Wednesday, March 27, 2013

It might have been the buttons...

There's a new vintage shop that has opened up on Great Western Road, in Glasgow - everything for £10. Weeks ago I went in and among the fusty and garish gowns spanning from the 1960s to the 1980s, this plain cotton underdress stood out to me.

Not only was it plain and simple, and cotton, it also seemed quite old. I'd say 1920s. Well, I resisted the first time, and the second time, and even the third time. After that, I gave in and bought it. It is in astonishingly good shape. In fact, if it wasn't for the embroidered buttons, monogram, and lace, it looks brand new!

Metal (I think) buttons covered in embroidery floss.

Reinforcement on the other side of the button. And what lovely lace!

The front of the underdress and the monogram.

A full- length view of the underdress.

I justified buying this as I thought I could use it as a shift to go under my stays (corset) for the 1830s dress I'm finishing up (that will have to be a later post). I have a shift, but alas, I left it in New York. However, I tried on my dress today, and it served very well as a shift.

The underdress in action (and a sneak-peek of my dress and a not-to-distant post about it - I hope!).

4 comments:

  1. That is so awesome Mairi! I love how you resisted for as long as you could! :)

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  2. I love it! It's beautiful! Dorset buttons: http://www.henrysbuttons.co.uk/dorsetbuttonshistory.html

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the button link - it's fascinating!

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