As They Sew In France
By John Richardson
Consultations Welcomed!
Contact John:
(678) 596-4019
Edwardian Era
"Edwardian Evening Dress"
The choice of the ‘celadon damasque’ with its elaborate figuring combined with the embroidered sheer is typical for the era and style. The large bertha adds to the draped mono-bosom effect, but allows for the beading of the floral and vine designs to glitter through the sheer creating additional highlights.
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
Description
The bodice is an adaptation of the 1898 ball gown with the closures moved to the back. The sleeves are hand applied as in the original bodice. The lining is fitted but cut without the point front of the dancing dress and is draped to create the Edwardian monobusom for the later era. The belt is fitted and boned. The skin is built from the Past Pattern skirt used in the dancing dress seen in the previous illustrations but the back four gores are lengthened and widened to create a more full skirt. The lace train resulted from the limited amount of the damasque, requiring a lining of olive green shot silk for the skirt itself and the lace creating a shined and draped two layer train. The effect is both elegant and dramatic.
The garment was built for Mrs. Peter Burns of Roswell, Georgia, for work as a docent in a museum plantation home.
The creation of this bodice from a predated pattern is typical of dressmaking techniques used in the belle époque where clothing would have been re-cut and redesigned for continuous use as styles changed.
"Queen Mary Dinner Dress"
Dinner dress from the George V - Queen Mary Era.circa 1912.
This dress was built for Barbara Jo Call for a voyage on the luxurious Orient Express from London to Venice.
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
Description
The straight and vertical lines foreshadow the tubular dresses from postwar styles. The entire dress was draped without using a pattern, but cut carefully to realize the elegant lines of the period. Very heavy beaded and tasseled trim hangs on the sleeves and bodice back. Heavily beaded appliqués trim the neckline, upper sleeves and skirt. The under dress is olive green silk satin, covered in a silk chiffon in shifting browns and greens. The wearer’s favorite color is olive green so we made considerable use of the color. The bodice is asymmetrically over draped in unique Fortuni ‘perma-pleated’ metallic fabric. The fringe is knotted silks. The buttons are black glass with gold leaf and hide a (gasp) zipper closure. The beaded and tasseled trim piece on the back neck is hook and eyed to the right shoulder to ease in putting on the dress. There is bugle beading in gold and rust in vertical lines on the skirt adding to the long lines of the evening gown. The client is full figured but moderately tall so the lines of the gown were spectacularly slimming and flattering.
There are interesting photographs of Queen Mary in gowns very similar in cut and styling to this one in her biographies. Her husband’s preference for this style found her wearing similar garments up until his death in 1936, while women in the United Kingdom and all over Europe had adopted the knee length skirt even for court dress.
Evening dresses on the Titanic were of this style. The maiden voyage of the original Simplon Orient Express occurred roughly in 1912 as well, hence the choice of gown by Miss Call for the evening dinner on board the train.
"1905 Blancavaert"
This garment currently may be seen in the Museum of Costume in London in the United Kingdom. The dress was created in 1905 by BLANCAVAERT, Court Dressmaker and Ladies’ Taylor, 38 and 39 South Molton Street. W.
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
Description
The original dress was made from blue and white striped cotton voile. The garments unique feature is the raised waistline in back created by the sloped belt. In addition the ivory satin under bodice would have been heavily boned, with the striped voile simply draped over the under-structure.
The pattern for this dress is taken from the Janet Arnold Patterns of Fashion volume 2, English women’s dresses and their construction.
"1907 Dinner Dress"
This garment illustrates a 1907 dinner dress. The bodice pattern is of British origin. The skirt is of French origin but after 1893 was greatly popular in the United Kingdom. The dress is fashioned from a gray and lavender shot silk, with the two different colors of thread causing the Fabric to change colors with movement and light.
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
Description
The bodice is again built over a boned and structured lining with the silk draped and applied to the lining. One unique feature of this bodice is the sloped shoulder line causing the arm's eye to be placed even with the underarm of the wearer. The slightly melon shaped over sleeve is gathered both at the arm’s eye and the extended cuff.
The skirt is slightly out of date, but with the fabric choice and the considerable overlap in fashion design during the belle époque using a skirt from 1893 of French design would not be out of the ordinary, The weight of the shot silk lends itself particularly to this style, with the considerable fan in the train, the tight gathers at the waistline on either side of the center back closure, and the padded hem done in this case with black silk velvet. The belt also is slightly out of date, being structured and severely shaped as was more common before 1907.
The overall effect for a late Belle Époque dinner dress is quite stylish and attractive to look at and wear.
Note of interest: If one watches the superb film rendering of the novel, "A Room With A View", you will see this very bodice pattern worn both by Helena Bonhamme Carter and Dame Maggie Smith in the opening dinner scene in the pensione in Venice.
The pattern was drafted from an original garment and included in a catalogue of patterns from the era by Jane Hunnisett.
"HOLIDAY DANCING AND DINNER ENSEMBLE"
Created for a Dickensian festival, we present here a stunning embroidered silk satin bodice in very pale gold with a Christmas green rayon velvet seven gore Edwardian skirt.
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
This lovely ensemble was created for a display piece to be shown at the Galveston, Texas Charles Dickens on the Strand Festival in 2012.
The most striking feature is the bodice, built using the Jane Honniset historic Edwardian bodice pattern used for many of the evening bodices worn by Hellena Bonhamme Carter and Dame Maggie Smith in the Merchant and Ivory film "Room With A View." The lovely embroidered silk satin is enhanced by the pale gold beige machine lace over cream taffeta inserted in the neckline and for the collar and cuffs. The bodice is bag lined, fitted to the body of the wearer and lightly boned. The elegant embroidered silk satin is draped over the fitted lining with the traditional Edwardian pouter pigeon front. The body of the bodice is back fastened using hood and eye tape, and the standing collar has tiny hooks and loops.
The Christmas green seven gore skirt built with a short train to make dancing easier is of rayon velvet, a popular fabric created in the 19th century. The skirt is worn over a gored and flounced taffeta petticoat with lace trim.
This ensemble makes a lovely winter holiday outfit for any dinner party or dance with a Victorian or Edwardian theme.
"Dark Floral Print on Faux-Silk Blouse"
The next illustrations show basic skirt and blouse sets traditionally worn by working women, shopkeepers, florists, secretaries and housewives. The seven-gore skirt made of one flat front panel and three pairs of increasingly long triangular panels was the standard garment of the time. The following sets have this particular item in common so we will dwell on the blouses and their styling and concept.
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
Description
The dark floral print on rayon faux-silk blouse is a side fastening design. Like a dress bodice the blouse has a bonded under-structure onto which the outer fabric is essentially draped. There are fastenings in the left shoulder and down the left side of the drape. The blousing hides the opening, which is disguised additionally by the collar fastening in the back, but floating free from the shoulder to center back. This design was most popular beginning around 1897.
It should be noted that a full circle stiffened skirt would have more often been worn with this style of blouse, the seven gores coming into fashion in 1900.
"Eretria Blouse Waist"
Popular beginning in 1902.
Basic skirt and blouse sets traditionally worn by working women, shopkeepers, florists, secretaries and housewives. The seven-gore skirt made of one flat front panel and three pairs of increasingly long triangular panels was the standard garment of the time.
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
Description
This style again features fastening on the left side hidden by the blousing of the over layer. And, in this case, the lovely smocking that occurs on the neck front. The fastening is set in the lining under the smocking and at the waist on the left where the bloused fabric is gathered to the under-structure. The lining fastens along the center front with hook and eye tape.
The full sleeves reflect the fashions of the late 1890‘s and the revival of the leg of mutton sleeve. While not quite as full, the sleeve cups use the same smocking as the neckline to create the fullness popular in this style. These blouses remained in style until World War One.
FRONT VIEW
FRONT VIEW WITH MATCHING JACKET
"1905 Lady's Visiting Suit"
We present, from the 1905 Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon fall catalog our interpretation of her elegant outfit entitled "An Episode".
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
The inspiration for this visiting suit came from a splendid resource book containing the complete autumn catalog of Lucile, Ltd. dressmakers and tailors. The original was designed in peach lightweight wool. The original client of ours requested linen, and the sky blue color based on the Atlanta climate with it's heat and humidity.
Again the adaptability of the Past Patterns products made creating this suit easy. The skirt and petticoat of linen on the outer layer and taffeta on the inner are built as one piece. We retained the slight structural flounce built into the hem for its more interesting shape and movement.
The blouse is multi-layered and proved difficult to build. The inner layer of silk taffeta is body fitted and lightly boned. Fastening is done using hook and eye tape and is center front. The gathered and pouched outer layer is of the same taffeta and embroidered netting. The fastenings are very complex. The collar closes center back. The pouching closes on the left shoulder and along the side seam starting under the left arm. Skirt hook bars run along the finished hem of the bodice and the skirt is hung from them as was frequently done in the Edwardian era. We chose not to copy exactly from the Lucile sleeve design, but attempted to recreate the feeling and complexity. Large rosettes of the netting are decorated with centered sky blue double faced silk satin ribbon double bows. The lace cuffs are lightly gathered into the sleeve ends and trimmed with narrow blue satin ribbon.
The tailored jacket is of the sky blue linen, and lined with silk taffeta. The collar, lapels and standing cuffs are of a navy blue damask. The jacket and the left front skirt seam are trimmed with a heavy weight machine made lace tape which is hand applied. The jacket has silk cord frogs for closure.
The suit made for the client is worn with short white gloves, and a late Edwardian tricorn hat in pale blue moire' taffeta. The hat pattern delightfully came from a vintage Edwardian Lady's Home Journal and was intended to be made at home by the reader.
This garment would make a splendid appearance at any Victorian festival or tour of homes.
"1905 Lady's Afternoon Carriage, Walking and Visiting Suit"
We present here, from the 1905 Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon autumn catalog our interpretation of her elegant outfit titled " The Tender Grace of a Day That is Dead".
Contact Designer John Richardson
today for a complimentary consultation:
678-596-4019. letsicedance@aol.com
FRONT VIEW
FRONT VIEW WITH MATCHING JACKET
BACK VIEW
Please don't ask us to understand, interpret or explain the rather creative name for this visually delightful visiting suit. Lucile evidently had a very unique sense of style and many of her creations have absurd and unexplainable names. In any case, the garment is quite striking.
The original was actually green wool, in a rich hunter shade. The jacket was overlayed with a mint or chartreuse chiffon including the sleeves. The client for the original of this suit, again due to the climate in Atlanta, chose linen and silk chiffon for the materials.
Once again the adaptability of a Past Patterns creation worked wonders in reproducing an historic garment. This is a four piece suit. The skirt and underskirt are built onto a single waistband. The underskirt is silk taffeta. The linen over skirt is of considerable complexity. Each side contains seven panels which are folded into deep pleats, pressed and stitched to knee level where they are released and allowed to flair to the hem. The pleating allows the skirt to cling to the hips of the wearer and then release to allow for easy walking.
The blouse is very complex as well and consists of three layers and an applied front pouch. The lining is silk taffeta body fitted, lightly boned but with the finished side toward the wearer, and closes using hook and eye tape center front. The outer layer is silk taffeta with cotton machine lace worked as one. The materials are pleated in tiny folds on the front shoulders and release at bust level to create the Edwardian pouter pigeon front. This layer closes center front as well again using hook and eye tape. The center pouching is an applied, fully lined piece sewn into the right shoulder seam and fastening on the left shoulder. The sleeves are trimmed above the cuffs with netting, mint green machine lace tape and wired silk taffeta double bows. The faux belt on the blouse is made of three pieces of linen which are hand pressed into tiny lengthwise folds, hand joined to each other and then hand applied to the blouse hem. Tiny mint green mother of pearl flat buttons hide the center front hook and eye closure.
The tailored jacket is lined in silk taffeta. The lapels are covered in the linen, while the jacket body and sleeves are the linen covered in mint green silk chiffon. The jacket is trimmed in mint green machine lace tape, which matches perfectly. The tape is also used on the skirt over two of the front pleats down to the knees. The jacket additionally has embroidered silk satin sculpted ribbon trim in bands on the jacket body and sleeve cuffs. The shoulders are trimmed with the wired silk taffeta in double bows.
The client who purchased this suit has coppery red hair and classic very white skin and looked amazing and splendid in this garment as her coloring was perfect for the concept. She wears this suit with a matching mint green lace parasol, gloves and a broad brimmed hat in several shades of green.