Anyway, my 2017 round up. I didn't feel like I'd made all that much over the course of the year, until I wrote it all down and realized I did do a fair amount. So here we go!
( pictures galore! )
(Yes, that was indeed worthy of sparkly text. Just because.)
According to "Dress in France in the Eighteenth Century" by Madeleine Delpierre,
The robe à la piémontaise, made fashionable at the time of the marriage of Princess Clotilde of France, sister of Louis XVI, to the Prince of Piedmont, was a variation on the robe à la française: the loose, flowing pleats at the back were added later to form a kind of cape attached behind. [source]
This indicates that the back pleats were attached only at the shoulder and left completely loose the rest of the way down. I'm working primarily from the extant robe à la piémontaise held in the collections of the National Museum in Denmark, which includes a pattern taken from their robe. Their pattern clearly shows where the back pleats rejoin the skirt, and there is a noted and marked seam in the skirt. See look, I drew on the diagram as proof. And to add to that, from the few others I've seen photographs of, if the back hem is visible, there doesn't seem to be a break in the hem in any of them that would indicate there is a separate piece where the pleat 'cape' overlaps the skirt back. More picture analysis and doodles to possibly come at a future date?
But anyway, my goal is to do as faithful a recreation of that dress as possible. I pinned a width of the silk (that will actually be the petticoat when I get to sewing) into the pleat configuration to get an idea of the look, just because, and here it is.
(Very wrinkly silk: what happens when it accidentally winds up under a large piece of brocade. Good thing I know how to operate an iron. )
The Danish robe is very simple. with trim only along the center front of the bodice, and because my fabric is so bold on it's own, I don't intend to trim it more than that. The only thing I'm a bit unsure of is the sleeve cuffs. Should it have ruffles? I feel like there should be something there, even if it's a narrow lace frill. But that will be decided when I get closer to the end point, I think.
For now I need to focus on the under bits. The 1780s is more of a rounder silhouette than earlier, without the hoops, and more emphasis to the rear, which will make the gap between back and pleats stand out more, so I think I'll make a rump for this, one that adds some width to my hips as well, instead of the solely rear-heavy one I made for my linen round gown last year.
Stay tuned for more robe à la piémontaise progress! Since this is such a rare style, I intend to document as much of my process as possible.
Anyway, the first and most important thing: Poe pictures! Anyone who wants to is welcome to snag stuff. I can also supply high-res full size (3008x2000 pixels) for anyone that wants them.
I was also very productive yesterday and basically finished my capote. I sewed the straw brim over a month ago, and I finally dug out the silk for the crown. The lace is only pinned on, but I'm still deciding if that's how I want to do it. The first two are obviously pre-assembly, and the second two are how it currently looks.
The green is a bit brighter than the striped silk I'm using for the polonaise, but I'm choosing to ignore that fact. I also had originally planned to use silver trim for the outfit, but I pulled out a burnished gold and green trim that looks amazing with the stripe, so it's not quite a Slytherin polonaise now. Strange as it sounds, the gold is a little more subtle than the silver, and I like the little bit of warmth it pulls in.
I tore the panels for the skirt and overskirt the other day, and as soon as I unearth my pinking shears I'll start cutting the ruffles and working on them as well. With the stripe on the cross-grain planning it out takes a bit more fabric, so I ended up picking up the rest of the what the store had, bringing me up to 14.5 yards total, half of which is going to the ruffles. Because the ruffle on the skirt is so deep, I can only cut three out of the width, so the underskirt will need 3 yards just for the ruffles. I can cut five ruffles for the overskirt out of the width, so that'll take less fabric, luckily. And the neckline only needs a 1" ruffle, so that will just get pieced out of what's left over after I cut the bodice. I'll probably start the actual sewing next week.
I'm also going to use another Fashion Historian pattern for the base of her mantle. Since it'll be made out of wool, I'm not going to put the flounces on, but we haven't decided on an alternate trim or lining yet.
As for myself, I think I want to use Period Impressions' 1860s paletote pattern for my own coat, with a few modifications as well. The sleeves are huge, I plan to cut them shorter. Depending on how I can squeeze it on to my fabric, I might also cut the bottom even, rather than longer in the back.
Also, I sewed up the braid for the capote brim. Once I finish removing the paper backing I used as a guide, I'll wire the edge and then take pictures. I don't know what I'll use for the crown yet, but that can wait a bit.
(Please excuse the messy sewing room)
And here it is with a couple of petticoats on the left, and with the dress fabric draped over it on the left. The bonnet frame is for my mom. I've wired and put the flannel on it, but I still need to bind the edges and cover it, obviously.
And on a different note, I've decided to jump in on the polonaise bandwagon. I fell in love with this polonaise in the Kyoto Costume Institute the very first time I saw it. To keep up with the theme I'm doing with my green 1869 villainess gown, I'm going to use a green and black stiped dupioni I have, and trim it with silver. Along with self trim I want to use some silver, so it'll be my Slytherin polonaise.
I think I'm going to take a break from the Poe dress tonight and start working on the black straw capote to go with my polonaise. I won't start working on the polonaise itself until I finish everything for the Poe event.
Okay, this is an attempt to plan out what I want to do over the next three and a half months for Costume Con. Now, taking into account classes and a part-time job with my usual speed, I'm going to try for two outfits a month. Once I make a new pair of drawers and finish my fully boned stays, I won't need to factor in undies time. Anyway, here's a tentative schedule.
January:
1840s dresses x2 for Poe
18th century fully boned stays
1780s Chemise à la Reine
if I can, otherwise it'll get bumped back where it fits.
February:
1872 Watteau Bustle Gown
1869 Villainess Gown, on the left
March:
1660s Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, Princess of Monaco for
charlesii.
Secret Project for the Masq
April:
1791 Purple Sari Pierrot Jacket and Skirt
1920s Print Silk Dress, adaptation
1957 dress
Of course, if I finish stuff faster than I plan (which I probably will), things will get bumped up. Unfortunately, my budget won't allow for the duchesse satin for the 1660s gown until March, but if I can, the April dresses will get bumped up sooner because I already have the fabric for all of them, leaving more time for the March dresses.
ETA: wow that's a lot of tags. XD
ETA2: I've put up an ij mirror account, but I'm not worried about needing it. It's there just in case. Feel free to friend it.