Answering your questions about the Cassandra Stays! Can you use different types and widths of boning? Are stays or corsets more comfortable? Why five panels instead of four? Can you tell us more about tab width and shape? Do the Augustas or the Cassandra Stays work better with a short torso? And can the theatrical version be made without back lacing?
We’ve had so many questions about the difference between the Scroop + Virgils Fine Goods Augusta Stays and the Scroop + Virgil’s Fine Goods Cassandra Stays that I’m bumping the planned blog post about that up the queue and answering it before I even share the (absolutely amazing!) tester makes. Although the Augusta and Cassandra Stays are both 18th century stays, they are quite different patterns. Here’s how, and which you should choose depending on what you want as a costumer! (pssst, don’t forget that the Cassandra Stays are 15% off until Thur 22 Feb, midnight NZDT) Silhouette & Date – the difference between the two styles The Augusta Stays are based on extant stays & stay patterns dating to between 1775 and 1789, such as this pair: (learn more about the extant stays that inspired the Augusta pattern here) Stays of this style are fairly short-waisted, with partial front lacing which makes the bust fit adjustable. The goal of these stays was to create a short, curvaceous silhouette, with a ‘prow front’ that thrust …
So many of you have asked for an earlier 1760s-70s stays pattern, and for front lacing stays. Inspired by this, we’ve created a pattern based on a number of extant 1760s-70s stays with a fully historically accurate closed front option, and a front lacing theatrical option that still gives a beautiful shape.
