A Fractured Fairytale

I love riding habits. Even in fashion eras I don’t particularly like (I’m looking at you 1860s), I can usually find a habit I would want to wear. Something about the clean, tailored lines really appeals to me, plus collars and lapels are one of my favorite things to drape and sew. One of my most recent projects was a mid-1790s habit, something I’ve wanted to make for years. I have a lot to share about the construction of this outfit, so I’m going to break it down into multiple posts, starting with the inspiration and finished look.
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I wrote this quite a while ago but never got around to posting it. However, since it’s a new year and I’m working on some new projects, I felt it would be a good thing to remind myself of some important lessons and share what I learned. Also, I’m not purporting to be an expert in extant garments. These are just my broad observations, formed over a brief period of study. I took thousands of photos on my trip, not all of which I can share, but I wanted to include a few in this post.  All photos are shared with the permission of the Leicestershire Museums Collections Resource Center. Read more...

I’m rather late with my year end review but I realize these are mostly for the author anyway. Its really nice to have a list to look back on every year and remind yourself that you were actually productive. Read more...

I’m no stranger to altering my costumes. Often after a first wearing there are fitting tweaks I want to make, but I’ve also retrimmed gowns, or completely remade them in the past, or even cut up old dresses to reuse the fabric for an entirely different project. However, with this project I tried something I’ve been thinking about for years. I updated an existing 18^th century gown to reflect the new fashionable 1790s silhouette, copying specific alterations I’ve seen on extant gowns. In this case, I took my mid-1780s blue stripe gown which no longer fit, and altered it to a 1790–4 shape. Read more...

When you think of 18^th century neckline-fillers, you immediately think of a fichu or kerchief, right? A plain or ruffled triangle, worn tucked in or left out over the bodice. I’m oversimplifying, obviously, but really it’s easy to not go beyond a simple style. However, once you start looking for it in portraits and paintings, the variety of quirky and interesting things they were wearing at the neckline is surprising! Read more...