All posts filed under: 18th Century

Rococo undergarments & Rococo art

My Dr Sketchy talk is themed around how artists were inspired by undergarments. I’m starting with the 18th century and rococo undergarments. Of course, 18th century undergarments aren’t technically undergarments, since chemises, stays and petticoats could all be worn as outerwear! So the artworks that I am being inspired by to stage my tableaux for the talk includes both intimate boudoir scenes with real underwear and genre scenes with romanticised peasant women in stays and petticoats. First intimate boudoir scenes, as epitomised by Boucher’s La Toilette: Ooh! Stockings! And frilly petticoats! And bed jackets, and maybe a hint of stays. And sexy slippers! On a much naughtier note, we have Pater’s “Mme. de Bouvillon Tempts Fate by Asking Ragotin to Search for a Flea” (which has got to be the best name for a painting ever, and must be a reference to something) Mme. de Bouvillon appears to have opened her robe to reveal her jumps, which are barely containing her bounty. Oh dear! The genre scenes are a little sweeter and less saucy: Boucher’s …

The 18th century man’s jacket: finishing details

Published by The Dreamstress

With all the patterning, construction and fitting of the 18th century jacket done, I could now do the finishing touches. Or more accurately, I could send out a panicked call to a few friends who owed me favours, and get them to do a bunch of the finishing touches for me. This was the week before the Grandeur & Frivolity talk, and I was a just a little overwhelmed and busy. I sewed the neckband on myself, and did all the buttonholes too. They are machine done for now, but I will probably do them over by hand at some point. You’ll notice that they aren’t actually opened: this seems to be the case on most 18th century jackets (at least for all but the top few buttonholes). Darling Shell sewed on all the buttons. She didn’t hide the threads between the layers as I probably would have done, but I’m not sure which is historical. Anyone seen a actual 18th c jacket and how the buttons were sewn on? And am I the only …

The 18th century man’s jacket: construction & fittings

Published by The Dreamstress

I didn’t take a lot of construction photos while I made the 18th century man’s jacket, but I’ll do my best to explain how I made it. I’m sure it is not a historically accurate technique, but it made a very sturdy garment, with no machine sewing showing on the outside. I started with the two front chest pieces of the jacket First, I sewed around the front edge, bottom edge, and the edge of the first pleat of the jacket, with the outer and lining fabric right sides together. This meant that when I turned the pieces right side out and pressed them, the front, hem, and pleat edge were all finished. Then I sewed placed the back pieces with their lining fabrics, right sides together, and sewed down from the centre back pleat, along their hems, and up the side pleat. Then I turned them right sides out, and pressed the now-finished hem. So basically, all the hemming on the jacket was done by bag-hemming. With the back pieces hemmed, but still separate, …