Recreating a Fashion Plate
how one costumer copied
a 1797 gown
by Suzi Clarke
First I must make it clear that this is not a article about making a
garment in the original way, as would have been done at the time. As a
costumer, I am frequently brought a picture, fashion plate, photo or other
illustration, even a video or DVD to watch, and asked me to copy a costume
in the example. It is my job to make as accurate a reproduction as I can,
given the constraints of time, cost, and availability of materials. In this
case, my customer, Lesley, had access to a large number of fashion plates,
and brought copies of several for us to look at. After some discussion, a
plate of 1797 was chosen.
Together we examined the plate very carefully, and
agreed to change the sleeves very slightly, as Lesley had seen other sleeves
she preferred. Apart from that small adjustment, we decided that the dress
was to be copied almost exactly, apart from the colour, which she felt was
not exactly flattering to her.
The next question was what fabric to use. We felt that it
was possible the original dress had been made in soft cotton or linen, but
as Lesley wanted to wear her gown to the next Bath Ball, she wanted to use
silk. Very few modern materials are of the same quality as earlier silks,
unless you want to pay for some to be woven specially, but this was not an
option, so we settled for a fine silk taffeta. I would have liked it to be a
little less stiff, but this was not possible with the constrictions of price
and availability. (In future, if I were to use the same silk quality for a
similar period, I might wash it to see if I could lose some of the
stiffness.)
The 1797 fashion plate that the author and her customer Lesley copied.
Having found a quality of silk we liked, the next question
was that of colour. Lesley has red hair, and felt that the right tone of
green would be a good choice for both her, and the period. We examined other
fashion plates, photos of real garments, and some descriptions (especially
C.W. Cunnington’s
English Women’s Clothing in the 19th Century—it discusses garments
of a slightly later period, but is still relevant.) Comparing our
information with the samples I had, Lesley decided on a light olive green,
and took the samples away with her to decide on the trimming colour. For
this, she chose a darker green, but I made an executive decision and
over-rode her choice, ordering a lavender for her to see. The reason for my
choice was that I had seen a genuine example of a similar colour combination
in a very pretty spencer of a slightly later date, around 1810, which I had
the privilege of studying at Leicester Museum. When Lesley saw the two
colours together, she agreed with me and we were ready to start. I bought 7
metres of 150 cm. fabric, about 7.5 yards of 60" wide fabric, but had just
over a metre, 1.25 yards left over.
I decided to use a petticoat bodice as the undergarment for
this dress, as I wanted the minimum number of layers possible under the
dress. I used the pattern from Jean Hunnisett’s
Period Costume for Stage and Screen 1800-1909, and made it from
cotton poplin. Shirting would have been equally suitable. It fit very firmly
under the bust, and supported in a similar way to a modern bra, without the
separation that cups and underwires give.
My real problem came when I tried to decide on the actual
construction. There is a pattern of a half-robe in Janet Arnold’s
Patterns of Fashion: 1660-1860 which was much the same as the shape
I was after, but it was very narrow, as I discovered when I made a muslin
toile. Eventually I based my bodice shape on this pattern, by draping a
toile on my stand, but made the skirt quite differently. I decided that the
original in the fashion plate was probably a sleeveless gown, like a bodiced
petticoat, and an overdress, but in order to minimise the number of layers,
I decided to attach the underskirt to the waistband of the bodice. If
I were to make the dress again, I would make it as a full length petticoat,
and an overdress.
The bodice was lined with a heavy cotton sheeting, to give it some body, and
to make it wear well. This method was taught to me when I was learning to
cut and make costumes, and while it may not be exactly authentic, it
supports the silk and gives the dress a finished look. The curved back seams
were piped, and came well in towards the back, leaving a very narrow back
waist.
The fastening was another difficulty. We agreed that the
original dress was probably laced every time it was worn, but this was
totally impractical for a modern costume, so while we worked on several
muslins to get the crossover shape precisely as we wanted it, we also
considered the fastening. The bodice was a “crossover” shape, but the
fastening had to be under the silk trimmed edge which can be seen at the
left on the fashion plate. I therefore cut the left front in two pieces, one
the crossover part, the other the side panel. The side panel then fastened
over the crossover panel, where the seam would have been, with hooks and
bars, which were hidden by the lavender silk trim. It is very complicated to
describe, but actually worked very well.
The completed costume.
The centre front panel
of the dress is cut from shoulder to hem with no side seam. However, the
front bodice lining, which is separate at the waist, has a waistband, and I
attached the underskirt to that at the front, and to the remainder of the
waistband all round. This underskirt is split under a fold of the shaped
skirt, and caught invisibly to it, so there is no visible gap. The waistband
fastened under the arm, matching the skirt seam, which was also split for
about 12", enabling Lesley to pull the dress over her head, or to step in to
it, whichever she preferred. The split was hidden in a fold of the skirt. A
half belt covered the waistband, from under the right arm, across the back,
and under the left arm, fastening with a hook and eye, which was covered by
a large silver button. I was not satisfied with this decoration, and if I
come across something better, I will replace it.
The skirt shape was arrived at by trial and error, using
Jean Hunnisett’s early 19th century skirt patterns as a guide. I made
several scaled 1/8 size paper patterns until I was sure that I had the shape
I wanted, with the front pleats falling in the right way. The back skirt was
gathered very tightly, so it stuck out slightly over the tiny bustle pad.
The folds, which in the original would probably have been laced together,
were actually seamed together in my reproduction. The lacing was made from
strips of the lavender silk, cut on the straight, seamed and turned right
side out, with the seam on the underside. It was laced through machine made
buttonholes, and stitched down top and bottom.
The sleeves were also worked out by trial and error, using
a Janet Arnold sleeve pattern as a basis for my experiments. Several
versions were tried before we were totally happy with the shape, and the
positioning of the pleats on the shoulder. These were actually stitched like
darts, and pressed flat. They were lined with some spare Bemberg, a
silk-like lining available in England, which is very comfortable in wear,
and allows the sleeve to slip up and down the arm while the wearer is
dancing. Again the lacing was made from straight strips of the lavender
silk, threaded through machine made button holes.
All the trimming round the neckline, on both parts of the
skirt, and on the sleeves, were made with bias strips of the lavender silk,
machined on, then finished by hand. It only took one metre, although
frequently bias trimming takes a great deal of fabric.
After Lesley had worn the gown to the Bath Ball she discovered that she
needed a loop to hold up the train, as other people were treading on it, so
we added that at a subsequent meeting. (I should mention that throughout the
making of this outfit, the input from the customer was very important, and
very helpful, in every case.) She later told me that she had been thrilled
to receive so many compliments, and really did feel the belle of the Ball!
Suzi Clarke has been working with costumes for over thirty years, and makes many different styles of clothes for all kinds of occasions. These range from garments for re–enactors to museum replicas for education departments, static displays, weddings, films and television costumes. Further information and photos of Suzi’s work can be seen on her web site at www.suziclarke.co.uk
(c) Copyright 2003 by Suzi Clarke. All Rights Reserved.
04/21/2006