Miss Philomena

Everyone else is talking about Victorian fancy dress costumes, and I can't help it. I need to jump in, even though I won't be at Costume College. I'm liking this one the most. A Victorian take on Italian Renn is what it looks like to me. Kind of like a Victorian Juliet. I'll have to poke through the stash as I sort out what will go into storage and see what jumps out at me color-wise. I'm thinking maybe ivory? With a nice deep burgundy for the sleeve puffs and underskirt.

And a nice coppery-brown leather for the belt/pouch, which I just happen to have already...



Miss Scott in costume, Montreal, QC, 1881

so scrapbook isn't working with the lj.app or something? Not cool, LJ. Your force me to email my pictures to myself just so I can upload them here. 365 pics will have to wait until LJ decides to behave again.

But anyway, stripy natural form update! Okay technically it's not an update because I haven't done anything else, but I took a picture! :D It still needs hemming, but that shouldn't take too long. And then all I really need to do is the bodice! I still need to cut the flatlining for that before I can piece it. I'm flatlining the main body with the same green striped cotton I used for the underskirt, and I'm gonna bagline the sleeves with probably some white silk taffeta I have in my stash. And I'm still trying to decide exactly how I want to trim this. Because the silk itself is such a bold design, I think I might only do some ivory lace around the neckline and end of the sleeves. And I think I'm gonna do either ivory or gold buttons on the bodice too.

( big pic )

Now, for a bit of planning~ I think the next thing I'm going to work on is a summer bustle gown a la the 1872 dress I posted the other day. I was originally thinking of some type of floral print like the original, but then I remembered I have a lovely blue striped cotton gauze in my stash. It always comes back to stripes, what can I say? So not only to I want a nice light summer gown, I want it for something specific. That being Belvidere's Victorian Days this September. Which also means I'll probably need a white or light colored corset, instead of my black one. >_> But I've got a pattern I already like, so I'd just need to make another one.

ETA: works so much better when I get the html right >_>;;

So the past couple of weeks I've been feeling costuming burn-out, and for no apparent reason. But that's a bad thing when Costume Con is only a month away. So I figured if I can just knock out something quick and easy I can get myself back on track.

And hey, I think it's working! :3

I'd picked up this kind of waffle-textured-type silk gauze several years ago with the intention of making something like the white organza gowns you see in the 1870s. But after getting it home it then sat in a drawer forever after I realized it was a bit too drapey to use for the crisp style needed for the bustle style. Plus it didn't really want to hold a crease either, probably because it is a textured weave.

But Sunday I had the thought that it'd make a perfect early Regency style dress and got straight to it. XD Sunday I pieced together three panels for the skirt and did a muslin mockup for the bodice, which I also used as the lining. Yesterday I cut out the silk for the bodice and got that pieced together and mounted the skirt on as well. I'm doing a bib-front style, almost exactly like the 1798-1805 gown in Patterns of Fashion 1. I'm a bit eh about the bib for that dress though, with all the tucks going in the same direction, so my first thought was to do more of a chevron style. But when I was flipping through the Kyoto Costume Institute's Fashion for extra inspiration, this dress here caught my eye. I like the slight scoop to the neckline, as well as the gathering under the bust.

I haven't actually done the bib yet, but I realized last night when I was, I'll admit being lazy, fitting the gown over just a bra and tank top, that I really need some type of stays for this. I'm a busty girl, so I need something with support, but I don't particularly like the long typical regency style stays, so I'm going with a pair of short transitional stays, the kind with a gathered cup rather than inset gores. I drafted up a pattern for the back of the stays earlier, and I'll just start with a couple of rectangles for the front to figure out where the cups need to go. For a little bit of extra support I rescued the underwires from one of my bras that's bound for the trash to add to the stays. But actually making the stays is tomorrow's project.

And I noticed there is talk of wearing costume for the KCI tea on the 10th? Looks like I'll be all set. XD

Because this sounds like it could be lots of fun, I went through my folders of fashion plates and picked out something new (and cold weather appropriate) to do.

I decided on this 1875 plate, because I love the false vest look.

Much as I'd really love to use a plaid for this, I have to go with what's on hand (and I'm already working on another plaid winter dress). I dug out some dark blue velvet and some striped blue silk that I've had for ages. I'll take a picture tomorrow probably.

And to go with it, a coat, of course.

If I can, I'd like to use some bright blue wool flannel that I have, but it'll be a tight squeeze because I only have 4 yards of the 60" wide stuff. Depending on how it looks, I'll either use the dark blue velvet to trim the coat as well, or some white silk velvet I have tucked away. If I don't have enough for a full length coat, I'll go with something shorter. I have a few doleman patterns I can pick from.

In other news, I have a mockup for my Poe plaid dress sewn, I just haven't bothered to try it on with my corset yet. I finish the semester on Tuesday though, and I'm going to try and have both of these outfits fully finished by the end of the month. Well, the 1875 set has to be done my then away, since the stoll is on January 3rd.