Tuesday, February 9, 2010

1888 Dress



The photo shoot this weekend went very well, so I have the first of three costumes to share with you. This dress is an 1888 dress based on a pattern in "Patterns of Fashion" by Janet Arnold. The costume was made for an 1888 immersion event in Gettysburg several years ago.



I'm very proud of the hat because I stitched the rows of straw together myself to save a little $$$. I'll admit, I was very tempted to purchase a hat from a milliner, but having the straw braid on hand, I set myself the task of stitching together my own hat. It was much simpler than I thought it would be, and I was very happy with the way it turned out.



Like originals that I've examined, the skirt has a brown polished cotton lining sewn into it with rows of metal hooping that can be tied into a semi-circular shape to form the bustle.

At the event, spectators commented most on my train, tapping me on the shoulder to let me know that my skirt was dragging on the ground. Yes, I already knew that...it's called a train. ;)
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Posted by at 12:32 AM

4 comments:

  1. What wonderful colour combination! I love that dress! Should I live so long, I want to make all the gowns in that book!
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  2. Wow, I absolutely LOVE your dress Lindsey! Janet Arnold's patterns are really good!! The contrast of the light blue and tan brown is sooo pretty! Great hat choice, esp. the hatpin to top it off, haha, no pun! The flower ribbon on the sides of the skirt.. very tasteful! Is the material silk? IT looks to me a brown cotton and blue silk, but I could be wrong. The polished cotton is very hard to get these days, but almost all early 20th century and 19th and prior had p.c. in their gowns, just look at any original! Great job on it though!!
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  3. Thanks for the compliments! The gold fabric is a mystery fabric from the $.99 bin at the fabric store, but I love it. It has a texture that reminds me of original silk Victorian dresses that I've seen, and the color is changeable. The blue fabrics are real silk. The front and back don't quite match because they were two different pieces that I thrifted for about $.50 each. So this is a super cheap dress, but I don't think you would guess that by looking at it. Those are the best kinds of dresses, right?
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  4. oooohhh..i love this one!!!!!...its beautifull!!!
    greetings marijke
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