Regency Menswear!

So there is potentially a change in plans, because it seems possible that my husband may be dragged along accompanying me to the Regency Intensive Dance Weekend! That would mean that it would probably be wise of me to spend my sewing time between now and then crafting his ensemble as opposed to making nice-but-not-necessary enhancements to my own wardrobe!

I already have a shirt and top hat well under way, which is a good start. . . And, I already knew I would eventually put together an entire ensemble for him, which is also good since that means I have already hoarded a nice little collection of fabrics and patterns to start with!

I've been thinking a bit more about the details and time period to shoot for with this ensemble, and I'm calling it "1810s" for now. These two fashion plates (both from 1813) give a good idea of the feel I'm aiming for:

 

As you see, I'm definitely going the route of long pants. (I just think it's a bad plan to try to introduce my husband to the idea of historic costumes by way of breeches and stockings!) The fabric I have set aside for this is a caramel colored cotton. Probably not the most frequent fabric choice for pants of this era, but the color is good, as I've seen it in multiple paintings and at least one surviving pair of pants from this era.

As for the waistcoats, I have something ridiculous like five silk fabrics hoarded away with the intention of becoming waistcoats! Among these are a waffle-like pattern and a blue stripe that are similar to those in the plates (which is a good part of the reason I chose them to be representative of what I'm aiming for!) The great thing about waistcoats is that they don't take up a ton of fabric, and can completely alter the look of an ensemble that is otherwise using the same garments. My only problem is in choosing which fabric to use first!

So that just leaves the coat, and this one will be a bit of an under-taking, I'm sure! I've done some tailoring before, and even did a coat for Glenn before (though not vintage. . . Well, I guess "Cobra Commander" is a bit vintage, seeing as how he's a 1980s thing!) so I can draw on my experience from those projects. I'm not sure if I'm going to go with the Country Wives pattern or with one of the Laughing Moon patterns instead, or perhaps I'll be pulling bits and pieces from here and there amongst multiple books and patterns to get the right look. . . We'll see! I've got my heart set on having a blue coat, but the only blue wool fabrics I can find are either a totally wrong weave, or much darker a shade than I wanted. I do have one option in my stash, but I am not completely in love with it, so may yet do some shopping around. . .

"I shall have to be bought new clothes, for I have nothing fit to wear, and there will be balls and parties every night!"

I've decided that this year, I shall attend the "Regency Intensive Dance Weekend" hosted by the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers. This era for fashion is one of my favorites, and it's also my favorite era of dance out of those I've yet tried. However, I don't really know much about Regency dance. . . So how perfect is it for me to attend a weekend where I get to learn and practice dancing all weekend, plus, get to dress up three times?!?

So of course, I'm assessing my wardrobe and deciding what I'd like to make for this event. Luckily, I have both a wearable ball gown and day dress, so technically, I have all that I need to survive the weekend. But where's the fun in just wearing the same old things without at least adding a little something new here and there, right? Here are my current wardrobe plans:

Ball #1: New dress! Will be extremely simple style, using the pattern I used for my dotted Swiss dress with slight variation, and of a metallic striped cotton. Easy-peasy!

Ball #2: The Wicked Puffy Dress again! Because I think this might be my favorite thing I've yet made, and I want to wear it as much as possible. So I'll get the rest of the trimmings on in time for this event!

Day Event: TBD. I have my dotted Swiss dress which, if nothing else, is a great back-up option. But I'm contemplating a "something new" for this part of the weekend. Just not sure if I want to invest my time in a new ensemble (maybe finish my two-piece dress?) or maybe make some fun new accessories instead. . . If I am smart, I will instead focus my efforts on a Pelisse, since it's likely to still be chilly at this time of year and I get cold very easily. So, I'll have to mull this over and see what I'm most in the mood to make! ;)

So, stay tuned for some Regency sewing adventures! :)

The Wicked Puffy Dress, aka, that time I hand-sewed a Regency ball gown in two weeks flat. . .

I really had no intention of attending the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers Regency ball in Salem. . . But then, only a few weeks before, I found out my good friend was flying up from Virginia and attending it! Of course I had to go! But somehow, there was no Regency evening wear in my wardrobe. Shocking! With only a few weeks to the event, and knowing I wouldn't be me if I didn't hand-sew the entire thing, I did the only logical thing: Took on a big, ridiculously, very trimmed project!!!

After two weeks of hand sewing like a maniac (in between full time work, part time school, and other miscellaneous things like not neglecting time with my husband, LOL!) I produced this:



I still have a few things to do to it. Mainly, I need to add the puffings to the skirt! Also, the undersleeve should have a drawstring and bit of lace, and the oversleeve wants some bonus trimmings as well. . . But I'm pleased to say that construction-wise, it was done. As in, no safety pins holding this baby together! Hooray for that!

This is a recreation of the 1822 "Brudekjole" (aka wedding dress, but also very appropriate as ball attire) from the Danish "Nationalmuseet." You can see the original on their web site, here.

Since they provide the pattern for this dress (YAY!) I used that. I scaled the pattern up by hand using a gridded board and ruler, and stayed pretty faithful to it as is, save for a few minor changes to make it fit my particular size/shape. I had some translating adventures to try to figure out all the construction details provided, but I think I understood it fairly well! Things that didn't seem to make sense to me at first became clear as I actually reached that point in the pattern. So, it all went very well indeed!



The gorgeous parure (aka jewelry set) I'm wearing is made by the talented Taylor (my friend who flew in for the ball!) and you can purchase such lovely jewelry from her at her Etsy shop here: Dames a la Mode

All in all, the evening was perfect! I didn't actually end up dancing, but greatly enjoyed spending time with my friends, both local (including the lovely Sarah, who took these pictures for me!) and long distance, as well as meeting new folks, and of course, playing dress-up. ;) And, I had a blast stepping up to the challenge of pulling this off in such a short amount of time. It was a win-win!

Holiday Tea 2013

We returned again to the gorgeous "Gore Place" for our 2013 Holiday Tea! It was not "Jane Austen" themed this year, but the setting still made it the perfect place for our Regency attire, and as always, the staff are amazing, and seemingly appreciative of our willingness to play dress-up. ;)



I convinced my husband to tag along this year! I had thought to maybe have the start of a period ensemble together for him, but I ended up with a partially sewn shirt and the starts of a hat. So, modern attire it had to be, but I still think he looked dashing!



Gore Place has a ridiculously beautiful piano that was a very generous gift to them, and we were allowed to sit and pose with it (though not to touch it as we'd just had sticky tea deserts and this is a seriously rare and stunning instrument!)







Glenn so patiently stood by while we took lots of pictures of each of us having our turn to pose with the piano!



And then, he even stepped in as photographer so we could have a group shot of all the costumed ladies!

Dotted Swiss Regency Dress

I made a new dress!



I didn't quite finish it (as you can see by the super huge seam allowance visible through the sleeve, which still needs finishing, among other things) but it was definitely wearable, and I'm pretty happy with it! It's made of 100% cotton dotted swiss, hand sewn with cotton thread, and unlined for now, but I may add a plain cotton lining behind the waistband. I haven't decided on buttons yet either, so for now, it's being worn pinned closed. (Which is actually period correct, after all!) ;)

Changes for Felicity progress. . .

I recently decided the time has come to finally finish my "Changes for Felicity" ensemble! A couple of weeks ago, I picked it back up, and started in where I left off (which was at the point where I get to start assembling the silk layer!)



I'm making the tiniest, most perfect stitches of my whole life, so it's taking a bit of time, but I'm really enjoying it. My OCD self is feeling very indulged and content! ;)



It's really starting to look like a dress! I also already had the petticoat partially made, so I think once I get beyond the super tiny hand stitched bodice, the rest of it will really just fly together. . . And, after 22 years of dreaming of it, I'll finally have Felicity's blue dress in my size! :D

A bit of an update. . .

I do realize that this blog has been sorely neglected lately, though I assure you, it's not because I haven't been doing anything in the sewing room! It's just that it's been a lot of modern/everyday clothing, stuff for my house, and knitting galore. And some historic costuming, but since it's mostly a TON of patterning and mocking up, it's nothing I feel is interesting enough to share! (Except for my recent 1954 "Knights" circle skirt, if you want to count 1954 as historic! I blogged that project on my other blog, and you can see the finished skirt here). Additionally, I've had some non-sewing stuff going on, such as a new job and a new kitten, bringing the total cat population of my household up to three. Craziness! ;)

Long story short, I am over-due to get back to some historic costuming, and not just patterning and mock ups, for once! In fact, I am about to (hopefully) put the finishing touches on a Regency bodice pattern today. This pattern is of my own invention, and is intended to be an awesome, perfectly fitted "base" off of which I can draft any other Regency things I want to make. I have the tiniest bit of tweaking to do to the sleeve and the point at which it joins to the bodice, and then I think it will be ready to go, which means I can finally start on a dress to wear to the Massachusetts Costumers annual Regency picnic!

I'll be hand-sewing this dress, which will made of white dotted swiss cotton. It will close in the back, and have short puffed sleeves with detachable full length sleeves. Or, it may end up being a bib-front, and/or have plain full-length sleeves. We'll see!



I found some lovely peachy coral beads that I want to make into a three-strand necklace, using this gold-plated clasp. I've seen a few surviving necklaces from this period that use a clasp that appears to be similar to this (although I don't have any to study in person, so I'm just guessing based on photographs) and I think it will be a nice change from the single-strand necklaces I tend to make!



I was tempted to go all out and make a new bonnet and reticule, perhaps in a peach/coral silk taffeta, but I have some other projects in the works so I think I'll stick to the dress and necklace, and probably wear my Lizzy bonnet, which I've not yet had the chance to wear. The peach/coral accessories can always be made for next year's picnic!