Regency Evening Dress
My grandmother once gave me an old bed cover that was made out of a beautiful cream colored textured fabric with pale purple velvet arabesque flowers and I kept it for a long time looking for the perfect project to use it for. The idea hit me as I watched Bridgerton, a TV show based in an more or less alternate history in the year 1813. I loved the show and the artistic choices that were made to loosely stick to history, while introducing a distinctly modern vibe. The costumes (especially those of Queen Charlotte) are fantastic and fabulous and they made me want to reproduce the look of the era.
To do this, I used a pattern for a 1810 style bib-front gown, and adapted a sleeve pattern to get the signature puffy short sleeves. When planning out my pattern pieces, I discovered that with the pattern I chose, I would have just exactly the right amount of fabric, so no room for errors. I therefore made several mockups that I tried on over my Regency stays, before moving on to the final fabric.
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For the photoshoot, I added a pair of long gloves, a headband and a colorful pashmina shawl as was fashionable in the era.
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I love how the outfit turned out, it is super comfortable, easy to put on ant looks good. However, I regret the changes I made to the pattern in the back. I thought that it was strange that the back pieces were very small and the arm holes opened to the back somewhat, but having adjusted that for a better fit, I undermined the subtle patterning that was done at the time to give the illusion of a really tiny back, making it look quite modern, rather than making a really tiny back piece that makes it look like you're holding your shoulders backwards. It would be an interesting experiment to try the original pattern again and see how much of an illusion I can get out of it, while not making it look like it wasn't fitted properly.
Surprise bonus piece! When it came time to wear the gown for the first time, I realized that it feels weird to wear it without a petticoat. I therefore found another cream colored fabric in my stash and quickly made a petticoat on a pattern quite similar to that of the skirt except that there is no piecing, the whole skirt is in one piece, pleated in the back. I am quite happy with the result, and it was a quick and easy make. I added a series of pintucks on the bottom edge, which is a common practice to alter the stiffness of fabrics in undergarment. I chose this rechnique because I like how it works with the vertical texture of the fabric. In addition, the petticoat has straps to ensure the waistband sits on the underbust line.
Below, there are a few pictures of the making process. Fashion shots by Gilles Concordel.
