Thursday, April 23, 2009

Gallery of Edwardian Clothes

I found a gallery of beautiful Edwardian designs here: Edwardian Designs

1 comment:

Hels said...

What a little treasure trove, Viola. My eyes went in particular to two items:
a] Orientalism-style wool/satin coat attributed to Poiret, c1914. And
b] Orientalism-style beaded velvet/lamé evening coat, c1912.

Everyone says that when the Ballets Russes performed Scheherazade in Paris in 1910, a craze for Orientalism ensued. And that was probably true, especially since Paul Poiret was one of the first designers to translate the Orientalist taste into the fashion world. His clients pretended to be harem girls in flowing pantaloons and coloured turbans.

But would anyone have recognised an authentic Turkish or Algerian outfit if they saw one? Maybe western women just loved soft, flowing material. Or in a sea of creams and pastels, the rich colours stood out. In 1912-4, I certainly would have loved Orientalist outfits.

Hels