Over My Head?

Courtesy of Demode, I got pulled into the 18th Court Ensemble brigade. Though I don't have the budget to travel to the next Costume Con, I can post and share pictures of what I do. Price is also why I'm making it 60cm sized rather than for me. Like with the Meiji Schiap outfit, Kozu will be my model.

I did a lot of poking around online to see if there was any outfit that caught my fancy. The thought of making panniers and the appropriate petticoats didn't appeal to me. So I started looking at China, and found several male court tunics that looked pretty, but didn't grab me. Also, a tunic isn't a full outfit, and I'm not so familiar with the rank insignia that copying the symbols would feel disingenuous.

I turned to Japan, and went to the Costume Museum in Kyoto. The Edo period is pretty long and engulfs all of the 18th century. None of the dates listed for the outfits I was eying was any more specific than "late" or "early." Likewise, there were no Western years given. I have to estimate.

The formal court clothes of early Edo, looked nicer than the late. By this I mean it looked more lived in, and less a full body prop. However, to replicate this would mean I'd have to create a whole lot of layers, and find a way to replicate the patterned cloth. I seriously doubt my patience on this regard. Similarly, I liked the Ooku garb. It looked simple, but the patterns on the clothes were quite pretty. Again, I don't think I have the mental stamina to do it all without long breaks in between.

I could mimic the patterns with embroidery, but I'm also aware that it's easy for me to bite off more than I can chew. It's happened before. -_-; I could try and use brocade, and maybe I can find something in the right scale, though I doubt I'd find patterns I'd find suitable. Other options include batik, of which I have very little experience, or ordering custom fabric from Spoonflower. The latter would be pretty tricky, since the clothes don't have an obvious repeat and the patterns are asymmetrical. With lots of time and thought I can pull it off, but at the moment it doesn't appeal to me.
  
With these considerations in mind, I've settled on this ensemble. It's an informal court outfit, with easy to find materials and rectangular construction. Also, that orange is eye catching, as is the size of the model's ogoshibakama (posh trousers.)

 

When I was out and about earlier near the garment district, I decided to take the plunge and pick up some orange silk. I could use a cheaper material, or buy inexpensive silk and dye it. However, since this project is already much more frugal than it could be, one or two small indulgences can't hurt. At the shop, I found the perfect fabric at $39 a yard.

I kept looking. 

After a lot more looking around, price checking, and asking about minimum lengths, I got half a yard of a somewhat cheaper silk. It's slubby and hence unlikely to be worn by a posh courtier, but the sticker shock isn't as strong, and the color is fabulous.

 

Topping Off

I spent more time that I should anguishing over this hat. In my mind, it had to be teeny tiny, like many of the Schiap hats I saw. The trouble is, I'm not a milliner, so this would have to be sewn, rather than felt blocked, made from straw, or other milliner tricks. It didn't help that for ages I couldn't find a decent pattern.

Bleuette to the rescue! I found a 1930 Bleuette hat pattern that I enlarged, pinned, and tried on Kozu, in a plain wig for optimum streamlining. Initially she looked like an owl:

Hakama Time

Time till the deadline is short. Thankfully, the hakama, a Japanese lower garment that was popular with Meiji schoolgirls, is pretty simple. It's all rectangles, with the front and back tops pleated to fit. I measured a purchased hakama I had on hand, but a little too late. Here's my first, partial attempt:

I'm not sure how clear the picture is, but the hem is cut on a selvedge, the circumference is too narrow, and the entire thing is so long that it extends above Kozu's breasts. The good thing is that these problems are easy to solve.

A Study in Pink and Black

The bolero's design is heavily influenced by this ensemble here. In truth, much of my outfit is taken by the narrow black skirt and shocking pink with black bolero. Intense pink and black go well together in my mind, so why not go with it?

As for trim, I'm using a kind of looped braid initially bought for another project. The sleeves I'm very loosely borrowing from a Vogue January 1st, 1939 jacket, the front comes from nowhere in particular, and the back is from a (mumbles) Charles Worth sunburst gown. I didn't want this piece to be fully symmetrical.

Bolero, Bolero

Now comes the little jacket for the outfit, draped and ready to go.

 Here's the back.

Now She is Collared

As it turned out, I didn't care for how the collar looked sitting on the dress. I've turned it into an independent piece that can sit on top of the dress for an additional look. The practical result is that instead of sewing the two pieces together, I just added a hook and eye to the meeting corners.

Here's a back view.

On to the Collar

With the dress done, I began work on the collar. I took a wide piece of ribbon, added tucks, and used it as m template for the collar. Not much to see here, I'm afraid.

Shocking Embroidery Nearly Complete

I wanted to commemorate the look of the embroidered dress without the collar. Enjoy.

Shocking Embroidery

To give the embroidery a kimono flavor, with will have a wide collar and wrap front. I've also made it a point to made the Schiaparelli inspired motifs asymmetrical, as is common in Japanese designs. As a nod to Schiaparelli, I'm doing it all in her beloved shocking pink. 

Everything is marked,

Here it is partially done.

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:

Giving In To Temptation

There is a sewing contest afoot, and dolly sewers are welcome to compete! I hope to make an outfit along the "My Favorite Things" theme.

With me being a fan of many things Japanese and particularly school clothes, picking that was a no brainer. As this is supposed to be historical costuming, and I don't know what the era limit is, I'm erring on the side of caution. The Meiji era ended in 1912, and the website covers clothes up to the 1920s, so I'll be going with a Meiji schoolgirl look.

That said, the first idea that came to mind was an outfit along the lines of Elsa Schiaparelli. Alas, while I squeed inside over her outfits I dug up, nothing clicked until I decided to mix her with with an older, foreign style. This outfit, this embroidery, and this hat especially grab my fancy.

The books I'll refer to for this project is Kimono: Fashioning Culture by Liza Dalby, Schiap's autobiography A Shocking Life, and Impossible Conversations by the Met Museum.

Checking Brown

I chose the pattern and fabric for this over a year ago, maybe even two. Back when I was creating a series of outfits with modern cuts but with a geometric influence, I designed a vest with an asymmetric closing and matching skirt. 

Eventually I found that the vest was way too big, so I took it in on the back and sides with inverted pleats.
The skirt is a length of fabric pleated into place and held with a waistband.

I got the material from a pile of vintage fabric at a shop when I was on vacation, and I didn't want to cut too much into it. I didn't want to cut too much into it, so this simple desire is just right. 

The shirt is part of a purchased outfit and is here to preserve modesty.

A hodgepodge

This is a picture I took back in graduate school. All of the girls here are wearing homemade clothes, with the exception of Mariko's green dress.

Yu Lian, who you can't see so well, is in a white dress with grey embroidery and pintucks down the front. Yu Wei is wearing a pinafore with a great many tucks down the front  and around the skirt.

All the tinies are wearing sweaters based off of the same pattern on Den of Angels. What Mariko was wearing was meant for Calla and Nurit, but the yarn was so thin it ended up too small and went to her. Nurit has a cap sleeved sweater due to me running out of yarn, but that makes it nice and spring like. Calla has her top decorate with rows of hot pink running stitches.

Calla and Nurit are also wearing skirts knitted from the same Bleuette pattern, but with different yarns.

More Than a Little Bias

A while ago, I received some swap items, including a dress that didn't meet my standards. As the price limit for the swap was low and handmade items are labor intensive, I wasn't bothered. Even if I don't care for the items (which is uncommon,) I can have fun with the materials.


The dress quickly became acquainted with the seam ripper, and I laid out my sock pattern. Since this is plain weave and not knit, it's cut on the bias for stretchiness.

Here they are, modeled by the lovely Dalya:

Close up:

Bobby Suit

Not much to say here I'm afraid. It's a 40's style bobby suit adapted from a Bleuette pattern and made from a striped fat quarter. I think I like the concept of the suit more than the result. It's not bad, but not as exciting to look at as other things I've done.

 Silly picture with a better angle.

Cheery Holiday Photo

Please enjoy the end of year festivities.

Fully Knitted

Here is a pair of separates that I made at different times. The top is of an improvised pattern I made, using a mock cable stitch from Knitting on the Edge. The sweater was going to be part of a Silent Hill cosplay if Cheryl, but I still haven't gotten around to making the jumper.

The skirt is a mock pleated affair with the pattern taken from The Bleu Door. I rather like the yarn I used, and it has appeared in several projects.

Cultural Fusion

This is a variant on my idea of shalwar kameez lolita. As far as I can tell, no kameez is ever made as a wrap front, but the top was already there from an abandoned project, and I made use of it. The sleeves are built in, and there are ribbons that ties in the back. I used two layers of lace at the neckline to add a sense of richness.

The shalwar are basic sloper pants with pintucks and lace to add to the fluffy theme, and the dupatta is made from several lengths of insertion and edging lace whip stitched together.

 Here is a detail of the shalwar. I like the look of the lace peeking out from the pintucks.

 And a view of the bow in the back, a better look at the dupatta: