A Polonaise Continued

As another little escape from the cosplay side of things here, I finally caved and purchased 3 yards of luscious ruby red silk taffeta. This will become the petticoat for the 1770s polonaise I've had on the sidelines (for AFTER I get the stays built), mentioned here and here. I finally found the right red to accompany the color of the print on the cotton I will use for the polonaise. I found plenty of 'OMG that's red' reds, muddy burgundy and way-too-dark/pink wine shades to be of any use. Renaissance Fabrics had this lovely Ruby Red that, I think, will work perfectly or at least darn close:

The back of my dress in the red & ivory stripe cotton.

I won't be making the entirety of the petticoat out of this silk, choosing instead to make the parts covered by the polonaise out of a fine burgundy or neutral cotton. This is an historically accurate way to save on silk, and was done by even the upper classes. 3 yards should be plenty to cover the front and lower hem around the back in silk over the red cotton lining, leaving the remaining silk to make a flounce or a lot of ruched trim.

I'm going for something between the very late 1770s, to around 1780. Something like this:

As you can see above, the trim on the contrasting petticoat only decorates the front, something I find interesting and as a bit of a relief. I don't *need* to try and trim the entire circumference, and it's still historically appropriate. I also know I won't have enough of the printed polonaise fabric left over to make trim from. So, the use of a sheer ivory silk organdy I have stashed away should make for a nice contrast trim, similar to the gown in this plate:

Of course, the trimmings on the polonaise will be different, but I wouldn't mind experimenting with that ivory silk organza I have. Some of the textures on the body and sleeves are stunning, and I'd like to try doing some Hertzenruch (heart ruching) style trims in that sheer ivory. Below uses a similar technique as what we see on the gown above, only done on a single ribbon:

You can find a tutorial on how to do this style of trim here at Threads.

Even More Inspiration

'Perfect' pretty much describes this example in cut and style, regarding the robe a l'anglaise project.
I need to also point out the AMAZING blog & post where I found such beauty, over at Atelier Caraco Canezou: The Marie Antoinette Story.

The stomacher on this example is a bit long, but the shape of it is what I'm after, plus the skirts and even the apron....maybe. Of course I'd want an embroidered one like this, but I'm not sure I can kick that much ass...yet.
This particular cut is from, and will also place my final ensemble, from the very early 1780s.

Example Of My Current Project: A Hopeful Outcome

This is what I'm attempting for my Robe a l'Anglaise, for both the gown and stomacher style. I'm either going for a Super late 1770s or early 1780s, such as these examples show.

And I love this gown in the below portrait. Again with the similar front but with the pinked & scalloped collar.

I have two colors of silk taffeta in my stash that may be going into something similar to this.

One is a sea-foam color, the other a rich gold.

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun??

Stripes And Flourishes

Here are the 2 center back pieces of my current Robe a L'Anglaise project put together. I must say I did a fine job at matching those stripes! Thanks to that and the design, I even have what looks like a little ladybug at the bottom of that first 'V'; too cute.

The fabric really is lovely, but I think for 18th century dress fabric, the repeat is a smidgen too wide.
Oh well, it's still pretty, and a good fabric to test out this pattern.
I can hear that line in the back of my mind from 'Amadeus' telling me, well..."it's Turkish!"

I also want to find a nice rich red silk taffeta to make a petticoat and tabbed stomacher for the zone front.
Somewhere in my stash, I also have some ivory silk organza that I can hear begging to be ruched sleeve cuffs.

And below is the side/front bodice piece as I was figuring out what direction I wanted the stripe to go.

Though it looks odd now, once the zone is cut away and the trimming applied, etc, it should look just dandy.

Robe a L'Anglaise: Bodice Mock-up, Or The Dart Of Possible Doom?

I was finally able to get to fitting the muslin mock-up of the JP Ryan pattern for my robe a l'Anglaise today.
Also utilizing my new Uniquely You dress form; I still need to do more fitting on her to get her closer to my uncorseted shape, but with my pair of (crappy) 18th century stays, she did just fine as a fitting reference.

At the fabric store today, I also picked up some cotton linen, for both a chemise and lining for the bodice. Though, I may want to pick up something a tad heavier to line the bodice.
While my muslin currently has the closed front, I will be making this dress as a polonaise with a zone front, in the very late 1770s style.

My own odd fitting technique, as I am not sure I have ever seen anyone do this, was to instead take in the excess fabric in what would be considered the "middle" of the front bodice piece making a dart or tuck. The front and sides of the bodice are cut as one in this particular pattern, and I have been wracking my brain as to where I have ever seen a gown from this era with true side seams.
I'm sure I have, but either way, this is an option that worked for me.
As someone with an "X" body type, when corseted or in stays, my waistline-to-bust ratio increases even more. This always means I need to take in the waist on just about every pattern I sew from quite drastically if I'm going by bust measurement. This was no different, and after fiddling with the back seams, it seemed to just make the wrinkling worse...it's about here where I begin to call them "wrong-kles".
It's as if the pattern makes up a shapeless tube completely ignoring the soft, and in some cases extreme, conical shape of the classic 18th century bodice.
I also extended the back point to a slightly longer length, creating a more flattering and slenderizing line.

So out of curiosity, and I probably did this in the most wrong way possible according to fellow seamstresses; I made a dart where a side seam would be. This took in all the excess "wrong-kles" and created a smooth fit.
So far so good. At least the fashion fabric I'm using is a cute cotton print I picked up on sale and not totally historically accurate. If I screw this up, I won't be out much cash.....but nonetheless frustrated.

The 'tuck'...am I a total rebel or have others done this too?

Note that this tuck will not be in the final bodice, but I will be using this as the new front pattern piece for it. You can also see how the tuck created a sharper arch at the waistline edge, yet in many extant gowns and bodices, I have seen this. I may smooth it out a bit more as I go, lessening the Gothic arch onto a more Romanesque one, but once those edges are clipped and turned, it'll straighten out on it's own.

Plans...

My American Duchess Kensingtons in red, and some cotton print fabric. It may not be a totally accurate 18th century design, but I have 5 yards. That's barely enough for a full Robe a l'Anglaise a la polonaise. Perhaps a pet en l'air if I want to go a little earlier in the century? If I do a red silk petticoat, I'll need it to match the shoes pretty closely. Hmmm... zone front or closed front on the bodice? So many options. This will also be my first time using a JP Ryan pattern, so if anyone out there has any tips, likes or dislikes about using the two particular patterns I mentioned above, please do share

Past Creations...

While I wait for a good moment to take some photos of the 1850s coat and waistcoat I made for my gent, I have been digging through my archives.
Here is an 1885 gown I made a couple years ago, from the most amazing fuchsia silk faille taffeta and antique lace. My favorite part is the green/fuchsia ribbon I used for the accents. It's becoming a favorite color combination ;-)

A bit goth with the brooch and yes, that is antique choir robe lace.
I'd like to redo the front of the bodice. I'm not happy with the velvet and the wrinkling that's happening there. I think I'm just ready for a different look:





Waiting in line for beverages at Dickens Fair year before last. Please excuse the flipped up edge of my bodice and the red eye, lol: