Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Green silk dress, circa 1840s



I know nothing about the origins of this gown but I'm currently rather obsessed with it.  Both the wonderful iridescent green silk and the unusual, rather whimsical details are captivating.  It's also worth mentioning that part of the success of the thing is that the low sheen and supple thinness of the material are accommodating to the ruffled, gathered, ruched, and draw-strung detail; a heavier, shinier fabric would expand and coarsen those design elements, giving the gown rather the aspect of an overstuffed piece of furniture.




6 comments:

  1. I had the rare and extraordinary experience of hearing Alexandra Marc sing at Lincoln Center and she appeared in a gown that brought gasps from the audience. Beneath a purple coat, with giant ruche flowers at the top of the sleeves, she wore a gown of this color. She is a large woman and her appearance was both startling and magnificent.

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  2. Simple. Elegant. And that color. The stuff of dreams.

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    1. Simple, elegant - and very skillfully done; this could have gone wrong so easily. : )

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  3. Not sure if you'll see this but - this dress was part of Tasha Tudor's collection that was auctioned in 2007:

    https://www.augusta-auction.com/component/auctions/?view=lot&id=4680&auction_file_id=8

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    1. Oh, thank you so much for sharing this, Andrew! So many remarkable - beautiful - garments. : )

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