Dew of the Sea Costume History, Theology & Thoughts

  THE PUFFED SLEEVE DRESS. The classic scene of Anne getting Her First puffed sleeve dress is etched memorably in many fans' hearts as a heartwarming display of Matthew Cuthbert and Anne Shirley's close Friendship. But there is one stark difference between the Book Dress and Miniseries dress... The COLOUR! Book dress. "...Matthew had sheepishly unfolded the dress from its paper swathings and held it out with a deprecatory glance at Marilla, who feigned to be contemptuously filling the teapot, but nevertheless watched the scene out of the corner of her eye with a rather interested air. Anne took the dress and looked at it in reverent silence. Oh, how pretty it was--a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk; a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings; a waist elaborately pintucked in the most fashionable way, with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck. But the sleeves--they were the crowning glory! Long elbow cuffs, and above them two beautiful puffs divided by

  THE GIBSON GIRL An aesthetic sprung out of satire, the Gibson Girl, was the aesthetic mood of the era: a stereotype of the archly brooding  hyper-feminine ideal of the turn of the century. Of course as a stereotype there naturally comes a problematic side of having one specific ideal that can isolate many, but today I want to share a few of the pictures that to me have the full Gibson girl vibe.  In this picture, you can see the full, rounded droopy hair, emphasising the rounded softness that makes you think feminine... and the roses and lacey frills also emphasise that vibe.  Here, although wearing a darker less feminine colour, the waist is instead strongly emphasised by an unusual s-bend stance of the actress for the photo and the hair is full and soft. Talking about hair, the feminine softness of the look lasted in fashion for more than 15 years, going from the front curls of the 1890s to the soft face-framing faux bob droop of the 1910s. The soft roundness merely changing positi

 In the books Anne is described quite a few times as wearing Green Dresses, Especially Filmy green dresses, Below Is a Compilation Of Floaty, Fanciful and Fun Edwardian Green Dresses In Honour of Anne.