GimletBlog

December, the final wallpaper in the series, is now available for download from Solitary Elegance.    We conclude our tour through 1809 with the Tyrolese walking dress (on the right).  Her companion, an evening dress from 1812, is seated on the left.  The background is designed from pieces of an elaborate 1811 set of pearl jewelry for full dress.   An 1816 embroidery pattern decorates the holiday message from Pride and Prejudice.

The wallpapers aren’t specifically dated to 2009, so I hope you will continue to use and enjoy them.  Many thanks for all the kind comments and support throughout the year!

The November wallpaper is available for download from Solitary Elegance. This month our ladies are taking advantage of a little sunshine to take a walk (albeit very bundled up) before the stormy late autumn weather really sets in.

The two walking dresses (1814 on the left, 1809 on the right) are set against a scenic background from an 1816 issue of Ackermann’s Repository. Enjoy!

Just an ego-boosting note that my Emma stage play review is up on AustenBlog and linked on the Book-It Repertory Theatre web site.  After seeing last season’s outstanding production of Persuasion, expectations were high for Emma.  Check out my main review for all the details, but in short: the characters were spot-on and delightful, the pacing was brisk, with plenty of humor (important points to consider if one of you is less enthusiastic about spending an evening watching a Jane Austen play) and an ending with dancing, streamers, and just enough romance to be sweet without saccharine.

We loved the ardent and slimy Mr. Elton, Frank Churchill’s rock star entrance into Highbury, a delightfully dreadful Mrs. Elton inspecting Emma’s china and silver … and that’s not even mentioning the fabulous Emma and Mr. Knightley.  If you’re in the Seattle area, go and enjoy.  Emma runs through November 22 at the Center House, Seattle Center.

The October wallpaper is available for download from Solitary Elegance.  This month it’s all about Jane Austen’s Emma:  for those of you in the UK lucky enough to watch the new BBC miniseries beginning this weekend and for the rest of us who have to wait for Masterpiece and other networks to pick it up (much) later, here’s a little something to get you in the mood.

Miss Woodhouse stands on the left in an 1809 ball dress while Miss Fairfax, elegant as always in an 1813 evening dress, is seated on the right.  This month’s background is a piece of sheet music from one of Ackermann’s sister fashion journals, La Belle Assemblée.  While Miss Woodhouse is sure to appreciate the title and tune, Miss Fairfax is probably looking over the music for “Robin Adair”, a favorite for reasons best known to herself.  Enjoy!

Web server problems can’t keep us completely down:  the September wallpaper is ready for download from Solitary Elegance.

This month we’re examining fashions for special occasions:  a mourning dress from September 1809 on the left, and the stunning Glengarry riding habit from September 1817 on the right.  The background is derived from an Ackermann’s Repository embroidery pattern from 1816, and the quotation from Persuasion sets the autumn mood.  Enjoy!

The August wallpaper is available for download from Solitary Elegance.  We continue to stroll through summer with two walking dresses from 1809 (on the right) and 1811 (on the left).  This month we’ve brought the children out of the nursery for a look at the fashions well-to-do boys and girls may have worn in Jane Austen’s day.  The little rascal from 1811 has made off with mamma’s parasol.  As this month’s tableau is rather crowded, one hopes he doesn’t wave that parasol around too much, or he’s likely to poke one of the other models with it.

The July wallpaper is available for download from Solitary Elegance. This month shows off two promenade dresses from 1809 (on the right) and 1811 (on the left). Both ladies are employing parasols and veils to protect themselves from the summer sunshine.  Not a bad idea!

Does the background look familiar? It’s one of my favorite embroidery patterns, found in an 1813 edition of Ackermann’s Repository.  It has been decorating my crafty blog for some time, and finally has made its way into the wallpaper gallery.

The June wallpaper is available for download from Solitary Elegance. This month’s fashions are an 1809 walking dress (on the left) and an 1815 ball dress (on the right). This month’s background comes from part of an embroidery pattern for muslin found in an 1817 edition of Ackermann’s Repository.  I don’t have any juicy fashion gossip this time, so enjoy instead a lovely assortment of head dresses from 1811.

May’s wallpaper is available for download from Solitary Elegance.  This month’s fashions are an 1809 ball dress (on the left) and an 1810 promenade dress (on the right).  The elaborate background is derived from an embroidery pattern featured in an 1812 edition of Ackermann’s Repository.

Last month you may recall that the General Observations essay took issue with the abundance of green in spring fashions; not only is our May wallpaper green, but the Arbiter Elegantiarum is also forced to reconsider his position in this month’s General Observations.

The ball dress may look a little familiar:  yes, this is the plate on which my JASNA ball dress is based!  I didn’t have it when the dress was finished, but was able to buy one about a year later.  This is the plate that started my interest in collecting fashion plates:  I thought it would be fun to have a gown based on an actual Regency design, and after looking through several on-line image galleries, the May 1809 ball dress from Ackermann’s Repository was a favorite.  Then it seemed like a good idea to have the matching fashion plate to go with the dress.  While I looked through print shops and online auctions, I saw other interesting and lovely fashion plates, and the collection has grown little by little ever since.

April’s wallpaper is now available for download from Solitary Elegance.  I’ve also been able to add a little more information to January and February; it’s exciting to finally have the text describing the first Ackermann fashion plate.

Back to April:  most of the ladies have had to stand up since January, so this month’s pair is taking a seat for a well-earned rest.  The 1809 gown, on the right, is a full dress, while the gorgeous pink gown on the left is a ball dress from April 1812.  (Yes, it’s my favorite of the pair, as well as one of my all-around favorites.)   This month’s “General Observations on Fashion” article is a snarky delight, bringing to mind Dame Maggie Smith’s perfectly devastating “Difficult color, green.” Enjoy!