Vernet project finished!

I think it was around mid-September last year that I got involved in the Vernet project, a fashion recreation challenge conducted by costume bloggers and other fashion history enthusiasts around the world. The idea was to recreate the fashion plates drawn by a French artist Horace Emile-Jean Vernet in 1814. There are 30-odd plates in the collection titled Incroyables et merveilleuses de 1814.

When I joined the project there were only 2 ladies plates left which in retrospect was probably a good thing, because I'm not sure if I could have chosen just one from all the plates. My choice was the plate number 23 which portrayed a "chapeau de paille, orné de coquelicots, robe garnie de bouillonnés", meaning a straw hat trimmed with poppies, and a dress decorated with poufs.

Plate number 23, source http://digital.bunka.ac.jp/kichosho_e/search_shousai.php

I started with the hat because I thought that it would take the most time to make and I've already written a separate post of it. I've since added the poppies and a simple ribbon trim to it and I like the result. The hat is fairly top heavy, so when I wear it outside it needs serious pinning to keep it on.

The dress was a fairly straightforward affair, I used my trusty bodice pattern cutting it with a very high neckline, and adapted a 1820s hem pattern from Jean Hunnisett's book. The Hunnisett book also had an 1815 hem pattern, but to me the 1820 pattern looked more like the fashion plate dress's hem so I chose to use it. For the decorations I used readymade whitework trim which I attached to flounces of the dress fabric to achieve the needed width for the frills and ruffles. I sewed narrow channels to where I wanted to gather the pieces and then threaded them with cotton yarn. I'm pleased with the tidiness and tightness of the gathers and they work well with the collar ruffle and cuffs which need to be adjusted every time the dress is worn.

The collar ruffle is a separate piece, simply a lenght of lace attached to a rectangular piece of dress fabric. It has two layers, the bottom one has lace on both the long edges and the top one on only the lower edge. The top layer is attached to the bottom one and it is gathered and positioned so that it creates the pouf layer when the collar is tied close. The hem flounces are done in a similar manner. The smaller lace frill and pouf are attached to the very hem of the dress and the wider flounce is attached higher on the hem.

The dress closes at the back with 5 hooks and thread loops and has a separate sash of blue and white gingham ribbon. I might change the ribbon later, I really couldn't find anything remotely similar to Vernet's original drawing so I went with the least offensive option. I also didn't attempt to make the shoes because I don't have any use for such weird colour boots outside the fashion plate project.

I bet you want to see the dress already?

Attempting an imitation of the fashion plate pose. I don't have the parasol and couldn't make my face to produce that smug smile that the lady in the Vernet drawing has...

It's so... frilly.

Silly, silly cap :)

Seemed like a perfect chance to pose with my faux-Chinese teacup.

The dress is very high-necked. I actually like it better with the collar on, this just looks a bit odd...

Closeup of the hem.

Busy

... hence no posts for a long time! I'm working on stuff, I swear. I've been busy with work, dance training and other dance related stuff. My ceili team is going to the Mainland Europe qualifiers this weekend and I'm also doing solos there so it's been a very dance-filled autumn. I also had the team dresses (8 of them all together) over at my place for a quick makeover because the original seamstress had no time to finish them... Also, I'm working full time with my PhD. dissertation and did I mention the dancing already? :)

But. The Vernet dress. I'm fairly confident I can finish it in time for the December deadline because everything is cut and nearly sewn and I just need to assemble everything. The hem looks like this at the moment, though minus the pins, because I did sew the first bubble-frill on after taking the photo.

Because I apparently can't write a coherent post concentrating on just one topic, here's another random post on shoes. Take a look at these beauties that I got recently:

I fell in love with them earlier this year and have been hunting for a good deal for them as their regular price was a bit too steep for my taste. As luck would have it, I found one and got the shoes. They're super comfortable, ridiculously pretty and pink. What more could you ask?

Update on the Vernet project and other random Regency stuff

I've been insanely busy since the last post in early September with work and travelling and playing tunes and dancing and more dancing and... so there's not much to post. However, I have made a little progress on the Vernet project dress and I'm fairly confident  that I get the whole thing done by the deadline which is set in early December.

I have all the bigger pieces sewn up and the next thing would be to sew them together and add the frills. I still need to order cotton organdy for backing the bits in the dress decoration that need a bit more body to keep the intended shape. Other than that, the dress in my Vernet fashion plate is pretty unfussy and I've luckily made the hat already, so everything is chugging along nicely. A couple of photos below of the bodice I put on today to ascertain the fit and pin the bust darts:

I didn't iron the seams and the whole thing is just pinned on, hence the wonkiness.

This might be the plainest bodice ever. It has a certain strait jackety air.

I recently managed to find some Regencyesque accessories from normal, high street shops so I thought to share.

There's this paisley shawl, not exactly a period pattern, but close enough and I like the colours and the price was ok. Of course there are several places online where to find these too.

The shawl measures ca. 70cm x 220cm

The reverse side

I found these shoes when I was in Bath for the Jane Austen Festival in September. I don't really follow fashion trends that much but apparently this style has been a summer hit or something because there were several variations of this style on the reduced price shelf. These shoes have a zipper at the back, but I'm going to cover that up with a bit of tape since the front lacing is functional and I can put the shoes on by opening the laces.

Vernet project: the bonnet

I may have mentioned in passing that I'm also participating in the Vernet's Incroyables & Merveilleuses project this year. The idea of the project is to recreate the 30 odd fashion plates Horace Vernet drew in 1814. Since we are supposed to keep the plates we've chosen secret until the big reveal in November/December this year, the posts for this project will be in bits and I'm trying my best to be as secretive as I can.

I've finally begun working on my Vernet fashion plate and the first thing I've finished so far is the hat. I can't really say if my method of constructing the hat was really period correct but it worked well and I think I've managed to produce a shape that is very close to Vernet's drawing.

I first made base pieces for the hat using tightly woven needlepoint canvas. I wired edges of the top piece and both edges of the crown piece after sewing the centre back seam. I also sewed the centre back seam of the brim. I then handstitched straw braid in slightly overlapping rounds on the base pieces and finally assembled the hat. The concave shape of the crown took some thinking and pleas of help to fellow costumers (thanks Sabine and Jennifer) and their advice led me to adapt this technique for my bonnet.

I still need to trim it but other than that, it's finished.

 The inside of the brim is lined with cream taffeta and the crown with cotton batiste.

Failures and new plans

Based on recent sewing attempts I think it's now been established that I cannot make a pair of long Regency stays.
You know, those corded, lightly boned, white and embroidered contraptions.

I had my doubts before taking up this project, since I had tried out the 1820s pattern in Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines a couple of years ago, falling on my face rather spectacularly with it. So many things were wrong with that project, from fabric choice to fit. So you'd think I had learned something. Apparently not.
I'm not going to show the second version to anyone, let alone post any pictures here, so just take my word for it, it's not pretty. Or well, parts of it are pretty (like the embroidery), but the fit is still wrong and weird, the cording pattern turned out annoyingly asymmetrical and it's very clear, and the stupid fabric which at first seemed like a good choice, stretched in odd places during the sewing and the cording. To top it off, I foolishly thought I could pull off trying my own pattern, but how wrong I was.
I think I might try to fix this some day when I'm not so annoyed and frustrated with it, but for now I've hidden it in the sewing cupboard and decided not to look at it for a very long time.

The primary reason for trying to make those wretched stays was that I wanted to finally make an 1830s dress. In retrospect the stays were all wrong, however much the museums and costume researchers try to convince me that these stays were worn with the 1830s dresses. I  mean really. Stays with straps, when your dress has a low, almost off the shoulders neckline and sloping shoulders. I know, I know, the strapless corsets didn't (apparently) come along until the 1840s but still. It seems a bit odd to me.

So bring on plan B. Or plan F, or M, I've lost count. I'm going to try and make a pair of stays/corset along these lines, maybe trying to use this pattern, slightly modified. I've also started a corded petticoat, which is slowly coming together, since I'm handsewing it. The dress itself is going to be some sort of combination of these styles:

I like the bows and the low neckline with chemisette. Source: Kyoto Costume Museum

This has always been my favourite 1830s dress. Source: Kyoto Costume Museum

Other sewing plans include an 18th century robe à la Francaise which hopefully won't fail like my first francaise attempt. I dyed the fabric for it last weekend and I love the periwinkle blue colour!

I'm also participating in the Vernet's Incroyables and Merveilleuses project, so I'll have a secret Regency project to post about over the whole of this year. I haven't yet got any supplies for that, but I guess I should start tracking them down soon.