Comments on Inkwell Inspirations: Dressing Mr. Darcy: Regency Fashion, Live and In P...

Hello, Kathy! I'm so glad you enjoyed the post...

2012-01-12T16:23:33.928-05:00

Hello, Kathy! I'm so glad you enjoyed the post. Hopefully similar exhibits will visit both of our hometowns, soon.

I'd be interested in reading your story. The skill shown by dressmakers, milliners, etc fascinates me.

Looking forward to your Tuesday visits!

Hi Jill! I hope you had a great birthday. I stoppe...

2012-01-12T16:21:23.611-05:00

Hi Jill! I hope you had a great birthday. I stopped by your blog--what a party!

I wish you could've come along to the museum, too. One of these days...

Thanks for a lovely post! I enjoyed seeing the ph...

2012-01-12T12:00:33.245-05:00

Thanks for a lovely post! I enjoyed seeing the photographs. I wish I could have toured the museum with you, also.

I am writing a story with a pair of sisters who are dressmakers as main characters, set in 1880 England. It is fascinating to research the details of what they did. I am going to have to be a frequent flyer here on HIstory Tuesday!

Susie girl, Awesome post. Caught it just before he...

2012-01-10T23:06:33.032-05:00

Susie girl,
Awesome post. Caught it just before heading off to bed. I wish I could have toured the museum with you. What fun!
If you Inkies get a chance come on over and play at my blog tomorrow. I'm celebrating my birthday and doing a give away. Miss you all.
Hugs,
Jill

Hi DeAnna! It is gorgeous, isn't it? I would l...

2012-01-10T16:43:16.336-05:00

Hi DeAnna! It is gorgeous, isn't it? I would love to wear one of those gowns just for a while. Preferably at a ball after I've taken dancing lessons. Sigh.

Why Suzie, I think I will bring that little purse ...

2012-01-10T16:42:22.154-05:00

Why Suzie, I think I will bring that little purse along!

It's not always easy to find hankies anymore. I looked for some for my fil and it wasn't the snap I thought it'd be.

Susie, you could use your cute little purse at the...

2012-01-10T14:47:24.543-05:00

Susie, you could use your cute little purse at the conference awards ceremony.

I never did get that handkerchief thing. I am so thankful for Kleenex!

Oh, that's gorgeous! And fascinating. Love t...

2012-01-10T14:41:30.827-05:00

Oh, that's gorgeous! And fascinating.

Love the embroidery, too!

I found a little bit of info on Wikipedia about me...

2012-01-10T13:33:22.364-05:00

I found a little bit of info on Wikipedia about metallic embroidery, Anita. It looks like goldwork has been traced to Asia, as far back as 2000 years ago.

According to the write-up on Opus Anglicanum, or English work, pieces embellished with metallic embroidery go back at least to Anglo-Saxon days--made as early as the year 909!

Astonishing. Absolutely astonishing! I still don't know how they did it. It must have taken a long, long time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Anglicanum

Thanks for the info on hankies, Lisa! I'd hear...

2012-01-10T13:24:55.908-05:00

Thanks for the info on hankies, Lisa! I'd heard that about hankies, but not definitively. Of course, a well-born lady's hanky was probably a work of art unto itself, lace-trimmed and snowy white. Who would mind if it peeked out from the sleeve?

I confess I'm somewhat envious of the upper-classes in that their clothes were all perfectly tailored, just for them. Well-turned coats, indeed. The lower classes didn't have the luxury of tailoring. And clothes were so valuable, it wasn't unheard of to strip clothes off the dead and don them at once.

Great question about the silver thread, Anita. I b...

2012-01-10T13:20:41.066-05:00

Great question about the silver thread, Anita. I believe a thin strip of metal (perhaps more like a wire?) is wound around a silk or cotton thread. I cannot imagine the labor involved in this process, but it hits home how valuable cloth-of-gold must have been, and how amazing it was that Rumpelstiltskin (of fairy tale fame) spun straw into gold thread.

I don't know exact dates, but metallic embroidery goes back farther than medieval times. I believe English clergy of old were envied throughout Europe for their gold and silver-embroidered vestments.

Hmm, going to have to do more research!

Dina, I'd be delighted if empire waists came b...

2012-01-10T13:12:52.570-05:00

Dina, I'd be delighted if empire waists came back in vogue. What a forgiving, comfortable and pretty style.

Although women wore sheer muslins, too, and it sounds as if the effect could sometimes be risque. Jane Austen wrote of a woman who was "expensively and nakedly dressed."

Gotta love Jane.

Deb, I'm so impressed by the engineering side ...

2012-01-10T13:10:02.989-05:00

Deb, I'm so impressed by the engineering side of crafting clothing. I am not gifted in this way: I have a hard time visualizing what a bolt of fabric could become. I am a much better copycat.

Interesting note about the size of the gowns. Everything I saw--male and female--was fairly trim, with the lone exception of a waistcoat.

I wish I could remember the details of it, but I just can't, probably because it wasn't Regency. And as I mentioned, there were no details as to who could've worn the ensemble or item, how well it represented a social class, etc. While I took some notes during my visit, I was mindful that my kids were not as enthused as I, and that there was a display of fetish boots I wanted them to avoid. :) I didn't buy the catalog, either, because it was so expensive.

I love costume, Deb. Speaking of...how did you enjoy Downton Abbey?

Sorry to be so late this morning. Ack! Suzie, isn...

2012-01-10T13:00:39.505-05:00

Sorry to be so late this morning. Ack!

Suzie, isn't that train gorgeous? I wonder what it would be like to wear something like that.

I have 2 tiny purses for fancy evenings. As you can imagine, they get used every few years or so. I bought one for my high school reunion. They're big enough for car keys, lipstick, kleenex. And my license. Can't fit a wallet in there.

I've got no insight on the whole issue of reti...

2012-01-10T10:30:37.904-05:00

I've got no insight on the whole issue of reticules. Although I will say ladies, typically tucked their hankies in their sleeves. No need for it to take up room in that tiny little pocket.

I do love fashion history. Thanks for sharing your pictures. Thinking of the man hours that went into making "fancy" clothes, it's no wonder there were such visible class distinctions. And people could so easily identify a "well-cut" coat.

I really enjoyed your post, Susie. And yes, that e...

2012-01-10T09:52:04.704-05:00

I really enjoyed your post, Susie. And yes, that embroidery would have taken days with a team of workers.

Silver threads? Without today's technology, how did they make thread from a mineral?

The novella project I'm working on is generational and I have the first story set in 1908. This is the first time I'm writing in the Edwardian period and I quite like it. But then, I love research.

Anita.

When I chose the setting for my new book anytime b...

2012-01-10T08:28:30.588-05:00

When I chose the setting for my new book anytime between 1817 and 1830 would have worked, but I picked 1817 because I love the Regency fashion and wanted to be in the thick of it. In addition to it being so pretty, it was much kinder to the female body. They weren't stuffing themselves into dangerous corsets and wearing big flammable skits while stuck in hoops. I think I could have been happy in Regency clothes, other than the pattens. I hate hard, heavy shoes, so my heroine protests them as well. She's a bit of a hoyden and would rather be in her bare feet anyway.

I have a few reticules myself. I think I used one ...

2012-01-10T08:02:38.777-05:00

I have a few reticules myself. I think I used one or two during prom or party times.
Chapstick, kleenex... that might be it.

Though it's out of historical setting, I think a lot of people who haven't been into historicals before have come to love Downton Abbey and there is a huge interest in Edwardian era clothing. With Titanic's anniversary this year, I expect to see a surge in this.

I've been studying a lot about clothing (again) (still), especially as my current heroine is a seamstress/dressmaker, and it's always been a fascination for me. I used to make doll clothes, costumes, and do a lot of sewing. I love the 'engineering' side of creating something and knowing how it's going to fit together and then the details that make it special.

Thanks for posting your photos, Susie. I would love to see these dresses in person. Have you noticed how most antique dresses are tiny? But we know some of the older women were not tiny. I have to figure out a theory for that.

I would never be able to fit all my "stuff&qu...

2012-01-10T07:12:17.182-05:00

I would never be able to fit all my "stuff" in that reticule. The gift shop at my hospital sells reticules. They're so adorable. They have the cutest one in denim and pearls.

That train! Oh, my, it's gorgeous!

Fun post, Susie.