Inspirational Art- Painter Vladimir Borovikovsky

As a maker of historical clothing and researcher I'm always looking at portraiture for inspiration and clues about dress construction. I came across this Russian artist and loved the detail in his paintings. I feel some new dresses in the pipeline!

You can read more about the artist here.

I hope she did not get paint on her beautiful shawl!



Detail of redingote, probably made in percale which was fashionable in this period. You can see similar examples in Costume Parisien



I love this sleeve detail. The dress is probably made of embroidered silk tulle or lace.

You can see here exactly how the sleeve is made on a band with two rows of piping at the top and edge. Also you can see clearly the use of a drawstring cord used on the edge of the bodice neckline to control the fullness and fitting.

Pelisse in the Museum of London and Fashion in Focus 1600-2009

Here is photo of the piped pelisse from the Museum of London website. You cannot use a flash in the museum its-self so I was pleased to find detailed photos on their database.

I saw a similar example of elaborate piping in a new book 'Fashion in Focus 1600-2009' by Grace Evans. It's a really interesting collection held in the Chertsey Museum. www.chertseymuseum.org.uk





Fashion in Focus 1600-2009: Treasures from the Olive Matthews Collection

More Museums!

Over the past few weekends I visited the Fashion Museum in Bath and the Museum of London. Both have very diverse and interesting collections.

I fell in love with this piped pelisse in the Museum of London!

Below are some photos from the Fashion Museum in Bath. I appreciate the difficulties of displaying historic fashion but I was quite surprised to see two silk dresses which were displayed full of creases. Surely this would be quite damaging to the garment?? 

In the wedding dress exhibition, the decorative flower headdresses and bouquets are bright white, whereas most of the dresses on display are ivory. The costume collection in Bath is really fantastic but sadly, on some occasions, it is let down by the presentation of the garments.