Sunday, 18 April 2010

A French Victorian mannequin, English farthingale & French peasant 'posh frock'













Today I bought this beautiful French Victorian-era mannequin c1860, it has been recovered about 1900, but still wonderful with its tiny waist; it gave me the chance to try out the English farthingale I bought a while ago from the same period, and it fitted perfectly. I also bought this quite crudely handmade cheap & cheerful French Victorian-era peasant skirt & bodice; it would have been a posh frock, most likely worn for Sunday best, humble costume like this rarely survives as it was worn & mended until it literally fell apart, then would be used or sold for rags. The mannequin will display costume beautifully in the Plethorium, our new unit in an antiques mal in Lewes.
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2 comments:

  1. mendofleur.com18 April 2010 at 19:02

    What a great mannequin! It will look great in your space and how are you doing with your newest venture??

    This outfit is lovely, but you said it was "humble." I guess we are lucky, those who can experience it now, that it survived and did not get used for rags.

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  2. Lois19 April 2010 at 00:45

    Its going well, thank you Phyllis, I will be taking the mannequin to the unit next weekend, hopefully.
    The outfit was really photogenic, strangely enouh, if you could see it in the flesh, you woulld see & feel what a poor quality fabric it is, and how it has been made, just cobbled together out of a minimal amount of fabric. The hem is really threadbare, but the only point of wear, which leads me to conclude that it was most likely only worn for Sunday best, but year after year!

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