Road to Avallon

So I fell for an absurd polyester brocade at Joanns...and thought it would look perfectly Renaissance paired with an ancient church in the French countryside! So I bought 5 yards (with a coupon, of course) and set to work making a dress to pack for my trip to France.

I'm writing this from Paris by the way, you know, no big deal (!!!).

This dress is my recently re-drafted kimono sleeve bodice pattern with a full circle skirt. I intended to wear this with a petticoat originally, but I was visiting a small museum this day and didn't want to have to worry about hitting things with my skirt. (#petticoatproblems) The neckline is finished with a self fabric facing and the hem was finished with cotton bias tape (see my tutorial where I explain how I do this hem finish). The belt is actually velvet ribbon with a beaded and faux jewel trim that I originally made for my senior collection at university. I had to modify the length as my waist measurement is quite a bit larger than the models, but it was no problem to sew on some more ribbon and a large hook to the center back. Perfectly tudor-esk no?

This beautiful little church is Église Saint-Lazare in Avallon France. In the Burgundy region it can seem every little town is magical and ancient, but Avallon is one of my favorites! It has an amazing museum of historic costume so...of course it is my favorite! My mother and I traveled to Burgundy to visit our most wonderful friends Martine, Pierre, and Isabelle. Staying at Martine and Pierre's most lovely home in a small town just outside of Auxerre in Burgundy is so wonderful as they are most kind and generous hosts. Martine and Isabelle took us to Avallon on our fist full day in Burgundy to visit the town and musee de costume. We had a magical time and I can't wait to share more about the museum with you all soon!

Fun fact: Avallon is speculated to be a possible historical basis for Avalon in Arthurian legend! How awesome is that! This theory depends on which historic legendary king one imagines King Arthur was based on, as one of these kings died near Avallon. It is pretty amazing that the city has been there so very long as to be part of ancient legends. So much history!

I hope you are all very well, I am certainly having a great time here in France! Tomorrow is our last full day in Paris and it should be a pretty packed one! I've taken a ton of photos to show you all, as I like to travel in full retro style <3 I have gotten a lot of odd looks, but it is worth it to wear my favorite fashions in such fabulous places ;)

Dress: Made by me
Shoes: Royal Vintage Shoes
Fishnets: Target
Belt & Necklace: Made by me
Earrings: Old Navy
Clutch: Vintage