Ooooh, girly.

[rivka]

Bill has been kind - or foolhardy - enough to agree to make me another period costume suitable for English Country Dance.

I really should have pictures of my first costume scanned. We found a beautiful long brocade coat at a costume shop, and Bill made me a full velvet skirt skirt and a contrasting brocade bodice and a lace jabot for a blouse I already had. It's an incredible ensemble, but very hot to dance in, with all the layers of brocade and velvet. So this new costume is going to be lightweight cotton.

I've been poking around online looking at patterns and styles. There's probably a 150-year span of history in which these dances were done, mostly the 18th century, but also including the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 19th. Lots of clothing options to choose from.

Empire-waisted dresses were popular during the time period, especially in England, but they really don't suit my figure. I'm finding myself drawn to American Revolutionary War era dresses, which take this basic shape, or the paniered style which is relatively flat front and back but has side hoops. Here are some other pattern examples: a jacketed gown, a short dress which might be more practical for dancing, another shorter dress (the one on the left), and an utterly ravishing example of what a dress can look like when it's finished.

This is going to be such fun.

Comments

Fashion Show...

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Oh! OK. Here are some things I've designed and sewn.

Starting with the deceptively easy, this Roman Senator wears the traditional toga virilis and tunica with laticalvial stripe from the late Republic.

The Irish Merchant Seaman ashore in Elizabethian England wears clothes that are about 20 years out of fashion in London, but perfectly at home in Galway or Calais. Made of the rare Moroccan fabric al godon the doublet and cape are light enough for a summer day even in Casablanca.

Here's a view showing my fencing style and another showing the natural fall of the waist length cape

Count Piotr Vorkosigan appears in his Vorkosigan house uniform, with tightly fitted cavalry jacket buttoned at the throat, cape back over the shoulders, and silver silk chantung sash knotted ceremonialy under his swordbelt. The cavalry saber is worn reversed, hung from the belt to allow close contact.

In this picture the red skirt is another of my creations. It's a linen silk blend, six gores gathered into an elastic waistband. The chemise and bodice are commercial products.

In this picture you see my wife Paula wearing an Irish dress over a white cotton underdress. Both garments, and the cap, are joint projects of Paula, Kat Dyer, and myself.

Re: Fashion Show...

[jilesa.livejournal.com]

Oooh... Want a red dress like Paula's! *drooldrooldrool* :)

/me plots her next sewing project.

Re: Fashion Show...

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Let me know when you get ready to do it, and I'll give you a few tips. The Irish (shinshone) dress is pretty straightforward, and really nothing more than a cold climate variant of the Italian fashion that was popular in the 16th century. The important thing is to include a LOT of material for the skirt. It is gathered to the waist of the bodice, and flares away quickly. One recovered shinshone dress, found in a bog in Ireland, contains some 21 yards of material all told. The woman who wore it might have weighed 100 pounds. (Modern reproductions don't need to be so deeply pleated - and are quite hot if made that way, but still need a lot of fabric if they're to look right.)

Re: Fashion Show...

[jilesa.livejournal.com]

Let me know when you get ready to do it, and I'll give you a few tips.

I'll do that. I'm hoping to be in your neck of the woods in the next few months. If those tips could take the form of helping me draft out a pattern (either on paper or muslin), I'd be most grateful :)

Re: Fashion Show...

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hadn't seen the Vorkosigan uniform. That's stunning.

Re: Fashion Show...

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I wish I had a picture of the back of the cape handy, so you could see my interpretation of the Vorkosigan house crest. I did it a bit differently from Steve Saballa's interpretation that you see folks wearing at cons these days.

Re: Fashion Show...

[trinker.livejournal.com]

As I recall at least one someone in your area have a digital camera handy, no?