#regency fashion
Dress. Manchester Art Gallery.
Open gown and petticoat of cream silk, painted with sprays of leaves, flowers and fruit, mainly in red, blue and green. The bodice is lined with white linen, is boned and comes to a sharp point at the back and features long, fitted sleeves. Gown skirt is cut with a wide circular train. Silk painted in China, exported to Britain, and made up by a mantua-maker. Dress shows various signs of contemporary alteration and is reputed to have been worn as late as 1806.
For the longest time now I’ve been stuck in a creative block, so much so that my semester break passed without me even planning a sewing project. But a couple of days ago I was browsing the webs for some fabric because I wanted to redo my robe à la française when I stumbled upon some perfect silk taffeta for a time period I’ve never tackled before - so, needless to say, since I got a great deal on the fabric I decided to jump head first into an 1830s project.
I’m not sure what this dress is going to look like, I’m not even 100% set on which half of the decade I want to do. On the one hand, when I first started historical costuming, I was really fascinated by the early 1830s silhouette, but when I got familiar with the later styles I also really fell in love with those smocked/gathered sleeves that are more 1837-38ish. Here they are once again in comparison:
Personally, I think I like the late style slightly better, but at the same time I feel like I’m betraying the 1830s by not going for the more iconic and well known look with the huge sleeves.
I really like this dress for example even though it’s a little lowkey for the time.
At the same time I’m also obsessed with this one. I even had a dream once that I got this exact fabric to recreate it.
Also, it seems like silk was more popular earlier in the decade. There is also the possibility of making two bodices, one for day and one for evening wear. I think I’ll have to think about it and actually do some proper research in the next couple of days. But yeah, I think this whole project is going to take a while as I have to make all the undergarments as well and have no experience whatsoever in this era. I hope the construction is similar to 18th century gowns, that way it won’t be that difficult. I also have to make this happen in between uni classes, so please bear with me! I’ll probably document the entire mock-up process so I’ll have something to write about in the meantime. If you’ve made anything from this era before and/or have any tips and tricks, please let me know!