'regency' bib front dress

This bib front seems to have been a common style around 1800, the back  bodice is standard in construction but the front closure is in the form of a 'bib' that fastens to the under bodice with buttons or pins either side.  In the one I have created the top 1/4 of the skirt's side seams are left open with the bib attached to the top of the central panel. The skirt is held up with ties that go around the waist and tie in front inside the bib. Initially this seemed like a very awkward construction and lacked logic. Why have such insecure closures at the front where they are most likely to gape? I could never manage to keep shoe laces done up  or stockings in place so what hope would there be for something held together in this way?



extant from LACMA c1800

The general shapes again were taken from the excellent Janet Arnold and Nancy Bradbury but the fabric was from a dismantled charity shop skirt, a soft, fluid  cotton with an Indian inspired print of feathers on a black ground. This gave excellent drape but has no real conviction about holding shapes, its main focus seems to be sliding down into an artistic heap under its own weight. The images show some of the stages of construction -this may require some imagination as black with pattern against black with pattern doesn't really show detail very well.
 At first the dress looked just like a standard 1790ish open robe, high waisted bodice meeting in the centre front,  set back sleeves,  with the gathered skirt not meeting across the front.

the under bodice

Nancy Bradbury's Costume in Detail,
open robe.

The  bib dress  has an extra skirt panel to fill the central gap and a rectangular 'bib' extending up from this to the neckline. The top of the skirt seams  are left open to make the dress easier to put on and then either tied, pinned, hooked or buttoned closed at the waist.. Because this fabric is so soft I sewed the bib and skirt panel together onto black cotton tape which extended either side  and then made buttonholes to pass the ties through so they run under the back of the dress rather than on top (wanted to see the gather details at the cb!). In the last photo above the skirt is in place and the bib is hanging down in front. The extra weight of the completed  skirt is pulling the sides of the bodice down.  The bib is then pinned up in place to complete the dress. Of course nothing is allowed to be straightforward so instead of simple puff top narrow sleeves Juliet/Marie/Spanish or is it Marmaluke sleeves seemed like a good idea.

These are long sleeves with gathered puffed sections held by a series of tight bands down the arm. Good luck trying to see them in the flat sleeve above but they are there! These were great to start with but have sagged under their own weight so would benefit from stiffening to keep the puff, umm, puffed..

The finished garment does have a grace and charm, it has elegant long lines, mostly due to the fabric, even if it is constantly trying to morph into something else. It is trying to slide off the shoulder in most of the photos - perhaps Gwen needs arms if I am going to work with such a wide neckline- I did pin some sausages of wadding on as a proto arm solution but laughed so much they came off quite quickly. They flapped in the breeze, even more like a Pingu wanna-be than usual. I shall try again when I have recovered my composure.
As for the idea of the bib front - it does give a bundled up, mono-bosom look There are 3 or four layers of fabric across the bust not accounting for stays or chemise, of course at this time stays were lighter or not worn, so the extra support at the front may have been welcome. Another benefit is that the size is adaptable. It is like a wrap around skirt, as long as there is enough overlap to be decent all sizes and shapes could wear it. Perhaps also the bib could be changed  to suit different wearers  or vagaries of fashion without having to deconstruct the whole dress and extending its useful life.
 The major challenge has been the fabric, the soft drape has a price. The waist line has been taped for stability and the sleeve bands interfaced. The hem was also taped to give a little more weight to it. All curves had to be stay stitched and rather than turn in the seam allowances they are pinked to stop the fraying fest that was going on. It would have been better to flat line the bodice to give more support to the arm hole and shoulder but it is a little late for that decision now! The idea of working with two layers of bodice front was used a lot around the early 1800s for a variety of styles so I hope I've learnt my lesson, structure and stability first then drapeability. I had actually done this with the muslin Gwen-dress but had not expected this material to be so persuadable (dribbly?).   
 Oops.