Portfolio: 1813 Kashmiri Gown

Regency frocks thedreamstress.com3

The Idea and Inspiration:

I have a bit of an obsession with paisley and the history of Kashmiri shawls.  The way the the introduction of Kashmiri shawls impacted Western fashion, and the way the Western fashion in its turn impacted on the paisley design is just fascinating.

I’m particularly enamored of the dresses made of Kashmiri shawls that were so popular between 1805-1825, and have desperately wanted to make one, but where to find a paisley shawl that I could cut up without feeling terrible?  Then Global Fabrics brought in a marvelous charcoal grey wool with paisley borders taken directly from early 19th century examples.  Serendipity!  I bought two lengths and waited for the opportune moment.

Inspiration Gallery

Fashion plate, 1812 1812 BIBLIOTHÈQUE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS 1811 Salome Louise Coulmann, comtesse Walther by Robert Lefevre (Versailles)
Fashion plate, 1812 Fashion plate, 1812 Comtesse Walther, Lefevre, 1811
Dress of red net, ca 1810 Dress 1810's Élisabeth Alexandrovna Stroganoff, Countess Demidoff (1779-1818) by Robert Lefèvre, ca. 1805 Hermitage Museum St Petersburg
Dress of net w/ paisley, ca. 1810 Evening dress, ca. 1810 Countess Demidoff, Lefevre, ca 1805


Fabric and Materials:

  • Lightweight twill-weave charcoal grey wool with paisley border pattern
  • White linen bodice lining
  • Cotton thread to sew

The Undergarments:

  • Still to be made

The Dress Diary:

Research and helpful links:

7 Comments

  1. ElOmbu says

    Oooh oooh ooh. I have a shawl that has gotten some rather large holes and have been trying to figure out what to do with it. Now I have all the ideas…..

    Yours is just spectacular.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.