For which I actually had an Anglaise! Or Italian/quarter back gown. I'm not sure if it's considered an Anglaise if it doesn't have the en fourreau pleats? I have seen some 1780s plates referring to this style as an Italian gown, and I've seen other costumers call it a quarter back gown. Anyway.
I pretty much did a straight copy of a gown I found on Pinterest. Board with pictures
here! I just loved the chevron back and the cuff on it. The only thing I didn't do was the pleated trim, because I just didn't have the fabric for it. I only had five yards total, and I wanted the skirt as full as possible. The center back bodice panels are pieced to keep the bodice and sleeves made out of only one yard of fabric so that the rest could go to the skirt.
The fabric is a satin striped silk, the same one
mandie_rw used in her jacket, though in a different colorway. I bought it on eBay years ago and it's lingered in the stash for quite some time. I'd actually initially planned to make this gown, albeit as a round gown, for the Battle of Trenton Ball back in December, but schoolwork and things with Mom prevented that. But I got it whipped up last week, along with two new petticoats, and wearable for the luncheon Sunday!
I failed to take pictures myself, so these are shamelessly stolen from Amanda.
It was drizzling lightly so I wore the gown retroussée dans les poches, or pulled through the pocket slits. All I did was stick my hands through the pockets, gather up a bunch of the skirt in my hands, and pull it up and through. Not evenly, either, as I can see the center back seam leaning right in the pictures, haha. With it I have a sheer striped cotton petticoat on, as well as a plain white muslin petticoat, both of which I whipped up Friday, and my quilted petticoat on the bottom. I accessorized with my carnation pinball, tiny green silk twill reticule, round cap with a red silk ribbon, and a bonnet I made years and years ago that was meant to go with a back and green striped polonaise gown I still haven't made. (Someday...) The brim is paper straw made using Lynn McMasters' Early 19 Century Seaside Bonnet, and the crown is just a circle of green dupioni that was gathered, bound, and whipped onto the brim. (The mitts are cheater mitts- I couldn't find my brown linen ones so I grabbed these. They're actually a greyish purple knit, a Christmas present from my almost-aunt, and completely modern, but the perfect shape, so I grabbed them to keep my arms warm while outside.)
One thing I feel I should point out: the giant V stripe on the back, that goes from shoulder to waist to shoulder? That was 100% accidental. I only made sure the center back seam stripes lined up properly, and didn't even bother to compare the stripes on the side back pieces to the center back. I didn't even notice it until I looked at the pictures after Amanda posted them!
And of course, the afternoon ended with my fiance calling me to tell me my basement was flooding. Turns out there were tree roots growing into the outflow pipes (again), catching things and causing blockage and backflow. My plumber spent about six hours yesterday snaking the pipes with various blades on the end to cut up the roots and get everything flowing again. He also said there's probably some splitting in the pipes between the house and the main lines, which will need replacing eventually. But as long as they continue to work long enough for me to sell this house, I don't want to sink thousands of dollars into digging it all up and replacing everything. I'm worn out enough to not feel guilty about leaving it to be someone else's problem.