I made the suit last autumn but never got around filming it then and anyway I wanted to wait until I had the whole ensemble together before writing anything about it. I was inspired by the suit that Hattie Morahan wears in the movie Mr. Sherlock, especially for the jacket but I ended up making my skirt shorter to show the ankles so I'm still debating which exact year of the 1910s my suit represents. The jacket shape is very 1914, but the shorter skirt would place it in 1918-1919.
I drafted the jacket pattern myself and first made a toile to try out the shapes. The bodice of the jacket is very typical for the 1910s: loose around the bust and back, gathered to a waist band, the shoulder seam is dropped and almost batwing style, and the sleeves are narrow and have cuffs. The collar is showy and wide and I made the back of the collar pointy too, to echo the shape of the back hem.
For the skirt I used this pattern (the lower one of the two), though as said, I made my skirt shorter partly because I didn't have too much fabric and also because I wanted my ankles to show. I wrote about the gaiters I made for this suit earlier so the short skirt works better with them too. I love the tulip shape of the skirt and the smart casual feel of it.
The blouse fabric is net lace fabric with very prominent embroidered stripes, and I thought that it looks very period. The blouse pattern is my own and a very simple shape. The blouse closes with buttons and thread loops as I didn't want to even try making button holes on the net...
The hat was inspired by the style shown on this fashion plate (the lower left corner), and it is a soft crown hat with wire only on the brim edge. I'm going to make a couple more hats later but this was a good start; I like the quirky shapes of the 1910s headwear.
The suit fabric is smokey blue velvet and the cuffs and the hem are edged with a bluey-violet fabric I had in stash (incidentally the same I used to make the Courtois dress). The hat is dark blue boucle-velvet type fabric. All hand-sewn by me :)
Picture time!
I love 1910s fashion! |
Pointy hem, pointy collar. |
The cuffs and the collar are maybe my favourite part of the jacket. |
Awkward fashion pose. |
This wee bag I made last summer for a party goes perfectly with this suit. |
1910s are the best, you get to wear crazy pointy feathers. |
Deer in headlights... |
love it!
VastaaPoistaAbsolutely beautiful!
VastaaPoista