Greetings, ye Grande time travelers of yon!
Please pardon my absence, as I have been quite busy since my last post in November. I completed my final semester at my university, I graduated, I’ve been relishing my time with family, and I’ve joyously picked up sewing again (though I have been sewing since August, which I will discuss soon).
But this matters but little, as I have been working on a new ensemble: a 1778 Robe a la Polonaise, with a french-milkmaid twist.
I must say I owe most of my excitement to Outlander, and I suppose myself for doing a crash course of research and study and vomiting it out in my post about the kings of France, and my brief breakdown of stays. Several months before the Costume College theme was announced, my friend Shayla and I were planning on constructing a Robe a la Francaise gown together, as we hoped to finally attend after years of pining. But I couldn’t bring myself to fully embrace such a grand thing. For once, I wanted something simpler (or so I thought, because I never make anything simply). I wanted to make something comfortable, but also challenged me as a designer, seamstress and historian.
My initial design came from this Fashion Plate, the grandeur and opulence of an 18th century ballet “provincial” gown.
Although I adored this gown, I couldn’t bring myself to make/create something that would be such an enormous undertaking. So I kept looking for something simpler… if at all possible in the 18th c.
I was drawn to the “working-woman,” “maid-servant” and classic “milk-maid” depictions from art and 20th century portraiture, one as featured by Norman Rockwell. I thought the looks and designs of the costumes were absolutely adorable.
But of course, I can’t make a simple, practical dress, it’s just not how I roll. While I was researching historical stays, I found a royal blue pair that had salmon accents and similar colored, patterned lining. Royal blue is my favorite color, so naturally I had to make a royal blue set of stays. Since there are several variants of stays still in existence, we can observe that stays had a vast range of color and design, from simple stays with a hundred bones, to heavily brocaded stiff court stays.
These stunning garments were belongings of Axel von Fersen. The coat and vest are embroidered silk, made in Paris around the 1785.
I was obsessed with the colors, the design of the flowers and striking lavishness of the embroidery. I knew I needed to try and incorporate this into my stays (in Pinterest, look up 18th century embroidery. **you’re welcome**).
This image is exactly what I intend to make (of course changing the color of the bodice), and it only took 5 months to figure it out.
Pretty things are all well and nice, but first thing’s first: I need proper underthings, as achieving the correct silhouette is all about the layering of items to form the period correct shape. As I have never made anything from the 18th century, I am starting from scratch in every area of of the ensemble. Below, I hope to make a blog post for each of the items I must make prior to the construction of my lovely flowy things.
To Do List for full Ensemble:
Make a period appropriate shift.
Make a hip pad.
Work on embroidery for stays.
Construct Stays.
Construct ruffly over-shirt (possibly).
Create quilted petticoat.
Make salmon, chiffon petticoat.
Create poufs for polonaise gown.
Make matching blue shoes.
Create any accessories for ensemble.
I hope you stay tuned to this exciting project! I hope to finish the whole ensemble before the spring! – Elise