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com) You'll recall that several of the fashions I mentioned in the show, were from the wardrobe of Miss Heather Firbank (daughter of M.P. Sir Thomas Firbank and sister of the novelist Ronald Firbank). She wore them in the early part of the twentieth century (Edwardian  Era 1910-1920).

Well of course that bodice lace is
gorgeous. And we always get a kick from
the s-shaped bodice that made fashionable
gals look like pouter pigeons.

One of Miss Firbank's garments was a beautiful pink linen day dress. It's got a very Gibson Girl look, and reminds me of several of the photos from Agatha Christie's autobiography. You can read more about this dress yourself, by following this link to the V&A collection . That link also brings up other views of the dress and more about the garment. Don't get me started on the pouter pigeon/S-Shaped look and the kind of corset a woman had to wear to create that shape under her clothes. Let's just say that her inner organs were possibly affected and leave it at that.

What most struck me, other than fact that I am particularly

Love the way the round shape of the
self-fabric covered button
draws attention to the squared off tabs
and rounded half circle rising up to meet it.
The lace is pretty,
but don't you think it distracts from
the cuff?

partial to pastel shades of linen, was the cuff.   I'm glad I snapped some detail showing the cuff, because whoever took this part of the collection photograph for the V&A, went mainly for the whole-garment, with some images of the stand-out bodice as well. I know that photographer's not a sewist because he/she didn't include a special photo of the cool cuff.

Don't you love those tabs, cut whole as part of the cuff? And how about those big self-fabric covered buttons and the topstitched edge? Hey, we're sewists! Could we not recreate that? You betcha!

Yes, I do like the waistband too
Don't even get me started on that!

I'm envisioning a loose linen jacket, maybe duster-style, something like what Miss Heather would have worn motoring, except mine would be mid-thigh length and I'd wear it over trousers (no I don't think this fashion forward lady would have been shocked). I'd make my sleeves 3/4 length, like I do my shirts. Because otherwise I always just roll my sleeves up and the beautiful cuff would be lost. I'd love to make a cuff like this up in a shell pink or pale lavender linen. The lace is pretty, but I think it distracts from the shape of those tabs and the nice big buttons. I'd scrap the lace.

Might it also work in a mid-weight dark blue wool jacket or coat, with a red silk lining or piping that just peeked out from behind? I'd cut the cuff lining just slightly bigger than the outside part of the cuff so that it brought up an edge to highlight the tabs. And definitely the topstitching would add the right kind of finish. But blue or red topstitching.... not sure. Would need to test that out. I'm sure I'd find some beautiful buttons to draw attention to the cuffs too - metal maybe...

Or how about one of those polyester (or real silk) brocades that have the pretty wrong side in contrasting colors? Again, cutting the lining side a big longer - and making the wrong side be the right side for the lining - would draw attention to those tabs. And of course then I'd cover the buttons with that wrong side of the fabric too.

Dreaming about how I might incorporate ideas from this gorgeous antique cuff keeps me... enchanted by sewing.

July Podcast V&A Fashion Gallery Tour (In the Moment) - London Victoria and Albert Museum- California Sewist seeks inspiration at the V&A

A modern Alexander McQueen dress
I nearly missed that duck feather tail!
Towards the end of Part 2

Come along and tour the Victoria and Albert Fashion Gallery with me- the two-part July 2013 "Enchanted By Sewing" Podcast is available in the pod-o-sphere!

California Sewist seeks inspiration at the Victoria and Albert

In the June Enchanted by Swing podcast I shared some of my favorite sewist sights in London: Tana Lawn fabric at Liberty, street fashion and a trip to a special exhibit at Buckingham Palace.

In July, before the show returns to a California August sewing scene,  I take you along with me on a tour of the Victoria and Albert fashion gallery. It's just like we're walking the floor together looking at all the details dear to a sewists heart.

And yes - we do take a tea break too ;-)

 Did you see that cuff? How did they make those roses? What is giving that bodice it's structure? 

Yes, the sights and sounds (even some of my camera clicks) of the gallery are all there. It's an in-the-moment show.

Co-Published with Enchanted by Sewing Podcast Show Notes at

http://www.EnchantedBySewing.blogspot.com

Two Ways to Listen
i) Listen Right on the Web

You can listen to the show right on the web by clicking on the following links
Part 1 http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/VandAPART1EnchantedBySewingJuly_2013.mp3

Part 2 http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/VandAPART2EnchantedBySewingJuly_2013.mp3

From Miss Heather Firbank's
wardrobe
I chat about her clothes in the noisiest part of the
tour, towards the end of Part 1

.............OR 

ii) Download the show to your mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.)

 Or, download this podcast free from iTunes, to play on your favorite mobile device/mp3 player (like an iPhone or an Android), by clicking on this link to iTunes. (note it's a two part podcast)

Important Note. This is a two-part podcast. Yes, technical difficulties are tedious:-( You'll want to make sure you download them both.

~~~
Did I miss any links? If so, please post here and let me know, or else email me at,  EnchantedBySewing AT gmail
~~~

~~~ Show Notes Links ~~~

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) http://www.vam.ac.uk
Visiting London? This wonderful museum is free to visit. It's just across the block from two other free to visit museums I never miss. The Natural History Museum (gorgeous architecture and ornamentation) and the Science Museum.

Hard to decide which was my favorite
post-War retro look
In the second part of the cast, you'll
hear me chatting away with a local
mother and daughter about this dress,
and other fifties styles,
and accompanying undergarment

Search the V&A Collections (yes - it's free) http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/t/the-collections/ from your own home, or when you're abroad. If you have an iPad or similar mobile device with you on a trip, you may enjoy searching on site using the in-museum wifi.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/t/the-collections/

Looking for a quintessential pot of tea and a scone, or slice of British cake? Don't miss the Cafe at the Victoria and Albert Museum. (And since museum admission is free, you could pop in any day for refreshment alone!) Wander through all the rooms, because you won't want to miss any of the decor, and find a spot in the Morris, Gamble or Poynter Rooms - Go ahead and ask people with a spare chair (it's a popular place, you're not likely to find a table to yourself)  if you can join their table, many people just plunk themselves down and don't even ask - but we visitors should! You may even end up having a lovely chat with locals or people visiting from other lands, if you and your table mates are so inclined.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/architectural-history-of-the-v-and-a-1863-1873-fowkes-architectural-master-plan-an-interrupted-vision/

Here are some conversational gambits I've used - if the people look like they might want to chat -

* May I ask what the beautiful language you are speaking is?
* I just love those blue and white Arts and Crafts tiles! I wish I could have just one to hang on my own wall/Don't I just wish I had a whole room tiled like this!
* These scones are so much tastier than what I had at Starbucks yesterday!
* This is the perfect break from looking at all those beautiful things in the museum. If this continues into chat I can then ask -
    * What are your favorite galleries?
     * Oh you come often? What would you suggest I not miss? What other museums and places would you not miss in London if you were me?
* If you and the other person have children with you, you might ask about parks and other areas and attractions where their children like to play

Edwardian styles and the modern woman of the 30's jersey bathing suit, reminded me of Agatha Christie's Autobiography. A wonderful read! Dame Agatha makes many references to clothing, style and culture from the Edwardian Era of her childhood as well as the major changes in fashion and women's lives after WWI. There's also wonderful detail for the traveller, as she describes her own trip on the Orient Express and wanderings in exotic lands to the area where she met her second husband, Max Mallowan, on an archeological dig at Ur (I always stop in at the Ur exhibit at the British Museum in London and wonder if one of the pots on display is one that Agatha helped to reconstruct, as she often did.)

Heather Firbank's clothing, especially her Gibson Girl blouse and beautiful linen suit, reminded me of the movie "Room with a View". That's a favorite movie of mine. Helena Bonham Carter, as Lucy Honeychurch, is such an enchanting and funny ingenue. I often wonder if she and Maggie Smith chatted over old times in this Merchant Ivory film when they worked together again in the Harry Potter films.

Coco Channel's Pantsuit  evoked images of the movie "Witness for the Prosecution"  with Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Powers. This movie is based on a popular Agatha Christie play. It's very dramatic and has, for many people, a quite surprising conclusion - as do other of Dame Agatha's plays, like the Mousetrap - I'll never give that ending away either! The Mousetrap, as you may know, is the longest running show of any kind and is still a kick to go and see on a visit to London.

Mrs. Minniver and Mrs. Tim Christie
would have carried their gas masks too, when they
went to the market in their tailored-to-fit
tweed suits during the war
(WWII that is)
But they wouldn't have made the mistake
this designer did, since regulations
required no more than three buttons on
the jacket.

The "Tailored to Fit" - World War II and post war clothing-rationing section of the gallery, reminds me of one of my favorite movies, "Mrs. Minniver" with that wonderful perfect model of a well brought up English woman, Greer Garson

D.E. Stevenson's set of four "Mrs. Tim Christie" novels harken back to a time in England when a gas mask was a fashion accessory you might not be able to live without.

A link to the Balenciaga exhibit I saw at the DeYoung in San Francisco. Books for exhibits like this can often be found at discounted prices once the show finishes touring the country. Abe Books is a great source for used books.

Designer Alexander McQueen (see the duck-tailed dress, the first photo in this posting) has some stunning garments in the last, and most modern, section of the fashion gallery. This wonderful designer passed away in 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_McQueen

Laurel Loves London (PODCAST - Enchanted by Sewing)

Co-Published with MeEncantaCoser/Enchanted By Sewing

Laurel Love's London's Liberty

Hey, the June 2013 "Enchanted By Sewing" Podcast is available in the pod-o-sphere!

You can listen to the show right on the web by clicking on this link. Or, download this podcast free from iTunes, to play on your favorite mobile device/mp3 player (like an iPhone or an Android), by clicking on this link to iTunes.

~~~
Did I miss any links? If so, please post here and let me know, or else email me at,  EnchantedBySewing AT gmail
~~~
London's got what a sewist yearns for, historically inspired fabric and fashion, not to mention the regular inspirations we bring back from vacation tripping in an historically rich area. When this California sewist vacations in London she does more than promenade along the Thames. She visits historic Liberty to buy soft delicate Tana Lawn fabric and the Victoria and Albert to study historic fashion. She also looks both ways before she crosses the street (cuz she can never remember which way the traffic flows) to check out street fashion.
~~~
I prepped for travel to London by sewing

• http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/05/el-debut-my-pearly-wannabe-jacket.html

• http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/06/sewing-for-travel-butterick-5526.html

In the 'cast I talked about the hand sewing I took alongfor plane and train- a buttercup purse. I've loved sewing many MadeByRae's buttercup purses. Busy sewing my CA Romance Dress (yes it's done! the posting will be out in a few days on my MeEncantaCoser blog), I haven't yet finished the purse strap, though I finished the rest of the sewing and embellishment on the trip.

Here's my detail showing a few of the buttercup purses I've made in the past, and more info about accessing the free pattern. I wrote this when I was prepping my bluebird buttercup purse http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/09/do-you-love-butter-in-praise-of.html

Here's something more about the vintage tatting I added to the finished purse http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/09/tit-fortatting-embellishing-my.html

Fashion Fabric Buying in London 

• http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/06/lovin-londons-liberty-fabric-shopping.html

http://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2012/05/fabric-shopping-in-london.html

Liberty's Tana Lawn
Poppy and Honesty on the left, Strawberry Thief, right

Historical Fashion Inspiration in London

Victoria and Albert (V&A )  

      Search the V&A Collection http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/t/the-collections/

      V&A organizes beautiful stuff by design styles http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/d/decorative-and-design-styles/

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/exhibitions/in-fine-style-the-art-of-tudor-and-stuart-fashion-QGBP

In a London Mood

• I like the book...Shopping, Seduction & Mr. Selfridge by Lindy Woodhead as much as I like the show "Mr. Selfridge" I've been watching on PBS 

• D.E. Stevenson is a classic British author who wrote traditional women's novels for about 30 years. If you're unused to old style class and racial label references however, you may be surprised by some of the attitudes that this author sometimes expressed so casually. Does it reflect attitudes among the power structure of the time? You bet it does.

• Other classic British Authors include: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton (modern)

Travel Thoughts

• Portobello Market in the Notthinghill area, is a popular shopping spot, especially on Saturday's when many small vendors have booths. On many other days you can still buy good produce there

• We've rented flats short-term in London on several trips, usually for a week through A Place Like Home http://www.aplacelikehome.co.uk
• Contours Walking Holidays setup our walking trip along the coast in Cornwall . They make reservations at B&B's, arrange for our luggage to be sent from place to the next, and gave us directions and an itinerary. We did the walking and self-guiding. http://www.contours.co.uk/walking-holidays/south-west.php We used another agency Mickledore two years ago when we walked for three days along Hadrian's Wall and were very happy with them. Mickledore doesn't do trips in Cornwall however. http://www.mickledore.co.uk/walking-holidays/hadrians_wall?gclid=CIDjsZ2k77cCFSeCQgodV3YAyA