Fall Fancy Fashions

 Welcome!

Let’s have some fun with Autumn Ball dresses, shoes and accessories. A last hurrah! before Christmas parties.

Tari Quabeera posted, Pinterest

I chose shades of orange to go with this lovely gown:

Steve Madden Shoes, Poshmark posted on Pinterest

1928 jewelry

I like the simplicity of the pearls with an added floral embellishment. Nothing too much that would detract from the gown itself.

Next one!

Twitter, Inc. post on Pinterest

This lovely dress is the opposite of the previous one! Lots of embellishments with a richer color palette. I do like that the bottom of the gown is printed not embroidered like the bodice and sleeves. It makes the overall look flow rather than be ‘choppy’ and over-the-top.

A pretty pair of Pearl earrings and a sparkly ring is all this dress needs to complete it. A simple ribbon choker could be added, but you don’t want any complicated jewelry to detract from all the lovely embellishments it already has going on.

SHEIN

Etsy

Ross-Simons Jewelry

The Colors Alchemist, Pinterest

Our next gown is perfect for cooler temperatures when you want longer sleeves:

Posted in Cyrillic, Khokholoma?, Pinterest

I just love the deep, rich colors in this one! I chose to pick out the golds/yellows in this one to lighten the overall palette:

Juliana @ ShopHQ

Dolce & Gabbana “Bellucci”

The next gown is going to be perfect for the dance floor. Shorten the length a bit if you plan on dancing to avoid accidents.

Faugue Magazine posted

With all the frills I chose just a simple pair of shoes to accessorize:

Olivia Mark

macey, Pinterest

While we love orange, sometimes you need a complimentary color to reveal the beauty of all the shades of orange. This next gown has done that:

Faugue Magazine posted

I love purple and orange together! I also love the formal large pleats in the skirt. Let’s add a simple metallic necklace design and a fabulous pair of shoes:

Grosse’ Germany @ 1stDibs

Aquarius Brand

My next gown brings the color down a few notches to a softer version of orange. It is more of a traditional, formal ball gown style.

alinanova, Colored Wedding post on Pinterest

Wearing proper undergarments is a must for this dress. Don’t skimp on the crinoline under slip!

Let’s add a bronze pair of ankle strap sandals and a pretty cocktail ring in deeper shades to accent the rose embellishments:

Jimmy Choo, Editorialist posted on Pinterest

BOODLES, Editorialist post

Michelle Lyons, Pinterest 

Moving away from orange as the main color, I chose this next gown because I love the deep rich colors of burgundy with taupe and peach as accents. All shout ‘Autumn!’ to me!

PaulS. Williams

With all the embroidery and accent colors a simple pair of pearl earrings are the only jewelry you need. I couldn’t resist these marvelous shoes however!

Poshmark

fsjshoes

Keeping with less orange and more burgundy reds, this next gown is a lovely change from previous styles:

jelofix74 posted on Pinterest  

Of course we have to add a great pair of shoes:

SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker ‘Tempest’, Editorialist posted

Next is my last ball gown. There are so many things I love about this one - the scattered rose embellishments, the sheer mesh neckline, the lace collar…

Vintage posted on eBay

Let’s add a simple pair of gold bow earrings and a lovely pair of velvet and rhinestone shoes:

Amazon

Jimmy Choo, Poshmark posted on Pinterest

That’s all for today! I hope you have enjoyed my little dream of swirling ball gowns on parquet floors with sparkling chandeliers above.

‘Til next time,

inkspired

How many dots?

 Polka Dots!

Jill St John

Dots.
They’ve been with us for a very long time!

One might even say from the very beginning, as we find polka dots all throughout creation.

Fly Agaric, or Fairy Toadstool

Trapezia rufopuretata photo credit: I_van

I believe this is a type of coral crab

Indian Pass Fern

Panther Grouper. Photo cred: Steve_Coney1973

As early as 756 China, and then Japan,

used a Shibori fabric dying technique similar to tie dying. It was a pattern of white dots on an indigo background.

Corrigan Studios, Wayfair; shibori fabric swatch

In 12th century Africa we see mud cloth with graphic, bold dot patterns.

Ancient Indonesia had a dye technique of Batik that frequently had lines of dots.

Australian Aboriginal art has used dot patterns for centuries. They have created a very distinctive style called 

“Dot Painting”.

Downloaded to Pinterest by christina raftopol

So why ‘Polka’ Dots?

“La Polka” artist:  Serge Ivanoff, 1937

A couple things happened about the same time.

Arm C&ndy

Around 1840 there was a dance craze called ‘Polka Dance’.

Everyone was doing the Polka!

In fact, lots of things got named with polka, like polka pudding, and polka suspenders.

The term Polka Dot stuck.

Vintage Avon

At the same time the Industrial Revolution was in full swing.

Machinery became more complex, and capable of making round polka dotted fabric.

No more tedious hand stitching!

1885 polka dot dress

Since then polka dots have been up and down in popularity, but never completely disappearing from fashion and interior design.

Pinterest, Umbrellas and Parasols

Marilyn Monroe in iconic polka dotted swimsuit

In the 1950’s polka dots were ‘The’ thing. Because of film and movie we still associate that era with polka dots.

Movie Actress Vera Ellen, 1951; welovecycling

Barbie in classic 1950’s couture 

The 60’s enjoyed large, bold polka dots.

Yves Saint Laurent 1967; photo cred: Tom Kublin

From Godey’s Lady’s Book of 1857

to China’s Empress Dowager, 1905

to Frank Sinatra’s “Polka Dots & Moonbeams” of the 1940’s,

to the subtler, softer dots of the 1980’s

And

hitting the fashion runways of 2010

I can safely say

Polka Dots are here to stay!

Photo credit Julia Barn

Wayfair 4 piece set

Vintage sunglasses, Liquid Rainbow Arts

Tulle fashion socks

I hope you have enjoyed this little walk through history about polka dots.

Feel free to get your flamenco dress out and do a little Polka Dance

while eating sprinkle doughnuts!

Manuela Vargas, rehearsal ‘Tigress of the Flamenco’, Getty Images

‘Til next time,

inkspired

A few of the sites I gathered information from:

Pinterest

Cosmopolitan.com (Lauren Adher)

Shutterstock.com (Kiera Coffee)

Clothandstitch.com

Clairejustineoxox.com

Wikipedia.com

Polkadotit.com