Draping Project - Fashion Dress

Front

I know this doesn't look like a whole lot, but boy did it take a long time to drape! One of our most recent assignments in Draping class was to drape a dress based on a modern fashion image of a draped dress. The original was made of primitive pleated silk. We replicated it with primitive pleated taffeta. First we draped and constructed a darted shift for underneath the dress. Then the fashion fabric was draped on the form over the shift. To finish the dress, the drape would be hand tacked in place to the shift. The original had the look of fabric that had been wrapped around the body somewhat carelessly immediately before the model walked the catwalk. In actuality, the garment would have been draped and tacked to an understructure to carefully hold the drape in place.

When given this project, our initial reaction was, 'oh, this will be easy.' But it was much more difficult than that. Especially for me. It was very difficult to let go of my control of the fabric and let it drape in the way it wanted to while still remaining as true as possible to the original image. But by the end, it was much more enjoyable.

Side Front

Back - with extra fabric twirled and tucked at top - would be removed in actual garment.

Side Front

Moonlight

La la la. 1920s Moon Pictures.

Cameron Diaz Pink Dress

I love the drape of this dress! This would be such a fun draping project.

So lovely at the back.

I'm not sure how I feel about those horizontal lines across the legs though...looks a little too tight.

1920s Images

A few more glorious 1920s images for you to drool over!

1920s Fashion Images

In researching rendering styles of the 1920s I came across these fabulous 1920s fashion images that I thought you would enjoy! Isn't the party costume above adorable?

I love the colors of this one!

Reproduction: Basque Bodice Dress

Recently my mother, Nancy, finished a Basque bodice to match the skirt that she made two autumns ago as part of a ballgown. Like some original dresses, this skirt has two matching bodices - one for daytime and the other for evening. This dress is in the style of a late 1850s- early 1860s dress. The Basque bodice, a fitted bodice with a peplum skirt, was popular in the 1850s and was often seen into the 1860s on women who were not as up-to-date in their fashions and would have hung onto some of the fashions of previous years.

The dress is made of a beautiful silk taffeta with gold design woven into it. The sleeves have a gathered double puff at the top and an open pagoda sleeve. The undersleeves are sheer silk organza. The inside of the sleeve is trimmed in white silk ribbon about 3/4" wide that is box pleated. I've seen this treatment on several originals in the collection of Wheatland in Lancaster County. The collar is also made of sheer silk organza.

Here is my mother, Nancy and her friend Audrey in the parlor at Wheatland.

A chatelaine hangs at her waist, holding the essential sewing tools for sewing a silk apron.

The cap is made of fine net and lace with ribbon trim and would be worn indoors.