The evolution of women's fashion听proceeds听as听changes occur听in human history. As people听take in the information around them they change their tastes on everything. That includes how they听define beauty. For me as a Fine Art student who is attracted by the changing definition of beauty, I am interested in how听evolving听concepts of beauty听influence people's outfits. In addition, because outfits change that means what a woman has to wear under her fancy dresses is also going to change.听
What I really want to听explore is听in what order a听woman in the 20th century wears听her garments. I am unable to find any reference image or photo in our collection that can inform me how exactly a woman wears her dress but I听did find some wedding photos and听wedding dresses that belong to the听. Wedding dresses as a important part of fashion听are also able to reflect the tastes of the era. Thus I think I may be able to听find some clues from the actual wedding dresses that belonged to , daughter of 听补苍诲 .
This donation听contains different pieces of Rosa's听wedding gown which gives me the chance to identify each of their functions,听how they should听be worn and when can they be put on the bride. My final results after I have done听much research and drawing studies is this series of drawings that shows my best听guess听for what steps a听bride takes to wear her wedding gown.
ENVELOPE CHEMISE
This is the very first step a bride has to take and it is called听the envelope chemise. It is just like the brassiere a modern woman wears before they put their other clothes on.听However, the difference is that the envelope chemise is more lose like nightwear. In order to prove my idea I have听found a YouTube听video 听补苍诲听it听shows that envelope chemises can be worn as听nightclothes听补苍诲听the flexibility of the fabric听makes it comfortable.
厂罢翱颁碍滨狈骋厂听
Stockings听are the second piece of clothing a bride puts on herself. Due to the fact that women in the early 20th centuries still wore corsets to听shape their body, it is important for them to put on the stockings before they lose the freedom of being able to bend. Usually, there should be at least a ribbon to tie the stockings听or suspender clips on the听sides听in case it creeps down. However, the photo shows no听evidence of the clips on the stocking. Thus, I would assume that Rosa used ribbon instead.
听
PETTICOAT听
After the stockings it is time to put on听the petticoat. This is the first layer of skirt a bride puts on herself听which is also called the underskirt.听According to the , in the history of fashion evolution,听a petticoat听was used as听padding to听increase the fullness of women's skirts. However, after the crinoline had been developed the petticoat lost some people's favour because it is less comfortable than the crinoline.听In the 20th century, women can make their own decision on whether听to wear a crinoline, a petticoat, or none at all.
听
CORSET听
This is the corset, one of the most听symbolic听pieces of clothing that听identifies the听difference听of听the taste of beauty听between
modern and old-fashioned. The corset I drew here is a little bit different from听my reference听image provided on page 88-89 of 听because the stocking Rosa wore did not have suspender clips. Thus, it is possible that the corset she wore is different from the modern design. The听corset laces that control the tightness of the garment听are located on the back of the corset which is similar to the 18th century's design.
听
BRASSIERE听
This is the early 20th century design of a brassiere. The only difference I can听find is the corset boning inside this brassiere. This brassiere shares some听similarities听with the corset and it covers only 1/3 of a person's upper body. In my estimation,听a person may decide to wear either a brassiere, a corset or both.
听
TRAIN听
This is the train of the wedding dress which is also the 2nd layer of听skirts a bride may wear. The length of the train dictates the trains name. According to the length of this dress it can be either a听.
听
CORSET COVER听
This is the corset cover which can be worn听above the brassiere. Different than the brassiere, a corset cover is more loose fitting听补苍诲 it does not contain听any boning inside. In Jennifer Rosbrugh's听blog article she explains that, just like its name,听the听function of the听corset cover听is to听smooth out听the lines of the corset underneath it.
听
FINAL LAYER
This is the final layer of听skirts a bride may wear. Unfortunately I听cannot find an听appropriate听name听for this layer and so its function is unidentified. However,听the reason why I believe this piece of clothing is the final layer of Rosa's wedding gown is based on two reasons. First, is its听adjustable waist. There are two layers of dresses underneath this layer. Thus, the waist is not fixed it听is wide enough听to cover up the petticoat and the train underneath it. Second,听the bottom of this piece is very delicate and decorative. If听this layer is worn underneath the train than its decorations听are going to be听blocked by the opaqueness听of the train.
听
Do you know the name of this layer of dress?听I听would love to hear from you if you do have the answer. Send an email to
Special Collection & Archives.听
听
听UNDERBODICE
This is the underbodice which works similarly to the corset cover. In the article听听Jennifer briefly explains its function which can be either to provide extra warmth or to work as the silhouette support. In this case it听works as the latter. 听
听
SHOES听
Here comes the bride's shoes. There is nothing really special about the order of when a bride should wear her shoes. However, one of the interesting things I discovered during听my research is that some brides may decide to听buy a pair of shoes that can be worn other than her听wedding date听due to economical considerations. Thus, some bridal shoes are not as decorative as other ones. This fact can be听tracked听in the book The Wedding Dress 300 years of Bridal Fashions听by Edwina Ehrman.
听
HAIRPIECE & VEIL听
There is not much I can听say about hairpieces and the veils. However, as you compare my drawings and the actual photo of Rosa听you can see the difference. Rosa's first wedding dates to听the year 1917. Thus, it is听reasonable to see听that the hairpiece she wears shows evidence of the early 1920s style. However,听it is difficult to identify exactly the style of the hairpiece Rosa is wearing. I would say听the details of its听design听are听in听accord with the description of the Juliet Cap that is听described in the article听1920s 鈥� a Head for Fashion (As of 2021-06-07 this link is broken). The Juliet Cap is named after Juliet, heroine of William Shakespeare's classic听tragedy Romeo and Juliet. It is a type of mesh cap that has decorations of pearls or beads on the sides and听the veil associated with this type of cap is听cathedral length. The reason my drawing is different from the photo is because from the donation I cannot find the actual hairpiece that Rosa wore. However, the hairpieces I听found became my inspiration听for what if Rosa wore these instead. My drawing displays my imagination.听听
听
Additionally, the pattern of the hairpiece decorated with three butterflies, can be identified as the Kokoshnik pattern, which is a traditional听headdress pattern in Russian culture.
听
听
听
听
听
