Musings of a Lady

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Le Modiste: Update - Regency wardrobe in the making

Phew!  I am finally on vacation and can concentrate on my wardrobe for the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, this September.  In my last post I was working on a pale celadon green, wool pelisse.  It was a success!  I wore it to a Tea given by the Greater Bay Area Costume Guild along with the Laughing Moon dress I made in April.  Here are some images:
With my BFFs at Tea.  The brown dress is also a Laughing Moon examples.

Even though it was a cool morning that day, I was glad we were done by 3 - it became a sweltering day!
The picture of myself in the pelisse isn't the best but the only one I have in context.  Anyway, I am now working on the next pieces.  You know, once you get into making Regency clothing, you see all sorts of possibilities!  I can't take it all on the trip but, I will try!  LOL.

I am currently working on a spencer, another wardrobe necessity.  I have a brush twill cotton in Navy which I have lined in silk of the same color.  The shell is done and I am preparing the sleeves right now.  The design is a mix and match of different extant example and yes, a 'BBC film' image.

I used a two piece sleeve and added a puff of silk.
 I plan to put a decorative dagged or Vandyke epaulet on top of the silk, similar to the design below of Miss Elizabeth Bennet of P&P.


This satin spencer from the Museo de Traje is the inspiration for the neck line.

As a note:  I don't tend to make replicas as I find it tooo stressful to make it exactly as it should be.  One day I will one day, but given I have a limited amount of time - though I am on vacation - I am doing my usual picking out of exciting details that appeal to me and fashioning a garment from those extant ideas.  I am also, not doing the main construction by hand. I am however, doing all the finishing by hand, including putting in linings, buttonholes, etc.

As of now, I have enough day dresses.  I want to make more of course as each time I make one I get a better feel for the cut and fit and I find more exciting fabric to make others.  What I need right now, however, are the outer wear pieces (pelisse for the rain, spencer and perhaps a caplet). Additionally, I need hats that will pack and two ball gowns. After that it is all icing on the cake. Oh, wait, there is a night gown and wrapper, another chemise and a few chemisettes!  Oh, dear, I better get busy.

I should have something to post by the end of next week.  My goals for the remainder of June is to finish the spencer, start and finish the first ball gown.  Lots to do...Cheers.

2 comments:

M'lady said...

i do the same thing...I keep making more day dresses than I need but I feel more confident about the fit and using more expensive fabrics each time. I've just got the hang of bib front gowns!

Angela said...

Lady D. I totally agree. I have done a lot of different eras of fashions and I like Regency because it is so much more elegant and less restrictive - yeah, even with a corset on. Thanks for dropping by and seeing what I am up to. I plan to post more this week. Cheers