What does one do with just over a yard of heavy charcoal colored wool? Hope that there is JUST enough fabric for an 18th Century Short Cloak!
A black lace mantelet is a foolish and fragile thing, one of the most pointless accessories in the history of western fashion. Of course I wanted to make one!
A sewing friend gifted me a pair of sheer voile curtains to see what I could make with them. One became a ruffled 1780s apron and the other became a white muslin summer mantelet!
In this tutorial, I turn a glass-and-brass necklace into a DIY Georgian parure.
Last spring at a workshop, I came across a silk sultana hanging on a peg. I tried it on – and I wanted it. I didn’t NEED one, so of course I immediately went fabric shopping and found a piece of suitable-enough silk shantung – just enough of it for a midnight purple silk sultana.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it another wrapping gown? It’s the Fitting and Proper Chintz Banyan! Let’s talk about how to put it together.
An 18th Century short-gown is the same sort of garment as a bed gown, except, well… shorter.
Sort of. Mostly. Sometimes.
Here’s a well-dressed woman in her 18th Century bedgown, hanging out at the top of a mangrove tree. As you do.
Playing dress-up in the 18th Century is always fun. The 18th Century aftermath, however… occasionally isn’t.
I took my new striped 1750s English gown for a spin, and accessorized it with a basket of oranges and my new Good Wives Linens lappet cap!
