An Evening in A Colonial Dress

From my young time, I was always dreaming to wear that dress that Cinderella wore when she went to that Ball. And the way she danced with the prince.... oh my so so graceful. And when she ran down that huge stairs in that gown with that glass shoes, so so dramatic right?

So I got my dream comes true on that day when we were doing the closing ceremony of the 125th Celebration at the Club. The theme of that New Year's Eve Party is Colonial. Although it was such a nice feeling to wear that dress, it was not a comfy one. It was so heavy with that multiple ruffles and to add the heaviness, a colonial hoop skirt inside causing me to feel claustrophobic from the inside out.

So many people were impressed with me for wearing that dress. I must admit that it did attract lots of attention and made me super embarrassed. Oh well! I am proud I decided to try that dress. One experience in my lifetime.

Me doing the Emcee

With my friend Kwan Yi

My colleagues performing a colonial dance

End of the night wooohoo

Colonial Hoop Skirt

I was wearing a hoop skirt like this one below, in the inside of that dress. It was a horror to sit, walk or for any toilet matter. And I have to put up my sweet smile and be gracious like Cinderella until midnight, for the fact that I feel like I wanna throw this troublesome thingy. I wonder how in the world those days ladies wear this type of thingy and can dance and party in this???

Add an extra bit of oomph to your full-length skirt with the Colonial Hoop Skirt. This basic white hoop skirt is ideal for wearing underneath clothing to achieve the iconic volume and shape of many stylish historic and fantasy looks. Made from a lightweight material, this hoop skirt features four removable rings that increase in diameter as they approach the ground. The top section is slightly fitted, making it easy to wear under a wide selection of skirt and dress types, though it especially suits clothing where the lower half features a voluminous amount of fabric wide enough to cover the hoops. An easy way to obtain an authentic-looking silhouette inspired by times gone by, the Colonial Hoop Skirt is a must-have when it comes to period fashion.

Key Features:

• Ideal for adding volume and shape to long skirts
• Historic-inspired construction
• Includes four removable rings
• Intended for wear underneath full dresses and skirts
• Basic white color suits a variety of styles
• Essential for the period looks
• Materials: Made from polyester
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About Colonial Dress Source

Let us return to the ball in Norfolk. One of the garments sounds somewhat out of date for the mid-1770s. Although the wide-hooped skirt, such as Lady Dunmore's, had been the rage in the 1740s, the style had been supplanted by smaller hoops, and eventually by skirts with no hoops. Lady Dunmore, the daughter of an earl and a countess by marriage, must have known the rules of proper dress. Indeed, she did: the ball was a formal occasion, where the rules of daytime fashions were suspended in favor of time-honored styles and conservative fashions. The gown was not described in detail, but it certainly followed the prescribed fashion for formal attire. It would have been made of the finest silk, the low-cut bodice fitted carefully over a heavily boned corset undergarment. Like most formal gowns, the sleeves certainly had multiple ruffles cascading over the elbows. The attached skirt, constructed of yards of fabric extending out at the sides, was probably open at the front to show off another skirt underneath, this one called a petticoat and likely trimmed to match the outer gown.

The story of colonial clothing is the story of people who used apparel for more than modesty or protection from the elements. They selected clothing and accessories to announce status, wealth, occupation, and personality, all within the constraining limits of the time and place. Sometimes the message was evident through the form of the garment, a hoop petticoat or a sailor's jacket, for example. More often, people relied on the nuances of fabric, tailoring, trimmings, accessories, or the accumulation of styles to speak silently on their behalf.

Gowns with wide hoops were required at formal evening occasions and at the British court until well into the nineteenth century. Lady Dunmore's outfit acknowledged the formality of the occasion and demonstrated her aristocratic origins. The graceful way she walked and danced in the unwieldy hoops confirmed her status.
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That's all for now, wishing you a pleasant day!

Take care and Stay Blessed!

Yours truly,