Victorian Madness

Until recently my historic wardrobe consisted essentially of Regency clothes, however as there is a Victorian Field Day approaching in early September it became clear that a new outfit was needed. And what better excuse than to make a truly splendid early Victorian crinoline dress alla Gone with the Wind?!

I started the planning / sourcing process in late June so 2 1/2 month to finish the outfit from head to toe!
It is now about 5 weeks later and great progress has been made, the corset, crinoline and skirt are finished and the petticoat needs about another hour of work. I will write reviews of the patterns over the next week or so.

But really it all started with

a) the hard decision which patterns to use
b) the even more taunting decision on fabrics 

 The end result will be something along the

 lines of this dress shown on the 

Truly Victorian website,

                 ... except less ruffles 

and more demure colouring ...

First up were the patterns  and I ended up with the following list

 
Underthings: 

I draft the pattern for chemise' myself as they are so easy to do and drawstrings / gathers can adjust the fit.

The drawers are made after a self drafting pattern by The Sewing Academy I mentioned in the Blog post about sewing on a budget.  


Corset:  Mantua Maker 1865 - 1880 

My decision was mainly based on my experience with their Regency Stays that turned out so easy to make and very comfortable to wear. The description on the website is a little confusing, the corset does feature bust and hip gores and is adjustable in length ... perfect for my long upper body and twins in dire need of support!

Crinoline: Truly Victorian 1858 Round Cage Crinoline

I wanted big, bigger, huge .... and the pattern seemed easy.


Petticoat: Truly Victorian Free Hoop Skirt Petticoat

Another Truly Victorian gem and totally FREE! even better there is no hemming to be done


Skirt: Truly Victorian 1859 Double Skirt

Yes yes more Truly Victorian but the patterns are easy to read and look great


Bodice: Truly Victorian 1860 Ball Gown Bodice

Well a ball gown bodice isn't really meant to be worn on a field day but I don't really like the high neck day wear so I decided cheat just a little


Accessories: 

Hat, Bag and Parasol I will make up as I go along ... not sure about the design yet.


In case people were wondering where to get patterns and particularly corset making supplies in Ireland ... Vena Cava Design have a great website and ship within a few days. There are a few shops who sell some of the basics in Dublin ... drop me a line if you want to know more.