#flounces

La Mode illustrée, no. 49, 7 décembre 1873, Paris. Toilettes de Mme Fladry, 43, rue Richer. Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque Forney

Description de toilettes:

Poetry in Motion from 1930 at Augusta Auctions

Houndstooth is a little out of its wheelhouse on an evening gown, as it is a woven pattern best known in woolen tweeds for tailored suits and coats. Yet it makes for harmony as it becomes panels of glimmering pinwheels in this brocaded silk chiffon number. As the image indicates, it offers two kinds of flaring at the hemline, first circular  flounces on the dress itself and then tiered circular hem flounces on the silk crepe underdress.

The ornate ornamentation on flat panels of the tubular silhouette was popular in 1920s, but these flounces shatter the tube and create poetry in motion. Imagine a woman wearing this as she spun across the dance floor, the metallic threads catching the light as they lifted and fell with her steps. These flounces with their rounded hemlines are the sophisticated version of our “handkerchief” hems which are usually only squares tilted to the bias which creates sharp corner. This makes them easier to make, but not as pretty when they move.

You can find this item at an upcoming sale at

This is an 1850s dress with tiers of gathered lengths of fabric called flounces, woven à disposition. This meant that the pattern was woven to fit the flounce. Women wore up to six layers of under-petticoats to get the fashionable full-skirted shape of the 1850s. Flounces helped too: three were permissible for morning dresses, and up to seven for the evening.

Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costume Parisien, 20 décembre 1827, (2560): Coeffure ornée d'une couronne de fleurs d'oranger et d'un voile par Mr.Plaisir. Robe de popeline brodée en soie et garnie de volans brodés. Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

Middle and Late 1870s (from top to bottom) -

Le Salon de 1874 by Camille-Léopold Cabaillot-Lassalle (on sale at Ary Jean Art Gallery). From their Web site 1574X2000.

1875 Lady in Black with a Dog by James Archer (location ?). From meisterdrucke.de-kunstdrucke-James-Archer-197600-Porträt-einer-Dame-in-Schwarz-mit-einem-Hund,-1875 2308X3878.

1877 Toilette by Jules James Rougeron (Tokyo Fuji Art Museum - Tokyo, Japan). From facebook.com/MimiMatthewsAuthor/photos/toilette-by-jules-james-rougeron-1877-this-is-the-painting-thats-on-the-cover-of/2377279908990463/ 1174X1725.

Florentia Maria Crawshay 1849-1920), née Woods, as a Young Woman by ? (Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery - Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, UK). From Wikimedia; fixed more obvious spots w Pshop 936X1200.jpg,

Princess of Wales Alexandra by W. & D. Downey (Royal Collection). From teatimeatwinterpalace.tumblr.com/post/167945509352/queen-alexandra-when-princess-of-wales-x 540X810.

Two elegant sisters in a luxurious interior by Gustave Léonard de Jonghe (location ?). From tumblr.com/artthatgivesmefeelings; fixed spots & some cracks w Pshop 2048X2809.