Making a 1800 Short Gown

My dress wouldn't be complete without a short gown of the period, so here it is !

I've done research as usual before starting anything, first of all searching for authentic pieces for inspiration. I found these ones I liked :

 Shortgown, 1790s - 1810s.

Amsterdam Museum, 1800s.

 Netherlands, 1800s.

For pattern I sticked with Janet Arnold's "Morning dress c.1798 - 1805", I already used it on my previous gowns which can be seen here  and I modified the front pieces using this pattern found on pinterest : 

I used white heavy cotton fabric, and opted for a front opening tied under the bust and also up the breast. The sleeves are simple and straight, I first wanted to go for curved ones like spencer sleeves, but I admit it I was too lazy to figure out how to make them fit onto this bodice.
Everything is handsewn as always, I didn't get the chance to take my sewing machine with me to Paris so I do it the old way, and it's historically accurate so that's fine for me!

I didn't take pictures of the process, I did this short gown in a hurry because I have less than 20 days to make a French Napoleonic uniform to my boyfriend, and entirely handsewn so I apologize for the lack of "under progress" photos.

Overall I hope you all liked it, I did my best and experienced at the same time, taking risks since it's the first one I ever made.

Until next time !

1805 Provençal cretonne dress and new shoes!

I've been spending a lot of time on pinterest lately, searching for fashion plates and I have to say I found quite a lot of nice ones. I had the idea of provençal regency clothing because I play a provençal washerwoman at reenactment. I knew there was specific 18th century clothing from that province of France, but ignored that in fact there was 19th century too.

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:

And here are my two favourite fashion plates I found on Pinterest :

 

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 ;)