Picking a Crocheted Gown

AOL is celebrating it's first year of offering it's members the option of having online Journals, also known as Blogs.  (I started my Journal here in January -- Wow, that's eight months ago!!)

There's a "big to do" about the AOL Celebration, which includes a cyberspace Ball.  So in thinking about "cyberly" attending this gala event, of course I'd need a gown.  And, since it would be a gown I'd be wearing, naturally with me being a crochet enthusiast, it would have to be entirely crocheted!

So the search for the perfect crocheted gown was on -- and I found two!  I am undecided which to wear so I'll let you, my readers, decide.

Both dresses are featured on the website known as Vintage Textile; they have many items that are just to die for!  But we'll, for now, just concentrate on the two gowns since the Ball is this weekend as I still need to get my hair done up proper for the event. J

The first dress (on the left) is from 1905 and is a crocheted Irish Lace gown.   It features large three-dimensional motifs that just makes the jaw drop while admiring it; it's stunning really.   To see more (including close-up) images of this dress, click onto the image.   It will take you to the website that is currently selling it for $3600.

The second dress (to the right) is a gown that just screams romance.  It's handmade Irish lace, from 1912, is absolutely beautiful with elegantly cut open skirt panels and train with floral designs adorning it.  (Go ahead, wipe your chin.  It's not proper to drool so excessively.)  As with the first dress, click onto the image to visit the website that currently has it for sale ($3200) to see more pictures.  

Knowing from my own experience in crocheting Irish Lace (I did a floral doily with raised motifs that took 75 hours to make), these dresses have some serious time put into them, and I'm sure they were admired by many who saw them being worn during their time. 

I'm guessing that these two dresses took thousands of hours to create -- and perhaps more than one crocheter.  They're from an era that didn't have clothing mass-produced, and a time when finer details really mattered.

Amazing, huh?  J