c. 1870 Le Baiser Dress

[atherleisure]

I finished my early 1870's dress...exactly one month ago. I took pictures over a week ago. I'm really on top of things.



It's a c. 1870-71 dress based on the dress the subject wears in the Gustave-Leonard de Jonghe painting Le Baiser. I haven't been able to find a date for the painting, but I think it's the very beginning of the 1870's so that's what I went with for my dress.

I hadn't been quite sure how to go about it, but the line of the skirt of the_aristocat's 1871 blue voile dress looked quite good to my eyes. She used the 1870-71 gown in Patterns of Fashion so I used that as a starting point. The skirt follows that pattern exactly. (Well, the skirt isn't gathered quite as tightly since I don't have a 23" waist, but otherwise it uses that pattern as is.) The bodice is a version of my 1860's base pattern with the same armscyes and sleeves that I used on my 1868 dress and the neckline and lower edge adjusted on me. The postilion back is a separate piece that I kind of draped on the stand.

The fabric is light green and white shot silk taffeta lined with brown cotton. The same brown cotton is used as a hem facing, and it does show where the skirt is tacked up. That's okay, though, because the hem facing shows in the painting too. Maybe I should have used a lighter color, but I didn't. The underskirt is made from the same pattern as the main skirt but is made of white lawn with a woven satin stripe. The trim is black point d'esprit strips gathered and tacked down under velvet ribbon. The collar and cuffs are the same lawn as the underskirt and are narrow-hemmed and gathered into a band then tacked into the neck and wrists.







The pictures are not especially flattering, but I like the dress. Someday I'll even find an event to wear it to.

ETA: I forgot the link to the painting, but it should be fixed now.

Comments

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

So beautiful! The silk has a lovely drape and I really like the black trim.

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[jenthompson.livejournal.com]

That's gorgeous!!!!

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Now I just need a place go go in it...

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Very pretty! Love the fabric.

And hey, a few weeks before you got around to picture-taking isn't bad - I still haven't posted proper pictures of my Gettysburg ballgown from November! THAT is bad, haha.

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

I guess three weeks is better than three months.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Lovely job!

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

Ooh, beautiful!

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

That looks fantastic! I had to google the painting and it looks so spot on. :)

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I meant to link to the painting, but apparently I forgot. Oops! I'll add the link.