1912-15 Edwardian Evening Gown

In order to save money and reuse some beautiful old gowns that I have grown out of (as well as improve their historical accuracy), I decided to redesign my 25th Anniversary Wedding Vowel Renewal dress. I made this gown long before I had begun learning about historic garment construction. The Anniversary was a Titanic themed evening with 11 courses and 4 different wines. One wine, was the most amazing tasting champagne from New Zealand. We even had waiters to serve the meal. The entire family dressed up and each guest took on the name and persona of a person on the Titanic to add to the atmosphere. It was a lovely evening and one I will never forget.

Betty and I at my vowel renewal, showing the original dress.

Inspiration for the new design.

For the komodo sleeves and front panel.

 For the front panel. Another example.

The main inspiration for the draping of the skirt and the overall shape and sleeves.

As I said this was long before I had begun learning about historically accurate sewing. There were many aspects of this dress that I was unhappy with in my current knowledge. It was also sewn a unspecified number of years ago, in which my body has unhappy changed in some aspects. As the dress still had a lot of emotion attached to it I researched originals for ideas for a few months before beginning to pull the dress apart. I also found that I required a contrast fabric as I did not have enough of the original to make the final design. This worked out well as the contrasting dark green silk brings the dress more to life and makes it pop.

 My best friend Lynne and I at a Delhi Debar Dinner. This photo shows the front of the completed dress. The back is almost an identical copy.

 A close up of the details on the top of the bodice.

 I just love this photo with my friend Danielle, due to the contrasting colours. I also really like the composing of this photo.