A Robe de Style inspired by Jeanne Lanvin (HSF '14 Challenge #2: Innovation)

After months of contemplating and cluelessly staring at the muslin I finally finished my robe de style in three days of frantic sewing, because I wanted to wear it to a special event. Of course I already knew about the event when I started the dress in November last year (!), but you know how these things go.
However, I learned that the simplest solutions are often the best, and that it would have been really smart to make the muslin out of a fabric that has a similar stand as the dress fabric. I tried numerous variations of the bodice with the muslin and wasn't satisfied with any of them, until I was forced to make a decision because my time was running out.
So I chose the easiest version. No hidden darts or any other gimmicks, no special seam placement, just a more or less fitted front and back piece that somehow resembled my inspiration dress. In the end the simple pattern turned out to work perfectly with the silk I was using, and I am very happy with the outcome.

Here you can see the inevitable fitted-but-without-darts-puckering in the back. I hated it on the muslin, but it looks a lot better with the dress fabric. I like the diamond shape :)

Yes, I should have used black snap fasteners. ;)

Where is my second foot? o.O

I like my neighbours garden gate. :)

Originally, back in November '13 when I started to work on this dress, I planned to finish it for the HSF '14 Challenge #2: Innovation. That didn't work out, but I like the HSF "fact sheet" so I'm including it here:

The Challenge: Innovation

Fabric: 4,50m black Shantung silk for the dress, a piece of cream colored silk taffeta for the neckline, fine light pink silk twill for the bodice lining

Pattern: my own

Year: 1926

Notions: black thread, hooks and eyes, snap fasteners, embroidered vintage sari border

How I historically accurate is it? Good question. I'm not sure if I already know enough about the 1920s to evaluate it correctly. I think the pattern is fairly correct. There are no darts in the bodice, and I have seen similar puckering in the back of extant pieces. The silk fabric is probably correct, although it maybe should have been silk taffeta instead of shantung. I finished the neckline and armholes with facings, no idea if that was done in the 1920s. Also no idea if anyone used vintage sari borders to embellish a dress then. The dress closes with a combination of hooks/eyes and snap fasteners, which I have seen on several extant dresses. All invisible seams are done by machine, the visible ones are done by hand (which is never wrong, I guess)
In my opinion, the overall look is coherent with the 1920s, the materials are more or less accurate, and the only thing I'm not really sure about is the general construction and the facings. I give it 70 %.

Hours to complete: ~ 35, including the patternmaking and the muslin

First worn: Boheme Sauvage Vienne, April 26th 2014

Total cost: The fabric came from stash, but I vaguely recall that I paid € 10/m, so € 45 for the black silk. I don't remember the price of the other two silks, but let's just round it up to € 50 for the whole fabric. The sari border was € 12, the fastening materials and thread came from stash. So in total I paid around € 65 for the whole dress.

By the way, Laurie from Teacups Among The Fabric had the same idea for Challenge #2, and she did get it done. I like her dress very much, especially that it is shorter in front and has a differently coloured visible lining. Also, the light pink she used is lovely on her and emphasizes the playful nature of this type of dress.

Costume recap - The Escher Naise

Okay, I have nothing new to show yet, so I'll just start with some of my old projects before it gets boring here.

One of my all time favourite gowns is my victorian polonaise (dubbed "Escher Naise" by my friend Mme. Eleanor Vivian, because the pattern looks a bit like it formed in the head of M.C. Escher).
I made it for the WGT 2010 (gothic festival in Leipzig, Germany), so I didn't bother to use only historically accurate fabric. Besides, it was only my second try at victorian clothing, and I don't want to use expensive silk or wool when I'm not yet sure what I'm doing.So the fabric is some mixed fiber (I think it was actually intended for furniture), the edges are bound with velvet and the sleeves are decorated with two layers of fine black lace. The front closes with hooks and eyes. The skirt is made from ordinary black cotton and has a broad ruffle at the hem, decorated with velvet ribbon.
I used the well-known Truly Victorian pattern, but altered the sleeves so they would look a bit like 18th century sleeves. The pattern went together very well, but I'll probably not use it again, at least not as it is - you see it too often these days, and somehow it's funny meeting people at events that basically wear the same dress as you do. (Yes I know, different fabric and styling and all, but it's just weird when you can tell exactly which pattern a dress was made of from 100 metres away.)

 Anyway, I'm very pleased with how it came out. It fits like a glove, and I'm especially proud of the exact pattern matching in the front. 

Enough of the talking, on to the pictures! 

With lovely Mme. Eleanor Vivian on the left - all the stripes on her dress match exactly at the seams!

Here you can see the pattern better. Picture and editing by Alexander Löbel (thanks again!!).

Again with Eleanor Vivian - picture and editing by the wonderful Alwa Petroni / Graubild

The dress also passed the picnic test! :D (I actually don't have weird super-long legs - I just took off my boots *lol* )

This is how it looks on my dress form at home. The light is terrible and I couldn't close it all the way down, but at least you can see the whole dress.

The drapery from the side...

... and from the back.

And this is the shellfish I wore underneath.

"If you try to park your beer glass on my behind, I'll kill you!"