All posts filed under: 18th Century

Masquerade stays: Progress, pain and a trim poll

In between bouts of paper marking, the masquerade stays are coming along. They may actually even be finished on time (amazement). In any case, I have an event to wear them to on the 9th, so they have to be done by then! So far, with help from Miss Fiss, I’ve completed all the boning channels and inserted my boning, and sewn together the front, side front, and side back pieces in preparation for fitting. I’ve also cut the lining and outer fabrics for the back piece, and have inserted my lacing bones. I’m using fenestrated metal boning, because it’s the only boning that I have around that’s both strong enough to support the back lacing and long enough for the length of the stays. At the moment things are at a pause while I coat the ends of the lacing bones and let them dry. I’m just using nail polish – it’s worked well in every previous application! Things are also at a pause while I ice my thumb. There was a little problem …

The 1770s Masquerade Stays

Published by The Dreamstress

I’m hard at work on my item for the HSF Masquerade Challenge. Remember my terminology post on marmottes? (If you don’t, I highly recommend that you go read it, as it’s one of my favourite pieces of research ever). If you follow me on facebook you may remember that only a few days after I wrote it I found a fabric featuring marmotte themed 18th century hair: ZOMG. How awesome is that!?! It’s crazy and fabulous and 18th century and masquerade-y. And it has marmotte hair! It also has ship hair (cute, but such a cliche) And lion hair (just weird): Obviously I had to have it, but just as obviously, it’s not exactly suitable for anything historically accurate. But for Masquerade? For something where historicism blends with fantasy and alternative realities? Perfect! So I’m making 1770s stays, featuring this fabulous fabric. Even if they won’t be accurate in any meaningful sense, I still intend the shape they give me to be accurate, so that I can wear them under 18th century clothing. I’m using …

Rate the Dress: Princess Wilhelmina in green

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week most of you loved the redingote with its feathered trim, but your reaction to it was fascinating depending on whether you read my description of it as having feathered trim as actual feathers or not. I rather think that sometimes I should leave things purposely very vague so that the ratings are reactions to what we perceive, vs what we know (but which is the purer truth…?). Anyhow, manky feathers or elaborate feathered silk aside, the redingote rated a rather nice 8.5 out of 10. This week, for the transition from outerwear to green I present Frederika Sophia Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange in a brunswick of deep green checked silk with a pink silk hood lining, cuffs and revers. Her stomacher appears to be made of the same pink silk ribbon as the bow that ties the hood of her brunswick, arranged in an overlapping lattice pattern. The only accessories Wilhelmina wears are a black ribbon around her neck, and a lace cap on her powdered hair. The details of …