Professor Severus Snape's Office - click on the photo to visit it

"Happy is (s)he who, like Ulysses, has travelled far...."



Apr 10, 2012

April’s Mannequin. Kwietniowy manekin.

I bought this mannequin from DH Emporium some time ago. And because of it’s strange shape, for a long time I had no idea what to do with it. The mannequin is quite short, the back of it is kind of ”leaning” forward (or backward;)) so it looks a bit like the mannequin’s got 2 busts and the “hips” are very wide comparing to the tiny waist.
Finally during Easter I figured out that if I want to have a dress on it, then it must be in Rococo’s style. I could choose between robe a’ la francaise( which has quite complicated back), robe a l’anglaise (which seems to be more simple) and robe – that’s name sounds familiar - a’ la polonaise. Well, it wasn’t a very hard choice.;)
Robe a la’polonaise’s main difference was an overskirt that have been specially cut in order to be able to form the three rounded "petals", worn over a short underskirt or petticoat. The three “petals” were supposed to refer to three invaders that were responsible for the partition of Polish country.
From the late nineteenth century, the term polonaise also described a fitted overdress which extended into long panels over the underskirt, but was not necessarily draped or swagged.
So here it is my vision of robe a’ la polonaise. All glued as usual. Hope you will like it!:)
.................................................................................................................................................................................................... Dosyć dawno temu kupiłam manekin z DH Emporium . W związku z jego dziwnym kształtem przez dłuższy czas nie bardzo wiedziałam co z nim zrobić. Manekin jest dosyć niski, plecy wyglądają tak, jakby z tyłu był drugi biust, a „biodra” są nieproporcjonalnie szerokie w stosunku do wąziutkiej talii. O dziwo w trakcie Świąt mnie olśniło i zaskoczyłam, że jeśli chcę mieć na nim kieckę, to musi ona być w stylu rokoko. Mogłam wybierać pomiędzy suknią francuską( która ma trochę trudne do zrobienia „plecy”), suknią angielską(dużo prostszą do zrobienia) lub poloneską. Wybór nie był trudny i oczywiście padło na poloneskę ze względu na nazwę związaną z naszym krajem.;) Ogon zewnętrznej spódnicy ułożony w 3 fałdy miał ponoć przypominać o 3 zaborcach, którzy napadli na Polskę. Moja wersja poloneski jest jak zwykle klejona w całości. Mam nadzieję, że się Wam spodoba!

39 comments:

17-17 said...

Widzę, że nie marnowałaś czasu w święta, ja podobnie:) nie ma to jak odpoczynek przy tworzeniu czegoś nowego. Zwłaszcza, gdy to nowe wychodzi tak urocze. Piękna rzecz i niepowtarzalna. Pozdrawiam:) Magda

The Old Maid said...

Serdeczne dzięki Magdo! No i nie mogę się doczekać aż pokażesz co wymyśliłaś w Święta!
Uściski

Maria Ireland said...

Your dress is beautiful. I love the fabric you used very pretty.
Hugs Maria

Ilona said...

Hi Ewa! How was your Easter weekend?
About the mannequin, at first I did not seen something strange. Then the next picture showed it: it is strange! But you have made a very nice dress on it. I like the robe à la Polonaise very much ;) Overhere in Holland the word polonaise has also an other meaning: a kind of dance on events :)
Hugs, Ilona

Drora's minimundo said...

It looks wonderful. You did a very thorough research. It's interesting to learn the history of fashion at that era.
Hugs

Rosamargarita said...

Es un vestido encantador!
Un abrazo

ANDA said...

Very nice dress! Interesting tradition!
greeting: ANDA

Ascension said...

Eva, una buena eleccion del vestido, porque queda genial en ese maniqui.
Me encantan los tonos que has elegido, se ve tan boniyo, enhorabuena.
besitos ascension

Plushpussycat said...

I love the beautiful lacy sleeves--nice work! Isn't it fun when we finally figure out the answer to a mini dilemma? I remember feeling that way when I built the parlor pump organ to cover my Dad's Dollhouse oversized doorway! ;-) Jennifer

The Old Maid said...

Thank you, Maria! I like it too!;)
Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Hahaha Ilona! Wish I could see this dance then I could tell you if it is Polish one! ;D Thank you so much! The weekend was good and I do hope yours was nice too!
Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Thank you very much, Drora! Yes, sometimes one can learn really interesting things learning of the history of fashion.:)
Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Muchas gracias Rosamargarita!
Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Thank you so much Anda! Happy you like them!
hugs

The Old Maid said...

Muchisimas gracias, Ascension! Happy you like the colours!:)
Hugs and kisses

The Old Maid said...

Thank you so much Minnie!

The Old Maid said...

Yup, it is! Specially when so long time passes!;D Thank you very much Jennifer! Happy you like the sleeves - it is still not easy for me to make them.:)
Hugs

BiWuBär said...

Ilona's comment gave me a broad grin... we know that "Polonaise"-Dance very well here in Germany, mostly because of an incredible dumb song called "Polonaise Blankenese" (rhymes in German)and because of carnival. Blaaaaarrrrg!!! You'd need a lot of alcohol to like something like that - and that's what it's all about: Queue up, touch the one standing before you on the shoulders and run/hop singing dumb songs through a party or show room. Just thinking of that gives me the shivers, so let's turn to something more delightful: Your mannequin! Superb glueing as always (LOL), you're the Queen of glue, incredible. And thank you for this very interesting background on that dress, it's always fascinating how many symbols etc. can be found when you have a closer look.

Greetings
Birgit

Daydreamer said...

Oh, I LOVE the gowns from the Eighteenth Century!!! Your Gown a la Polonaise is LOVELY! I especially love the rose-printed fabric! I think you chose just the right gown style to fit the oddly shaped mannequin! And your Glue technique is getting better and better! Lol! I will have to take some glue lessons because it does make invisible seams and hems!!!!

Alexandra said...

What a lovely Blog you have.
I put your link on my blog, so I can follow your posts.

The dress is beautyful.

♥Alexandra

The Old Maid said...

Hahaha Brigit!! Someone must be very very drunk to dance it then. LOL! Thank you for sharing this with me.:)
I am so happy you like the dress and the info.:)
Hugs and kisses

The Old Maid said...

Thank you, Betsy!!! You know, if I only could sew so beautifully like you do!:)No glue needed then!
Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Welcome Alexandra! Hope you will have fun here!
Happy you like the dress! Thank you!

CWPoppets said...

You found the perfect dress form for this mannequin. Looks lovely!

The Old Maid said...

Thanks a lot Christine!:)

*Mieke*Petitevictorianrose*and*PastTimeChildhood said...

Hi Ewa, what a beautiful dress you created, I like the colors you use, they are very pretty, Thank you for the background information, it is very interesting to get to know more about fashion :)

Hugs Mieke xxx

Fabiola said...

It's a wonderful dress. I like the fabric.
Bye Faby

The Old Maid said...

Thank you so much, Mieke! Happy you like them both!
Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Thank you Faby! Happy you like it!!
Hugs

Sans! said...

Love that dress and love the history that goes with it. 3 petals huh? Imagine wearing something as symbolic as that as a skirt. The rococo style suits me, especially the bottom. I may die from the suffocation at the waist and chest but at least my big bottom can breathe :).

The Old Maid said...

Big what??????? You are Crazy, dear Sans!!! I don't know what you are talking about?! LOL!
Happy you like the dress. Of course I wanted to share the story of this dress with my dear Followers.;D
Hope you are feeling at least a bit better, dear?

Eliana said...

You found a great solution for the unusual mannequin. The dress was gorgeous!
Hugs

The Old Maid said...

Thank you so much Eliana!:)
Hugs

CARMEN (Hadanet) said...

Precioso vestido!!!! Me encanta los colores elegidos!!!
Besitos.

The Old Maid said...

Muchisimas gracias Carmen!
Besitos!

Melli Hobby said...

The mannequin looks fantastic.
Your work is great.
Greetings
Melanie

The Old Maid said...

Thank you Melanie! Happy you like it!
Hugs

dalesdreams said...

Beautiful!!! Thanks for the sneak peek on facebook. :)

The Old Maid said...

Thank you so much Dale! Happy you like it!:)