Jane Austen Ball

So last month we went to the Jane Austen Ball at Gadsby's Tavern! It was super fun! I wore my formerly pale pink drawstring gown, which I had dyed a darker pink. Wver since I read Tom & Lorenzo's complaint about how women who wear a color close to their own skin tone look like they are wearing a dress made of skin, I haven't really been fond of the color of this dress. It was super super cheap sale dupioni (I know, not period). So I just dunked it into a bath of red and plum dyes I had on hand and figured it'd come out ok. I really like the color it ended up!

With it I wore my new antique tiara (acquired from a Ruby Lane shop on layaway), and an antique dangle heart brooch. The fan was made for me by In the Long Run Designs (https://www.etsy.com/shop/inthelongrun).





At Gadsby's:

























Jillian in her Dames a la Mode:




















Kat's photo:



Hancock Photo took this one:

Regency gown

This gown reminds me of the pink drawstring dress I made recently! From Dames a la Mode. the image is originally from Gallery of Fashion, July 1796.

Regency Tea

I had a lovely time this afternoon. 12 of us had tea at Reynold's Tavern in Annapolis. It was yummy and everyone looked great!

I wore my new pink drawstring dress, which I am very pleased with - it was really comfortable to wear. And my new spencer. It was too hot to wear it inside, but it was great outside!

I also wore my American Duchess regency shoes. I really like them, but they are definitely narrower than the 18th century ones, and I just have a wide foot. So they cut a little bit in the toes. It's fine for tea, but not for walking around.

Velvet Spencer

I made a velvet spencer on Sunday! I did the entire thing in one day, pretty much, other than some finishing touches. (I added hook and eyes and two belt loops because I couldn't keep it all in place.)

I used the Past Patterns 1809 spencer, which actually fit me perfectly. It was a little shy on directions, which was mostly not a problem, but I did have trouble figuring out which was the left and which the right sleeve. I'm still not sure if I guessed right. :-/

I used vintage thread covered buttons on the back - not sure they go with the buckle? A friend gave me the buckle and I really like it. I think it's probably ok together.

I used some cotton velvet I got from RedThreaded - I'm not sure if it was a blend - it was really plush, but it also didn't crease almost at all. It was pretty much a dream to work with, unlike the silk velvet I used on that little S&S vest. (Which I kind of want to redo, which is a little crazy.) The jacket went together really easily. And the velvet didn't fray or slip much at all. And pins didn't mark it. It was really great. And I had just enough fabric with a little bit leftover.

I lined the jacket with the dotted fabric I used one my first regency dress. It'll match if I ever wear it with that!

Also, everything I used came from the stash!  I have so much stuff I've really been trying to focus on using it rather than buying stuff for new projects.

Here are some photos!

Pink Silk dress

Here are some shots of the new pink silk dress I made.  It's a drawstring dress based off the Sensibility pattern.  I used non-period dupioni from the stash - I thought it would be a pretty color that would go with lots of things.  One of my friends once said that she liked regency because all you had to do was make a new overgown or jacket or something and you have a new dress! There are lots of possibilities!