It is characterized by a fabric called cretonne, which is a strong cotton cloth with a very specific print such as this :
A close-up for a better view of the print:
Amsterdam, 1807.
Washerwomen, one of them is wearing a provençal cap.
I will be making the red dress and the blue spencer as seen on the plate above.
For the dress, I'm using as always the bib-front pattern from Janet Arnold from her "Patterns of fashion" with some alterations, since I am sewing a working class dress there won't be a train and also short simple sleeves.
So far, I finished the bodice and have attached the back of the skirt to the bodice. Everything is handsewn so it takes a lot of time to make, but I prefer it instead of machine stitches which I find breaks a lot easier.
I also bought regency looking shoes from amazon, and I love them, they're perfect for a working class lady. The shipping was very fast, I received them in a week, and also the price is very interesting! I ordered the brown ones, but I will definitely buy more shades.
You can purchase them here :
http://www.amazon.com/Ollio-Womens-Comfort-Pointed-Oxford/dp/B00GXMEC8A/?ref=pd_sbs_shoe_21&ie=UTF8&refRID=19TYMTPVSNH1FTTRJYNH
And here are some pictures :
The back finished. The lighting makes it look pink, but in real it is red.
That's all for now, until next time ;)
Nice shoes! And I love the red fabric for the dress.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I have to comment on the Fashion plates. As a working class woman following the Dutch Napoleonic army I'm looking a lot at these fashion plates as well. They are both from Amsterdam. You're portraying a washing woman from the Provence, is there a reason you're looking for inspiration at Dutch fashion plates?
Because on both of the fashion plates the women the Regional dress of the Northern parts of the Netherlands (above Amsterdam). Only the one lady with the blue spencer isn't. Also, the second fashion plate isn't washer women, but a farmer selling her milk. See here for the description: http://www.changeant.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Buffa-Amsterdam.jpg
You see, the lady in red, is a wealthy farm lady. That's because she is wearing a gold earpiece. With a lace cap on top of it. That's a bit expensive for a working washing woman to own. The lady with the blue spencerjacket is a housemaid. And in Amsterdam as well. So you can imagine she was more up to date with the fashion in those days (after her mistress), than the average working woman in the provences was.
I don't mean to say it's wrong to use these fashion plates as inspiration and reproduce them, but you should know the story behind it. It's a bit strange to use fashion plates from a different region/country/class than what you're portraying. Just my 2 cents on this :-)
Are you also going to Waterloo?