Another beauty found...

While the back shows off one of my most favorite cuts of the period, called "en fourreau", I hope to find pictures of the front.

Robe à l’anglaise
Red silk damask
Circa 1775, England
Fabric by Anna Maria Garthwaite, 1751
Museum purchase, 2008.4.1
Found on the Arbiters of style exhibit webpage.

"The silhouette of this dress is enhanced by the fabric’s rich color and vibrant pattern; a sumptuous display of fruit and flowers. The fabric was designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite, an important English textile designer and the only woman known to have worked in Spitalfields, a silk-weaving center in London. Garthwaite was a prolific designer whose work became synonymous with the Spitalfields style. The original drawing for this textile design is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum."

An introduction...

This is a place for all my photos, frippery and thoughts that have anything to do with the 18th century, mainly my sewing projects.
I am about to embark on more than one journey when it comes to the creation of a few Georgian era garments, including one or two (perhaps more) suits. I don't normally delve into the world of men's tailoring but I aim to give it a shot, because I tend to lean toward the more androgynous with how I present daily. While I love the gowns and frippery of the 'fairer sex', I've always had the desire to wear the more masculine styles as well.

I have experience in sewing eighteenth century garments, including millinery. However, I have very little photographic material of my work, and what I do have left in my own collection had dwindled down to one gown. The rest were either sold or used for fabric in other projects.
So right now, Victorian dresses rule my closet. While I love the bustle era, I miss the age of enlightenment.
Below is a fabric swatch of the striped silk damask I found over a year ago on Ebay. I plan on creating something similar to the gown in this painting:

As for the frock coat fabric, I found a wonderful berry-colored silk taffeta.
Here is my crappy cell phone photo, and a photo of an original coat from my hoard of fashion books. I'd like to do something like this, perhaps finding a fine metallic lace to applique on the coat front, instead of embroidery. I haven't learned how to do that detailed style of embroidery...yet:

Blog in the making. Stay tuned...