Ok, so I couldn't wait. I've begun construction on the Gold Gown. I want to step away from fantasy costuming for a moment and do something historical. This gown is an Eighteenth Century replica. I've found some historical cutting diagrams and patterns from actual eighteenth century gowns with period techniques, and will be using these to recreate this costume.
This gown has more than meets the eye! There are 6 layers all together and I'll be making them all. I'm going to take one piece at a time starting from the bottom up.
Here is how the layers work together: (pics are photos of the actual costume used as reference)
1. The Chemise:
2. On top of the chemise is the Camisole:
3. Over the chemise and camisole goes the Paniers (to boost the gown out at the hips):
4. Over all this you lace up the Corset:
5. Then the underskirt (light gold skirt seen under the gown)
6. Then the Gown goes over all that:
And VOILA! The finished costume:
You can see some of the other layers in the movie when Elizabeth falls into the water and Jack Sparrow rescues her and then removes the Gown and Corset so she can breathe. Then for the next scene she is wearing only the chemise and camisole.
Current Construction:
Right now I am in the process of gathering all the materials. So far I have the material for the Chemise and am starting construction on that. It is a lightweight cotton 'gauze' with white eyelet lace for the sleeve cuffs.
3/17/07 I finished the chemise mock-up today. I drafted my own pattern for it. Here are the 'one-armed' pics:
Now I'll begin making the chemise using these patterns.
3/18/07 Finished neckline today. Only thing left to do is the sleeves and finish the bust and waist ties. They will tie in the front.
3/25/07 Finished Chemise today.
Untied, Tied, and Side View:
Closup of front
Back
Now on to the Camisole!
3/26/07 Bought fabrics for camisole. Light khaki colored twill and light brown leather ties. I'm going to cheat and use grommets/eyelets for the ties. Here the khaki fabric is pictured over the white, so you can see the comparison of it over the chemise.
3/29/07 Current camisole progress:
Before ties were added
side
With front ties
All that's left to do now is add the trim!
3/30/07 Finished Camisole:
The last photo is color adjusted to show detail more clearly. Now I'll start gathering materials for the paniers.
The fabric I'll be using to make the Gown arrived today!
4/4/07 My vintage lace arrived on Tuesday. This is what I'll use for the sleeves on the gown. (shown with gown fabric)
Due to some frustrating sewing machine difficulties, progress on the paniers was delayed a few days, but everything is sorted out now and progress is restored!
To save myself some major headaches I've decided to make the paniers straight from a pattern, even though its not the shape I'd prefer. There are many positive aspects of this design anyway, such as making sitting easier and being able to pack for shipping with less hassle. I'll be posting pictures in the next few days as I progress.
4/11/07 The name Paniers comes from the French word for "baskets". Its main purpose is to boost out the hips and make the dress more full, which also accentuates a slender waistline. This design is 2 "baskets", a separate one for each hip, as opposed to the hoop skirt design which goes all the way around. Like I wrote earlier, this design will work out a lot easier for me.
So far I've finished one side:
They are made from linen with poly boning. I'm starting to doubt the poly boning though. If it doesn't hold up under the weight of the gown, I will reinforce it with steel boning.
Still left to do: Finish the other 'basket', attach waistline tie, and touch-ups.
4/17/07 Finished the Paniers. Phewwww. That was tedious.
I had to use a strip of black boning in the center of the one basket because the store was out of white :P Its really bugging me now though, so I may cover it with a strip of white bias tape so it matches. Other than that they're pretty much all done except a few minor touch-ups here and there.
Now I'll be doing the Corset and Underskirt. Have to wait for materials to come in though, so I'll be working on them as materials arrive. The corset fabric I want is backordered so I'll probably be starting the underskirt first.
6/3/07 Construction is on hold right now because I'm still waiting for both the corset and the underskirt fabrics to come in.
Peach/pink cotton coutil (for the corset) seems to be discontinued everywhere, so I decided to purchase white and dye it myself. But 2 months later I'm still waiting for the fabric :P
The underskirt fabric I've chosen is also backordered. So for now I really can't do anything until one of the two fabrics arrive.
