Monday, October 14, 2013

The Beginnings of Mario Sforza and the Russian Court Dress.

The Russian court gown is coming along sloooowly. Most of this is because clothing from the Romanov era requires the proper underpinnings - specifically, a proper corset.

I started out with a pattern from Ageless Patterns. If you're curious to try using something from this company, you will need a good background in period clothing construction: There are NO instructions. If you have never made a corset before, I would recommend starting off with another company, like Laughing Moon Mercantile. Ageless Patterns is not for the faint of heart. 

 I found the size closest to the customer's waist measurement and proceeded to make a mockup. Now, here's the thing about Victorian corsetry: The more Rubenesque you are, the closer you will come to achieving that lovely wasp-waisted figure that was so popular during the turn of the century. The customer who commissioned this costume is willowy enough that the extremely pinched look can't happen without adding so much padding that it would look unnatural. So, some sort of happy medium will need to be achieved.


I ended up removing the bust gores and two of the hip gores, to achieve a better fit. Also, the dress form is doing a horrible job at filling out the garment, as per usual. So far, the body of the corset is together, and I'm waiting on a busk to come in the mail, before I can continue working on this piece.

In the meantime, I have begun drafting patterns for the Mario Sforza costume. I have the doublet done, and am hoping to complete his slops and sleeves while I await the arrival of the busk. I have no pictures to prove any of this, though, so you'll just have to believe me. Or not.

To make up for lack of photographic documentation, here's a picture of Zita, hiding in my sleeve:



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