I have always been in love with this 1780s French gown from the Met, one for being a gorgeous gown, but because of the way the photograph was styled with the little dog mannequin:
To me, the little greyhound-like dog mannequin has always represented Avi, my dearest companion who passed away this time last year. I had always intended to make this dress and take pictures with Avi, but never got around to it, though Avi participated in many costumed photo shoots over the years.
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| Avi and I posed together a lot in photo shoots for American Duchess. She would sit herself in the center of the backdrop and refuse to move, so we just went with it. :-) |
When I was in LA last week, I found this embroidered silk taffeta and instantly thought of the picture from The Met, and this gown. The fabric was a bit of a splurge for me, but I knew I had to have it, and that even though I'll never be able to take the picture with Avi, it will remind me of her every time I wear the dress. So I bought the fabric.
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| It's not a match, but it reminded me of the 1780 dress fabric, so I couldn't pass it up. |
Luckily the Met has a lot of pictures of this gown, and I want to be true to the design. I'm hoping to have it done for a trip to Williamsburg in June - I better get stitching!
You can see more angles, and larger images at
https://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/84611
