Costuming My Bliss

After working on white underwear for weeks on end, I decided I needed to take a break and work on something with color.  Valentines day was coming up, so I thought why not make a new Modern Regency in pink.

No problem, right?  Wrong.  I turned to the Sense & Sensibility pattern for what I thought would be a quick and easy project.  Quick and easy it is not!

What follows, dear children, is a cautionary tale about the perils of not making a mock up.

Image from Patterns of Fashion 1 by Janet Arnold.

At the same time I was doing the draping, I decided to scale up the pattern in the book.  Just for kicks ya know.  And guess what?  The lovely lady the dress was made for was just about my size!  How's that for providence?  I'm also toying around with the idea that she did not wear stays with it.  Scandalous, I know!  But the bands are so tiny, that I wonder if she could have worn stays and not have them show.  Arnold does note that "The gown could have been worn with or without a corset..."  Because of the band that goes just under the bust, it may have enough support built in.  I don't know, more experimentation is in order.

Due to the upcoming deadline for the 1893 Empire Gown, this on's been added to the UFO (unfinished object) pile.  I'll revisit it when that ones done, as I'll be needing a Regency Frock for a June event.