Making the Meiji Dress

Phase two of the project is to make a high waisted Regency inspired dress. On page 110 of "Impossible Conversations," she says that she turned to this era again and again for get ideas. The facing page, 111, there's a 1938 photograph of one such design. The light coloring, column-esque skirt and focus on the bosom reflects Schiaparelli's "Statement."

On page 115, the conversation turns to nature, and the Schiap explains her Pagan collection and its leaves and flowers on classic gowns.

With these in mind, and the desire to create a sort of white blouse for the dress, this dress will have a white background, simple lines, and floral embroidery. To give it a kimono flavor, with will have a wide collar and wrap front.

Below, Kozu models the draping I've done.

Slipping Around

Here is the slip, in all its glory.

A Swap to Keep the Cold Away

 I recently participated in a winter holiday swap, and this is what I sent one of my partners.

It was originally going to be a dress for Anthea, but I didn't like how it turned out, so it sat in purgatory for a long time. The swap gave me the idea to give the dress a new home to an owner who'd use it.

My first order of business was to remove the skirt and add a waistband, as I didn't like how high it was originally. As I couldn't find more scraps of the fabric, I took some white cloth and embroidered a design to coordinate with the print. Here's a detail:

First Layer

I got the idea in my head that this outfit could do with some undergarments. Since I'm not sure how well wafuku (Japanese) underwear would fit under something with a Western cut, I'm going with Western underwear, circa Schiap's design reign. There aren't too many research sources I know of for 1930s underwear. I saw plenty of ads in back issues of Vogue, though they're largely for girdle/slip/bra combinations. My dolls aren't squishy, so I find most foundation garments superfluous on them. There was a helpful article from the 1920s detailing slips, though they didn't have the line my outfit has.

Thankfully, I came across a book called Vintage Lingerie, and I gave it a flip through. There was a 1930s slip with princess seams, and I'll give that a shot.

After taking Kozu's measurements, I drafted a body block and used it to draft a preliminary slip.
I cut off the shoulder straps, which I'll replace later with ribbon, and lowered the neckline in front and back. I also divided the new block into 3 pieces, with a front (I'll cut it on a fold,) a back and a side piece.

The next step is to pin it together and see how it fits on my girl.

I forgot to photograph her from the front, but so far, everything fits as it should.

Attack of the Face Huggers

Below, you will see the reason for my long absence. It is not because I am easily distracted, or that it's hard to get back into the habit of blogging. You see, I've been stalked by flat brown slug-creatures that enjoy adhering to my mouth, nose and eyes. It wasn't until recently that I was able to trap them, and imprison them on my ironing board:

A sweater I'd been working on felt bad for their plight, and decided to join them in a show of solidarity.