1920s slip

Before I started to work on the robe de style, I decided to warm up with the slip that I planned to wear underneath. A slip is a necessary undergarment that protects the skin from the material of the outer dress, e.g. scratchy wool, and also protects the outer garment from sweat or skin oils. Furthermore it smoothes the line and helps the dress to hang correctly. Plus, it's the perfect excuse to use all that whimsical lace. ;)

1920's Cream Lace Chemise with Hand Embroidery from wearitagainsamvintage.com

French silk/lace slip, 1920s. Can't find the original source, sorry :(

A beautiful vintage slip from wildrosevintage.blogspot.com

A more conservative slip from the Metropolitan Museum

A black 1920s silk slip from the Metropolitan Museum

So I went trough my stash, actually in hope of finding some suitable silk, but then I came across a rather firm but smooth black and completely opaque rayon which I deemed perfect for the task. It has little spades woven into it and feels wonderful on the skin. I guess it's the stuff that is normally used for the backs of modern waistcoats.

front view

I used this pattern (or rather, these instructions) from realhistoricalpatterns.tumblr.com (which is a great blog by the way, thank you so much whoever you are!)

The pattern/instructions worked really well. The fact that my slip has a seam at the waist which isn't supposed to be there is just because I'm an idiot who can't accept that cutting fabric after midnight is not a good idea. I had no more fabric to cut it again, but then it's not that terrible a mistake. The slip is still doing what it's supposed to, and nobody is going to see it anyway.

side view

I admit, the lace I sewed on the hem looks a bit forced. I could probably have used it in a more graceful manner, but I didn't have an awful lot of time to finish the slip. Moreover, I was angry at the lace and wanted it to be gone quickly. I ordered it as stretchy lace on ebay for a totally different project and received this one, which is about as stretchy as hemp rope and for which I absolutely didn't have any other use, so it ended up on the slip.

back view

All in all, I am very happy with this garment. Stupid mistakes aside, it was easy to sew and I made the right fabric choice - smooth against the skin and against the dress fabric.