Rococo Robe

Or, my fondness for lovely things strikes again.

What you see here is Linnea sporting a robe a la turque. It's not something costumers do terribly often, and I wanted one for myself. I figured I should make one on a smaller scale as practice first. Linnea's design scheme is very close to what I want for myself, the main difference is that mine will have black and white stripes instead of plaid.

On her head is a cap known as a barbe. By the time the Turque emerged on the style scene, this hat wasn't so posh, but I think it's pretty, so I went with it. It stays on her head with the help of a straight pin.

Here she demonstrates an alternate way of wearing your fine gowns. If you pull the ends through the skirt's pocket slits, you look fluffy and keep you clothes clear from the mud.

Linnea Layer by Layer

I have an undeniably soft spot for Rococo clothes. My first attempts were definitely stylized with only pretensions to accuracy. As I got better and more confident with a needle, I wanted to do something more intensive. Here is my end result.

What you see here is Linnea sporting a polonaise. This outfit's claim to fame is the looping mechanism that hitches the skirt into swags, keeping it free of the dirty ground. I made it with a coordinating petticoat. Her accessories include a lace apron that was a popular way of displaying yet more wealth. I made it by whipping several lengths of insertion together. On top she sports a tiny pinner cap.

Beneath the gown we get a good look at her corset. Though there are patterns for this type online that are human sized, I had a miserable time trying to scale it down to fit her. By serendipity, someone on Den of Angels had a 60cm scale corset pattern and shared it. It's made from scraps of canvas and boned with cable ties. While it doesn't reshape her resin, it does provide a nice flat surface for bodices to rest on.

We also see her petticoat and apron in more of their glory. As I don't want to cover the point of her bodice, the apron goes beneath the gown.

Here she is in her under petticoat. I put tucks in it to add stiffness and enhance the overall fluffy look of her skirts. This is made from a sheet that I converted into mockup fabric.

Beneath this we get to see...

Linnea- No more.

Pretty in Plaid

Way back when, I acquired some fat quarters from Michael's, including two of the same plaid. I was and still am enamored of Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion series, and I wanted to make something along the lines of a French sack gown.

This dress is nowhere near an exact replica, but I still am fond of the touches I added to it, such as the knee length matching skirt (just visible,) and the sleeve ruffles. Also, this material looks amazing.

And then...

There came Yu Lian. As the story of Rose and Lotus was about a pair of sisters, I started saving up to buy Yu Wei's other half.

Don't they look wonderful together? This was taken shortly after Yu Lian left her box. Yu Lian is modeling a sweater that I adapted for a pattern meant for American Girl dolls, and a sundress beneath that was a part of Yu Wei's initial wardrobe. Yu Wei meanwhile is showing off a Rococo inspired dress I made from a fat quarter. I'm rather pleased with how that dress turned out, it was one of my first self drafted creations, made from a body block I took off of Yu Wei.

Yu Lian is an old body Dream of Doll Tender Zen girl. Her name was chosen to match that of her sister and means "Jade Lotus."