February Fashion Friday

This month's fashion Friday post is by Victorian Society member Marian Gibbard.
Enjoy

The Victorian Society of Alberta

Antique-Gown

Perhaps you want to find a new item for your collection of vintage clothing or maybe you just wish to browse and explore the details of mostly Victorian clothing and accessories.  If so, it is absolutely worth spending some time exploring the Antique-Gown website 

https://www.antique-gown.com/en/

The site’s home page is deceptively modest but a quick glance at the New Listings will start to hint at the quality content within.  On the day I visited, there were more than 30 new items added in the past few weeks, and many, many older items. If you prefer to browse by item type, simply click the appropriate tab at the top of the page, and then follow through the sub menus on the left side of the category page.  

The majority of pieces are women’s clothing, but there are also men’s and children’s garments and a smattering of accessories. 

The real fun begins once you have found an item you would like to see up close. Clothing items generally include a date attribution, a general identification, the country of origin of the item if known, and photos of the whole object.  What really makes this site stand out to me, though, are the detailed descriptions and the variety and quality of the numerous close-up photos that are included. Invaluable for those people wishing to construct their own period appropriate garments, the high quality, crisp images of construction details, fabrics, and trims allow for an almost in-person inspection experience.  The photos on this site easily rival or exceed the quality of images on various museum sites, and in most cases showcase many more of the small details that are so important for fully understanding historical objects.

 

Here is an example of the quality of images included on this site from the first link below:

Non-clothing item entries tend to be somewhat shorter, and for some of the more obscure items the description is not available in English, but the quality of the photos and level of detail shown is still impressive. There are also quite a few uncommon but fascinating objects, ranging from graphoscopes to mannequins.

The next time you have some leisure hours to fill, why not browse Antique-Gown? It will definitely be both enjoyable and educational.

Here’s some links to some of my favourite items on the site

Winter Coat, ca. 1908
https://www.antique-gown.com/en/1900-1919/winter-coat-ca-1908.html

(So much passementerie work!) 

Winter Sleigh Ensemble, America, ca. 1880
https://www.antique-gown.com/en/early/winter-sleigh-ensemble-america-ca-1880.html
(So warm and cozy looking!)

 Dressing Gown, ca. 1865
https://www.antique-gown.com/en/men-s-clothing/man-s-dressing-gown,-ca-1865.html

(Sad that these are no longer in style)

Hat Pin Pillow ca. 1900-1905

https://www.antique-gown.com/en/hat-pins/gold-sequin-embroidery-cloche,-1920s-2.html

(Inspired to make one similar to this)

Handbags/Bags

https://www.antique-gown.com/en/bags.html

(How can you choose just one?)

 Graphoscope, ca. 1890

https://www.antique-gown.com/en/graphoscopes/graphoscope,-ca-1890.html

(Didn’t know what these were, but now I want one)