Fairy Tale Country

I'm home for the night after an absolutely wonderful four days in Luxembourg with a good friend and her family.  I'm off to London in the morning (ugh-two early travel days in a row!), so I'll do a much longer post about the trip when I get back...in the meantime, here are a few pictures from some of the lovely places we went.  The countryside is absolutely gorgeous, and because so many of the historic buildings have been preserved, really does look like a storybook.

the view while roller skating the first day

at the lake

one of the castles I went to

Luxembourg City, the capital, looking down into the 'old town'

sunset in the capital

taking in the air at another castle

Even more tartan!

I turned in all my work last week, and had my last class yesterday, so I'm off to Luxembourg tomorrow afternoon.  I'm so excited!  In the meantime, in addition to working, packing, dancing, and hanging out with friends before we all disappear for a month, I've also continued my obsessive search for all (fashionable) things tartan.

There are several descriptions in English Women's Clothing in the Nineteenth Century by Cecil Cunnington which, unfortunately, I can't access the pictures for (the downside of previews of google books...) that relate to the popularity of tartan in the mid-19th century.  Some highlights:

-1864: Carriage dress of tartan glace

-'tartan is the fashion and must be worn' (late 1860s, unsure of where this was quoted from)

-in 1859, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria described the humiliation of the Duchess of Manchester, who had gotten a hoop from her cage crinoline stuck on a turnstile, and when she fell her skirts were flung above her head.  Luckily, she was wearing the newly-fashionable 'knickerbockers': in fact, hers were scarlet tartan.  Totally unnecessary, but I want a pair now...would scarlet tartan possibly be the hunter royal stewart?  I'm making my ball dress out of the dress version.  How awesome would it be to have drawers in the other?

I considered writing a bit about all of these...but there are a lot and I'm feeling a bit lazy. (I'm also currently watching Beauty and the Beast with my flatmate.  Yes, we do watch 1990s Disney movies on a regular basis, thankyouverymuch.)  Instead, I'm just going to split them chronologically.

In general, there seems to be an impression that tartan came into women's fashion with Queen Victoria's obsession with it (starting in the 1850s).  I find this to generally be reflected in the images I've seen, but there are definitely some fabulous earlier examples:

Portrait, 'A Jacobite Lady', c. 1745

I love the military look!

fashion plate, 1830s

Check out the cute tartan apron to the bottom left.

photograph of Charlotte Lockhart, descendant of Walter Scott, 1846

After its rise in women's fashion, it also blended well with the bright colors available through new chemical dyes:

From Godey's Lady's Book, Oct. 1855 

The bright trim looks more like tartan when it's bigger...

1860, from the collection at the Musee McCord

This was worn in Canada to the dedication of a bridge in honor of the Prince of Wales.  Apparently the family was Scottish, and this is based on the clan tartan.

from Harper's Bazaar, 1870

I really like the tartan-as-trim look.  I happened to find a ton of examples for the 1870s; Here are some highlights:

basque from Harper's Bazaar, 1875

walking dress, Harper's Bazaar 1870

I do like the tartan-as-everything look too, though this is a bit much.  I have noticed that in all the images I've found, any tartan ruffle is done on the diagonal.  Something to note for future sewing...

travelling dress, Harper's Bazaar 1870

In the process of investigating, I also found this suit from 1897.  It's technically 'wool check', not tartan, but it's awfully close and it's just a gorgeous outfit.

And, as always, accessories are a great place to add fashionable touches to the wardrobe...plus, I know exactly where to get an abundance of tartan ribbon.  Let the hat-making begin!

fashionable hats, 1827.  The top and bottom left involve tartan ribbon according to the accompanying description

from Godey's Lady's Book, 1859.  Bonnet to the top right trimmed in tartan.

 Of course, not all accessories are hats, and this is one of my favorites.

tartan cloak, Harper's Bazaar 1870

 I can't get over the bow. So cute.

Just one last thing and then I'll call it a night, as I have a busy day tomorrow...these actually aren't 19th century, but I found them in the Museum of Costume collection (located in Bath) and thought they were fantastic.  Apparently, the designer created them because the outfit included a hat in the same fabric.  A good use for scraps, and perfect accessorizing!

taffeta, 1947

Scotland for the Win!

Yesterday I went with some friends to watch the Scotland vs. Italy game of the Six Nations rugby tournament. The six nations included are Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Italy, and France.  We were supporting Scotland, obviously, and it was not only a very exciting game but we also won, which was even better!
I don't really understand the rules of rugby aside from how to score and the basics of play.  Basically, just enough to know when to scream and cheer for my team.  We got really into the spirit of it, and dressed up despite the cold-it was well worth the effort.  Actually, there were a lot of great outfits in support of both sides.

 We took a bus to Murrayfield Stadium, where the game was.  On the way back we walked, because the fans took over the streets and stopped all the traffic!  I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but all the Edinburgh city buses have tartan upholstery on the seats.  Obviously, I am a huge fan of this.

 We're outside the stadium itself here, proudly sporting the Scottish flag, which is called the Saltire.  It is also known as the St. Andrew's Cross--St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and Saint Andrews Day is a national Scottish holiday.  We celebrated it this fall with--what else?--haggis, neeps, and tatties.

 Naturally, there had to be war paint.  I broke in the face paint by giving Ailie a full-face Saltire, and then the rest of us got stripes on each cheek.  Ailie also wrote 'FREEDOM' on Martin's forehead, a la Braveheart.

We were so much fiercer.

 It turned out we had amazing seats, behind one the the goal posts and pretty far forward-you could see the whole game easily, which was good since I was still trying to master the rules.  It was a lot more exciting than I usually find watching sports to be-quite possibly because it was really violent and awesome.  And we won. That always helps.

 The playing of the national anthems was also a lot more exciting than I'm used to.  The flag bearers marched around the bagpipers and drummers to form a Saltire with their flags across the field...and then when the Scotland team was announced, there were flames and fireworks.  I think if American teams entered through giant flames and fireworks came off the roof of the stadium, I might be more interested.

 The game was very exciting-we didn't score until the second half, and it was quite tense up until the final countdown...followed by massive cheers and lots of jumping around.  We walked back into town with the rest of the crowd and stopped at the Southsider, a pub near my flat, to celebrate with Irn Bru, which is a Scottish soda.  I think it's awful: it's bright orange and tastes/smells like bubble gum, but I haven't yet met a Scot that didn't like it.  Supposedly it's also a great hangover cure, but I've never had a need to try that, thankfully.  The commercials for Irn Bru are fantastic, though-I recommend looking some up.  Also, it outsells Coca-cola here, which is pretty incredible.

Scotland won 21-8. Cheers!

Post-Essay Fun

My last essay of the semester is due on Thursday, and I'm almost done with it.  I've at least done as much as I can right now...so I'm taking a break and feeling very inspired.  As previously mentioned, I've gotten really into tartan as a historical fashion thing this year.  I've already planned out a tartan ballgown, but it's expanding into tartan for every period of the 19th century.  I've learned some really interesting things, though!
Here's a dress from the BBC series of Wives and Daughters, which is extra cute because there's some discussion in the show about how it's not a 'proper' tartan.

and here's a real one from a slightly earlier period (and by real I mean image of a fashion plate, sent to me by the wonderful author of this blog):

the hat makes this one

Thanks to Wives and Daughters, I've fallen in love with the ridiculousness of the 1820s:

Parisian Ladies, 1826

1820-1835

And you can never go wrong with a tartan sash...

1863

Queen Victoria, c. 1850s

This one is totally unrelated, and of a Colonel stationed in India, but how cool is he?!

I'm still digging up examples, so depending on how busy I am, I might post some more.  In the process of doing all this research, I learned that the US also has a long history with tartan-did you know that April 6 is National Tartan Day in America?
It's even an official holiday as of 2008.

Many states also have their own tartans, including Massachusetts, which has the 'bay state tartan'!

It's amazing what weird things you find out on the search for fashion references.

The Lady in the Gallery

In addition to our lovely morning hike and cupcake picnic, my friends and I also went to the National Gallery of Scotland yesterday.  The museum has a lovely collection of art, both from Scotland and throughout the world.  I had a lot of fun looking at the portraits, on loan from the National Portrait Gallery while it undergoes a massive renovation.  There was one of a Highland military man who had designed is own uniform, complete with red argyle socks, green tartan trowsers, a sporran, and a tartan drape over his military jacket!! I haven't been able to find a picture of it online, so you'll just have to take my word for how spectacular it was.

another portrait I loved, by Grant, 1857

As I've mentioned before, I love late nineteenth century art--especially Impressionism.  I was thrilled to discover the 19th century gallery, located off the main floor.  When I reached the top of the stairs, I turned to look into the gallery and came face to face with an old friend!

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, John Singer Sargeant 1892

This is Lady Gertrude Vernon Agnew.  Her portrait was done by American artist John Singer Sargeant in 1892.  The reason this was so exciting for me is that I wore her dress to my first ball at the Astors' Beechwood Mansion in Newport, RI.
...well, sort of.  The first year I attended Newport Vintage Dance Week, the wonderful Katie Bishop loaned me some dresses she had made so that I would have something to wear to the various events.  The dress I wore to the 1890s ball at the Beechwood was after the dress in this painting.  I thought this was really neat, and spent a lot of the night attempting to take a picture of myself in the same pose as the original.  It didn't go particularly well, but here is the best attempt:

Had my posture been better, it would have worked, I think.

 I definitely jumped up and down and squealed a bit in the gallery, and everyone looked at me like I was crazy.  oh, well.

We saw a lot of other really lovely paintings, including a Seurat and several Degas.  Degas is one of my favorite artists, so this was really exciting.  Also one of his bronze casts, but a less famous one so it was new to me! yay!

Arabesque, c.1882-1895

La Luzerne, Saint-Denis by Georges Seurat

We saw a lot of other beautiful work too, from many different periods.  In particular, the National Gallery has (shockingly) a great collection of Scottish art.  Raeburn is the most famous, I think, for Americans, but there were lots of others I had never heard of.

the Raeburn I think is most famous, Reverend Walker Ice Skating on Duddingston Loch

One I really liked was Joseph Paton.  I'd seen The Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania before, but not its pair.

The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania

There were also some names I did recognize, like James Drummond.  I had never seen his work before, but I live just across from Drummond Street!

Friends, Art, and Less Lofty Pursuits

This week a took a mini study-break and got out of the library to have my friend come and visit.  She's studying at Trinity in Dublin, and I haven't seen her since last May.  It was so nice having her here!  It was also a great chance to visit with my other SLC friends in Scotland, and do some touristy things.

Actually, we mostly went shopping, but we also did things!  This morning we got up and climbed Arthur's Seat, which you may remember from my first climb (read about the peak and see pictures here).  This time, we were accompanied by spring!! It was absolutely lovely out and so exciting to see the first blossoms opening.

Spring also means rain and mud, so the path I had taken before was closed due to loose rocks.  Sarah and I ended up going a different way that wrapped around the hill and connected to paths on the other side.  the brambles surrounding the path had grown up into an arch, and it looked a bit like we were entering the realm of Faerie on the other side!

It was also a lot less windy at the top this time, which was nice.  On the way back, we took yet another path and came upon some 15th century ruins that had once been St. Anthony's Chapel.

a drawing of what the chapel would have looked like

 I also discovered that at ground level a little farther on is a big pond (St. Mary's Loch).  I want to go feed the ducks!!

This afternoon we dressed up to go to the National Gallery of Scotland.  We stopped for cupcakes on the way, and ate them on the steps of the museum, which was a reference to a show we all like, Gossip Girl, in which the main characters used to eat lunch of the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
It occurred to me while we were out that I don't actually have any pictures of myself in a kilt, even though I've become totally obsessed with tartan and wear them a lot.  Here I am outside the Prince's Street Gardens.  The minikilt I'm wearing is in the Dress Royal Stewart tartan, which I am making a ball gown out of at some point.

 The gallery was phenomenal, but I'll post about it separately tomorrow.  In the meantime, here's another sign on spring! We walked through the gardens on the way back, and there were crocuses (croci?) blooming everywhere.  Yay!