1930s Evening Gown

Currently I'm busy working on sewing a glamorous 1930s evening dress. The pattern was draped for one of my college classes from the above dress sketch. The sketch is from the book "Practical Dress Design" by Mabel Erwin. Probably a 1930s or 40s edition. I chose a burgandy satin for the fabric. I had originally planned on using a perriwinkle silk satin, but the perriwinkle color didn't look that fantastic on me, so I decided to go with the burgandy even though it's not silk. The color reminds me of the stunning 30s dress worn by Kiera Knightley in the Chanel ad.

So far the trickiest part has been those godets on the front of the dress. I think I finally got them to have perfect points! Almost finished!

Regency Silk Dress

c.1798-1805

Finally, pictures of the recently completed Regency Silk Dress. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

I'm thrilled with the lines of the back. The train seems to be the perfect length - awesome, since I had to cut very carefully to get all of the pieces out of the silk lining.

I didn't have quite enough fabric to line the sleeves as planned, but I really like how they turned out. I ended up using some plain sheer silk organza from my stash to line the sleeves.

A pearl button secures the bib-front.

Regency Silk Robe

c.1795-1803

I finally own a Regency Robe! I've wanted one of these since 'Sense and Sensibility' came out ages ago. I always loved the peach robe worn by Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood.

The lovely pleated back. Pattern from 'Patterns of Fashion' Original.

Regency Dress Update

Just a quick update on my progress with the Sheer Ivory Organza Regency Dress. I've been working diligently on sewing it and it is now all but complete. It has yet to be hemmed and then it will be finished. I will photograph both the Sheer Regency Dress and the Ivory Silk Pelisse shortly. The Pelisse was finished long ago but had not been photographed because I didn't have a dress to photograph or wear it with - the reason I made the Sheer Regency Dress. The Pelisse looked rather risque on the mannequin without a proper undergarment. Heh.

Aside from sewing I've been hosting dinner parties like a mad woman and working on updating my Portfolio. I'm super excited about this Civil War reenacting season as I already have a number of ideas for new clothing and accessories to add to my wardrobe. It's been sooo long since I've been able to look forward to a summer with this many reenactments to attend!

Introducing Vince

I'd like to introduce you to my sweet husband, Vince. Our love of history brought us together six years ago and has continued to be a mutual passion. Vince is also a long time Civil War reenactor, portraying both Civilian and Military, and a graduate of Penn State University with a Major in History - among his other degrees. He is currently studying to earn a PhD in Business.

Vince will be a co-blogger here at blog.historicalfashions.com. I'm sure you'll find his witty posts vastly more interesting than my picture posts.

Welcome to the blog world, Vince!

(See Vince's 1st Post Below!)

What the Frick?

Living a stone's throw away from industrialist Henry Clay Frick's Pittsburgh estate Clayton, we noticed his New York mansion-turned-museum in today's New York Times. We have yet to see the Frick Collection, but I'm sure it will be a destination next visit. If you're ever in Pittsburgh, though, be sure to visit Clayton.

Above: Thomas Gainsborough's "Mall in St. James's Park" (around 1783)

Patterns of Fashion Regency Dress

The Sewing Room is cleaned up thanks to a little help from my Handsome. I was at a loss to determine how to properly store all of the fabric and decorations that I was trying to house in my Sewing Room. Handsome came up with a few very helpful storage solutions. I'll be sure to post pictures eventually.

Now I'm hard at work on a Regency Dress from Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion 1". I'm making the c1798-1805 "Morning Dress" on page 48-49. My dress is an evening dress though, so the pattern will be slightly tweeked to suit the fabric and style needed.

The fabric is an Ivory Sheer Silk Organza with Gold embroidered rectangles. Found at the PA Fabric Outlet in Leola, PA for $.99/yd...and I got a 50% employee discount, so it was $.50/yd - score! The Ivory Beaded Silk was purchased on Clearance at JoAnns several years ago. The Ivory Beaded Silk will be the lining for the dress. I considered removing the beads, but they looked so lovely showing through the sheer organza. The above original reminded me of the fabric that I will be using for my reproduction.

The dress is to be worn under the Ivory Pearl Beaded Silk Robe c1795-1803 from "Patterns of Fashion 1" page 44-45. I love the way it turned out! I can't wait to make more garments using that pattern. I made the Robe from Ivory Pearl Beaded Silk.

Here are a few links that might interest you if you're working on a similar project:

First, if you don't like enlarging patterns from grids, the same pattern as the "Patterns of Fashion" Morning Robe c.1798-1805 can be purchased from Reconstructing History.

Wearing-History c.1806-09 Dress from "Patterns of Fashion" Reproduction - Very Pretty!

Vintage-Textile Metallic Brocaded Silk Dress c.1810

And, 'Getting Dressed in 1805' by Koshkacat on Youtube - learn how to put on a drop front regency dress!