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.

Augusta Auctions 1820s Inspired Dress

While perving on the amazing creations on the Augusta Auctions website I found this amazing 1820s dress. I had previously cut out some yellow cotton damask to make a regency dress quite a few years earlier. I was inspired to dig it out of my ufo's (unfinished objects - mostly unidentifiable) pile. After digging for some time I found the cotton and with some consultation realised that it was possible to make a yellow and dusky green version of this lovely creation.

 

The original dress from the Augusta Auction website.

I had in my stash a beautiful dusky green  silk chiffon fabric that was perfect for the sleeves. Unfortunately, I did not have enough of the yellow damask cotton to create the beautiful decoration on the bottom of the skirt. I do not believe the feature would have the same impact as the stripes have in the damask (which makes me feel better for the lack of fabric).

In trying to replicate the dress I consulted with friends on the different construction techniques possible for the decorations. Most of it is bias tape and piping, which ended up looking far more complicated than it actually was. This was a wonderful and joyous thing. I did have to construct most of it by hand. This was a challenge as I am not overly confident in hand sewing due to my arthritis. It did turn out wonderfully though and I have now started to use hand sewing more, as my confidence builds. 

I also decorated a straw bonnet to go with the dress. It was shaped off an original from the Kyoto Museum book on page 160. I also used this image as inspiration for the trim placement. Overall I am very happy with the resulting dress and bonnet and look forward to being able to wear it soon.

 

The front view of the completed dress.

 The back view of the completed dress.

 Regency Bonnet

Back view of the bonnet.