User talk:Bstrait/sandbox

Intro: A ball gown or ballgown is a type of evening gown worn to a ball or a formal event. Most versions are cut off the shoulder with a low décolletage, exposed arms, and long bouffant styled skirts. Such gowns are typically worn with a stole (a formal shawl in expensive fabric), cape or cloak in lieu of a coat, "good" (couture or vintage) jewelry and opera-length gloves. Where "state decorations" are to be worn, they are on a bow pinned to the chest, and married women wear a tiara if they have one. Although artificial fabrics are now sometimes used, the most common fabrics are satin, silk, taffeta and velvet with trimmings of lace, pearls, sequins, embroidery, ruffles, ribbons, rosettes and ruching. (1)

Debutante ball and other events:

The first forms of the now modern term “Debutante ball” or “Cotillion” emerged in the mid 19th century with what was called a “coming out ball”. These events were meant to show off the women who were now of marriageable age. Traditionally the debutantes will wear all white, but with varying styles of dress. While the style of dress can vary, strapless and sleeveless variations are popular and are typically worn with long white gloves and can be accessorized with bouquets, and sometimes a fan. For most of the 19th century, a headdress with veiling was a popular style as well as a full train attached at the waist and in later years, the shoulders. The traditional ideals of the debutante ball vary based on location in the USA. The debutantes in New Orleans could be seen wearing jeweled crowns and dresses with Medici collars with elongated trains. Texas has variations within its various regions. In Laredo, middle class debutantes wear beaded suede garments. In San Antonio, the dresses are of elaborate colors and covered in beads of different designs. The beads add extensive weight having some dresses weigh in at about 75 lbs. Another coming of age event is the Quinceanera, an event in Latin American cultures when a girl turns 15. Their gowns are often very brightly colored and resemble traditional ball gowns with very full ruffled or ruched skirts.

History:

1850s (BG 1820-1859) In previous years, the same type of dresses might have been called an evening dress, having very similar features; low-cut neckline, a tight bodice, a large skirt and sometimes-bare arms. The ball gown at this time also had similar features, a full skirt supported by a petticoat, a nipped waist achieved by a corset or bodice with a stay to keep the wearer upright and with tight posture, off the shoulder style and with bare arms. In the coming years, the introduction of the sewing machine changed the dress market for everyone. Middle class people could now produce their own dresses and with more quality and efficiency than before by hand. Upper class members of society may still have had their dresses made by a designer but with the turn around time decreased. Around this time was also the introduction of chemical dyes. This dramatically changed the range of colors that these dresses could be produced in. This time was encompassed within the Romantic period, which coincided with the Victorian era. But during this time the crinoline was introduced as well as demure sleeves, which puffed up around the arm. During the mid 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century the ball gown underwent changes in quick succession. 1860-1864 skirts had a bell shape with extra fullness at the back, but in 1865 skirts lost their front shape, laid flat, the sides and back gained fullness with pleating techniques, and a long train was attached to the back of the skirt. For the next 10 years the fullness in the back of the skirts increased further with the use of the bustle. The material was gathered and fell down the back with a long train. From about 1878-1884 the bustle was not need anymore for the fullness because it was gathered and fell down the back, also with a long train. In the 1890s the hourglass shape emerged which was known for a narrow waist, a cone-shaped skirt that was narrow at the waist and gained fullness near the bottom. 1950s (V&A) Previously, Ball gowns were worn for private events and parties, but as we move into the mid-20th century, private events turned into public ones. As the century progressed, traditional events become less important while ones like charity events take its place. In modern culture, galas and red carpet events are times for extravagant gowns to be in the public eye. In Britain, when Elizabeth II terminated formal court events in 1957, the more public events, like a charity ball, arose in popularity having it open to anyone who bought a ticker. Designer dresses were typically part of a designer’s collection, having it altered for the wearer. Designers need to know where the dress will be worn to avoid two people from matching. But if the original wearer decides to wear the dress to another event afterwards, the possibility of matching is increased. In modern times, designers must understand that their pieces of work will be criticized and also praised as a result of the internet and paparazzi. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bstrait (talk • contribs) 18:49, 12 November 2017 (UTC)

Sarah's Peer Review

Ben, you've really done a nice job here. Your page is very informative and includes many useful pictures of your timeline descriptions.

In terms of the five elements that make up a good Wikipedia article:

Good Intro: This seems good: I like that you attached links to other pages to explain different aspects of the ballgown.

Clear Structure: I think I might like to see the history come before the Events and First Lady headers / maybe you can include those headers in your history section to place them more in time and space / make it easier for an outsider seeking knowledge to look at.

Balanced Coverage: If you have more information on the middle timeline years, use that to make it a bit more even in coverage and to allow the pictures to flow more with the subject matter. Other than that it's pretty balanced.

Neutral Content: Your language is neutral and factual.

Reliable Sources: Great range of sources from museums to scholarly books.

Well done!!SarahBarket (talk) 15:48, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Emily's Peer Review

Hi Ben,

I think you did an excellent job here on improving the existing Ball Gown article. Here is my feedback, according to the rubric categories:

1. Neutral style, links, and solid citations: Your statements are balanced and neutral. (The only possible exception is the picture on the bottom of the page captioned "gown on far right is good for 1880." Earlier in the article, you put "good" in quotes. I suggest that you do that here as well, or replace "good" with a word like "appropriate for the time," to ensure that you remain neutral. You do a great job citing your sources in appropriate places. You include several "hot links" to related articles, though you could probably include more, if you wanted to. I don't think all the hot links have to be related to the article topic.

2. Special features: You include many informative images, and I think that the "First Lady's Collection" heading is really interesting. The latter is definitely a special feature. Well done.

3. Quality and comprehensiveness of research: This page is chock full of juicy facts! Every substantial fact is backed by a reliable source.

4. Quality of writing and argument: You more than adequately explain the history of the ballgown, and even explore some other interesting aspects. You also have a very clear and thorough writing style. In terms of organization, though, I think you could make some improvements:

You have an excellent Intro section, though I think this should be the Lead section on the page. It's a separate heading now.

Your subsections under the History heading are good and clear.

I agree with Sarah that the History heading should come before Events and First Lady's Collection. Also, it might help to specify what "Events" means, like what kind of events? How are they similar?

Several times in the article, you say "now" or "in modern times." The issue with this is that time, well, changes - if someone is reading this in the year 3000, their "now" will be different from our "now." So maybe consider changing those phrases to something like "in the 21st century."

5. Images and general polish: Your images really help the reader understand the content. I like how you formatted them differently (some on the left, center, and right of the text). I would consider adding captions to the images in the Events and First Lady's Collection headings - for example, from what state is the debutante dress? And to which first lady did dress belong? I also noticed a few things having to do with grammar and syntax:

In your Intro section, you put "state decorations" in quotes. Is this a direct quote from a source? What is your intent in putting it in quotes? It isn't clear.

In the 1950s subsection of History, you write "as we move." Using "we" makes it just slightly biased. I would consider changing this to something like "in the mid-20th century."

Overall, I think you did a really good job! -EmilyStein (talk) 04:53, 17 November 2017 (UTC)