1898 Lavender Plaid Outfit

Earlier this summer, my partner-in-crime and I decided we ought to do "something Edwardian." Why? Well, she's going on a big costume trip next summer, for which she will need a week's worth of Edwardian clothes, and wanted to start sewing for it now (because that's a lot to sew!).

Me, I'm not invited, but I'm happy to play along, provided I could branch slightly out of her strict 1901-05 timeframe. I love the transitional 1898-1900 styles, and prefer them to what came before or after, not being a giant sleeve or a droopy kind of girl (this may sound familiar...it applies to both 1830s/40s and 1890s/1900s!).

We decided to have a public event with a loose "Edwardian" theme, so as to be as accommodating as possible while still looking somewhat cohesive. We chose Longwood Gardens for our setting, as while not strictly Edwardian it's a really lovely place, and they don't mind people showing up in funny clothes, provided they don't make nuisances of themselves! And we had some new people show up, along with Alice's sister and family from over-the-pond (they were visiting already, they didn't just come from England for a Longwood Gardens trip to make Auntie Alice happy; that was just a bonus!).

Everybody is a fan of childers in costume; the accent is just an adorable bonus.

And if you follow Taylor of Dames a la Mode anywhere, you'll already have seen what a perfect day we had - low humidity and the temps topped out in the low 80s - which is amazing for August around here, let alone for a costume event! I'm still amazed by our luck...usually it rains.

Two group pics, as we had people coming and going, and I don't think we could have taken a picture with everybody at once.

It was a great day, and thank you to everyone who showed up and was polite to all the people who asked if we were going to sing! (??? No.)

To be fair...the three of us do look like we're ready to burst into song LOL. I came across three matching plaid wools on Fashion Fabrics Club, probably close to a decade ago now, and squirreled it away for just this purpose. It makes me happy.

Oldey timey people were always serious, right? Totally.

So...my outfit. Yes it's wool, yes it's lightweight, yes it's very comfortable! I took the easy way out this time and used Truly Victorian patterns for both the jacket and the skirt. 1898 Eton jacket and 1898 walking skirt pattern, whatever numbers they are. I have an out-of-print Butterick pattern that I've used for my past c1900 skirts, but I lost a piece out of it and haven't found it yet...so I figured I'd cut my losses and just buy the TV one!

I did later rediscover the Ageless Patterns 1898 suit that I'd bought a few years ago...and the skirt was within a few inches of the TV pattern when I laid them out on top of each other. Ooops. Oh well. Options? And I took I think exactly zero pictures of the construction of this outfit because I was so pressed for time! Also oops. Sorry, adoring fans.

*hides behind umbrella stick in shame*

Skirt is fully lined with a lightweight linen-cotton blend (I was trying to use the stash as much as possible), faced with muslin, and interfaced with a band of cotton crinoline. A word to the wise: cut your hem facing pieces from the actual skirt itself...not from the hem facing pattern pieces. The hem of the actual skirt may have stretched. Cough cough.

It took me at least 3 hours to pin the crinoline facing pieces in, rip out most of all the seams attaching them together, repin, wudge into place, fill in the gaps that were too big to leave unfilled, and tack it all in. It was...Not Fun.

The pattern doesn't call for a pocket at CB, but I am a firm believer in "all skirts should have pockets if they possibly can", so I put a butt-pocket in this skirt too. I've put them in all my turn-of-the-century skirts; you can still get away with them while there's still some fulness gathered or pleated down at the CB, not so much when they totally slim down by 1902 or so. Only drawback of a butt pocket is that it does drag your waistband down a titch if you put anything heavier in it than a hankie...

I can deal with it though! See my skating outfit post for a somewhat more detailed description of butt pockets, if you're new to them. They're very funny.

Livin' dangerously. *hums circus theme*

Jacket: Easier than figuring it out myself, but I wasn't in love with the pattern. The sleeve head was ridiculously gigantic (like I know I've got little chicken arms but come on. I took probably 2" off the sleeve head all the way round), the collar never did lie flat the way I wanted it to, and I stupidly followed the directions rather than doing the collar and front facing in one the way I would have been inclined - which means if you fold the collar all the way down the inside lining shows. Stupid.

Jacket body is lined with the same brown linen-cotton blend as the skirt, and the sleeves are lined in cotton lawn because I ran out of the brown fabric!

Guimpe aka the sleeveless blouse aka the little turtleneck thingie that's not a full shirtwaist because why add another layer on my arms?: made from cotton lawn and insertion, and totally made up by me, as I couldn't find my shirtwaist pattern. No mockups or anything, I was living dangerously. I didn't slope the shoulders enough so they bunch up weirdly and make me look like I've got a padded 1980s thing going on - but as this is never going to be worn without a jacket or something over it, I'll probably never bother to actually fix it!

The undies are all new, including the net corset, so they'll get their own posts, respectively...when I get the chance!

Sneak peek of the net corset. Yup, as in cotton net.

Regarding accessories...

I made the belt the morning of the event. I just had a sneaking suspicion that this type of outfit looks better with something at the waist, so I got up an hour early to make sure I'd have time for said belt! It's just silk taffeta interlined with drill and lined with cotton. Any wider/longer of a point and I'd want to bone it to keep from crumpling, but at these dimensions it held up fine.

Gloves, parasol, and shoes were all acquired online somewhere during the past 15 years of costuming, probably ebay if I know myself. (I find a lot of my costume shoes on ebay; being a size 7 has its perks! They're never as nice as, say, American Duchess shoes, but I can't afford a $200 pair of shoes to go with every outfit)

And, of course, the hat! Which I am, as they say, dead chuffed with. It started life as the best Goodwill score ever - I was straw hat hunting for me and Robin, and descended upon this one with glee. "It's got PURPLE in it! My wool has PURPLE in it!" It was just your plain old straw hat, but I soaked it and bent the brim up (I knew we had a large collection of scented candles for a reason....)

I covered the underside of the brim with a scrap of cream silk shantung (partly to look pretty but more because the straw's a pretty rough weave and it kept snagging on everything), and piled a bunch of ostrich drabs (since despite knowing plumes really are more correct and nicer...plumes are a leeetle out of budget here), ribbons, and a giant rose.

Stick it on at a jaunty angle, and voila! As I said, dead chuffed.

Up next: 1860s! It's Remembrance Day weekend for my little group again this year, and while I have a very decent amount of clothing in my 1860s wardrobe, it could use some sprucing up. But before that, of course, I want to post about the undies for this outfit before I forget...