Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

This month we have two questions:

Joyce inquires about plus size articles and what style of dress she would look best in (and gets some wonderful responses);

Elizabeth writes and wonders how to adjust a 1770's waistcoat pattern for a man with a large stomach (and learns that it probably won't be that much trouble.)

The underwear situation in the Natural Form Era was.... complicated!  Ladies had an outfit for every situation and time of day, and underwear to go with it. To further add confusion, the "Dress Reform" movement was at its height: its main focus was on changing corsets and what was worn underneath them, all in the name of health. 

So what did women wear under their dresses?  It all depends on a variety of factors.  I'll walk you through all the different layer options starting from the skin out, with variations in necklines and politics. Next month I'll complete the layers and show you how to combine them.

As a new costume enthusiast, you might be delighted with a particular Victorian pattern and sew it straight out of the envelope, just as it is. Experienced dressmakers might fall in love with an antique fashion plate,  and recreate it to make something genuinely special.

But what if you want to make a gown that is not a direct copy of a fashion plate, or a pattern that dozens of people have already made? Suppose you want to design an original Victorian costume—something that no one's seen before, and yet which would be right at home on the pages of La Mode Illustrée, Godey's Home Journal, or Harper's Bazar?

If you've "been there, done that" and now want to make a truly original Victorian costume, read on!

You've just finished sewing your dream outfit—maybe it's Tudor, or 1550s Florentine, or a gorgeous black velvet Spanish gown—and it fits perfectly, but something seems to be missing.  

Accessories take an outfit from costume to clothing, and jewelry played a huge role in the opulent look of middle-class and noble 16th century clothing for both men and women.

While some types of 16th century jewelry require serious metalworking skills or advanced faux techniques in polymer clay and other materials, a huge range of beautiful and authentic jewelry can be made using basic beadwork techniques, supplemented with carefully chosen costume jewelry.

When looking at sleeve patterns for 18th century dresses, there's a rather striking difference when compared to modern sleeves—they have corners.

This is because for much of the 18th century, sleeves were set differently than they are today. The sleeve was set in the lower half of the armscye, the dress was put on, and then the sleeve head was pleated to fit the wearer.

This is a very efficient method and prevents a lot of the stress often associated with setting sleeves... yet for a seamstress sewing for and by herself, it presents a problem. How exactly do you pleat a sleeve on yourself?

It is surely a dream of many a young girl to wear a beautiful dress. It is doubly so when the young girl is a re-enactor playing the role of a Tudor Gentry girl.

One young lady will be given that very dream at Kentwell Hall's Tudor Events this summer. Eleven-year-old Etty has been portraying a young gentry girl for the past two years, but for the first time she will be wearing a tailor-made gown suitable for her character's status in the year 1538.

I have been commissioned to make the entire ensemble for Etty, and readers can follow the process, picking up techniques and tips that I use. All the techniques and patterning can be applied to adult women's gowns of the period as well as a young girl's gown.