tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4749067267697338963.post7306002358909834889..comments2024-03-01T11:52:34.112-06:00Comments on Ann Quilts: A 1920s Beaded Velvet Gown - An Absolute Work of ArtAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10041189836826670736noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4749067267697338963.post-90348526650666063982021-09-13T21:04:20.382-05:002021-09-13T21:04:20.382-05:00Glorious indeed! Even better, imagine when it was ...Glorious indeed! Even better, imagine when it was new, before all the silver tarnished. Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10041189836826670736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4749067267697338963.post-50061966540395938912021-09-13T13:56:29.425-05:002021-09-13T13:56:29.425-05:00such glorious embellishment! such glorious embellishment! Glennis Dolcehttp://shiborigirl.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4749067267697338963.post-62683224943078310412017-08-02T22:55:24.998-05:002017-08-02T22:55:24.998-05:00Hi, Claudine. Thanks so much for writing! When m...Hi, Claudine. Thanks so much for writing! When my friend Julia (of Basya Berkman Vintage Fashion) found this dress, we of course researched the Nemser label, and honestly, each one is more amazing than the next. And the designs are all so different in mood and technique. She was really something!<br /><br />This was the first clothing item of such quality that I have worked on for Julia, though I have worked on some quilts, which are my main focus, that are pretty great. These 1920s beaded dresses are incredible, aren’t they? And yes, super heavy. The dress I worked on was so heavy, I was amazed that the straps and shoulder seams were all still strong. This dress mostly needed beads here and there, and on velvet, so not as intense as the two dresses you describe. The velvet was beautiful and virtually intact.<br /><br />I was lucky enough to see the traveling show of Downton Abbey costumes a year or so ago. Quite a few pieces were vintage, and a couple of the exhibit labels described the process they had used to repair them and make them sturdy enough to be worn again. They lined the sheer beaded layer with a new dress made of netting and sewed the beads to that. I took mental note of that, and so I can share it with you! <br /><br />Those grape clusters sound incredible. One thing I loved about the Nemser dress I worked on were the places where the seed beads became 3D - each row of beads was longer than the space they were to fill, and so the beads stood up in a little curve away from the fabric. That’s how the purple and the olive green beads were applied. You can kind of see the 3D effect in the photos.<br /><br />I have relatives in Tucson, so if I ever get down that way, you can be sure I’ll be in touch. They do keep hinting that I should come visit again. In the meantime, please feel free to correspond. I’d love to hear what you decide to do with your Nemser. Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10041189836826670736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4749067267697338963.post-24500096590999957812017-08-02T20:03:12.782-05:002017-08-02T20:03:12.782-05:00Ann:
I am a vintage clothing conservator and deal...Ann:<br /><br />I am a vintage clothing conservator and dealer in Phoenix, AZ and today was a very lucky day: I came into possession of an exquisite Nemser dress that belonged to Jeanie MacPherson, Cecil B. deMille's screenwriter in the teens and 20s. <br /><br />I am pretty fearless when it comes to restoring priceless vintage clothing and have taken as many as seven years to restore certain pieces. To date my most challenging restoration has been a coral flapper dress with about 20 clusters of dimensional grapes (each the size of a human hand) all over the garment. I have completely restored the dress and have been reconstructing all the grape clusters for the last 5 years...and am still going.<br /><br />Today's discovery has reset all my parameters, however. The detail and scope on this dress is beyond anything I have encountered before. Not only does it weigh about 5 pounds, all the beadwork was sewn on to featherweight silk chiffon so it is understandably deteriorating. <br /><br />I wondered if I would be foolish to attempt a restoration/reconstruction of this scale and found your post, which was inspiring beyond measure. Thank you so, SO much for sharing your achievement and for doing what you do. Congratulations on a job masterfully done. Beautiful work!Claudine Villarditohttp://www.blackcatvintage.comnoreply@blogger.com