some questions about colors...

[fancymess]

So, now that I'm starting to complete things on my sewing to-do list, so that means that it's time to start planning new projects and fill it up again!

Are darker colors ever acceptable for a younger lady (I'm in my early 20s)? Because with my complexion I really prefer the way I look in deep colors like navy blue, hunter green, burgundy, even black. I've done some initial research, and I've seen some extant examples in bold colors, but I'm still not sure because I'm positive that I read somewhere that white and pastel colors were more common (or at least more fashionable) for younger women. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that point. I won't take offense, it's all in the name of learning new things.

In case anyone was wondering, I'm currently thinking of using S&S's crossover gown pattern, but nothing is decided at this point.

[Anna]

I recently saw pictures of a black maternity dress which was apparently constructed in the 1790s and stayed in use until the 1820s or so. It may have been a mourning dress the first time 'round, but I doubt the lady/ladies who were wearing it were in mourning the whole time. I've also seen portraits of young women in jewel-tone dresses. Light colours were in vogue, but they were also less practical than darker colors.

Fashion then was as fashion now - if you didn't want to play by the specific rules, you didn't. Further, in the modern setting, you don't have to follow any rules you don't have to. I would rather see someone using a period-feasable but character-incorrect color than not sewing because the period just doesn't look good on her.

[Anna]

Here's some examples:
A little after our period, but that's fine: tidenstoej.natmus.dk/periode1/dragt.asp?ID=11
www.marquise.de/en/1800/arte/a181x_3.shtml
www.marquise.de/en/1800/arte/a181x_4.shtml
www.marquise.de/en/1800/arte/a1816_2.shtml

[lastbloom]

It is my understanding that young, unmarried ladies typically wore paler colors. Most of the extant gowns I've seen are usually light colored fabrics, especially in earlier periods. In a candle-lit room, it is easy to blend into the background in a dark color! That being said, married women were allowed a wider range of colors and more trimmings and jewelry. Plates in later periods also show more color than you see during the early regency. Being married now myself, my most recent gown was a later-period deep crimson taffeta with black beading and black velvet trim, topped with a black velvet turban. There is a good section on the difference between appropriate dress for young ladies and for married ladies in The Mirror of Graces (1811) which is available on amazon: www.amazon.com/Regency-Etiquette-Mirror-Graces-1811/dp/0914046241

All that being said, my first gown was deep blue, and I was only 21 and unmarried...so I say do what you want! If anyone nags you, whap them with your fan

[libertybelle78]

Hear hear - good suggestion! I was just looking at that same book today. It helped me make the decision as to which stays to make. I am in the *grande* sizes, and the book mentioned that long stays are most beneficial to those of us with more to love.

Besides being helpful, it is thoroughly entertaining. Here is the link to the full book on Google Books.

books.google.com/books?id=5CkwAAAAYAAJ&dq=mirror%20graces&as_brr=1&pg=PP9#v=onepage&q&f=false

~Christy

[Anna]

Thank you! I've been pondering purchasing the Mirror of Graces, but having it on google books is just about perfect.

[bvssmith]

Hello,

Since you all have been talking about period correct colors, I thought I would chime in with a question of my own. I just recently made a custom regency dress for a customer. She had it made in a gorgeous coral duchess satin. In the Gwenyth Paltro "Emma", she wears a coral similar to the coral dress I made. But, I'm wondering if women wore such bright colors back then. Could someone shed some light on this? Here is the link to the dress:

www.etsy.com/listing/56829685/reserved-for-songinmyheart-custom-coral?ref=sr_gallery_14&ga_search_query=regency+dress&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes[0]=tags&includes[1]=title

Brittany

[dawnluckham]

Yes, colour is appropriate.

Very generally speaking, strong colour was best suited to a married or older woman. Pastels and pale colours were considered proper for a young or unmarried woman (though it was said every woman could wear white). Be sure to consider what colours can be achieved by natural dye methods. Chemical dyes were not yet in use. Your coral colour would have been possible with a natural dye.








She is probably NOT in “mourning”.



www.vintagetextile.com/new_page_736.htm

www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M982.20.1?Lang=1&accessnumber=M982.20.1

www.osv.org/explore_learn/collection_viewer.php?N=26.33.132

www.osv.org/explore_learn/collection_viewer.php?N=26.33.166a-d

[Mme de Beaufort]

Colours aside... what I find particularly compelling about this plate is how short and spiky the lady's hair is.

[Izodiea]

I remember from one of my fashion history classes that spiky short hair like that was a Greek revival style. It was names after a general or emperor, but I can't remember. Name started with an A?

[Goblin, esq.]

Sept 28, 2010 12:07:39 GMT -5 Izodiea said:

I remember from one of my fashion history classes that spiky short hair like that was a Greek revival style. It was names after a general or emperor, but I can't remember. Name started with an A?

I've seen it referred to as a la Titus or a la Brutus. (Although one of those might have been a man's hairstyle, I'm not sure.) Also I am too lazy to hunt up the correct accent for the "a" on a Windows machine.

...well, look, it even says a la Titus on the plate.

[artemisiajolie]

I found her hair quite intriguiging too. I knew short was in, but my goodness! that was short!

[lastbloom]

That short spiky crop shown in the fashion plate was also sometimes called "Coiffure a la Victime" -- it was a hairstyle sometimes worn by the fashion risk-takers just after the Terror in France. It was supposed to imitate the roughly shorn hair of a woman about to go to the guillotine for execution. Here's a reference to it in a wiki article on another morbidly fascinating subject: Victims' Balls:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bals_des_victimes

[Anna]

Hair a la Titus is terribly convenient for me - I just have to fluff out my faux hawk and I'm good enough. Or oil it forward and I'm a gentleman.

[lastbloom]

I have to admit I've taken advantage of this style, too, when my hair was very short. It's much more fun to call it a cutting edge period hairstyle than it would be to shove a cap over it!

[Mme de Beaufort]

Sept 29, 2010 20:19:10 GMT -5 Anna said:

Hair a la Titus is terribly convenient for me - I just have to fluff out my faux hawk and I'm good enough. Or oil it forward and I'm a gentleman.

I thought your costume and hair were pretty extraordinary.

I feel a bit guilty, being the Allseeing RSA and all, and hijacking a thread and turning it wholly off-topic. What example am I setting? Shame on me. ::smirk:: Moderators, feel free to boot me.

[artemisiajolie]

I feel a bit guilty, being the Allseeing RSA and all, and hijacking a thread and turning it wholly off-topic. What example am I setting? Shame on me. ::smirk:: Moderators, feel free to boot me.

Eh, what's the point of being a dictator if you can't get ever so slightly off topic?
But back to color, I found the combo of peach dress and lavander robe to be interesting. It's not something I would think to put together at all.

[lastbloom]

I agree...it is not something I think is especially attractive, but it makes sense in terms of the "color wheel" with purple/blue and orange/yellow being opposite. I tend to avoid wearing things with such contrast because it makes me feel as though my clothes are wearing ME!

I am curious about the color accuracy on the plates. I read somewhere that plates were sometimes colored by people (cottage industry, maybe? I can't remember!) with little or no regard for the descriptions of the garment, and that sometimes the same plate would have several wildly different color variations. I wish I could remember where I read this -- can anyone clarify?

Here's what turned up in a hasty google search, but this isn't where I first read this (and it is out of period, so I don't know if this was an issue only in the Victorian period?):

www.antiques-art-collectibles.com/collectible/fashion/victorian_fashion_plates.html



"The quality of engraved plates varies considerably. Because of the large numbers produced, the printing plates became very worn, and the impressions towards the end of the run are not so sharp. All the colouring was done by hand, often as a cottage industry. Sometimes the original watercolours turn up, and they are much fresher and sharper."

[dawnluckham]

Interesting that you see the dress on the fashion plate as peach and lavender. I see it as gold and lavender. --- Still not something I’d naturally put together but colour combinations is something we’re “taught” by the modern fashion industry. (Horrors!)

It’s true! They’ve chosen what colours we will find appealing 5 years in advance and then they work toward that, introducing it to us in small amounts. They dictate everything from the colour of your car to your living room sofa to your sweater. Scary – isn’t it?

Yes, it’s absolutely true that the fashion plates were coloured by a cottage industry and it’s possible to find two of the same fashion plate with different colours. Still, we also have written documentation of colours, so there is another record.

And further on the topic of coloured gowns – I recently saw a wonderful silk gauze gown in a museum collection. The gauze was a dark maroon or claret colour with brilliant (and I do mean brilliant) yellow silk trim. It was really striking!

[Eleanor]

It looks gold to me, as well. What is the lavender garment called?