Introduction

What is it about an old dress that makes us love them so much? Is it the design? The fabric and trim?

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved looking through historic fashions, not only for the fun of looking through old books but for the designs and the fabric... and learning about the lives of the people who wore them. I've decided to fulfill my goals of recreating some of the gorgeous clothing from various periods. I have a bunch of projects planned- this blog will be my journey through time as I sew complete outfits for several different periods.

Here are the eras I have been researching and intend to create:

A Tudor Gown: My goal is to create a gown from the early part of the 16th century.

Margaret Tudor, b. 1489 - d. 1541
Queen consort of Scotland
Image from Wikipedia

This gown is very similar to what I would like to create. Slightly more ornate than what I am after, but it's definitely a great starting point. I especially love the sleeves... I'll break down exactly what is involved with creating this in a later post.

A Polonaise Gown: This type of gown was popular in the late 18th century (~1770s).

Robe a la Polonaise, c. 1780
Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Again, this gown is very similar to my goal. I haven't decided if I want the floral pattern or go with a stripe yet, but time will tell! And yes, I'll be breaking down what's involved with this one as well!

A Regency Gown: This period runs about 1800-1820, and was made most famous by the lovely Jane Austen (I love her books, but that's a totally different story). 

Evening Gown, c. 1810
Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This gown I will probably attempt first. The design and pattern seems to be pretty forgiving as far as lack of experience goes, with the added bonus of being really quite lovely. I'll definitely be showing how something like this is constructed. 

A Victorian Gown: Most people are fairly familiar with this silhouette, but here is an example...

Fashion Plate from 1870
Image from Google, unknown credit...

I'd love to play around with different bustle shapes and more unusual fabrics, like stripes and maybe even plaid! So many wonderful examples, I might have to make a couple of these...

So there's my plan. I have a lot of learning, sewing, and adventure ahead of me!