Another Bridgerton inspired dress. This one I made last summer and I was able to squeeze in a few new pictures this week.
This dress was inspired by a waistcoat and cravat combo worn by Benedict.
The navy blue bee embroidered waistcoat with a soft sage green cravat colors looked so well together.
the navy embroidered bee fabric was perfect for a Sleeveless Spencer that was popular about around 1798-1800.
This is the easiest costume I have ever made. Took a day to make the spencer and a day to make the dress.
This dress is the most comfortable thing I have ever made that I have worn it around the house
Sadly for me I have already seen another waistcoat and cravat combo that he wears that has caught my eye in the season 2 trailer. And yes I have already started looking for fabric.
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!
The loosely cut style of the banyan (a man’s informal robe) is based on that of the Japanese kimono. Robes like this became popular in Europe from the mid-17th century, brought back by members of the East India Company, and by the 1670s European tailors were making banyans, also known as nightgowns. During the 18th century nightgowns evolved into several different shapes, from the simple T- shape of the original kimono to others cut more like the European coat. Their generically ‘oriental’ air was part of a wider taste for exotic designs that formed part of the fashion for Chinoiserie.
Cream silk gauze Madras lace frock with silk satin detail, 1817
I had decided to set G&G in the year 1818 before I looked into specific fashion trends around that time. I was interested to discover that this happened to be a period of transition from the “Classical” styles seen earlier in the Regency Era (and in most Jane Austen adaptations) to the “Romantic” styles popular from the 1820s-1840s. (See also this previous post.)
This gown is a really nice example of this in-between phase in women’s fashion during the late 1810s and early 1820s. It’s classic white, but covered all over in lace and ribbon. The waistline is still above the natural waist, although not as high as it would have been a few years earlier. The skirt is fairly straight, but edging towards the conical shape that would be popular for the next few decades. The short, puffy sleeves also show the transition from the simple, close-fitting short sleeves seen on evening gowns earlier during the Regency Era and the huge “leg of mutton” style long sleeves seen from the mid-1820s into the 1830s.
My initial assumption was that the sister on the right was in mourning, but then I noticed the red ribbon on her sleeve and decided she was probably just a Goth.
I usually post portraits that show off 19th century fashions better than this one does, but I like this one anyway. The unknown woman looks like she has a scheme in mind.
Fashion plate depicting a 1805 full dress, and a “dress of the old woman,” 1755.
The fashions of 2017 are different from the fashions of 1967, but the change between 1755 and 1805 may have been even greater, as shown in this illustration.
Ladies’ Museum, originally known as The Lady’s Monthly Museum, was a women’s magazine published from 1798 to 1828 or 1832.
I’ve done some runs of color-themed fashion posts before, but realized I hadn’t tagged them. I doubt anyone cares but me, but I’m working on getting things tagged by color.
