We had our 2nd annual Georgian Picnic for the DFWCG yesterday, and just like the first one, it was a delightful event, and one of the highlights of my year. Thank-you to everybody who came out for it! I had a blast catching up with old friends and making new ones as well. I am one happy little costumer now. :)
Even though I had a year to plan for this event, I procrastinated until the week before the party to make my costume, so I decided to dig out my Regency 2.0 dress (a.k.a. the Cremesicle gown) that I started last summer and finish that one. I don't think this is the most flattering dress on me (the phrase "trussed up like a Christmas turkey" kept coming to mind), but it sure is fun to wear. I've always liked the look of Regency military-style spencer jackets combined with uber-girly ruffs and bonnets (two good examples in this blog), so I decided to go all out with it and tell my modern "less is more" sensibilities to take a hike. I recently watched Bright Star too, which is probably why I was more willing to go with the Regency foofy madness - my dress reminded me a lot of the one Fanny wears at the beginning of that move. But with that being said, I might take it down a notch or two when I wear this outfit again in the future. I think it would be a lot more attractive with a different hat and hair, and maybe leaving off the the ruff (although I do love a good ruff!)
Anyhoo, I'm especially happy with the way the spencer jacket turned out. I made with with some gorgeous bright orange and burgundy shot silk taffeta, which was a nightmare to work with due to wrinkles, water spots, and grain issues... but it sure is purdy to look at. ;) I used the pelisse pattern from Patterns of Fashion for the bodice, and I just improvised on the little peplum and decorative tabs. I think I'm most proud of the collar though, which I carefully tailored using hair canvas and pad stitching, thanks to the fabulous tutorial on Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing (thanks Gertie!). It made a world of difference in the way it looked, and was surprisingly fun to do. I'm looking forward to doing more tailored pieces in the future, and I think I'm going to shoot for an 18th c. redingote with a huge collar for next year's picnic.
I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to finish the bodice of the white underdress, but a friend of mine on LiveJournal pointed out this cool example of a spencer worn with a skirt instead of a full dress, so that made me feel a little bit better about it. The fabric is vintage sheer striped cotton that I bought at an estate sale last year, and I am looking forward to finishing it so I can wear the dress alone some too.
I won't spam you too much with pictures here, but you can see my whole set on Flickr.
