Blue broderie dress and blue bead buttons on a blouse, post 298
Angela Lansbury wearing a blue Broderie anglaise dress and a white blouse with blue buttons. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Copyright.
The Blouse with Blue Buttons
The buttons are interesting. Two buttons on a cuff is pretty, if the buttons are pretty, but no so unusual. Two other features are more unusual.
1 Double buttons are down the front.
2 The buttons are actually blue beads. The beads have to be small enough to fit rhoguh the button hole but large enough to hold it in place.
The blue of the buttons echoes the blue of the broderie anglaise dress.
The blouse label is Ravens. Size 36. The washing label says 65% polyester and 35% cottom.
The Blouse Style
The mandarin collar is a nice touch. Different. Different from other people in the room (at least in Europe, not necessarily in Asia). To keep onlookers entertained. Different from my mother blouses, to keep the wearer entertained. It is kept fastened by an almost invisible teeny square press stud. For the British word press stud, the Americans use the word snap.
The buttons are almost conical, wider on one side. So you feed the narrower part though the buttonhold. Push the wider part after.
No spare buttons.
The Fabric
The fabric has a slight vertical stripe, but not so obvious as to interfere with, distract from, the pattern of the dress.
It feels confortable but creeases easily, so looks relaxed rather than super smart.
Buying Blouses With The Same Label
I found two blouses with the label Ravens on ebay. One blouse had a rounded white collar.
Buying Beads For Use As Buttons
I looked for bead buttons. I found some, especially ball shape buttons with loops, rather than those with a tunnel through the middle like mine. The website which came up was Temu.com. They also had a half sewing thimble with a band, a bit like a helmet with the visor up. And sewing meedle threaders, more like the shape of a clip on zipper pull.
The Blue Broderie Anglaise Dress Label
The dress has the label Lovedrobe.com. If you like broderie anglaise, type that into the search in ebay and you will find several from last summer in the autumn (Americans would say the Fall).
The Broderie Anglaise Dress Style
I was not keen on the style of the blue dress. The fullness of the skirt is taken up by attaching it with gathers. I have always thought that gathers are quick and cheap, and look cheap. However, I turned it inside out to check and discvered some interesting things.
It is larger than I thought, UK size 18. It was large enough to pull on over my head. I had not realized there is a zip down the back! The dress is lined. I thought it was cotton. No. Bot the lining and the shell are 100% polyester.
I like broderie anglaise. Traditionally broderie anglaise was white. In the postwar years, the Fifties and Nonetten Sixties, broderie anglaise was always white, either elaborate or peasant style. Usually, like lace, expensive. But if confined to a section, or a frill, than cheap. It required extra care washing because it was white.
The Dark Blue Colour
Darker colours mean less care, less worry when wearing, and washing. More options of colours to co-ordinate or contrast. Oddly, this navy blue colour goes with other dark or mottled blues.
Useful Websites
Dress
Raven Blouses
Bead buttons
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