Edwardian Photographic Inspiration For the "Autochrome" Gown

For 2017, I really want to get more into photography, as looking through my pictures of Prague (which I have yet to post on Miss Morris!) and some old photos I took in the local graveyard, I remembered how satisfying it is to get a good shot. Being honest, photos of people interest me more than architecture - the emotion, the makeup, the clothes! - especially if those photographs happen to be Victorian or Edwardian. I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to photography, and most of those images happen to be of pretty ladies in costume.

Whilst I was showering this morning (yep, I get my best ideas in the shower, which is actually quite inconvenient as I can't write them down whilst I'm in there) I remembered this photo that I took of myself on my phone (a selfie, okay... I hate that word).

I'm wearing a vintage Laura Ashley dress in bright pink with a sailor collar, which reminds me of Edwardian children, and a gorgeous flower headband that Rosa made me for my birthday. I purposely styled my hair and makeup to look as natural as possible, whilst being slightly curled and ruffled, which is something that I've noticed in a lot of Edwardian photos. The photo that I took reminded me of an Edwardian fairy kind of look - which sounds kind of vain now that I think about it - and makes me want to take more in the same kind of style, in a new costume.

Looking through Pinterest and Tumblr, here are some images that I will use as inspiration for my future gown. I want something flowy, fairy-like, ethereal and soft, like an Edwardian peignoir or something.

Miss Phyllis Monkman above and below.

Portrait - c. 1910 - by Reutlinger

The hair here really inspires me, though I know there's no chance of me getting a wig or something like that! Mary Garden as “Melisande” in Pelleas & Melisande - Davis & Eickemeyer - c. 1908

Above and below, Delores Costello from the 1920s.

Maude Fealey.

Photographer F. Künzl, České Budějovice/Budweis (Bohemia, Czechia) - Cabinet Card, circa 1905

And some inspirational gowns! Evening dress ca. 1915 From the MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. I love the colour, and texture of the bead-work and fabrics here.

Fairy gown by Zuhair Murad. This definitely isn't Edwardian, but I love the look and feel of it.

This is one of my main inspirational gowns. Evening dress by House of Clergeat, 1890s.

As you can see, the eras of my inspirational images are all over the place, so I need to find a pattern that settles on the year. 

This will be a project for the new year, possibly in spring! I'm quite excited to see how I can pair costume-making with my own photography, rather than relying on somebody else to photograph my costumes.