December 2018 - the final challenges

Despite not being actually on holiday, I fell into the spirit of things and started a list of 'Things To Complete Before the End of the Year'. This can either go one of two ways: it can motivate me, or, which is far more likely, it can completely terrify me and after throwing myself into a complete spin of indecision and confusion, I get absolutely nothing done.

A Regency Petticoat

Satire of regency women's fashion

The regency love of all things classical wasn't always suited to life in Britain. Ancient Greece maybe. Even 'current' day Italy. But thing were a little cooler, damper and less comfortable in England for the ideal image of the casually draped whispy sheet over the girlishly youthful figure that society sought to emulate.

Regency Shift

As you have seen in a previous post, I made a set of Short Stays for the new era I am focusing on: the Regency era. FYI, this was officially the years of 1811-1820 in England, while under the rule of the Prince Regent George IV, but the style of clothing started a few years earlier. The style was very skimpy, flimsy and whimsical, showing plenty of arm and bosom during the evening. I needed a new shift that wouldn't show under my new gown!

Regency Short Stays

It's time to make some short stays! As I discussed in my last post, I decided to start by making some short stays from the Regency Underthings pattern by Sense and Sensibility.
The pattern was pretty straight forward and most importantly, I could download it, print it out and start making it instantly! I tend to be impatient like that, not exactly compatible with historical sewing, I've discovered. None the less, I managed to work out how to print to scale and dived straight in.

Tiptoeing into Regency

Mr Darcy and Elisabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice

Ah yes, that familiar sullen look paired with the cherubic smile in Pride and Predudice. It's probably the first era that comes to mind when I think about costume dramas. I watched the six-part series when I was about 16, and there will never be another Mrs Bennet or Mr Colins for me.

I was feeling quite content with my progress through the 18th century. Sure, it needed quite a bit more tweaking and I'm sure would horrify those truly Historically Accurate seamstresses out there. But for me, I had a fairly good grasp of the development of the main fashions from the 1720s though to 1785. Now it was time for a new era.