The Carmine Gown

 

Not exactly sure why these photographs came out so blurry...but let's just say it was an "antique" look I was, uh, going for on purpose. This is the quilting cotton bustle gown I made recently and I am very happy with how it came together. I'd love to wear it to hand out candy on Halloween, because let's face it, my end goal is to be the creepy lady that owns the big haunted house at the end of the road. Dress for the job you want.

Things are a bit rough behind the scenes at present, with my little kitty ill on top of my packed schedule before I leave on this long planned trip. Ever since I learned I would be vaccinated this year, I had been planning a grand adventure to look forward to, but that was all before I knew Cleo was going to get so sick and that I very well may be missing her last few weeks. Hotels are all booked, and one of my best friends is meeting me in Palm Springs which means her flights are all booked, and really it would be both expensive and heartbreaking to cancel my trip. And it's also equally heartbreaking to leave my tiny Cleo behind. It's a lose lose, and nothing I do will heal her (her bladder is mostly tumor, she's 16, this type of cat cancer is rare and doesn't usually respond to treatment). I have never lost a pet like this before, and it hurts. I should be super excited for my trip, and I was, until my littlest friend started to fade away fast. My life goes on, but I've had Cleo sitting on my lap every night for over a decade, and as someone who's already a little lonely, this is going to flat out suck.

So it's nearly fall, the best of seasons, and I've got costumes on the cutting table and an adventure on the horizon, but I'm gloomy in the worst of ways as I say an, ultimately far too short, long goodbye.

What is a Corset Cover?

1888

Most of us modern gals have a few camis in our wardrobe, the word shortened from camisole, which does sound way too fancy for the cheap knit tubes with tiny straps we have today. Wouldn't I love to find actual elegant silk camisoles in a nice bias cut woven fabric...but I digress. Today people wear camisoles underneath clothing for another layer of warmth or modesty, to smooth over lines from a bra, or wear them alone as a top in their own right, but where did camisoles come from in the time line of fashion history?

It seems that the corset covers of our Victorian counterparts were much like the camisoles we have today. Worn over the corset to smooth over some of the lines from the boning or busk, as a layer of modesty under gowns of more transparent fabrics, and even perhaps as another layer of warmth when central heating had yet to have been invented, corset covers were another essential item of undergarment for Victoria ladies. They also would come in handy if say you wanted to wear a colorful corset with a white gown, which is exactly why I'll be making one!

As I have mentioned, I want to make a frilly white cotton bustle dress this year, but as my late Victorian corset is black, I'll be needing a corset cover to help hide the dark shade of the corset under my future white gown. Having never made such an item before I wanted to do a little research before I cut into some more white cotton and got to work. So what do antique corset covers look like?

MET 1887

Well, they look like this mostly! White or ivory cotton, center front buttons, sleeveless, and with varying amounts of lace or eyelet. The seam lines seem to follow the fashionable silhouette of the bodice which would have been worn over them. Perhaps it would work to draft a pattern for such an undergarment using the bodice pattern as a guide, which is what I will be trying out this next week! I have a stash of little shell buttons and white cotton which will be perfect for making such a garment, but I have have to pick up some cotton lace too!

MET 1880s

MET 1880

MET 1889

Gathering at the neckline of some kind or a drawstring front seems to be popular, along with concentrating the lace over the bust. The adjust-ability of the drawstrings definitely appeals.

MET 1885-90

Isn't this last one odd, no straps! Perhaps it was made to be worn with a gown with a wider neckline? Pretty in it's simplicity.

Have any of you made a corset cover or other Victorian undergarments before? This seems like it will be a simple project but one never knows with costuming! I'll show you my results soon )

Sunday Spotlight: 1870's Petticoats

As I mentioned last week, I need to make a few more pieces of Victorian undergarments before I can finally make a huge ruffly white cotton bustle dress. The first thing on my list is a 1870's petticoat to wear over my Truly Victorian Imperial Tournure bustle. I may actually have to make more than one petticoat actually since my bustle is a dark color and the end gown will be crisp and white so I won't want the bustle to show through.

Though Truly Victorian does make an early bustle period petticoat pattern, I think I'm going to try and DIY something. The plan is to pick up a bunch of bleached muslin at Joanns this week and go to town. Lets look at some extant petticoats from museum collections to give you an idea of what I'll be going for...

MET

MET

MET

MET

MET

MET

It seems like most examples for the 1870s are a 50/50 mix between the fullness of 1860s styles and the slimline natural form shape of the late 1870's and early 1880's. They aren't completely dissimilar from the A-line + back gathers/fullness of Edwardian petticoats, which I have made before so it won't be completely unfamiliar territory. It seems most essential to include enough fullness in the back to lay over the bustle and to plan for a bit of a train. Most petticoats above have a ruffle or two around the hem, so I plan on including a long ruffle all the way around plus perhaps a few additional ruffles in the back. I don't think I'll be including any fun lace or eyelet trimmings for my petticoat as it seems a bit of a waste to buy trimmings for something that won't be seen in the end!

Have any of you ever done any Victorian costuming before? I know a lot of people do Regency era costuming, which I have also never tried before. One day I'd love to have made something from each major fashion era, it's a long term goal of mine!

Primary Sources: Edwardian Shirtwaists, 3 Examples from my Collection

Before I jump into making an Edwardian shirtwaist myself this weekend, I thought I would delve into my storage and pull out the three antique shirtwaists I happen to have in my collection! It seems strange I have never shown you all these before, but better late than never right?

My favorite professor from college kindly past these antique items on to me before I left school as she knew I would appreciate them, and I sure do! One day I'd love to have a whole collection of antique garments, but until then these lovely items will tide me over. Each is a masterpiece of its kind, these are much more detailed and gorgeous shirtwaists than I would ever be able to create! I don't have the patience for this much delicate lace insertion! Still the general construction clues and materials are of interest as I begin my own project, so lets take a closer look...

First up is this most lovely white work embroidered shirtwaist that I imagine would be dated later than the other two examples I have based on the fact that it has less of that eponymous pigeon bust shape and looks more like a transition to the sleeker blouses of the teens era. The fullness here is gathered to a waistband and the shirt closes in the front over a central panel. The sleeves are 3/4 length which is something I think I'll do for my own shirtwaist as it seems common enough. Made in a semi-sheer white cotton, I believe the embroidery is actually a boarder print from the fabric artfully placed rather than being done specifically for the piece (or done after it was assembled). Never the less, the white thread embroidery is super gorgeous!

Embroidered fabric panel is set into the sleeve with a boarder of lace. It seems most if not all of this particular example is actually machine sewn with very tiny stitches.

In the photo above you see the front folded open to reveal the center front panel which closes at the bust with a hook and eye. Presumably there was also a hook or closure of some kind to close the shirt at the waist but there is nothing there now.

The back looks nearly identical to the front. I wish I could get a new one of these in my size :)

The second shirtwaist in my collection is a bit more formal, or at least it has full length sleeves and a lot (a ton!) of lace insertion!

The more tapered puff sleeve shape leads me to believe this shirtwaist is older than the first, as the crazy huge mutton sleeves were such a trend in the 1890s. The sleeve caps are covered in both lace insertion and lace ruffles! The front and back of this example have long rows of delicate and sheer cotton lace insertion. The center front is gathered to a waistband and the whole shirt closes at the center back, though I am not exactly how it stayed shut as there are no hooks, buttons or snaps anywhere on this piece! There seems to be a combination of machine and hand sewing on this shirt, the long panels of lace seem to have been sewn in with a machine and then sort-of edge stitched down with tiny hand stitches.

See the back above. The standing collar is entirely made of lace and starts at the center front, wraps around the back and fastens at the center front again. The cotton of this shirtwaist is super thin and after over a hundred years--is quite delicate!

The lace collar and lack of hooks or snaps.

Inside I noted that the seam allowance is trimmed into next to nothing and then whip-stitched finished.

The last shirtwaist is a sort of combination of the first two in design, incorporating both lace insertion and white work embroidery.

As you can see it is longer, tucking into the skirt rather than finishing at the waist. The bottom edge of this old gal is raw now, I assume it was cut or torn at some time and not intentionally done this way! The embroidered panels down the front are a-m-a-z-i-n-g, with sheer cotton net set into floral swirls.

I mean come on, too pretty!

  The back buttons up the center with carved shell buttons, but you can't see them because they are covered with a panel in matching pintucks. The back is rather different from the front with lines of pin tucks and strips of lace insertion as opposed to the embroidered sections on the front. The back of the waist has a sort of half waistband addition where two ties emanate from, I imagine that these ties were once longer and perhaps once tied int the center front to control/create the gathered fullness.

This inside shot shows the french seams used on the side seam and the binding used on the sleeve/armhole seam. Again this examples seems to have a mixture of machine and hand sewing.

Sadly this shirtwaist isn't in the best of shape with rust discoloration spotted all over but it seems it was displayed at one point as I discovered some conservation efforts inside! The front embroidered and lace portion has a piece of ultra fine nylon tulle netting sewn in to protect the embellishment from further damage. Possibly this shirtwaist was on display at one point in its 100+ year history!

I hope you all have enjoyed this look at a few real Edwardian shirtwaists, my own project will be much less couture and fancy! Since I am basing my ensemble on the idea of an adventurer on her travels, I don't think a simpler approach is such a bad idea ;)

In Bloom: New Exhibit at the Denver Art Musuem

There is a new exhibit at the Denver Art Museum, In Bloom: Painting Flowers in the Age of Impressionism! As a lover of both art and flowers, I was pleased as punch to visit the exhibition's members preview day on Friday!

I love, love, love 17th and 18th century Dutch (and French) floral still life paintings. There is something about the near photo realistic overflowing vases of multicolored blooms that just calls to me. I have two large posters of Jan Van Huysum floral paintings (Fruit Piece 1722, and Vase of Flowers 1722 respectively) that usually hang above my bed (when I was off living on my own). I love finding the butterflies and tiny ants hidden among the soft petals and leathery leaves. So when I first found out about the upcoming floral exhibition at the DAM (Denver Art Museum) last summer as an intern, I was very excited!

The exhibition is separated into several sections/rooms, and the first was full of my 17th and 18th century favorites! The other sections charted the evolution of the floral still life through the 19th century as the impressionists tried their hand at the subject. I must admit am not a particularly big fan of impressionism in general, I mean I like them enough, but rococo and realism hold my heart. I like certain artists more than others, and I cannot deny the power of Van Gogh. The works of his included in In Bloom are beautiful, the choice of colors in each work so beautiful and giving each work a zest of life and energy.

I really enjoyed the exhibition, especially the small room with no art but a scent experience meant to transport you to a lush garden via your nose. I always enjoy studying the details of such magnificent art works, and the visit was a welcome reprieve after a morning rushing around at my retail job! There are several exhibits in different areas of the museum's other gallery's highlighting related floral artworks that are also nice to visit, especially the new tapestry exhibition in the textiles gallery. If you are in the Denver area I highly recommend a visit, the exhibition officially opened on July 19th and runs through October 11th!