Sunday, July 10, 2011

Yay or Nay? Alicia Maria Countess of Egremont

Despite some comparisons to wallpaper, das Baron Thure Leonard Klinckowström managed to come out with a Yay for his handsome blue coat.  Speaking of interior decorating elements, I have a great selection for this week!


Arthur Devis paints Alicia Maria Carpenter (1745) in gold trim and ruched ivory silk.  Yay or Nay?

[The California Palace of the Legion of Honor]

26 comments:

  1. PatriciaJuly 10, 2011 at 12:14 AM

    As a seamstress, I have to say Yay, just for the amount of work and fabric it must have taken to make this. Plus, silver and gold always go together.

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  2. NeassaJuly 10, 2011 at 1:19 AM

    I say Yea. She knows she looks astonishingly expensive, and she's good with that. She also looks like she has the poise to move in that thing and not mow down everything around her. And it's true, gold and silver go together.

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  3. Pechorin de VeuvrayJuly 10, 2011 at 2:07 AM

    Nay indubitably! Having to turn sideways to enter a room, or walk through a door is as ridiculous as the amount of ruching on her dress. Is she an apiarist lost in her apiary, or is she simply wearing a theater curtain that she bought after an estate sale?

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  4. AnonymousJuly 10, 2011 at 2:34 AM

    Yay, for the striking gold embellishments.

    ~Lylassandra

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  5. ...A...July 10, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    I know it's the fashion of her time.
    I know she wants and to a certain extent has to show off with gold and silver fabrics (at some courts only reserved for those of royal blood).
    I even realise it's not as solid as it seems (the fable of having to turn is not completely true).
    And still... I'm too much reminded of those ghastly porcelain figurines with the gilded accents. This kind of gown, it was done before her and it was done better.
    It's a nay from me...

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  6. FayJuly 10, 2011 at 8:42 AM

    im sure at the time she didnt realise that she would become one of karl Lagerfelds curtains ! but sadly I dont think its very pretty ! sorry fay

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  7. OzorsanJuly 10, 2011 at 8:48 AM

    It looks like someone shoved her into a clothes press (without properly arranging her skirts) and then propped her up again. Awful, Nay.

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  8. cherylynnJuly 10, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    I'm sure that dress was considered lovely for it's time---and I can even appreciate that it is an exquisite version of that particular style but my fickle contemporary mind cannot react to panniers with anything other than a "WTF???" I'm curious to know which fashion visionary back then thought that would be an attractive look. Sheeesh. But, I don't like to be negative two weeks in a row and I'm sure Alicia thought she was in the first stare of fashion when she posed for this, so I'll give her a Yay.

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  9. Aurora rabyJuly 10, 2011 at 10:15 AM

    I have to say yay! The frock is spectacular especially seen at this unusual angle. But how difficult to manouvre in it must have been.
    Colours are excellent too !

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  10. AnonymousJuly 10, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    Ooooh, a yay indeed! The shimmery ruched silk with the sparkling gold is lovely and elegant, and she looks at complete ease in the Grand Pannier. I know some folk find the fashion ridiculous; but it's the height of 1740s fashion.

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  11. Retro BlogJuly 10, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    One of the prettiest kleenex-stuck-in-chicken-wire parade floats I have ever seen. I assume one does NOT sit down in such an ensemble thus a Nay vote.

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  12. nightsmusicJuly 10, 2011 at 12:11 PM

    Take the panniers out, it would be a huge yay for me because I love the colors, fabric, ruching, all of it. But the panniers kill it for me. I've never liked them and I'd probably have been stuck in a small room until that fashion passed so as not to be an embarrassment by refusing to wear them.

    So, you get a 50% yay and 50% nay from me on this one.

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  13. Olympe de la Tour D'AuvergneJuly 10, 2011 at 2:21 PM

    For the difficulty of arranging all of that ruching to look even and pretty, I give the seamstress a yay. For the poise to wear it well and not overdo the trim, I give the wearer a yay also.

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  14. RoseQuartz54July 10, 2011 at 4:40 PM

    The shape of her skirt look sort of silly, but I have to give it a "yea" for all that wonderful gold detailing.
    :)
    -Rose

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  15. MmeHistoireJuly 10, 2011 at 5:53 PM

    Yikes! Looks like she could cover all four french doors in my living room!!! Nay!!

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  16. KatieJuly 10, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    I'm going to say "yay!" just for the paniers. That's the biggest paniers I've ever seen.

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  17. RebeccaJuly 10, 2011 at 10:15 PM

    Nay. That's way too much gold for my taste

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  18. CassieJuly 11, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    I don't mind panniers (I blushingly admit to liking them, much of the time), but the ruching is just too much.

    Whoever said Karl Lagerfeld's curtains is right!

    I half expect her to turn and, Carol Burnett style, reveal the curtain rod is still attached. I mean, even for her day, she had to have borne a striking resemblance to the drapes.

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  19. CassieJuly 11, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    Um, this was probably obvious, but that would be a, "Nay."

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  20. OliviaJuly 11, 2011 at 9:58 PM

    Nay, It's just too flat and even though it's all ruched, it feels like it's missing something significant.

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  21. CarameaJuly 12, 2011 at 2:05 AM

    Definitely YAY! Those bold colors suit her really well, and the dress must have taken a whole lot of fabric and work to do. As a result, it looks luxurious! The simple hairdo goes very well with that dress, too, because it makes the whole outfit seem fresh and "simple". Not so full of... everything. :D

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  22. everchanging erinJuly 12, 2011 at 2:23 AM

    This would have prompted the first version of "I like big panniers and I cannot lie" Makes one wonder, what is she working with under that thing! It is big! Plus side, you could sneak someone in and out with no notice :) So, yay for me!

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  23. hierogothicJuly 12, 2011 at 9:39 PM

    Roman shades should adorn windows, not women....NAY!

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  24. janicebJuly 16, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    Nay- she looks a tiny bit hippy.

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  25. Amirak101July 16, 2011 at 10:11 PM

    Nay Nay Nay

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  26. DCJuly 17, 2011 at 6:42 PM

    Nay, she looks like a curtain. Horrendous!

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