18th c. francaise

I put together an 18th c. dinner party at the William Penn Inn with a group of fabulous ladies!  For the occasion, I finally made the black francaise gown of my dreams.  Made of cotton brocade in a black on black design from Simplicity 3637 with no changes apart from the trimming.  This pattern goes together very nicely.

So here's the inspiration

Here's the fabric (complete with Sewing Cat)

and here's the gown

Here I am at the dinner. I am posing with the other lady who wore a black francaise

and here's everyone!

Chemise a la reine

Koshka the Cat got a bunch of us all hot and bothered to make a late 18th c. chemise a la reine.  It is a gown made popular by Marie Antoinette as an alternative to the constrictive, formal court gowns required by ladies of her status.  Though it was considered shocking at the time - it seemed as though the queen was compromising her dignity as Queen of France by appearing in her undergarments (chemise), it quickly caught on, as evidenced by portraits of the day.

Marie Antoinette

 Princess Louise Augusta

 

 Lady Elizabeth Foster

 

And now here's my version.  I used the Wingeo pattern, which I admit I didn't love.  There were actual pieces missing from the pattern and the sleeve wasn't right (wayyyyyyy too big) :(  Thanks to Koshka's advice, I got it finished.

 

And here I am with Koshka, without whom this gown would not exist.

 

And here are the undergarments to go with:

Chemise and short stays (though I should wear regular, long stays with this)

Then the cotton petticoat

 I also made a small bum pad to keep the back of the dress from collapsing above my rear

18th century! The Duchess striped day dress

I was totally inspired by the costumes in The Duchess.  Since Costume Con 27 was coming up, I had somewhere to wear it.  Since then I have worn it to a private 18th c. party as well.

I used the Period Impressions 1770 Polonaise and petticoat pattern and more fabric gifted from Beth.  Grey and ivory striped silk.

 Here I am with my friend L (who gave me the straw hat I trimmed):