15th / 16th cen. German sleeveless chemise- Finished!

I made myself a thing! I've been slowly but steadily plugging away at the Cranach gown. All the pieces for the dress have been cut out, the under-petticoat just needs a hem, and the sleeveless chemise is done!

Pictures aren't very fabulous, due to a lack of good lighting and being taken on my iphone, but at least there's proof that the chemise exists. It's a thing! That works! I haven't finished my Goldhaube yet (the headdress/cap), so for these photos I just wound some extra lengths of linen around my head to hide my incredibly modern bleached hair with several inches of roots.

So far I'm sort of loving this style of garment as a support layer. I wore it all afternoon in my apartment, and found it to be super comfy as well as supportive. I don't know how well it would work for those more heavily endowed than myself, but for this particular C-cup lady nothing slipped or jiggled and everything is held securely in place.

I ended up using some black wool tape at the front neckline instead of the velvet ribbon I mentioned in my last post. Upon reflection it seemed like a choice that was far more practical than velvet, especially if I want to use this chemise with more middle-class 15th century impressions as well (which I do). I'm curious to try this style chemise with a fairly wide variety of German fashions from the 15th and 16th centuries. It seems to have been in use across a wide span of time even as styles of dress changed around it, so I'll be interested to find what sort of dress style it works best with on a body. Perhaps all of them. We'll see.

German Renaissance Support Layer- the sleeveless chemise

 So I never got around to making my early German Renaissance dress last summer (I did make costumes for the niblings though!) and instead have now found myself coming back to the dress lo these six months later. Today was a surprise day off work, so I spent it working on the foundation layer.

There seems to be no firm consensus as to what exactly was worn beneath 'Cranach' dresses of the early 16th century, but there is a particular style of undergarment which I've seen in a bunch of images both before and after this time period which makes lots of sense as a base layer. It's basically a sleeveless sort of chemise; tight enough in the torso to support the bust and provide the smooth white layer seen under the open front lacing of the dress itself, as well as having full skirts attached at the waist (which I imagine would also help keep the front waistline of the dress' skirt up where it should be in spite of the wide front opening... I'll guess I'll find out later if that's true or not!)

I've seen other bloggers/costumers refer to this type of undergarment as a bra-dress (based off the Lengberg Bra I believe), or a bra-shirt, or some other bra variation. Which again, these garments all have attached skirts, so I can't really get behind calling it some sort of bra, and am just going to stick with 'Sleeveless Chemise' for now. Probably not at all what it was called back in the day, but no-one in Saxony around 1515 ever said "I'm going to have a new Cranach dress made" either, so we'll all just be inaccurate together forever. Amen.

Isis over at Medieval Silkwork has done some great research into the earlier 14th and 15th century versions of this garment which seems to have mostly existed in areas of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It must have been highly practical and comfortable as you see it clear on through into the later half of the 16th century!

 Hofämterspiel, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, second half 15th century

Broadside of a Nuremberg bath attendant; with a hand-coloured woodcut of a lightly dressed female holding two pails of water, and with letterpress verses in German. (Nuremberg, Drechsel: [c.1585])

These two images are roughly100 years apart, and both depict nearly the exact same undergarment, which I am now it the process of making. As someone who gets twitchy about how chemise sleeves sit and layer on the body, I am super exited to be trying out this blessedly sleeveless chemise!

I'm using a white handkerchief weight linen for this project, with two layers in the main bodice, and one layer for the 'breast bag'/bust section, and one layer in the skirts. It will close with lacing on the sides of the bodice, and I'm using velvet ribbon for the black band at the front neckline. I imagine that velvet or a wool band along the top would help grip onto the dress itself and stop the Brustfleck from slipping or moving around. Again, total conjecture on my part at the moment... we'll see how it works out.

You can see here on my pattern how the shoulder straps curve out away from the body on the front piece. This is so the straps won't show beneath the nearly off-the-shoulder look of the dress itself.

I hemmed the top of the bust piece before gathering it and stitching it into the bodice. I'll gather up the bust/front neckline once it's on my body for a final fitting. I tried at on the other day as best as I could with no eyelets for lacing yet, and it looks like it'll be a good fit, so fingers crossed!

Press Call at the Portrait Gallery

Now that things are revving up for the ECA fashion/costume/textiles show, it's all starting to feel a lot more real. Graduation is imminent! There are only three weeks left to do ev er y thing!!

Part of the lead-up to the show was a press call which took place day before yesterday. All graduating costume designers (post and undergrad both) took one costume to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery where they were modeled for invited press. The location was stunning and some really lovely shots of some of the costumes ended up in the papers and there was a nice little segment on STV as well.

I was rather excited to see my fairytale wedding dress for The Girl in the Edinburgh Evening News the next day!

If you're in Scotland at the end of the month you can still get tickets to the catwalk show, which will be April 23-25. The fashion design portion of the show is quite interesting as well, but let's be real. Costume is where it's at. ;) And there will be some seriously amazing work on display... everyone's stuff is so different and exciting!

I took some of my own pictures on my iphone at the press call... I only wish I had had a better camera with me to capture it with!

I have a mighty need... for 1900-ish beauty.

In the middle of all sorts of mad dashing about recently, I paid a brief visit to my brother in Bury St. Edmunds during my Uni Easter break.  My sister-in-law is working at Ickworth House not far from Bury, and as I'm always more than happy to see historic houses (especially neo-classical and/or victorian) we spent an afternoon there.

Ickworth was lovely, but it was one of the few costumes they had up on display which really captured my heart.  There was no placard or any information on hand, but it looks like a fairly typical evening gown from about 1900-1905. 

It's been absolutely ages since I last made myself something, and I think this dress just shot straight to the top of my list.  I want it so badly you have no idea.  I took a ton of photos and would have been happy to spend the rest of the day just staring longingly at the gown.

Bohème Sauvage

The night of my last full day in Berlin was the night before a bank holiday, and on that night there was a wild 1920s party held in a club in Mitte which I naturally felt bound to attend.  Nicole had joined me in Germany a couple days before, and in spite of the loud proclimation of "AUSVERKAUFT" (sold out) on the website we dressed up and headed boldly into the night.  It was apparently our lucky night, since we were allowed in an hour or so after the party started in spite of our complete lack of tickets.

It was called Bohème Sauvage, an event which is held semi-regularily in various locations in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Vienna, and the poster advertised 'an homage to Berlin nightlife of the 20s'- Dance in the May in the underworld.

Looking back now, it's hard to properly desribe the event.  Loads of people, various live acts... musicians and burlesque, absinthe bar, gambling, dancing... all in a vintage style nightclub which was slightly seedy, slightly too small, and rather wonderful.

Nicole and I were very lucky at one point to be able to land a seat by the bar, where we were able to rest before plunging back into the crowded dance floor area.  Everything was too dark inside for our little cameras to do any good, but fortunately the official photographer managed to capture us a few times.

1920s in Berlin

There's not been a whole lot of sewing happening lately since I've been in Berlin for the past couple months, taking language classes and soaking up the unique atmosphere of the city.  I did, however, bring along the pieces for a 1920s dress which I had cut out earlier this year, and which I then finished in time for a 20's party here.  I'll write more about the event later once pictures show up, but for now here are pictures of the new dress taken at an art nouveau era building (now hotel) in Schöneberg.

My dress is based off an orginal which was for sale on Ebay, and is made of midnight blue velvet with insets of crinkled silver silk lamé.  The overall design is really quite simple, and it took almost no time at all to pattern.  Since I did most of the sewing away from home and far far away from my sewing machine, the whole dress is sewn by hand.

It was really fun to wear this style... I'd not done anything from the 20s before even though I've always liked the time period.  I was constantly amazed at how incredibly simple it all was, especially when you constrast it with clothing from the Edwardian era.  To go from a dress which is a feat of engineering with mind-boggling closure systems to something which you can just slip over your head must have been world-changing for the women back then. 

It was actually slightly stressful cutting out the skirt... I'm normally used to doing earlier periods where the skirts almost reach the ground and the pieces are about 37-40 inches long, while this skirt was only about 18 long including seam allowance.  I had to keep telling myself over and over that, no, I'd measured everything properly and it would be just fine.  But it still seems like the most scandelously short thing when I was cutting!

 

An evening of cards and merriment - 1790s Gown

Yesterday evening I attended a Regency Card Party at the lovely Jenny Rose's house, and it was the perfect excuse to finish the 1797 gown which I had started over a year ago. 

The gown is made of white cotton voile and a pale yellow vintage silk organza sari with masses of embroidery and beading.  The cross-front overgown, layered over the separate silk petticoat, is trimmed with silk ribbon and has silk sleeves lined with the cotton voile.  The bodice is lined with white linen and pins shut.  I wore this gown without a corset or any extra support garment, just a sleeveless shift under the petticoat (which is kept up at the under-bust by little inch-wide straps) and gown.  Everything stayed in place and I was super comfortable all evening, which is sometimes the important part.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about 1790s fashions... I really love the crazy mish-mash of styles often seen in fashion plates and how ridiculous and over the top it all can be, but wearing it is something else entirely.  Maybe it's because I'm used to much more fitted bodices or at least the slim lines of later regency styles, but I felt a little bit like a marshmallow in this gown.  Puffy gathers all around the body don't really do much for one's figure.

I've said it in the past and I'll say it again and again:  Jenny Rose is the ultimate hostess, and her parties are an absolute delight.  Her seriously impressive collection of candelabras was put to very good use, lighting everything with delicate candlelight.  We nibbled on period appropriate hors d'oevres (my favorite was the syllabub, why it's not wildly popular nowadays is something I cannot comprehend.  Syllabub is like magic in dessert form.) and enjoyed a wide array of beverages, both alcoholic and not.

And of course we played cards!  I didn't try my hand at whist, but had a really good time playing Speculation.  It was a close game, and in spite of not ultimately winning, the aces were very good to me that night.  ;)

(all photos courtesy of Nicole)

This is my normal

Obviously, my recent creative pursuits have been somewhat taken over by Steampunk, and it's provided a refreshing contrast to the vast majority of what I constantly sew and make (which has not before appeared on my blog).

As many of you probably know, I work at the Costume Design Center of Colonial Williamsburg.  I was a stitcher for about a year and a half before becoming the first hand approximately six months ago.  (I say "the" first hand instead of "a" first hand since I'm the only one... in the shop there are two cutter/drapers, myself as the first hand, and about twelve stitchers)

For eight hours each day I fit, alter, cut, make, and repair countless pieces of clothing for the historical interpreters and actors at CW.  Lately I've been working a lot with our designer on a couple special projects, including some experimenting with 18th century techniques for painting silk (that's been loads of fun so far).

Naturally, the vast majority of what I work on is 18th century clothing, though due to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War there are now several programs set in that time period for which I've made mid-19th century clothing, plus some 17th century pieces for programs at Jamestown.

I can't even begin to tell you how many full allotments of clothing I've worked on.  Hundreds.  Too many to possibly remember.

Men's civilian coats.  Regimental coats.  Waistcoats.  Breeches.  Shirts.  Shifts.  Petticoats.  Plain gowns.  Gowns with ridiculous amounts of trim.  Caraco jackets.  Bedgowns.  Short jackets.  Jackets from Patterns of Fashion and Diderot.  Aprons.  Cravats.  Kerchiefs.  Caps.  Haversacks.  Trousers.  Gaitor trousers.  Spatterdashes.  Riding Habits.  Cloaks.  Greatcoats.

And that's just the ordinary, 1770s stuff... special programs and the theatrical plays often branch out into other time periods or sometimes simply get a little bit crazy.

Here's a small sampling of things I've made at work... obviously this doesn't cover the whole scope of what I do, and have done, there, but it should give you a general idea.  All designs, materials, etc belong to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Wool coat and small clothes, cut edge with hand finishing and buttonholes.  Worn by Tailor's Apprentice Michael McCarty.

Continental Army Officer: Regimental Coat.  Worn for the portrayal of The Marquis de Lafayette. Photo by Jurgen Vösych.

1860s Dress for the Women of the Civil War Tours.

Corded Mid-19th Century Corset.

1770s Stays.

  

Fife and Drum Regimental Coat.  Incidentally, this is the first full garment I made working at CW.

So there you have it.  A little taste of what I'm up to all those hours I'm not working on my own projects and ideas.  Being surrounded by the 18th century all day every day has certainly changed my attitude in regards to my own work... I think it has a great deal to do with why I've become so inspired lately by Steampunk.  Historical clothing has become my normal, and like the Amazon commercial says, "normal just begs to be messed with".