and speaking of collars

from the magnificent book "Dress in Detail" - man's wedding vest

Talk about workmanship!!! Wow is it humbling to peruse the book, “Dress In Detail”!! Many of those bands of color (e.g. the deep orange) are rows of teeny and uniform chain stitch.  The pale orange and salmon fuzzy rows near the bottom are couched chenille – a great idea, right?!! You can definitely see why the French word ‘chenille’ means ‘caterpillar’. And the top and roughly-middle black bands are applied black velvet, embellished with near see-through sequins and waving rows of seed beads – two more wonderful ideas.

I came across another men’s wedding vest here — All the Pretty Dresses – a website devoted to archiving garments from prior to 1929.  I especially love the brown ink signature in the lining.  Boro ragmates will appreciate the photo of the patched placket on the inside.

Perhaps this attention to finery is prompted in part by prom festivities last night.  It was quite a scene – five young couples gathered and at least 12 adults, quite a few stray siblings, with most of the onlookers taking pictures!  I felt like a member of the paparazzi. I won’t insert the more traditional scrapbooking shots here, but you have to admire this collection of shoes:

And, you can’t help but smile at this one:

7 thoughts on “and speaking of collars

  1. deedeemallon

    it is on my Amazon wish list… Re: the boys – they are moving slowly today!!!

    Reply
  2. ali

    aw, so sweet, those boys! And good luck dancing in those shoes, girls. Yikes! The collar is stunning, and yes, so many ideas. I’d love to go back in time and have a conversation with its creator–so many stories, I’m sure.

    Reply
  3. deedeemallon

    I have a feeling the shoes were kicked off pretty soon after arrival… And about going back in time, wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall and watch the stitching happening?! And, also, to see the wedding vest worn during its occasion, and to watch how it was carefully put away and saved… for almost two hundred years!! It really gets you thinking, as you note, ali!

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