This fine (haha) picture depicts an 18th century European dress used for a theatrical performance in the 20th century. It attempts to follow the style of the robe a la francaise and the fashions of 1750-1780 in France.
Of what is this fine example of costumery made?
The dress is half "found" materials and half homemade. The blue robe section I made myself, but I am not too swift with fabric. My mother thinks it is taffeta (sp?) or some sort of synthetic satin. I imagine, whatever its type, that it is not historically accurate. The front chest panel, rather than being a separate piece of fabric connected to the robe, is actually a vest I bought at a modern store. The white petticoat was also bought many years ago, although its use in this costume was mainly to keep the real petticoat from getting messed up during performance. Lastly, the corset which you cannot see was also bought from a modern store; the brand name is Baggy Threads. The corset looks like the real thing, with ribs, ribbons, and a lace-up front. Sneakily, you can avoid the whole mess by using the zipper on the side.
How would the dress look if it had not been about to be used in a theatrical production?
The blue robe section of the dress would look much the same (perhaps to my chagrin!). However, for a petticoat, rather than using a sad old skirt or an impossible-to-make hoop skirt, I use a starched, full-volume skirt suitable to wear to a modern ball. The fine patterns of the fabric (LOL-- it's polyester!) certainly adds to the "rich" look I was going for. In addition, there is a chemise that goes under the corset (to make it stay put!) that allows a slight ruffle along the neck-line. I had hoped to also add lace to the sleeves to improve their rather poor state at the moment.
How do you justify your um... interesting... creation?
Aside from the cursory glance (looks 18th century to me!), I did thieve a pattern of sorts for the robe a la francaise from a museum book I found in my school library. The book discussed 18th century fashion and was meant to accompany an exhibit of the same. The book is entirely in French, which may explain why I had difficulties resurrecting the dress. Near the back were two detailed drawings of the layout of this dress and another probably post-revolutionary dress. I unfortunately lost the book, unhappily both for me and the library. Perhaps I'll run into it again.
Check out this really excellent web site with images and references for 18th Century European costume:
