A poll!

[grav_ity]

"Any sensible woman would have worn black..."

Option A
Option B
Option C (+ imaginary jacket)

[Poll #1767332]

I'm leaning towards A, myself.

Comments

[shadadukal]

Yep, A. Definitely not C. B is okayish.

Those shoes?

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Most definitely!

[emmaorgana.livejournal.com]

I don't know any of these characters, but A is still my favorite.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[icarus-chained.livejournal.com]

A. Definitely A. It has ... class. C is a bit ... frilly? ... for Helen Magnus, and B a little dowdy. Heh.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Yeah, C is not really "Oxford", which is why I would have added a quote when Nikola describes it.

Red dress, blood on the floor...suddenly I am very excited about getting art made up for this!

ETA: And by "quote" I very definitely meant "coat". MY BRAIN, YOU GUYS!

[jemster.livejournal.com]

Only A looks like something Helen would wear. Everything else she would consider boring IMO.

[penknife.livejournal.com]

I like A. B isn't terrible, but I don't love it, either. Definitely not C -- that skirt would be a decade or more out of fashion in the early 1880s.

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

The only one I could picture Helen Magnus wearing was option A.

[kaseykcnew.livejournal.com]

Whilst I love Option A (seriously I want to buy it now) I think it's a bit too extravagant for Helen... though this is Helen I'm talking about and 'extravagant' is never going to stop her and her awesome fashion sense really.

Anyway, because of that I had a look-see through some of the links I have and a couple of others and these are what I came up with;

http://www.westporthistory.org/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/red-cross/red-vict-dress.jpg
I think this one is a little too simple for what you want but I still think it's tasteful (and therefore Helen) :p

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-isgJgRRJGI8/TZag27JBTGI/AAAAAAAAAHA/dcaGqNXLU0I/s1600/red+victorian+ny+met+of+art+dress.jpg
This one seems like Helen when she's going to a dinner party or something akin to that, but I guess it could also be worn to make a good impression ;)

http://www.uffnervintage.com/victorian.jpg
This one is my favourite and I can see Helen wearing it because she just seems so poised and I'm sure she'd love to wear something as fashionable as this.

You didn't say whether it was for early/late Victorian dresses (though they're at Oxford aren't they? Yeah... I'm an idiot alright -_-) but if you wanted to ignore the time-line I like the last link.

Or you could go with Option A 'cause that is really nice, and as others have said, the other options seem a little 'bland' for Helen :p

I'll shut up now and go back to hiding in the corner lol.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

I did look at that first one, but decided it wasn't awesome enough. ;)

The second one is way, way too fancy for Oxford. Even for Helen. But I adore it anyway.

The third I'd pick except the bustle is too small and it's not CRIMSON enough.

So yeah...I'm going with A. But thank you for weighing in.

[samjohnsson.livejournal.com]

C is more "reception with the deacons and the funding". A is much more "day to day". (B is very much "middle class trying to be upper".)

[eldanna.livejournal.com]

Velvet on B is stupidly impractical in rainy weather. And Helen is not impractical. And I don't think C would look good on her, shape wise. I love the lace detail on A though, so I voted for that one [for me!!!]!

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Whilst I like the color of B, and cannot see C at all, A gets my vote. I like the lines of it.

[karma-aster.livejournal.com]

A is by far the most dignified and classy of the lot and therefore entirely Helen. Not to mention, it has a more regal sense to it, if that makes sense.

Admittedly, this is Amanda Tapping. The woman could step out in a burlap sack and make it look like haute couture.