In the month December, my medieval band De Soete Inval regularly gets booked for Dickens themed Christmas markets. We cannot wear our medieval outfits to those events, so I needed a dress, bonnet and coat in Charles Dickens style, a style that is commonly associated with the 1840’s.
I wanted the shape to be period correct, because I really like the 1840’s style and I also prefer looking the part. I did compromise with the fabric though, as it was hard to find an accurately patterned cotton for the dress that I liked, so I went for something that resembled silk but is, I guess, a polyester blend.
These were some dresses I used for inspiration:
For my dress, I used the Truly Victorian pattern TV454 – 1844 German Day dresses as a basis. I adapted it, as it did not have the exact shape I had in mind: I wanted pleats as well as a buttoned closure at the front. (It’s so much more convenient if you can dress yourself!) Besides re-drafting the pattern, I also tried modelling the fabric on my mannequin, but I still did not entirely succeed in creating the pleats the way I wanted. The end result is still a dress where the lines in the fabric all run vertically, instead of more slanted with each pleat. Oh well, good enough, I guess…
The edges of the bodice are decorated with bias tape that I made myself:
I found this lovely bobbin lace collar through an online thrift store, to finish the neckline:
The skirt is of a simple shape: just a rectangular piece of fabric. With a width of 4,5 metres. That I then had to fold into cartridge pleats to make it fit the 78 cm waist band… 🥴
Here’s the skirt with the bodice (please ignore my unstyled hair – it is currently too short to put it up, so I really need a bonnet!):
Time spent: 29,25 hours
Costs: €67,50 (€32,50 for the striped fabric, €13 for the buttons, €5 for the collar, and €17 for the pattern. I still had lining fabric, boning and thread in stock.)
Stay tuned, as the following blog posts will show the coat and bonnet that I made to go with this dress!
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