London Streetstyle: Edwardian vs Swinging Sixties

I’ve been quite fascinated with some London street style photographs from the Edwardian era and that made me think about the parallel between those fashion pics and the Swinging Sixties fashion which I love so much.

Edwardian Beauties and Rose-Tinted Visions of the Past

What is more beautiful, ethereal and delicate than a photo of an Edwardian lady in her flimsy dress of lace and silk, with a large hat and roses in her hand, her smile captured for eternity?

Studio Portrait by Henri Manuel of Paris, 1900s

Lately, I’ve been admiring these hand-tinted photos from the early twentieth century and I spent many moments being lost in the all the dreamy details; their dresses, their faces, their flowers. Some feature a more daring, oriental-inspired fashions with long veils, jewellery and more skin exposed because in the early 1910s with Ballets Russes and the ballet “Scheherazade” there was a craze for all things exotic. I don’t have much to say today – I’ll let the beauty of the pictures speak for themselves.

Still, I would like to take a moment to say something I rarely do. My dear readers, old and new, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my musings! I am amazed to see the growing number of people who read my blog, but at the same time, without superficial modesty, I am surprised that someone actually enjoys it. I never thought that my sharing of beauty and fragments of my inner world would attract so many readers. Here is a quote by Anais Nin which perfectly explains the point of writing:

Why one writes is a question I can answer easily, having so often asked it of myself. I believe one writes because one has to create a world in which one can live. I could not live in any of the worlds offered to me — the world of my parents, the world of war, the world of politics. I had to create a world of my own, like a climate, a country, an atmosphere in which I could breathe, reign, and recreate myself when destroyed by living. That, I believe, is the reason for every work of art.

I wholeheartedly agree with Anais Nin: I can’t live in the world offered to me, the 21st century world with its shallowness and stupidity, and I write; this blog, my poetry and my stories, my daydreams and my journal, to wrap myself in a cocoon of beauty and dreams; I hope writing protects me from the sharp arrows of reality. I strive to be perpetually dreamy even when everything around me is grey, to turn sadness to beauty, and then, share some of it with the world. I write, as Anais Nin continues in the same quote, to “lure and enchant and console others”, and I hope I’ve achieved that. I hope you are enchanted, lured and consoled!

In dreariness of November, one has to find a shelter in the world of beauty, and I can tell you that next post will be very special and dreamy.

The gorgeous Lillian Gish above!

 

Photos found here.

Autumn Colours

Fashion Plate Friday – 1907.

What’s better for the weekend than a dash of Edwardian era?

I have a special connection to Edwardian era fashion. Story goes back a couple of years ago when I first entered this magical world of history of fashion. The first fashion era I stumbled on was the Edwardian era. It happened without a particular reason but this era has a special place in my heart from that day on.

I feel like almost every fashion plate and dress from the 1900s has a touch of spring to it. Abundance of lace, pastel colour and roses –  spring, right? Edwardian era fashion can seem a little too much sometimes, but this dress certainly doesn’t fit the pattern of over decorated and exaggeratedly embroidered dresses. This dress is just elegantly ‘too much’, but in an enchanting and captivating way.

This dinner dress dates from 1907. and is a classical example of Edwardian dresses. Pastel green colour, symmetric blue decorations, golden bows and lots of lace – key words for this beautiful dress. The hairstyle is sweet and elegant as the whole ensemble and it features roses and a neat blue ribbon. The sleeves are puffed and decorated with a bow. With the emphasis on the dress itself, accessorize is limited – a simple necklace and white opera gloves are enough to complete the look.