Making Victorian Costumes for Women E-Book

Heather Audin

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Starting with the early years of Victoria's reign, this practical book examines the developments and evolution of fashionable dress as it progressed throughout her six decades as queen. From the demure styles of the 1840s to the exaggerated sleeves of the 1890s, it explores the ever-changing Victorian silhouette, and gives patterns, instructions and advice so that the amateur dressmaker can create their own versions of these historic outfits. Contents include: information on tools and equipment; a guide to transferring pattern pieces; a concise guide to the various layers of Victorian underwear; and step-by-step instructions with colour photographs to help construct the patterns and advice on how to personalize each outfit. Illustrations of fashion plates, Victorian carte de visite photographs and original surviving garments provide visual inspiration and reference. There are seven main project chapters, each starting with an overview of the main fashions characteristic to that style of dress, and giving patterns, instructions and advice to enable the amateur dressmaker to create their own versions of these historic outfits. With 309 beautiful colour photographs including illustrations of fashion plates and Victorian carte de visite photographs, this will be an invaluable resource for the dressmaker.

Leseprobe

MAKING

VICTORIAN

COSTUMES

FOR WOMEN

Heather Audin

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2015 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2015

© Heather Audin 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 052 2

Contents

Introduction

1 Exploring Victorian Costume

2 Tools and Equipment

3 Measuring and Pattern Cutting

4 Before Starting Your Project

5 The Importance of Foundation Wear

6 Modest Modes of Early Victorian Fashion

7 The Age of the Cage Crinoline

8 The Crinoline Changes Shape

9 The Soft Bustle Era

10 The Natural Form

11 The Second Bustle Era

12 The Dominance of the Sleeve and the Tailored Look

13 Completing the Look: Hairstyles and Accessories

Conclusion

Notes

Further Reading and Bibliography

Acknowledgements and Image Credits

Index

Introduction

This book is intended to provide a practical and useful guide to recreating authentic-looking Victorian women’s clothing. Spanning the six decades of Queen Victoria’s reign, it will look at the main characteristics that dominated the major fashion developments in this period. Through photographic images, fashion plates and pictures of authentic Victorian costume, the reader will be able to see how the fashionable silhouette was constantly evolving, placing emphasis on different parts of the outfit. The reader will then be able to use the pattern pieces and fabric suggestions to create their own garments, adding their own individuality and flair by adapting the colours, trimmings and styles according to their own style and purpose for creation.

Naturally, as with all books that cover a large time span, there are limitations as to what one publication can do. This book covers the big changes; the categories which are usually well known such as the crinoline to the bustle and finally the leg-of-mutton sleeve. Styles did not suddenly emerge into being, or suddenly, universally, stop being worn. Fashionable dress was constantly changing, with new trims, different colours, and variations on sleeves or bodice details for every season. The succession of these small changes then add up to more noticeable ones, which tend to give us the main style characteristics that we will cover in this book.

Fashion plate from Le Journal des Modes from the late 1870s, showing multiple fashionable frills and decoration on the excess fabric which previously sat higher over a pronounced bustle.

Who is this Book for?

First, I should perhaps explain my background. I have always been interested in history, historical costume and sewing. In my day job I am a museum curator and have been fortunate enough to work with several wonderful historic textiles collections, looking after them, researching and documenting them and interpreting them for exhibitions. In my own time I make replica historical costumes, sometimes commissioned by museums and galleries for educational activities, and sometimes for my own enjoyment. I always try to recreate them to look as authentic as possible, but, depending on their reasons for creation, other factors (such as durability, ease of fitting and budget) can sometimes take priority. These are factors which might also affect what you are making, and must be weighed up against each other in terms of importance. But more about that later.

This book is aimed at the amateur hobbyist and assumes some prior knowledge of dressmaking. Some of the outfits contain more components and are more complex than others. Those in the earlier decades have fewer pattern pieces and are more straightforward in their construction. Dresses from the later decades often use internal ties and tightly fitted bodice pieces that need a little more patience. However, I always find it is still fun to have a go, even if you initially think the standard of knowledge required is more than your current experience. You learn and adapt as you go, finding individual ways of working that suit you, and discovering different ways of doing things. And even if the finished result is not quite what you were intending, all experience is valuable and can be put towards your next costume venture.

It is also hoped that this book will be of some use to the more experienced practitioner. Those trained in historical dressmaking or theatre costume production will already have a vast and secure knowledge which will no doubt exceed my own, and will know different ways of working according to their professional environment and training. However, it may be that the illustrations and photographs are still a useful source to add to their existing library of information.

What You can Expect to See in this Book

The first part of this book aims to provide some general information, both historical and practical. An overview of the main changes in Victorian fashion will give the reader a bit of general knowledge, which will then be expanded in more detail at the start of each project section.

Information on how to use the patterns, what tools and equipment are required, and some things to think about before you start making any of the outfits, form the basis of a practical section which should make the projects that follow clear and user-friendly.

The main part of the book is divided into project chapters, which explore the different fashionable styles in more detail. Starting with the main stylistic features of that period, each chapter provides visual sources in the form of original photographic portraits, magazine fashion plates and some photographs of surviving Victorian garments. The aim of this is to show the main characteristics in these various forms, but also to show the great variety that you can take inspiration from. Use these to pick and choose which elements you like to help you customize your project and create authentic but personalized garments based around the patterns given. Remember, different styles and colours suit different people. Cassell’s Family Magazine gives us a good rule to think about when creating our own designs – ‘No woman ever dresses well unless she thoroughly understands what suits her individually, and no woman is badly dressed who has mastered that subtle knowledge’.

Victorian haberdashery.

Each project chapter contains a pattern for the main components of a dress for most of the major styles of the Victorian period: each is drawn in metric to a scale of one square to 2cm. This can then be scaled up and redrawn on dressmaker’s squared paper, and used to create your own pattern to make the dress. Step-by-step instructions with accompanying photographs describe the construction process, and images of my version of the finished outfit give you an idea of what the costume looks like when completed. Bear in mind that every version will be different due to different fabrics, colours and makers. Variation is good! All dresses in historical collections represent great variety and individuality.

Finally, a chapter on completing the look provides some information and images on other factors that can help to give an authentic flavour, such as hairstyles, jewellery and accessories. This is by no means extensive, and I encourage you to do your own research to find out what would authentically complement your outfit, but this will give you a basic start. A concluding note on fashion beyond the Victorian period helps you to see how things continued to change and develop into the twentieth century.

Chapter 1

Exploring Victorian Costume

1

To start our exploration of women’s clothing in the Victorian period, this chapter will provide a brief overview of the main style changes that will be explored in greater depth throughout the subsequent projects in this book. One style gradually evolved into another, each laying the foundations for the next major development which became a characteristic and dominant style. We will then take a look at some of the visual sources you can use to explore the developments in Victorian costume, which can provide inspiration for your own creations based on the patterns given here.

Original printed cotton dress c.1850s, with a tightly gathered skirt and neat gathers at the waistline of the bodice.

Fashions at the start of the Victorian period are often described as modest and demure. The high waistline of the Regency period, which characterized female dress for several decades by providing a draping, classical line, gradually began to drop back down nearer to natural waist levels in the late 1820s. The simplicity of the Regency dress gave way to increasing levels of decoration, and the sleeves began to bloom out of all proportion, so much so that padded sleeve inserts were required to support them. The exaggeration of the 1830s had subsided by the time Queen Victoria came to the throne, and what followed was a period of more sombre and plain dress, noted for its lack of decorative ornament. Sleeves were tight and set low into the shoulder, restricting arm movement. Voluminous skirts, tightly gathered into the natural waistline, often formed a point at the centre front and were supported by numerous cumbersome petticoats, adding more bulk, weight and restriction to movement. Large shawls enveloped the figure and faces were hidden by round bonnets.