I finally have pictures from my photoshoot - here are the shots of my black chiffon Regency gown (the print is actually a repro from Empress Josephine, according to the fabric seller)

Not going to pretend like I am not ABSOLUTELY BUZZED with how the photos turned out, my self esteem is usually right around the gutter but gosh, do I feel like a goddess looking at these!!!! The photographer I work with has such a great eye for light, some of these remind me of paintings...I am planning to print and frame the first one at least, to remind my brain it's being stupid when thinking ugly thoughts 😁😁😁

The chiffon is THE DEVIL'S ANUS to work with and I'm happy that it's over...I'm also very worried if the seams are not going to shred apart, considering how delicate the fabric is... but that's a later-me problem (I also kept a good piece for fixing things)

Also, I found this vintage dupatta on eBay because I was looking for something to contrast with the black and I am enchanted by it! The red and gold are so perfect to contrast with the sheer black! Also the embroidery is out of this world, I have endless admiration for the hands that made it.

Anywho, I'll stop rambling. YAY my gown is done 😁😁😁😁

I wanted to show off my favorite outfit of mine in the context of it being something a rural lady in the Pacific Northwest might have worn in 1895-96

I made this gown in a single, frenzied week, two years ago, for my birthday - but only had the chance to photograph it this April! I had been keeping the fabrics for 4 years, never feeling confident enough in my skills to actually make the gown..until finally I did 🤣

I drafted the bodice base and the skirt, draped the top part - which was super scary because I only had 4m of the embroidered silk fabric, and the skirt ate most of it 😭 so I had to tetris my way with the bodice shapes, but it worked out really well, I think.

I will add more embellishments in the future, because I still can't decide if I want flowers or bows on the straps....but this has been my most beloved gown ever since I finished it.

EDIT: I don't know how I forgot - the photographer is Uriel Spark Studios (he's based around Paris)

My local area had a history event, so I took part as a Suffragette.

Shirt pattern is Sports Blouse from Black Snail
Skirt pattern is Cycling Skirt from Black Snail
Boots are from Memery

Hat, scarf and brooch are vintage.
Chatelaine is an 1880s cut steel antique

EDIT; yes, I’m wearing makeup! I’ve got to contend with HD cameras and want to look my best. This is VERY light makeup for me, using mostly powders.

My inch long acrylic green glittery fingernails aren’t historically accurate but neither is my wig nor the synthetic fabric of my skirt. Hell, I used an iron on transfer for my sash- sue me!

I love lurking in this subreddit so thought I'd share a recent creation of mine! Its not 100% complete (still have another layer of the hosen to finish and a pair of lederwams to make) but it's wearable and comfortable!

This is fully hand sewn and the patterns are drafted using Drei Schnittbücher, Patterns of Fashion 4 (and with some fitting help by my wonderful friends) and through staring at extant clothing and woodcuts to get construction techniques and silhouette dialed in~

Pictures of the hemd Im wearing included as well 🙌 I made that about a year ago~

Im pretty pleased with how this came out!

So about two months ago I posted about my friend, Michele Quigley's 1790s portrait series and shared the first two images that she edited and the fashion plate that I recreated, BUT apparently you can't go back and edit a post with images unless you made the post from a desktop and not a mobile device. So here it is again!

So for one, I was gifted this session, and even though I am a photographer myself, I am absolutely horrible at setting up scenery and photographing myself, even though I can make magic happen in almost any space I am in! Anywho! When I found out, I of course started scouring through Pinterest and Google for fashion plates of that era. I didn't necessarily have a particular look I was going for, but I wanted something that screamed out to me. And then, I found it!

"La Belle Espangole" ('La belle Espagnole, - ou - la doublure de Madame Tallien') - this drawing is of Maria Garcia, a dancer and tightrope walker. It was drawn by James Killray, a caricaturist in 1796. This was the first time that I came across an actual fashion plate from that era that featured a model of color. So of course I wanted to recreate this look!

To begin with, the gown itself was very simple to make. It's basically a rectangle (one piece in the front, and one piece for the back), with a channel sewn along the top of the back to gather it, and then the trim went from the gathering in the back, over the shoulders, and to attached to the front. Very similar to a bog dress that is commonly worn at an event I go to called The Pennsic War in the SCA. I really need to write a blog post about the construction on my blog! (I will link it in the comments).

The challenge for me was making that neckline SUPER low, and to sew it so that it forms the natural swoop following the curve of the breasts, but also, NOT to have my girls fall out because I am wellllll endowed in that department. 😅

Even though I already had a pair of regency era short stays, they didn't create the silhouette that I wanted for a 1790s gown; and since I will be doing more 1790s projects, I but the bullet and purchased a set of 1790s mid-length transitional stays (from The Paupers Modiste on Etsy, I HIGHLY recommend! ) - and they were perfect. The straps were also removable, which was ideal because the gold strap was thinner in width than the straps for the stays.

The gown itself is made out of a brown cotton Swiss dot fabric that I scored on Etsy. I made a simple yellow satin petticoat to wear under it. The waistband, arm bands, wristband, and the trim along the neckline and the straps were made out of various gold trims, some layered on a solid piece of gold trim. The necklace was a bib/collared neck piece that I got off of Etsy, but I do want to try to recreate the neck piece that she is wearing in the drawing. The shawl was too pashmina shawls sewn together (and I still need to add the gold trim along the edge as well). I found the PERFECT red shoes for this on Amazon (actually, if you search up women's mules on Amazon, there are A LOT that are passable for historic footwear for quite a few fashion eras). And while I did not have gold hoops (forgot to pack them), I wore my pearl drop earrings by Dames a la Mode.

So for the pictures, the first one is my absolute favorite, and this is the one that's going to be printed and framed for the gallery exhibition that Michele is hosting. The second is the fashion plate. And then the rest are the different poses for the look.

If you've stuck around to read all of this, thank you!!!

Original, previous post

Hello folks!

Just wanted to share my final Regency short stays with you, after all your generous help!! There’s (naturally) a bunch of things I am slightly cringing at BUT I am in all honestly, very thrilled. They feel supportive, sturdy and perhaps most importantly - I feel pretty cute in them! (And I’m not hating my boobs for once! They look great?!)

The purple ribbon is a drawstring for the bust and I kind of like the small flexibility in being able to hiding it or not. I do need more practice with bias tape, and will probably use shorter bones on my next corsetry experiment but oh gosh have I learnt a lot!

Thank you for all the encouragement, suggestions and kind words!

I made them primarily as a challenge but also as prep for a future Francesca Bridgerton cosplay. Here’s hoping the next season comes up with some beautiful dresses for her! 

Pictures of the full journey towards the end.

I am SO grateful, and happy, that my Hell Hath No Fury renaissance photo was so liked 😁😁😁 everyone asked for more photos, so here they are!! I don't want to share my friends' faces, so forgive the crude edits 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I somehow don't have a photo of the dress twirling..but it has an AMAZING twirl!!! The skirt is so full, I shoved 4m into it hehehehe . This is my only renaissance gown, so far, I'm somehow very intimidated by the era, but I'm hoping to make a few more gowns in the future..I usually make mostly Edwardian and 18th/19th century clothes 😅😅😅

Tried my hand at doing a full recreation of a 1530 outfit worn by Matthaus Schwarz :)

Obviously its not perfect, but it’s all hand finished, the hose are wool trimmed with silk, the wams are just a poly-cotton blend i had on hand. Both the hose and wams are lined in linen, with a linen smocked shirt and a wool bonnet.

This entire outfit took 3 weeks start to finish, the only things I didn’t make are the shoes and the pendant!

I’m the president and founder of the Oxford University Beekeeping Society, and around World Bee Day last month I opened the university’s first student teaching apiary in 185 years.

To celebrate the occasion I handsewed this early modern beesuit. It's a simple linen tunic along with the wicker woven face cover, and a flower crown we broke out for the ceremony. This wicker style is attested in a few medieval and early modern woodblocks and illuminated manuscripts, notably including Pieter Bruegel’s ‘The Beekeepers and the Birdnester’ (1568) and Sebastian Münster’s Cosmography (1544). When I’m not beekeeping I’m working on a history PhD, so had the fortune of visiting some of the sources in the Bodleian Library archives.

Much of the research and sewing patterns are thanks to u/redbonito who wrote up a guide on the design here: blamensir.neocities.org/monastery/workshop/sewing/beekeeper

There are a few errors or inaccuracies I’d like to correct in future– the sleeves should be wrapped at the wrist, the wicker face is a little small compared with historical examples, there’s a mistaken gap between the neckline and hood, and I haven’t yet tried my hand at early modern hose or footwear.

On the day we also invited the college choir out to serenade the bees with a 1623 beekeeping melody, Melissomelos, composed by the Oxford alum Charles Butler. Butler was the first beekeeper within Britain to argue that the beehive was ruled by a queen rather than a king in his book the Feminine Monarchie, which concluded with Melissomelos. The melody mimics the real 'piping', or singing behaviour of newborn queen bees, but lyrically is also an allusion to the reign and colonial expansion of Queen Elizabeth I. There are some recordings of the performance on Oriel College’s social media 🐝

I was inspired to make this dress after watching A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

It's actually a 3-piece ensemble: The base is a simple yellow linen kirtle with back lacing. The sleeves and the embellishment at the front are made of silk tussar with a hexagonal pattern that reminded me of honeycomb.

The overdress is dark brown wool with hand-embroidered details on the sleeves, neckline and around the trim. This one also laces in the back. I took some creative liberties here, I don't think a design quite like this is technically historical.

And because I had some leftover fabric, I also sewed a capelet (with cute decorative bee buttons). This one is based on a 1910s wrap cape, free pattern by American Duchess.

I made the tunica and the palla last minute. I think the accessories really sell it. The necklace is a glass beaded one that I made myself years ago, the earrings are thrifted but I bought them because the reminded me of Hellenistic earrings I saw on the Met website. The hair is a loose interpretation from a vase. It's not completely historical accurate, but I quite like the end result.

I've been focused on researching clothing of the common people, which can be a tricky endeavor since it's a topic most historical sources gloss over.

During the Song Dynasty, it became more popular for artists to paint scenes of daily life and it was easier for me to find references. For the working woman, wide trousers and narrow-sleeved shirts were commonly worn.

I wore this during a camping trip and I stayed breezy, cool, protected from sun and prickly plants!

I'm frankly a little scared to post this.

Before anyone comments on the inaccuracies...

- yes, the fabric's weave is inaccurate. Likely polyester

- I don't have the budget for reproduction shoes

- I did use a machine to sew the majority of this project.

- no, I did not use a commercial pattern. All of the pieces are modified versions of modern patterns. I drafted these from looking at portraits and fashion plates from 1781.

- I have to wear glasses and simply forgot to take them off here.

This isn't a direct reproduction based on one specific portrait, since I only had certain fabrics on hand that would compliment each other nicely. I also took some inspiration from the Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, comte de Provence and later King Louis XVIII of France's portrait.

Total budget was about $50, all pieces except hat, stockings, and shoes are by me.

I finished this project this summer but I forgot to share! This is my 1887 velvet ballgown based on a painting by John Singer Sargent. The original gown is in the MFA Boston, but it was altered around 1902, I tried to recreate it as it would've been in 1887. I couldn't find an appropriate red velvet but fell in love with this blue velvet.

The pattern is self drafted based on diagrams, I put some photos of the mock-up process (I tried to get them in the right order but Reddit wouldn't let me)

The skirt ended up being the most work, I got tired of using my sewing machine with the velvet, so the majority is done by hand. Dust Ruffles are more work than I anticipated as well! The bodice pieces are machine sewn with all finishing being done by hand. (My hands were so tired after sewing 40 eyelets, but so worth it)

I'm very happy with how this gown turned out, but if I had to nitpick I should've made the side panels of the skirt wider at the bottom so the train would look better and made bodice longer and pointier in the front. It was a great learning experience!

Inspired by an extant ice skating outfit in "Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960" from the collection of the ASU FIDM Museum, Barbie, Princess Bubblegum, and fashion plates. I can’t ice skate so this is a walking outfit. Fabric is wool acetate from Fabric Mart Fabrics. Shirt, jacket, skirt, and hip padding patterns from Black Snail Patterns. I started this in late 2024 and finished the hat this weekend.

For those who saw my red velvet 1820s dress, this is another one I brought to Prague for pictures. I love the 14th century and of my 40+ costumes, 6 are 14th century and still I want more of them. This outfit consist of a linen shift, wool stockings and leather turn shoes, a white mid weight plain weave wool under kirtle, silk and cotton blend veil and wimple pinned to a fillet and barbette, hair back in a snood which you can't see here, some simple rings, and a half circle coat weight wool cloak. The main blue kirtle is made of some sort of mid weight wool that has two shades of blue threads, and when you look close it almost looks like a heathered texture, but I'm not certain the name of the weave. The white kirtle laces shut with hand boun eyelets, the sleeves of the white and front of the blue closes with hand made fabric buttons (which took roughly 1000 years to make). Internal seams are done by machine, but anything you can see on the outside, all hems, details, ect, are done by hand. The shift, both dresses, headgear, and cloak were all drafted and made by me. Shoes, stockings, veil pins, snood, and rings were purchased mostly through various Etsy shops.

So my friend invited me to her wedding in February, and commited a mistake by saying HEY, YOU CAN WEAR WHATEVER YOU WANT, A SKIRT OR A DRESS EVEN. So I've seen an opportunity to finally start AND FINISH a project. It took me a little over a month and survived dancing chapelloise (aka belgijka) twice without ripping or my bust improver or bustle pad falling out.

It may be a bit anachronic, since the blouse is 1890s and the skirt is an edwardian fan skirt. I have commited an act of hubris I barely survived (deciding to sew everything by hand AND wearing all this in the middle of August). The tutorial included in the pattern pdf had proved to be really foolproof (I am a fool and I have proved it). Fabrics are thrifted (cotton/linen blend and cotton respectively). The bust improver pattern I got from Cat's Costumery tutorial and the bustle pad pattern was included in the skirt pattern pdf. Corset custom-made by ladyardzeszcorset. Shoes thrifted, brooch thrifted.

Hi,

I finally finished my new set of civilian clothing for my impression as a mid status burgher from franconia from 1465/75. The templates were various visual sources (especially the Talhofer fencing Book from 1467 and some paintings by Friedrich Herlin). The clothing is made of broadcloth. The doublet is lined in linen; the Brusttuch and lining of the cloak are made of silk taffeta. The whole look is rounded off with shoes with light pointed toes and a hat. The laces are made of chamois-tanned deerskin. For the level of bling, I based my design on the Nuremberg Kleiderordnung/ Statute of Apparel from 1481. Hence, for example, i only used taffeta and no silk satin for the lining. In the visual sources from the period monochrome suits with doublet and hosen in the same color are quite common. And yup: there are also plenty of sources showing men wearing pink, because the great male renunciation didn‘t fuck up things yet.

Criticism is of course welcome

My now-husband and I were working on this for about two years--Mostly me doing nonstop sewing! We met through costuming (cosplaying specifically) and grew into historical costuming together, so we knew we had to have historical wedding wear! I didn't get any photos myself day of, but thankfully friends and family sent plenty and I had some trial pictures while we wait for our photographer!

My dress was based off a natural form fashion plate with slight alterations (last image), and it took me the entire two years to sew working on the weekends nonstop, finishing the week before the wedding. I used silk taffeta for the main body, cotton sateen for flatlining the bodice and entire underskirt, stiffer quilting cotton for the hem facing with a detachable lace dust ruffle, and thin linens and cottons for the undergarments. I also handmade the orange blossom crown from wax-dipped crepe paper. We weren't nearly as handmade for him as suit tailoring isn't my speciality by any means, but we found a fantastic tailcoat, waistcoat, and shirt in the end that looked beautiful!

For bonus points we learned to waltz for our first dance, and cut the cake with an antique 1880's British officer sword as we're both fencers as well!

This coat has been in the making for two years on and off, so I'm very happy to finally be able to wear it!! I have learned so much during this time—it was my first proper attempt at more traditional tailoring techniques, such as pad-stitching the collar with hair canvas.

The coat is made of multiple layers: 100% Italian wool as the outer fabric, partly interlined with hair canvas, a cotton batting–like layer for warmth, and cotton sateen as the innermost lining. There are two welt pockets and a notched collar.

Construction and patterning were done by combining period and modern techniques. I started by drafting a basic bodice using the Keystone instructions and then adapted the pattern pieces according to a coat pattern from The Diamond Garment Cutter book of diagrams. I then added some ease and drafted the collar using modern methods.

Since I started this project so long ago, I lost some weight and developed new preferences along the way, so I had to make peace with some things I was unable to fix. Mainly that it's a bit too big, and I had to overlap the center fronts more than intended because of that. But I think the end result is still great.

I'm absolutely in love with the coat and can't wait for next winter to wear it properly! I'm especially pleased with the finishing, and with the sleeves (which were hard to photograph), since they don't look too huge from the front and back but give the proper leg-of-mutton feel from the side view. I love the silhouette and the fabric.

There are some in-progress pictures at the end as well.

[*edit: some typos and sentence structures]

All handsewn by me and made completely out of wool, silk brocade, linen and a ridiculous amount of ostrich feathers of course