Today I'm taking a short break from my usual focus on the ancient world, to present a Regency era dress inspired by the ancient world.
This is the first time I've done Regency. It's not a period I typically pay much attention to, but I am a sucker for classicism. Enter the Dreamstress with her copy of An Agreeable Tyrant, in which we find this fascinating Regency homage to ancient Egypt:
My version isn't an exact copy of the DAR original for reasons I'll talk about later on in this post.
Like the original, mine is a standard Regency round gown, with a lining that closes separately from the outer fabric. It closes with pins, which is an appropriate period way to fasten a round gown and totally not something I did because I'm lazy.
Fishnet overdresses were a fad between about 1798 and 1802, and were presumably inspired by the western world's discovery of Egyptology at this time, thanks to Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. Note that although the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, the Westcar Papyrus wouldn't be translated until 1890, so Regency fashion designers had not actually read the Story of the Green Jewel. Nor, of course, did they know about the tunic covered with beaded net found in Tutankhamun's tomb. But Egyptian art sometimes shows net dresses, so people knew about the concept.
Fashion plates of the time show these Egyptian-inspired dresses could be made with or without a train, and with white or coloured net. I like blue, and blue is very Egyptian, so mine is indigo blue over white cotton lined in white linen. Making a trained version was just not feasible due to the amount of time it would take to make the net, which meant I had to alter the sleeves as well. This is because the absence of a train is unusual for the 1790s and suggests my dress should be dated slightly later than the DAR original, so I've made the sleeves in a style which works for that slightly later date. I've therefore copied the net detailing from the DAR dress's sleeves, but attached it to the short, straight sleeve shape typical of the very early 1800s.
It seems likely that these dresses were usually finished with ribbon, but I used strips of silk due to the difficulty and cost of acquiring appropriate silk ribbon. I stand by that choice on the basis that it's historically plausible, and I would not have been happy to use polyester ribbon. Even good quality poly ribbon still looks like poly ribbon, and it doesn't behave the same way as silk.
The pattern I used is a late 1790s overdress from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion. I adapted it a little bit to better resemble the dress in An Agreeable Tyrant, and to size it up a couple of inches, but overall I found the pattern worked pretty well as-is. It's easy to work with and I highly recommend it. However, I did have trouble with the sleeves. This is to be expected. Due to better childhood nutrition people today have more muscle mass in our arms and shoulders than our ancestors did, so original patterns will often need sleeve alterations (thanks to the Dreamstress for that information).
If you're fitting a Regency dress and, like me, don't know what you're doing, here's a link I found very helpful: Diary of a Mantua Maker's guide to fitting Regency gowns.
HSM details
The Challenge: Sleeves. The net overlay on these sleeves shows an interesting mix of Egyptian and Greek influence, and their construction is characteristic of early 1800s sleeves. The pattern itself is as simple as a sleeve can be, but the overall effect is highly decorative thanks to the use of classically-inspired drapery.
Material: Half a meter of cotton voile, plus about one and a half square meters of cotton net and half a meter of blue silk for trimming.
Pattern: Late 1790s half robe shown on page 45 of Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion.
Year: 1800.
Notions: Around 540 meters of cotton yarn to make the net.
How historically accurate is it? Perhaps 60-70%. I made an effort to research appropriate construction methods and fabrics, but this is my first Regency project and there are undoubtedly lots of things I don't know and could have done better.
Hours to complete: No idea, and frankly I don't want to know. Suffice it to say I've been working on this thing off and on since Christmas.
First worn: For fitting purposes.
Total cost: $40.
This dress consists of cotton net, which I made using the same technique as fishing net, over a foundation of cotton voile, trimmed with blue silk. It needs a petticoat underneath, but I haven't made one yet so for now you will have to use your imagination. When the petticoat is finished I'll take some more photos.
This is the first time I've done Regency. It's not a period I typically pay much attention to, but I am a sucker for classicism. Enter the Dreamstress with her copy of An Agreeable Tyrant, in which we find this fascinating Regency homage to ancient Egypt:
 |
| Image from the DAR museum. |
My version isn't an exact copy of the DAR original for reasons I'll talk about later on in this post.
 |
| Back view showing how the net skirt is gathered onto the edge of the bodice. This is not how it's done on the DAR dress, but there is at least one extant net dress that does have its skirt attached this way. |
Like the original, mine is a standard Regency round gown, with a lining that closes separately from the outer fabric. It closes with pins, which is an appropriate period way to fasten a round gown and totally not something I did because I'm lazy.
Fashion plates of the time show these Egyptian-inspired dresses could be made with or without a train, and with white or coloured net. I like blue, and blue is very Egyptian, so mine is indigo blue over white cotton lined in white linen. Making a trained version was just not feasible due to the amount of time it would take to make the net, which meant I had to alter the sleeves as well. This is because the absence of a train is unusual for the 1790s and suggests my dress should be dated slightly later than the DAR original, so I've made the sleeves in a style which works for that slightly later date. I've therefore copied the net detailing from the DAR dress's sleeves, but attached it to the short, straight sleeve shape typical of the very early 1800s.
It seems likely that these dresses were usually finished with ribbon, but I used strips of silk due to the difficulty and cost of acquiring appropriate silk ribbon. I stand by that choice on the basis that it's historically plausible, and I would not have been happy to use polyester ribbon. Even good quality poly ribbon still looks like poly ribbon, and it doesn't behave the same way as silk.
The pattern I used is a late 1790s overdress from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion. I adapted it a little bit to better resemble the dress in An Agreeable Tyrant, and to size it up a couple of inches, but overall I found the pattern worked pretty well as-is. It's easy to work with and I highly recommend it. However, I did have trouble with the sleeves. This is to be expected. Due to better childhood nutrition people today have more muscle mass in our arms and shoulders than our ancestors did, so original patterns will often need sleeve alterations (thanks to the Dreamstress for that information).
If you're fitting a Regency dress and, like me, don't know what you're doing, here's a link I found very helpful: Diary of a Mantua Maker's guide to fitting Regency gowns.
HSM details
The Challenge: Sleeves. The net overlay on these sleeves shows an interesting mix of Egyptian and Greek influence, and their construction is characteristic of early 1800s sleeves. The pattern itself is as simple as a sleeve can be, but the overall effect is highly decorative thanks to the use of classically-inspired drapery.
Material: Half a meter of cotton voile, plus about one and a half square meters of cotton net and half a meter of blue silk for trimming.
Pattern: Late 1790s half robe shown on page 45 of Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion.
Year: 1800.
Notions: Around 540 meters of cotton yarn to make the net.
How historically accurate is it? Perhaps 60-70%. I made an effort to research appropriate construction methods and fabrics, but this is my first Regency project and there are undoubtedly lots of things I don't know and could have done better.
Hours to complete: No idea, and frankly I don't want to know. Suffice it to say I've been working on this thing off and on since Christmas.
First worn: For fitting purposes.
Total cost: $40.
