Viyella dressing gown with embroidered sleeves (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

I made this dressing gown for myself before I had my first baby, fondly imagining that a neck frill was flattering,  the fabric was sensible, soft and warm and that full embroidered sleeves with buttoned cuffs were elegant yet practical for life with a small baby. I did of course soon discover the reality of motherhood. What had I been thinking?  The garment was a disaster for a new mother – the frill not only irrelevant but also irritating, the sleeves were too long, too full and too embroidered, the belt was a reverse gordian knot (i.e. it kept coming undone) and  the fabric rapidly looked like an overworked tea towel, damp, dirty and  discoloured. Wisely, I washed it, put it away and never wore it again – it was never really me … especially the frill (a frill? – I ask you) – a serious mistake.

Viyella dressing gown with embroidered sleeves (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

I now realise I should have copied my mother’s ancient midnight blue velvet dressing gown as it always looked good and washed like an obliging garment should. I think I loved this item of clothing more than anything else ever and in the seventies I wore it everywhere, but mostly as a maxi coat, summer or winter. Unfortunately cycling around Oxford in it and wearing it with clumpy suede sling back platforms shredded the hem to ribbons which in the end no amount of patching could restore to even a shadow of its former glory. That dressing gown too I washed and put away . I should throw it out but I  just can’t bring myself to. Perhaps I will get it copied and wear it as a dressing gown but I’ve never seen any cotton velvet that looked  as supple and soft and capable of withstanding all that rough treatment – although come to think of it I don’t expect I shall ever wear it to ride a bike!

Viyella dressing gown : detail of embroidered sleeve (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

For some reason I found myself packing it for our Cornish holiday and after daughter No 2 had put on a couple of  embroidered shirts for me to photograph, she found the dressing gown heading her way too. At this point I should apologise to her as she feels my photographs aren’t the most flattering of her ever taken, though exhibiting great maturity of character and generosity of heart she appreciates the point is to show the clothes and not her. (And that probably makes me a dreadful mother of a near saintly daughter – at least part of which is true…) In future I shall try not to leave photograph taking until 6am after a sleepless night. (Tousled hair is nevertheless appropriate for a dressing gown and the bags under her eyes she complains of aren’t visible in these pictures but perhaps that’s too much information.)

Viyella dressing gown with embroidered sleeves (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

When I was thinking about this post I spent quite a bit of time researching celadon because I have always thought the green of the fabric reminded me of  those green-grey ceramics (minus the dull gloss of the ceramic glaze, if you see what I mean.) The real colour is I suppose somewhere between the two greens in the photographs above; the embroidery in silk twist is also a bit different in real life as it  has more depth of colour than is apparent. in the photos. Curiously, the design of the embroidery also had a ceramic origin but, hunt as I have (both in books and on the net), I can’t find the Korean jar with the design that inspired me 30 or so years ago. I did, however, find other Korean pots with equally strikingly simple designs and I think I may play around with one or another to produce a design to embroider over a stain on an all white dress belonging to daughter No 1 – no intellectual endeavour is ever entirely fruitless!

Hand painted Korean platter

Coincidentally in Cornwall, daughter No 2  gave me this most lovely Korean ceramic platter which had travelled half way across the world in her hand luggage – greater love hath no daughter than to fly long distance with a handbag full of something unwieldy that she knows her mother will love… especially as the underside is celadon green!

Korean ceramic platter: detail of flower painting