Regency Taffeta | A Completed Costume

This was a fun project that came to be through the mighty powers of procrastination. During Summer last year I had the fun task of making several costumes for Endgame (LCC 2018), and while I should have been working on mockups, I was instead starting an entirely new project. A Regency era dress.

I had all the materials on hand, and I needed to work with something prettier than bleached muslin. So creating an entire dress is exactly what you should do when you have pressing deadlines, right? Right.

The dress itself came together in about two days, and that includes hand stitched details on the seams to make it look as if it were sewn by hand when it was, in fact, not. Well, except for the hand stitched details.

The beading, however, took much longer.

I don't have an exact, or even an approximate, number for just how long the beading took since I didn't work on it consistently over the several months of making this dress.

Anyhow, once the dress was finished I pulled together a photoshoot with some very talented friends and this is the result. I'm quite happy with both the dress and the lovely photos.

Photos by Morgan Elise Photography

Model - Lizzy Poling

Dress by Tiana Blanchard

Making an 1841 Evening Gown | Bodice and Sleeves

Today I'm sharing the process of making the bodice of my 1841 Marie-Louise gown. I'm still in the process of making it, but I wanted to share what I have done thus far, mainly the bodice.

The pattern is self drafted, based off of a pattern from Patterns for Stage and Screen by Jean Hunnisett. To draft the pattern, I draped it on my dress form, patterned that, made a few adjustments and then went on to make one final mock-up before cutting into the actual fabric.

Speaking of fabric, the fabric I'm using is a faux silk taffeta from Bangkok Thai Silk. It looks more purple in the pictures, but it's a black-shot-red color.

I cut my pattern pieces out of both my fashion fabric and muslin and flat lined them by surging them together. Once that was done I stitched all the pieces together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, leaving the back open.

On the dress form, before any boning was added.

The next step was to add boning. I used single fold bias tape for my boning channels, stitched directly into the seam allowance.

After I added boning to the seams, I decided that it needed more structure, so I decided to add boning into the lining pieces of the front side pieces of the bodice. I cut my bodice pattern out of another layer of muslin to create the lining.

To add the boning to the lining, I cut out 2 more pieces of the front side pieces, surged the edges, and drew my boning channels. I originally thought that I would place the pieces against the inside of the bodice, matching the seams, but I quickly realized that if I did that then the boning would be at the wrong angle.

Instead, I still used the same pieces, but I ended up stitching them at a different (crooked) angle to my lining. Since it would not be visible once the lining was finished, I decided not to bother redrawing/positioning them.

My lining, with the additional boning channels stitched.

Next I stitched the lining to the bodice with right sides together, and stitching across the top with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I under stitched the lining before clipping the curved edges and turning it all outward.

Here's what it looked like at this point.

The next thing to do was the sleeves. These were also self drafted and based from the same book as the bodice. They were relatively simple to both draft and assemble. They consist of two pieces, the lining and the fashion fabric, which as you can see are quite different in shape and size.

Once the pieces were cut I surged them and ran a gathering stitch across the top and bottom of the fashion fabric pieces.

After that I gathered the top piece down to the measurements of the lining pieces. If I were to do this again and I would make the top piece a bit longer to give a little more volume, and I would center the gathers more towards the center instead of spreading it out mostly evenly.

Once I had the gathers pinned to the lining piece, I basted along both sides to hold the gathers to the lining. Then with right sides together, I folded it in half lengthwise and stitched with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, creating the sleeve.

After this, I attached the sleeves to the bodice by hand.

What the dress currently looks like (and also a more accurate color)

That's all for today's post. I'll have more posts soon about the bertha and eventually the skirt.

Marie Louise Gown | Progress Report

I have some progress to report on the 1841 Marie Louise gown. It's only a little so far, but it's progress none the less.

I started working on the bodice and got pretty far with it last week. I got it all stitched together, boned, and put the lining in.

Before boning...

And after boning. It makes a huge different  in how the bodice lays.

I started working on the bertha, and it came together easily and just needs to be attached to the dress now, as it's only pinned in the above picture.

The sleeves are about half done. I really like the way they look so far, but I need to add lace and finish the bottom edge of them still.

The bodice looks like it's closer to done than it really is because I only have the bertha pinned and I still need to finish the center back closure. I've been procrastinating because both of those mean a lot of hand sewing.

But I'm really happy with how it's looking so far and I'm hoping to have it done before the Christmas season is over so I can get some festive photos.

Costume Spotlight | 1898 Jacques Doucet Ballgown

This week's Costume Spotlight is an original 1898 ballgown by Jacques Doucet. Doucet was a French fashion designer in the 19th century and early 20th century. His designs were known for making elegant gowns using translucent fabrics and pastel colors.

This particular dress is from 1898-1902 and is made of silk, metal, and linen. The cut of the dress is typical of the era, with a narrow waist, small bustle, and flared skirt with a slight train in the back.

via Met Museum

via Met Museum

via Met Museum

From the Met Museum, "the material used is of the finest quality, extremely delicate and dramatically embroidered. The cut of the bodice is quite seductive, enhancing the silhouette." 

What do you think?

Rate between 1-10 in the comments and let me know your thoughts.

Halloween Costume's for Historical Costumers

With Halloween only a few days away, it's time to pull out the costumes. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because it's an excuse to dress up, and eat way too much candy (but don't tell anyone I said that).

Each year I usually try to make a special costume for Halloween, but this year I didn't have the time to start on anything early enough and I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do. I started thinking up costume idea's that would fit with some of my historical clothing that I hadn't worn yet or very often, because I love wearing period clothing and will come up with any excuse to wear it.

I came up with a few idea's that aren't too specific and can work with a variety of period clothing, which I thought I'd share in case someone out there needs some inspiration.


18th century:

• Marie Antoinette, 1770's-90's
• Eliza Schuyler (Historical or not), 1770's-1810's
• Clair Fraser (Outlander), 1740's
• Elizabeth Swan (Pirates of the Caribbean), 1720-50's
• Lizzie Bennet (Pride and Prejudice), 1790's-1810's

19th Century:

• Cosette (Les Miserables), 1830's
• Jane Eyre, 1830's or 40's
• Margaret Hale (North & South), 1850's
• Christine Daae (The Phantom of the Opera), early 1870's

My Halloween Costume in 2016 - Jane Eyre

20th Century:

• Dolly (Hello, Dolly!), early 1890's-1900's
• Elizabeth Thatcher (When Calls the Heart), 1910's
• Anne (Anne of Green Gables), 1900's
• Nancy Drew, 1920's-60's
• Amelia Earhart, 1920's-30's aviator

Then of course, there's always Victorian "Fancy Dress" costumes, if you have the time to put into it. I love seeing Victorian costumes because they're so unique and usually quite silly.

Victorian bat costume illustration from the 1892 book "Masquerade and Carnival Their Customs and Costumes" by E. Butterick

I'll be sharing my own historical Halloween costume in my Monday post, but for now I have to keep it a secret until after I wear it at a party on Sunday.

What are you dressing up as for Halloween? Do you like to wear historical costumes for Halloween? Let me know in the comments!

Costume Spotlight | Jane Eyre (2011)

I'm starting a new blog series dedicated to reviewing costumes from films and stage shows, sometimes focusing on a single costume or, like today, reviewing costumes from a whole movie or production. At the moment I'm only planning on posting this segment once a month, but that could increase in the future.

At the end of each post I'll be rating between 1 and 10. Please join me in the comments and let me know your own thoughts and rating!

To kick things off I thought I'd start with one of my favorite costume films, Jane Eyre (2011). This is the latest movie version of the classic book written by Charlotte Bronte. The story is about a girl (Jane Eyre) that was orphaned and abused as a child but now is governess to a young girl and falls in love with her employer, the mysterious Mr. Rochester.

Please note, this post does have minor spoilers in it, though I don't mention any of the big spoilers.

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

The film follows the original story of the book very well for a 2 hour film and depicts the Gothic genre of the book very well. It stars Mia Wasikowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester.

The costumes were designed by Michael O'Connor, who was very specific in making sure everything was as authentic as possible to the era the story was set in.

While the book is originally set in the 1830's, film adaptations are rarely set in that time because of how wacky the fashions were. That's why this, and most adaptations are set in the 1840's instead.

The following is from Michael O'Connor. “The lining, the buttons, the stitching, everything was totally researched. I always say, ‘Is there a reference for that, is that something they did?’ And if people say [they] don’t know, then I say we can’t do it—there’s so much information from that time that there’s no excuse not to have it.”

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

When asked if he was ever tempted to vary from authenticity, he replied “It’s tempting, but there’s no need. The truth is interesting enough. Jane is a sort of plain character, but that doesn’t mean she’s unstylish. She’s wearing shades of gray with white collars, and she can still look quite smart or quite nice and serviceable—not overly fussy.”

I think it's worth noting that over all, the costumes in this film are historically accurate for the 1840's, however as it is with all costumes, there were some elements that aren't perfectly accurate. Some of the costumes are tailored slightly different to be a little more modern (i.e. sleeves being cut tighter than they would have been in the era), and one bonnet (bellow) in particular is designed more for decoration than any useful need.

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

O'Connor on Jane's wedding dress: “The thing was to make it simple. Rochester is always trying to buy her things, which she rejects because that’s her character. So [the aim] was to make it a simple dress, and shorten the length. Jane’s a country girl, it’s a country dress, and it’s fitted and tight-sleeved, rather like her day dresses, like her character.” via

Below is a photo of the dress made for the film compared to a fashion plate from 1844, around the time the story is set. You can see just how similar the two are and just how accurate for the era the design is.

Fashion Plate c. 1844 Le Moniteur de la Mode

Wedding Dress (Jane Eyre 20011) Designed by Michael O'Connor

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Blanche Ingram
Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Rochester and Jane
Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Mrs. Reed
Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features 

The use of color and texture is so beautiful in this film. You can practically feel the fabric just by watching. There's such a variety of different fabric textures between dresses made of silk, cotton, and lace, and the crocheted gloves, knit shawls, straw and lace bonnets, the frilly fichu's and wool jackets.

While there's so much variety in types of materials, they all help keep the gloomy atmosphere that comes with the Gothic setting and really helps build the visual feeling of the film.

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

What I love about this adaptation is how well it represents this particular era of fashion, which often gets overlooked. It's an elegant era and still slightly silly with the amount of petticoats women wore to achieve a voluminous silhouette and the slightly crazy hairstyles.

Overall, I give the costumes in this film a 9 out of 10.

Rate between 1-10 in the comments and let me know your thoughts.

Sisi's Gala Gown Research

I remember when I first saw the famous portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, better known as Sisi. It was a stock photo used in a picture frame my mom bought for me. I had originally planned to put a picture of my own in it, but I loved the picture that was in it already and never changed it. It sat on my desk for years before I finally took it down and put the frame in storage.

The dress she wears in the portrait quickly went on my mental bucket list of costumes I wanted to one day make when I had the skill. That stock photo lead to my interest in Sisi, and she remains one of the most fascinating historical figures to me. She had such an interesting life that ended tragically with her murder in 1898. There's a wonderful German musical about her life called Elisabeth Das Musical. If you speak German or don't mind looking up translations, I highly recommend listening to it.

The famous painting of Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1865)

Back to the portrait, or rather the dress. After Costume College last year I got it into my head that this dress would make a perfect Gala gown. However, I wasn't able to attend this year and I didn't start the dress. After CoCo ended this year I heard that next years theme is Dressing the Royals. Could the timing be any more perfect?

I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend CoCo next year, as I have a lot going on the next several months and am not sure if it will work out schedule wise or financially, but I've decided to take the first steps in creating this dress starting with the research.

Winterhalter's sketch for the famous star dress portrait of Sisi

This has been a difficult dress to research, because the portrait is the only real reference there is for the dress and there's a lot of unknowns. But here's what I do know:

• The dress was worn in 1865 to a gala event (though I still can't find out what gala event it was)
• The dress was designed and made by Charles Worth
• The dress was likely only worn once and is no long extant (existing)

That's not a lot to go on.

I've been asking around on some costuming groups and here's what I found:

• The gold "stars" were likely embroidered of gold thread
• Worth was a big fan of tulle, so there's likely tons and tons of silk tulle in this dress

There have been various reproductions of this dress, from the German musical I mentioned early to the 1955 movie titled "Sissi". This dress also served as inspiration for one of Christine Daae's iconic dresses in the film version of The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Left, Elisabeth Das Musical; Middle Sissi (1955); RightThe Phantom of the Opera (2004)

I was chatting with my friend Michaela about this dress, she knows a lot more about 1860's fashion than I do, and we were talking about the color of the gown. The painting is likely romanticized in a lot of the details, one of which is the color. The lighting in the painting is very warm and makes the dress look like an off white/cream color, but in the 1860's white gowns were just that, white. Crisp white.

I decided that I really like the romanticized version of the dress, so I've decided that when I do make it I will make it to look more like the painting than what the actual dress would have looked like. The colors will be an off white and because I don't want to spend the next eight years of my life on embroidery, I want to look for either,

1) tulle with a gold pattern already printed on it or a bead type embellishment

or 2) find some sort of bead type embellishment and stitch it on myself. I don't mind sewing something on, but I'm not going to embroidery 20 yards of tulle. That sounds like a nightmare.

Although this project is dependent on a lot of things coming together in my life right now, I'm very exited to be starting the beginning phases of research.

Making an 18th Century Inspired Dress Part 4 | Making the Petticoat/Skirt

Today I'm wrapping up my Making Of posts for my 18th Century Inspired Dress, talking about how I made the petticoat/skirt. In the 18th century skirts were usually separate from the bodice and were referred to as petticoats, or "outer petticoats".

The petticoat is made from 2 large rectangular pieces of fabric, approximately 50 inches wide each for a total circumference of approximately 100 inches. Once my pieces were cut I stitched the sides together with a 5/8 inch seam allowance, leaving the top 8 inches open for the side openings. 

I folded the edges of the opening over once, then again to hide the raw edges, pressed, then hand stitched to hem the opening.

After this I pleated the skirt (which unfortunately I don't have any photo's of at this stage). I originally wanted to do cartridge pleats on the skirt but when I did a quick test I found that I didn't have enough fabric and I ended up with my backup plan of knife pleats.

Next, the waistband. The waistband is created from two separate rectangular pieces. The shorter piece is for the front and the longer is for the back.

Folding the waistband in half lengthwise I pressed, then opened it up and folded the top edge under half an inch. This is for after I attached it to the skirt and to hid the raw edges of the waistband later.

I also folded and pressed the ends in by half an inch.

Opening the waistband, I placed it right sides together to the skirt and machine stitched.

I then folded the waistband over, covering the raw edges of the skirt with the folded edge of the waistband and hand stitched it closed. You'll notice that the edge of the waistband is longer on this part of the skirt. It's like this on the front waistband, but the waistband for the back sits flush with the width of the skirt. This is because I opted to go for a button closure, which isn't historically accurate from anything I've seen. I chose to do this because I liked the look and since I wasn't going for complete historical accuracy.

After attaching the back waistband the same way, I machine stitched button holes on the front waistband and stitched a couple of vintage mother of pearl buttons onto the back. And voila! The waistband was done.

Lastly I had to hem the skirt. Because of the bum pad worn under the petticoats the straight edge of the skirt was higher in the back (right). I had to cut the skirt so it was even all the way around before hemming, which I did by hand.

And that's it! I still haven't gotten any photo's of this dress worn, but hopefully I will soon.

If you haven't already, be sure to read:
Part 1 - Drafting the Bodice
Part 2 - Making the Bodice
Part 3 - Making the Stomacher