I and a group of friends had planned to go to Versailles for their Napoleonic event at the Grand Trianon in early September, but many of us (including myself) canceled due to COVID-19 worries. So, we decided we’d do something more local, renting a historic house on the Northern California coast, and I found myself in need of a Regency wardrobe. Now, I don’t get along well with Regency. It doesn’t tend to be terribly flattering on my curvy shape, and I don’t find it a terribly interesting era to research and make. However, I DO like (not love) 1790s, as it’s an extension of my beloved eighteenth century. I had already decided to do a late 1790s gown for the Napoleonic event, and decided to keep with that period (1796-1800ish) for my entire wardrobe.
Luckily I’d already made that evening ensemble (more on that in another post), and now I had a month in which to make enough Regency-wear for 2-3 days. I didn’t love the end result of my Bridgerton ensemble (I liked the pelisse, didn’t love the gown — in the end, the reality is that that’s because I made it to wear over a modern bra, which just isn’t a great look on me. I’m a boobed wonder, and I also have a tendency to slouch, so pretty much every photo of me from our Bridgerton picnic annoys me), so decided not to even consider bringing that. And I’d long gotten rid of any early Regency attempts.
I had the best of intentions when the pandemic hit that I’d do ALL THE SEWING since I was stuck at home. Well, apparently I am motivated by events, because while I LOVED making the evening gown for the Trianon event, that’s really the only sewing I completed this entire time. However, I have an extensive fabric stash that’s sitting there taunting me, and as money is always tight, I determined that I would try to make as much as I could for this weekend from the stash, and I was largely successful.
My plan became to make one additional basic white dress (since the underdress for my Trianon ensemble has some specifics that make it not-interchangeable), and then a bunch of spencers to swap out for day and evening. This is where being a fabric hoarder came in handy, because I used literal scraps I’ve been saving for decades!
The Dress
For the dress, I was inspired by the original from the “An Agreeable Tyrant” exhibition and the reproduction made by Carolyn of the Modern Mantua Maker. There were a few details I couldn’t figure out, and Carolyn kindly answered my questions. It’s basically constructed like a later chemise gown, with a fitted back/separate skirt but the front all one piece, gathered up at the neckline and with a sash for waist definition. It has an interior fitted bodice lining to help keep things in place.
I had fabric in the stash that I wanted to use — an embroidered/woven sheer cotton stripe that would be perfect (stripes! verticals! helpful for us curvy girls!) — but I had made it up into a 1780s-style petticoat… which I had only worn once. Because that had a natural waistline, I knew I’d have to piece the fabric, and I was worried about it looking weird with piecing on the skirt. I’m glad I decided to save money by not buying new fabric, because I really like the result! Unlike the original, I made a waist seam/gathering channel as a means of piecing the fabric (and because I knew I wasn’t going to want to wear a sash). I was able to get one longer length from leftovers that I’d saved for the center front, so was able to cut that panel from high waist to floor, and pieced around the sides and back. I shouldn’t have worried, because I totally didn’t notice the piecing.
In the end, I think it’s a very flattering style. Because I am occasionally cheap (especially about eras I don’t do frequently), I decided to wear it over my Redthreaded custom Victorian corset. I kept thinking about shelling out for an appropriate period corset, but I was worried the short stays would let me slump, and then I was trying to save money… In the end, this corset gave me the bust support and long line that I wanted, and I just laced it loosely below the waist. On the dress, I like the slightly lower waistline in front, which means it can be a bit narrower there than if it were just under my bust, and the neckline gathers are super adjustable. I stuck with the three-quarter-length sleeves, because I am convinced those are the most flattering.
Spencer #1: Green “à l’algérienne”
I was inspired by several sources for the spencer, mostly this c. 1798 “spencer à l’algérienne.” Because we were literally RIGHT on the coast (our place was basically across the street from the coast), I was worried about being cold, so gave the spencer long sleeves. I shouldn’t have, and that’s why there’s pics of me in the dress alone.
This was actually the last garment I made, so I mostly machine stitched it, and ran out of time for any tails or skirting. I did hand sew the trim, but I don’t know that I should have bothered, as the gold isn’t a strong enough contrast to the green and doesn’t REALLY show! Bah! Also, note to self, compared to other garments I made for this trip, an even lower V-neckline is more flattering. I felt like my bust looked like an oil tanker ship, and I will fully admit that I Photoshopped it to look smaller in these photos (going back and looking at originals, it’s not THAT bad; full disclosure in pursuit of attempting to not totally give in to modern beauty ideals?).
If I were to wear it again, I’d remake it with a longer V front… but the odds of that happening are slim!
Hat #1: Covered Straw
The hat was a parasaisal straw hat that I bought on eBay and reblocked myself… until I realized that the minty green color didn’t go with all the warm tones I’d chosen for the weekend. I had a hard time choosing the shape, because this flipped up brim just screams Blossom (the 1980s TV show) to me. But I knew I did NOT want to wear ANY BONNETS (SOME bonnets can be cute, but overall they are Mrs. Biddy of Biddington Manor to me). I was inspired by Festive Attyre’s fabulous results from reblocking cheap straw hats, and when I couldn’t find anything that had the right shape to use for blocking the crown, I found a blog post that suggested using cardboard and covering it in saran wrap — worked just fine!
So I spent the entire last day before the trip recovering it (sigh), grabbed a variety of trims that I tacked on at the last minute, and it all worked out fine. This is how much I was working from the stash — the peach taffeta is from my first robe à la française, and the green stripe is from my first robe à l’anglaise!
Spencer #2: Black Military
I knew I wanted something military-esque, but had a hard time finding something that didn’t have 10 million rows of trim across the bust… which I thought would be too time-consuming, and possibly unflattering. I finally came across this lovely reproduction ensemble on Pinterest, for which sadly I can find no attribution! Its original location is gone. If anyone knows who the model/maker is, please let me know. Anyway, I particularly liked the revers, so I adapted this into something similar:
My version is in black wool, because again, I thought I’d be cold (face-palm). This one is entirely hand stitched, and I actually went the extra mile to use hair canvas and pad stitch the collar and revers, which seemed ridiculous at the time, except now I feel like I have a better handle on this tailoring technique. The trim was yet again something in the stash (something cheap from ebay), but I added some vintage gold tassels from Tinsel Trading, which is gloriously 5 minutes from my house. This was my favorite look from the weekend (other than my evening ensemble)! Deep V cut = flattering! Plus, you can’t go wrong with military-inspired looks.
Hat #2: Shako
A military spencer needs a military hat, right? Again, I STRESSED ABOUT THIS. I won’t bore you with all that stress, and will instead tell you that I bought a 1960s hat on ebay, took off the brim and recut it to be a Shako (which is a military hat that was very typical of this era)-style brim. And when the top of the hat sunk on one side, I stuck the cardboard shape I had made for the green hat underneath and wore it that way! No one was the wiser!
I added an ombre feather and a cockade I’d made previously.
Spencer #3: Pink Norwegian
Did you know the Norwegian Folk Museum has patterns online for some of the costumes in their collection? Me neither! But I was determined to make some sleeveless spencers for evening (sleeveless feels more evening to me), and I loved the pink and black (or brown?) and the buttons on this one. I didn’t actually use the pattern except for figuring out the tails… which I didn’t get done in time, but added once I got home.
Mine was made from a scrap of raspberry silk taffeta, with vintage velvet ribbon, all from the stash. I found some great thread-covered buttons again at Tinsel Trading. This again was entirely hand-sewn. Unfortunately I was rushed when getting ready for this evening, so I don’t think I tied it very nicely…
For my hair, I took a sash and wrapped it into a turban to which I added some feathers.
Spencer #4: Stripes & Points
I DIED when I found this original 1790s spencer. The high high collar! The stripes! The pointed fronts! The tassels!
I desperately wanted to make it with the long sleeves, but there just wasn’t enough of the only fabric I had in my stash that worked (scraps from my very first Regency dress, made when back in 2000ish). The green tassels are from Amazon! I now wish I’d worn this one for daytime when it was hot, but I assumed we’d be dressing up three nights and we only did two. So I did a change midway through the last evening, but sadly forgot to actually get any photos of me in it! All I’ve got is some screenshots from a silly video we shot.
So there you go: five looks made from one dress, four spencers, two hats, and a turban made from a sash! Coming soon, I’ll post about my stripey evening ensemble.
(Side note, I get SO MUCH SPAM that I had to change comments to WordPress login required. Apologies!)