A bit more than a year ago (time flies so fast after covid issues, maybe more than a year has gone already) I decided to make a dress for myself using as reference a Metropolitan Museum day dress: this one to be precise, from 1867 in silk shocking blue taffeta.
Metropolitan museum antique dress
I love this colour. I loved the elliptical shaped crinoline and the panelled skirt. And I really really loved the double sleeves idea. What I did not love was the double pointed bodice (which is actually very peculiar and also used in many extant pieces). And I wanted to change the buttons with something of my own style, along with the skirt waist pleats. Plus at the end I chose to take away a lateral undersleeve bodice panel, which was not necessary needed to be historical.
Therefore I started, as it always is the best thing to do, from the undergarments. I already had the chemise and corset. So I wanted to sew an elliptical crinoline. I love cages. I hate them. Seriously. Cages are so easy to sew if you have the specific measurements and place of the single hoops/parts (they are very time and money consuming, but easy making). But if you do not, it is a mess. A real mess. And I wanted a big crinoline (very big actually, of around 5 meters circumference) with my own choice of hoops diameters and shape.
So I started to make trials and... it came a mess.
This costume was for myself: therefore I was not afraid to do sample texts and more than one trial before the final result.
This was my first try:
And this was my antique reference, only smaller and with smaller bonings compared to my idea:
I did not like the shape, plus the cage could not stand perfectly upright alone because the back was very heavy ( even with center back boned inserts as reinforcements).
So I made it smaller and tried to change a bit the shape. Still, I did not like it, the shape was ugly.
See here the shape and the back inserts I am talking about:
At the end I chose to remake it from zero, in a full fabric panelled style from an antique book collection. These kind of cages are (at least for me) easier to pattern and modify.
And after a few days, here was the new first sample result (much better):
And now to the dress: I had something like 10-12 meters of pure silk taffeta blue fabric from Silk Baron website. With this amazing blue colour and very nice touch and thickness. So I started to pattern the bodice and the skirt. The very peculiar thing about the bodice is for me the sleeves shape: the undersleeve is made of two U shaped arms (also a typical design for some antique pieces), while the short ruched sleeves... well I had to guess the shape cause from the extant photos it was not 100% sure. But they seemed overall similar to long puffed sleeves, but ironed flat in half... I did not like to iron them too much, so I left them more puffy at the end.
A spanish jacket pattern from Peterson Magazine (1865) with U Shaped Sleeves similar to mine (N°2)
Here are some wip details of the buttonholes and the handsewn canvas hem (taller hem of my choice):
The hem came out really good and stiff, but even thought it was handsewn the contour of the canvas showed on the outside. Actually I am not sad of it, I kind of like it.
Differently from the crinoline this time everything went off without a hitch. You may see the result here:
And also here is a photo of me wearing the costume, taken at a multi-eras living-history picnic:
Photo at a multi-epoch event. Courtesy by photographer Rocco A. Romano
I should wear soon again the costume, maybe for a photoshoot, it would be nice. :) Follow me for more updates.