Edwardian outfit progress
Jul. 5th, 2017 11:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzThis costume is going together super-fast and that means that I have done hardly any research into the period -- hell, I've not even picked a period -- but I guess going to the picknick in costume is more important than getting all the details right. The picknick is this weekend, by the way. I'm hoping to be able to wear something.
Yesterday I sewed on orders and then I cut all the boning for my corset. I figured out I needed more than 6 meters of corset lacing and normal paracord is NOT a good substitute! I was impressed by the shape of the corset and could take some measurements when I tried it on yesterday:
Bust: 110 cm
Waist: 82 cm
Hip: 130 cm
Skirt length: ~122 cm
I'm not pleased with the fit though, there's a ton of things I wish were different, most obvious is the gusset at the front where ribcage and boob separate. I'm fairly small in the ribcage and rather huge in the cup, so the gusset is too tall for me and I'm afraid once I wear the corset without a bra underneath, the boob will slide in and end somewhere around my waist. I badly need a couple of new bra's but I was hoping to avoid the saggy-boob look in this corset.
Putting the eyelets in using an awl in stead of cutting holes has also made my center back shrink. I had to trim the bones shorter! The entire center back is rippling because of it. It's hideous...But hey, at least I get some sort of corset to wear, even if it's not perfect by far.
The entire outfit hinges on the corset. I can't really make a skirt if my waistline shrinks by 15 centimeters once the corset is on.
There were several options for the skirt fabric. I have some rayon in a wine colour left over, the blue stretch linen I used for my exam blazer, and some slate-coloured worsted wool suiting (I think it's called that in english -- kamgaren in Dutch). It drapes magnificently and is normally used for dressy men's pants and Office Pants. But because of the drape it's gorgeous for a skirt. I bought it for the school assignment last year and ended up making canvas jeans for Eisirt instead. It was 8 euro per meter but it's such a wonderful fabric. You can steam it and press it and seams do not show up very well.
But none of these options were long enough for my skirt! I drafted the five-gore skirt from "Ladies Tailor-made Garments" - a period resource. I was very bummed out about that. In the end, I decided to fold my fabric length-wise and check it on the floor of the hallway. With a little squeeze I might get the skirt out of the slate grey fabric, my favourite, if I wasn't hung up about the length and wouldn't mind a centre-front seam. Lucky for me, I'd drafted the thing to be floor-length and most skirts of the period (*cough* which period was that again? *cough*) were toe- or ankle-length anyway. And the skirt might get a little longer from hanging overnight.
The best part is that the slate grey and the wine rayon together remind me very much of this combination. And I must admit, I fell in love with that colour scheme when it popped up in my search.
This morning, as I was shopping for bias binding and new corset lacing, I also picked up a white cotton poplin for a blouse and some matching cotton lace. I've looked up the episode where Mary wears the above outfit (season 1, episode 1 of Downton Abbey) hoping to catch a few more glimspes. It looks to be a very high-waisted skirt or possibly even a dress with white lace at the top, but I can't really tell. The jacket she wears over it is very sheer and has some kind of pintucks or motif woven into the fabric. The waterfall collar points back to the pigeon-breasted fashion from a few years earlier (season 1 plays in 1912) while the skirt is already that Titanic-narrowness I probably can't carry off with my figure. And Mary wears it with two different pearl necklaces, so a trip to the thrift shop is in my near future.
The skirt went together really well, and I've used a vinegar soltution to properly set the pleats in the center-back that flank the opening. I've also picked up a paper/straw hat that I can pimp and fake flowers to decorate it with.
Things yet to be decided:
- Do I line the skirt or make a separate petticoat? (Leaning towards a lining at the moment)
- Will I go full pigeon-breasted outfit and make a blouse like this lovely German lady is wearing or will I aim for the 1912s and make a "larger than life" Lady Mary (I won't call myself fat when I can chinch down to 82 cm waist, thank you very much) with a square, lace-trimmed neckline?
- If I run out of time, can I get away with just making the wine-coloured jacket and wearing a silk camisole underneath?
- How the hell will I go to the bathroom because I haven't got any of the proper underpinnings yet!?
- What will I do with my hair?
- Where will I change into this costume, as driving a car in full Edwardian getup is probably going to kill me before I even get there?
Stay tuned!
PS: Muse has decided she will name this character Ottelien, after my great-aunt who had studied economics at university, had a bunch of kids, lived in Indonesia and was a wonderful person. Thanks, Muse!
Yesterday I sewed on orders and then I cut all the boning for my corset. I figured out I needed more than 6 meters of corset lacing and normal paracord is NOT a good substitute! I was impressed by the shape of the corset and could take some measurements when I tried it on yesterday:
Bust: 110 cm
Waist: 82 cm
Hip: 130 cm
Skirt length: ~122 cm
I'm not pleased with the fit though, there's a ton of things I wish were different, most obvious is the gusset at the front where ribcage and boob separate. I'm fairly small in the ribcage and rather huge in the cup, so the gusset is too tall for me and I'm afraid once I wear the corset without a bra underneath, the boob will slide in and end somewhere around my waist. I badly need a couple of new bra's but I was hoping to avoid the saggy-boob look in this corset.
Putting the eyelets in using an awl in stead of cutting holes has also made my center back shrink. I had to trim the bones shorter! The entire center back is rippling because of it. It's hideous...But hey, at least I get some sort of corset to wear, even if it's not perfect by far.
The entire outfit hinges on the corset. I can't really make a skirt if my waistline shrinks by 15 centimeters once the corset is on.
There were several options for the skirt fabric. I have some rayon in a wine colour left over, the blue stretch linen I used for my exam blazer, and some slate-coloured worsted wool suiting (I think it's called that in english -- kamgaren in Dutch). It drapes magnificently and is normally used for dressy men's pants and Office Pants. But because of the drape it's gorgeous for a skirt. I bought it for the school assignment last year and ended up making canvas jeans for Eisirt instead. It was 8 euro per meter but it's such a wonderful fabric. You can steam it and press it and seams do not show up very well.
But none of these options were long enough for my skirt! I drafted the five-gore skirt from "Ladies Tailor-made Garments" - a period resource. I was very bummed out about that. In the end, I decided to fold my fabric length-wise and check it on the floor of the hallway. With a little squeeze I might get the skirt out of the slate grey fabric, my favourite, if I wasn't hung up about the length and wouldn't mind a centre-front seam. Lucky for me, I'd drafted the thing to be floor-length and most skirts of the period (*cough* which period was that again? *cough*) were toe- or ankle-length anyway. And the skirt might get a little longer from hanging overnight.
The best part is that the slate grey and the wine rayon together remind me very much of this combination. And I must admit, I fell in love with that colour scheme when it popped up in my search.
This morning, as I was shopping for bias binding and new corset lacing, I also picked up a white cotton poplin for a blouse and some matching cotton lace. I've looked up the episode where Mary wears the above outfit (season 1, episode 1 of Downton Abbey) hoping to catch a few more glimspes. It looks to be a very high-waisted skirt or possibly even a dress with white lace at the top, but I can't really tell. The jacket she wears over it is very sheer and has some kind of pintucks or motif woven into the fabric. The waterfall collar points back to the pigeon-breasted fashion from a few years earlier (season 1 plays in 1912) while the skirt is already that Titanic-narrowness I probably can't carry off with my figure. And Mary wears it with two different pearl necklaces, so a trip to the thrift shop is in my near future.
The skirt went together really well, and I've used a vinegar soltution to properly set the pleats in the center-back that flank the opening. I've also picked up a paper/straw hat that I can pimp and fake flowers to decorate it with.
Things yet to be decided:
- Do I line the skirt or make a separate petticoat? (Leaning towards a lining at the moment)
- Will I go full pigeon-breasted outfit and make a blouse like this lovely German lady is wearing or will I aim for the 1912s and make a "larger than life" Lady Mary (I won't call myself fat when I can chinch down to 82 cm waist, thank you very much) with a square, lace-trimmed neckline?
- If I run out of time, can I get away with just making the wine-coloured jacket and wearing a silk camisole underneath?
- How the hell will I go to the bathroom because I haven't got any of the proper underpinnings yet!?
- What will I do with my hair?
- Where will I change into this costume, as driving a car in full Edwardian getup is probably going to kill me before I even get there?
Stay tuned!
PS: Muse has decided she will name this character Ottelien, after my great-aunt who had studied economics at university, had a bunch of kids, lived in Indonesia and was a wonderful person. Thanks, Muse!
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