Gwendoline's  muslin. - she definitely needs underclothes before any public appearances.

And here it is ! No wonder these dresses caused a sensation!

Just added Gwen's imagined portrait, based loosely on  Thomas Lawrence's of Sarah Goodwin Moulton ( Pinkey) of 1795. Decided to keep her brunette or else the painting would have had hardly any colour but the dress does show up well. The dress would date a little later so there is a bit of  an argument between pose and fashion,  I did try to calm the sky and take some of the theatricality out of it . What I would like to do is match the degree of modelling on the face to the clothing. More practice required again!

Even though I can not cut tight under the bust because of Gwendoline's fixed shape, this dress does wonders for her. The fashion for separated, high breasts (rather than the modern squish together and hoick) suits the low centre, plenty on show but without the desperate attention seeking. The line of the bodice emphasises the shape. The neck is as wide as I could make it without it falling off the shoulder and as low at the back as at the front. It sits as high on the bust as it can, some of the fashion plates make this seem generous, the bodice should be reduced to a narrow band with sleeves. The skirt is a round, gathered at the centre back with a little gathering along the front, it falls better with this extra ease, but is an aberration from the straight column of the early classical styles. The decoration at the hem is useful to help to balance the gown, it did look  very top heavy in the initial stages. The sleeves are a nod to Medieval and Tudor styles which was popular at the time,  with a puff on the shoulder, a narrow secondary puff around the upper arm and then the lower sleeve is long and tapers to the wrist.  They were  a menace to make – they went together well, the experiment was well worth it, but it took for ever. The muslin has no strength and just pulls apart on the curve so  had to be anchored onto the inner sleeve before being assembled and fitted. The muslin outer was in 2 parts , head and cuff, not three. The second gather was stitched to the lining. What I hadn't considered was how to press the sleeve - so the crinkle look I'm declaring deliberate! The portrait will have to be redone to match. Blonde this time?

I think this is one of the more successful outcomes. It has the right feel and shape compared to the extant muslin shown last post. There are still areas to resolve – dealing with the internal seams, fastenings, the sequence of construction. The amount of sewing in what is a simple enough shape is amazing. Mounting the muslin onto the lining meant sewing before tacking before sewing. Then doing French seams  means sewing everything twice as

well.  The final insult was having matched off white muslin to the slightly cream lining and off white embroidery, when I washed the marker pen out the muslin has dried toothpaste white!! Still like it though.

 

 

Really, really want to get down to Gloucester to see that wedding dress and check these things out first hand.

 

The draping technique was good, it became a practical puzzle, all the shortcomings were my own. Although I need more knowledge about techniques and finishes before  I  feel confident about getting from the drape to the finished garment I don't think that is going to stop me trying. Some of the fashion plates are looking at me, challenging, teasing......

 As for why this is indecent - take a look at the last photo. The are rumours that some dampened their petticoats to make them even more revealing (Gwen wouldn't of course, yes she would, shameless!)