They Don't Make 'em Like This

[Patti Feinberg]

Was reading some old posts...thanks Luciaphil for having me look for 'Worth dresses' (had never heard of them).

Anyway...went on to another site:

http://www.mfa.org/artemis/fullrecord.asp?oid=49614&did=800

This sure doesn't look like Josette's or Angelique's wedding dresses!!

Patti

[Happybat]

Patti,

With respect to costume on DS, one odd thing about the original 1795 storyline stands out: many of the fashions seemed to be a few years ahead of their time!

I have always been fascinated by the history of fashion and know that for women, 1795 was a very transitional period from the tight-laced gowns we think of as typical of the 18th century and the high-waisted, flowing gowns of the Regency era.  This is why I am always surprised to see so many of the younger actresses already wearing Regency period gowns.  Considering the fact that Collinwood is in Maine and no where near fashion capitals such as Paris and London, these ladies show a sense of fashion that is a bit too "au courant" to be believed!

However, Naomi's 18th century frock is entirely believable on a mature woman of that era as are the gowns and curly hairstyle (fashionable in the 1780s and early 90s) worn by the Countess Du Pres.  But - where have all the wigs gone?  I would expect at least Joshua to be either earing a wig or to have a little ponytail.  Older men often wore their wigs well into the 19th century.  Or maybe the Collins family were too Puritanical to put up with such fripperies?

My vote for most accurately costumed DS storyline goes to the 1840 and 1841 ones.  For a daytime soap, they really do an excellent job here, especially with the male fashions and hair.

Looks like you touched upon a favorite subject of mine, Patti!

[onyx_treasure]

     Happybat,  I am so glad you posted this info.  I was just watching the 1795 episodes.  I saw the younger women wearing the high-waisted dresses and I remember watching something on PBS that was a show set in a later time period and the women wore the same high-waisted styles.  What styles would have been worn?  Should the ladies have been wearing caps indoors(like Sarah's)?

[Raineypark]

I suspect part of the reason the Regency style dresses were used was the fact that Empire-waist style dresses had suddenly become all the rage in real life.

I'm not a Fashion student so I can't comment on which designer fired the first shot....but I do recall that dresses with waists at the actual waist became fashion faux pas almost overnight.

[Happybat]

You may be right, Raineypark. I could have sworn that I've seen examples of fashionable dress of the period that still had a lower waistline, but now I don't seem to find it.  But this is a fun question to research!

If you want to see examples of 1795 fashions, have a look at these links:

http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/rd/rd2.html

http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/heid/ND2-1795.html

Here is, among others, an example of the "pouter pigeon" look which I believe was fashionable in the early years of the decade.  Note also how the waistlines seem a bit lower than later fashions.

http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/heid/ND1-1795.html

All in all, I would say that DS did a decent job of costuming this storyline, although I still feel the fashions are more reminiscent of the early 1800s than of the mid 1790s.

See this for post 1800 fashions:

http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/jd.html

Fun discussion!

[Miss_Winthrop]

A good source of information regarding fashion during the Regency period is Republic of Pemberly: Life & Times of Jane Austen web-site.  She lived from 1775 until 1817. Empire waste dresses were popular in the late 1700s as I recall.
A good source of information regarding manly scents that would have been available to Barnabas, Joshua & Jeremiah had they so chosen, was Caswell & Massey, an apothecary that's been in existence since 1752 and located in Newport, RI.  I believe that Washington wore a scent from Caswell & Massey to his inauguration in 1793. I can imagine that the wealthy, younger Collins men could have used scents since they appeared to be rather modern and fashionable as opposed to Joshua who seemed to dress in a more subdued manner.

[onyx_treasure]

     Thank you, Happybat.  I loved those links and getting to see the hats was a great bonus.  Were these the fashions in Europe and America?
     The hats with the feathers were so funny.  I loved the scene when Natalie comes in with all the feathers and Barnabas is trying to avoid getting smacked with them.  The fashions in that link were oh so Natalie.  Thanks again for posting them.

[Happybat]

A good source of information regarding manly scents that would have been available to Barnabas, Joshua & Jeremiah had they so chosen, was Caswell & Massey, an apothecary that's been in existence since 1752 and located in Newport, RI.  I believe that Washington wore a scent from Caswell & Massey to his inauguration in 1793. I can imagine that the wealthy, younger Collins men could have used scents since they appeared to be rather modern and fashionable as opposed to Joshua who seemed to dress in a more subdued manner.

Scents - now that is another very interesting topic, Miss Winthrop.  Back in the days when people bathed more infrequently or even rarely, sweet scents from perfumers such as C&M must have been necessary! I wonder what kind of scents younger gents such as Barnabas would have used and if there were scent fashions changing over the years?  There must be a book about that somewhere.  Thanks for the information on C&M; I never realized that they have been in existence quite that long.  I love their soaps and toilet water!