Chemise a la Reine

The Chemise a la Reine was the first project I made using my new dress form, which I got as a Christmas present in 2010. I draped the whole thing in Jan 2011, using the pattern in The Cut of Women's Clothes, by Norah Waugh. I was inspired mostly by this portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier by Jacques-Louis David.

The body of the dress went together very easily, but I did have quite a case of sleevil on this one. You can read my dress diary for the project here. It is made of white cotton lawn, and trimmed with drapey ruffled lace and velvet ribbon around the neck, with shorter lace at the sleeves, all from Joanns. The sash is made from poly taffeta, three lengths joined together, with a narrow hem down the sides.

To go along with the chemise a la reine, I made a light blue cotton sateen petticoat, a bum pad, and a short-sleeve chemise, and wore them with my blue fully-boned stays. The petticoat is made of two large panels, knife-pleated to bias tape ties, which tie at the waist. The bum pad (cotton stuffed with batting) was based on American Duchess's design, with three sections, and an eyelet lace ruffle on the edge. The chemise is a standard rectangle with gussets design, and a drawstring neckline, made of muslin. I'll post more on the stays later. I also made an additional petticoat a couple months later, out of blue and white floral striped cotton, using the same knife-pleated to bias tape design.

Other than a quick photo-shoot at home, the first time I wore this was at Costume College 2011, for the Sunday Tea. I have since also worn it for a Regency tea with the South Bay Ladies Tea Guild (since I don't have anything Regency-era), The Queen of Naples Ball in 2011 with the Bay Area English Regency Society, and Bastille Day 2012 with some of the ladies from Somewhere in Time, Unlimited. When I wore it for the Ball, I wore it sans stays, and with my new "Regency" shoes I decorated for the occasion - white $7 Walmart flats to which I added bows made of vintage ribbon, ribbon to wrap around the ankles, and painted the petersham binding and faux seam lines.

Costume College 2011

Costume College 2011

Costume College 2011

Costume College 2011

The Queen of Naples Ball

The Queen of Naples Ball

The bum pad

My "Regency" Shoes

NorCal Pirate Fest

After two to three days of furious accessory making, I went to the Norcal Pirate Fest in Vallejo yesterday. While there, I met up with the fabulous American Duchess, and we took a two hour sail down the Vallejo Straights on a two-masted schooner. It was so much fun!

The only finished accessories you get to see in this post are the hat and belt, and a bit of the fichu. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the pockets (from the Janet Arnold pattern), the cap (my own pattern), or my necklace before I headed out of town this morning, so I'll show more detailed pictures of them all in a later post. I also made the burgundy petticoat within the week leading up to the festival, and I like it so much better than the floral one I had made. So now I have options! I'm also in love with my pockets. They're sooo much bigger than my old ones. It makes me wish we still wore them nowadays, so I could stop carrying my huge purse around everywhere.