I'm feeling bleh...

... about the gloomy weather that has continued for days, and about my sewing projects, particularly the Eremitage dress. I seem to have lost interest in completing it and I'm considering if I should take it apart and maybe try and make something else. I don't know what it is, at first the dress seemed kind of interesting and the results so far are passable, but I'm still thinking that maybe the shirred drapery makes the hem a bit too heavy, after all and if I add the gingerbread trims, they will only fray and then the dress will annoy me even more, what with all the hard work wasted.
I've mentioned the Courtois portrait for several times already and I'm more and more intrigued about the gown Ms. Dagnan wears in it. I joined Pinterest and started to put together a pinboard of 1880s dresses that have similar elements as the dress in the portrait. I've also had The Fashions of a Gilded Age  on loan from library for quite a while now and I think maybe this pattern could work with the dress in question:

Then again,  I've stared and stared the portrait and still can't understand how the bodice closes. 1880s is a completely new era for me, so any advice, ideas and suggestions are gratefully received!

How did she put the bodice on? The front of it seems rather solid with all the shirring and trims, but then again the high collar would indicate (at least to me) that the closure cannot be at the back, either. Also, I'm pretty much inventing the skirt part of the dress. If I ever get that far.

If I dump the Eremitage dress and take it apart, I could use the fabric for this, because I think it would suit this dress better than Regency gowns, anyway. I saw that the shop still had the fabric and on sale, to boot, so it'd be possible.

I'm trying to make a mock up of an 1880s corset, so if that works out, maybe this dress will too.

A late night post

I really should be in bed by now, but I felt like writing a little project update first. I'm sure I'll regret this in the morning...
So, I've been working on the Eremitage gown, and the biggest and the fiddliest part, aka the weird curtain hem decoration is done and I think I managed to produce a drop front gown without actually having to cut  in to the hem, and still have the 1820s silhouette. Here's a couple of photos I took before the holidays. The dress still needs the gingerbread trim, the sleeves and a collar, and I need to figure out all the closings and buttons and pinnings and hooks and eyes and... Now it actually looks like this gown might have all the possible varieties of closing mechanisms save the zipper and snap fasteners.

The shirred bib front is going to have buttons or something on the top edge to attach it to the underbodice which closes at the centre front with hooks and eyes.

I'll try to have some better pictures taken over the weekend to show the construction in more detail. It's been so depressingly dark and lightless all December that there's not really  a point to try to photograph anything. But hopefully now some sunshine and daylight will return.
Yesterday I began dabbling with a project that is very un-me, meaning corsets. I don't like staymaking or corsetry, I've said it before, but there I was, enlargening patterns and cutting a toile for not one but two 19th century corsets. Weird. Both the patterns came from the Corsets and Crinolines book, one from 1844 and the other from 1880. I managed to put together the 1844 model and stick some bones in it to try it on, but I'm not really sure what I think of it. First of all, it was maybe a bit too big for me and felt like it was sliding down all the time. Also, I'm not used to the crisscross lacing thingy where you have the loops to pull the laces tight. It took forever to get the corset on, the lacing in order and the result was not worth all the effort. Back to the cutting table with that one.
I've yet to make a try-on version of the 1880s corset, I've only sewn together one layer of a mock up and I think I want to do a more careful job with it than with the 1844 semifiasco.
Actually, I really should make a new pair of Regency short stays, but I thought it'd be interesting to try and see if I could produce a passable Victorian corset. If the 1880s corset works out, I might try and make that dress Anne-Marie Dagnan is wearing in a portrait painted by Courtois.

Memories and new things

Today I finally got a link to the photos taken at the Jane Austen Festival Regency Fashion Show. I think I mentioned before that I was one of the models in the show; it was a lovely and fun event and I'm so happy to see the photos at last! Here's a link to the photo album (photos were screen caps taken from a video, filmed by Owen Benson)

I've also begun sewing a new Regency dress; my plan is to copy this ca. 1815-1820s gown from the Eremitage Museum:

The picture is my photo of a photo in a book, so the finer details are a little blurry, but I like the high-necked look and that's one of the main reasons I want to make this gown; it seems that not many people make the high-necked dresses and there aren't that many extant ones either.
I've already decided to leave out the petal shoulder decorations, because if I want to wear a spencer or a pelisse over this dress, they'd just look bulky and odd. I've cut the bodice and the hem and I'm about to start sewing soon. Because I only have this one picture as reference and I haven't been able to find any info or photos of this dress on the internet, I need to just invent the back of the dress and whatever is used as closure. I've decided that this is a kind of drop front dress, with the front panel buttoned up horizontally and the under-bodice flaps closing on the centre front under it. It will make more sense when I've actually made it.
The fabric I'm using is viscose, very nice quality and cheap too :) The colour was really difficult to photograph, and the fact that we only have about five hours of what passes as daylight didn't really help. The real colour is smoky blue/lavenderish purple, kind of midway (not at all realistic) between these two photos:

So, what's next?

I've been madly busy and away from home for the past few weeks; it always seems that September and the first half of October are the busiest months for me (if you don't count the summer, that is). Now I'm actually looking at several full weeks at home, so some sewing would be nice (What dissertation? What dance competition rehearsals?).
I still have the blue Regency dress that I need to finish. I'm done with maybe 1/4 of the embroidery on it, so that's one project. I also need new Regency stays; for some reason both the pairs I have gave me horrible shoulder cramps all week long in Bath, so I've decided to try and make a new pair. I'd like to try the patterns that Sabine of Kleidung um 1800 researched so expertly.
I also searched Etsy for sarees and managed to find two very nice embroidered silk sarees, so once they arrive, I have a couple of new gowns to make. I still want to block print a gown fabric, too, if I ever find suitable thin, white cotton (I'm beginning to lose hope :P ).
I also want to make a highnecked Regency gown, after this fabulous number from the Eremitage collection in St. Petersburgh:

Curiously, I'm suddenly drawn to the later 19th century styles. I came across this painting via The Ornamented Being tumblr and fell in love. I have absolutely no experience in the 1880s styles, not to mention the underwear etc. But a girl can dream, no?

Portrait of Anne-Marie Dagnan, 1880, Gustave Claude Étienne Courtois, via The Ornamented Being