Still here!
Err - hi! It would take too long to explain, just put it down to Extreme Busy Life over the last several months. And a confession that I'm not going to Gettysburg. (Mostly because I didn't manage my finances when I should have...) But that itself has been okay, because honestly, I have had ZERO leisure for making any of the critical items I would have needed.
I finally have an evening to breathe. Yay! And I'm thinking about white silk. I've decided to do Empress Eugenie for the CoCo Gala, inspired by this Winterhalter portrait.
I'm only doing "inspired by," because I want to stay in the 1860s wheelhouse and this is a pre-steel-crinoline 1850s portrait. But it does look like standard court dress. Mostly I'll add the pearl tiara (YUM) and maybe a small second crown; there appears to be more on the back of her head. And of course the velvet court train.
I have (prospective) Christmas money to spend from my parents, so I've been trying to settle a design. Because WHITE TAFFETA, gah. I can't mess around with yardage.
Designs for 1860s white gowns are tough. Portraits are rarely very clear. And what they do tend to show are gobs of white silk lace and white silk net, both of which are $$$$ if you can find them (lace) at all. And I would really like to avoid a design that is lace- or net-heavy.
Now, one advantage is that I have a short white taffeta skirt from my first Gala, the Star dress. It can't be the skirt all by itself; it's about calf length.
One way to use it would be to do one of those skirts with tons of small flounces. I do like the look, which I think is under-represented for its popularity in fashion plates and photographs. Rather labor-intensive, which I'm sure is why. So I'm hesitant to sign up for it.
Another way is with big flounces, like the portrait but in silk. The problem is that solid flounced skirts were emphatically an 1850s thing, with flounces getting deeper and fewer throughout the decade. Their last gasp was in 1860, with just two very deep flounces. It would be a perfect use for the silk I have, since the flounces were usually mounted on a cotton foundation. (Like how a francaise petticoat often had linen in the upper half of the back.) The problem with this is that it would date my dress to very, very early war (or pre-war!) only. I don't want to be that limited, even if no one else cares.
But a third option seems to be an interesting deep-flounce type skirt. This is not a skirt with a flounce mounted on it. It looks like a shorter skirt with a knee-length slightly full flounce joined directly. The join is always trimmed, usually with a deep puffing or ruching.
I really like the combination of lace and ruching on this one, and the extra flounce at the hem.
Most of these date from 1861 and 1862, which is late enough to make me confidant it's acceptable for general ball wear. This portrait is supposedly from 1863 and shows a beautiful amount of detail. Interestingly, it's BOTH a double skirt and one of the deep flounce skirts. The skirt appears to be trimmed with self-fabric fringe, which is a lovely idea, and a double or pleated band of some kind.
I need to measure my existing skirt and do some sketching and calculating. But I think this will save me a couple yards, which will make a big difference. Especially since there's the whole thing about the gold lace on the train...
I finally have an evening to breathe. Yay! And I'm thinking about white silk. I've decided to do Empress Eugenie for the CoCo Gala, inspired by this Winterhalter portrait.
I'm only doing "inspired by," because I want to stay in the 1860s wheelhouse and this is a pre-steel-crinoline 1850s portrait. But it does look like standard court dress. Mostly I'll add the pearl tiara (YUM) and maybe a small second crown; there appears to be more on the back of her head. And of course the velvet court train.
I have (prospective) Christmas money to spend from my parents, so I've been trying to settle a design. Because WHITE TAFFETA, gah. I can't mess around with yardage.
Designs for 1860s white gowns are tough. Portraits are rarely very clear. And what they do tend to show are gobs of white silk lace and white silk net, both of which are $$$$ if you can find them (lace) at all. And I would really like to avoid a design that is lace- or net-heavy.
Now, one advantage is that I have a short white taffeta skirt from my first Gala, the Star dress. It can't be the skirt all by itself; it's about calf length.
One way to use it would be to do one of those skirts with tons of small flounces. I do like the look, which I think is under-represented for its popularity in fashion plates and photographs. Rather labor-intensive, which I'm sure is why. So I'm hesitant to sign up for it.
Another way is with big flounces, like the portrait but in silk. The problem is that solid flounced skirts were emphatically an 1850s thing, with flounces getting deeper and fewer throughout the decade. Their last gasp was in 1860, with just two very deep flounces. It would be a perfect use for the silk I have, since the flounces were usually mounted on a cotton foundation. (Like how a francaise petticoat often had linen in the upper half of the back.) The problem with this is that it would date my dress to very, very early war (or pre-war!) only. I don't want to be that limited, even if no one else cares.
But a third option seems to be an interesting deep-flounce type skirt. This is not a skirt with a flounce mounted on it. It looks like a shorter skirt with a knee-length slightly full flounce joined directly. The join is always trimmed, usually with a deep puffing or ruching.
I really like the combination of lace and ruching on this one, and the extra flounce at the hem.
Most of these date from 1861 and 1862, which is late enough to make me confidant it's acceptable for general ball wear. This portrait is supposedly from 1863 and shows a beautiful amount of detail. Interestingly, it's BOTH a double skirt and one of the deep flounce skirts. The skirt appears to be trimmed with self-fabric fringe, which is a lovely idea, and a double or pleated band of some kind.
I need to measure my existing skirt and do some sketching and calculating. But I think this will save me a couple yards, which will make a big difference. Especially since there's the whole thing about the gold lace on the train...