The eBay Gowns
I admit I hadn't even thought of selling gowns until one of my friends said to me, "I would pay money for something like that!" In all honesty, my work isn't professional by any standard, but in the age of panne velvet monstrosities going for $65 at local costume shops, I can't argue. Before, I'd only done sewing for myself with the occasional costume made for a friend who already had a pattern and fabric. I usually charged $20 and considered it a fair deal.
Browsing eBay though, I came across quite a few pieces of garb going for great amounts of money. I couldn't believe some of the things they had up for sale - both on the breathtakingly wonderful, and breathtakingly awful end of the spectrum. I thought to myself, if someone can charge $80 for that, I should be able to squeeze off a few dollars here and there as profit.
After all, every gown or bodice I make is practice, and as an enjoyable hobby, it's not all work. I shop online for deals on upholstery-grade fabrics (high end brocades, velvets, etc) and also stop by the fabric section of Walmart (occasionally a $1.50/yd 'mystery content' turns out to be a treasure). I don't go for full linings, petticoats, or super-expensive fabrics. That hurts me in some places, because I can't offer the quality of cloth that the bigger companies can afford, but I like to think that what I make is unique instead of a mass-produced item. Chances are, unless two people just happen to attend the same Faire, nobody is going to see 'their' gown/bodice/hood on someone else.
I also try and find things that are hard to obtain, and scale them down to a more reasonable price. That includes my recent foray into French hoods, which I've seen for $60+ on eBay. Well, I'm not going to encrust them with precious metals, but with a curtain buckram base and jewelry wire, it approximates the look of milliner's materials. The leftovers from my jewlery-making days come in handy, the little odds and ends or beads I thought were pretty but never got around to using, all of them come togther. No two hoods are exactly the same. For $12, I figure I can make a few people happy who otherwise wouldn't have the finishing touch on their Tudor or Elizabethan outfit.
Here's a selection of photos of my eBay creations:
Venetian Courtesan Gown
I love the Venetian renaissance fashions, but couldn't figure out how to recreate them on an affordable scale. Enter this red and gold screen-printed cotton, originally destined for sale as a home decor fabric.
I used liquid gold charmeuse satin for a flashy (albeit totally not period) camicia, boned the bodice with rigilene, and cartridge-pleated on the skirt. The sleeves were an improvisation, just tubes of fabric with a curved top and split to allow the camicia sleeves to puff through. They attached at the bodice shoulders with buttons which hang from beaded loops.
Early Elizabethan Gown
While I realize that Elizabethan clothing was always put on in several layers, I decided to make some budget-saving shortcuts. Thanks to Drea Leed's epic Elizabethan Costuming Page, the components became clear. And I also had a few ideas of what I could hide underneath a skirt.
There is no kirtle or farthingale underneath this gown, only a hip-length white cotton skirt with a V-neck and 2" pleated standing ruffle. Heavy boning underneath the bodice should sidestep the corset issue. The bodice is side-back lacing with some very period-inappropriate brass D-rings hidden underneath the bodice edges, and trimmed with wired gold braid. Actually, the fabric itself is a synthetic slamon pink satin with distinct Oriental touches, like the Chinese double-happiness signs sprinkled throughout the zigzag patterns.
The sleeves and forepart are made of a lovely amber, blue, and gold diamond pattern brocade. Instead of making a separate kirtle with the forepart tacked in front, I cheated and tacked it under the front edges of the skirt, a few inches back to give the illusion of an underskirt. The entire hem is stiffened with a thicker wired braid in order to bypass the farthingale issue.
Again, not wholly period-correct at all, but I hope it gives the customer pleasure :)
Medieval Cotehardie/Kirtle
This piece was an early attempt at period construction using Sally Pointer's easy to follow How to Make a Simple Medieval Dress page.
I used a cream 100% cotton fabric, trimmed with cornflower blue venise lace. The eyelets were sewn by hand, and laced with a satin ribbon.
Although I meant for this to be part of my own collection, I misjudged the measurements at the bust area, with the result that it would never close at the front. Not a tragedy, but I didn't want to wear a corset underneath it. In addition, the medieval cotehardie usually did all the work of supporting the bust itself, without the help of other underpinnings.
The hem measured over 10 feet in circumference, which should make for some very feminine and rich sweeping around.