Wordless Wednesday

Playing cards 1812

1840 period costume

1840 dress



Inside of the bodice

 This lovely period costume is on it's way to Fort Wellington in Prescott, Ontario. I fell in love with this fabric. It was a cotton print,  called "Christmas in Virginia." It did not look at all Christmas-sy to me, apart from being red. It was a very period look.

The dress is very plain, letting the stripes do the work. It was based on a dress from a show at the Cincinnati art museum. Take a look at the inside of the bodice and you'll see the boning and bust pads. These dresses are not worn with corsets, so the boning and pads help give the period silhouette. If I had my way, they would all wear corsets, as the posture would then be better and the look more correct for the period.

Wordless Wednesday




Cogs

Photo by Edwina Sutherland

 

Replica bridal gown finished!

The replica gown for the Argenteuil Museum is finished. I have taken photos, which makes it official.

This gorgeous gown is 100% silk. I reproduced from the original gown, which is a sad state of deterioration. Such is the fate of the old silks. The linen lace is still in amazing condition, though yellowed with age. This one has a bustle and under skirt, plus removable train with lace and organza dust ruffle. What else can i tell you? It had gorgeous vintage linen lace, hand-made. No machine made lace in 1885!



Miss Abbott 1885 wedding gown

 The museum is selling this gown, as I've mentioned before. So, if you are interested in purchasing this gown, please contact me at Edwina Richards.

Enjoy the gown. I'd love your comments on it.



Silk gown bodice detail



1885 gown back view



Wordless WednesdayLacing

Photo by Edwina Sutherland

Lacing



1890's wrapper





1890 wrapper back view

I finished this wrapper some time ago now. I came across these photos and had to share them with you. I made this and others for Woodside Historical site in Kitchener, Ontario. They are the typical kind of "house dress" worn in the 1890's. Think of this as the yoga pants and t-shirt of the era! The wrapper has no boning and would have been worn by a woman when dressing or attending to daily tasks before donning the more formal attire of the day. She certainly would not have appeared in public in this!
The wrapper is made of a cotton print. Paisley was very popular at that time. It is fully lined in cotton sateen and fitted with darts at the front and shaped seams at the back. The lining is form fitting, allowing the back draping to be controlled.There is a short train and lace at the cuffs and yokes. the ribbon sash completes the look.

I've been creating historic clothing for Woodside and other Parks sites for more than 25 years now. That's a lot of clothes!