Playboy....or maybe, Rakehell: November 1808 issue
Okay, I couldn't wait. I hadn't hemmed the bottom or the sleeves, but the second I got the drawstring in, I just had to try on the chemise. I had to try it on so that I could finally provide pictures of...me in my underwear! Wow, that sounds really weird. But it's true--
Kyle wins the Boyfriend of the Year Award, because he has no problem with moonlighting as my lady's maid and lacing me up. Also, helping me when I get stuck. I keep the corset fully laced but loosened, since I have yet to procure aiglets (lacing tips), which will make it easy to slide the cord in and out of the holes. There was a moment when I had pulled it halfway on, but couldn't reach over the top to pull it down, so he took pity on me and my helplessly flapping hands and fixed it. He'll be an old pro in no time--I'm waiting for him to tell me how he "doesn't know a woman in Paris who wears pantalettes anymore." (Wrong era, wrong movie, and I'm not wearing pantalettes. I know! :) )
I definitely look like the figurehead on the prow of a ship--I could part the waves with that bust! The cable ties have worked fabulously well...I'm idiotically proud of how nicely they shape things into smooth curves. Provided they continue to hold up under use, I could easily use them as my main material for boning without a whole lot of pangs from my historical-accuracy conscience. Besides, if my foremothers had had access to the shortcuts that I do, they would have leapt on them, too.
The chemise turned out to be more work than I'd anticipated--the pattern calls for all the seams--every last one--to be flat-felled. The result is incredibly satisfying, since you wind up with no raw edges showing anywhere, but it is time consuming. You have to act like a carpenter ("Measure twice, cut once!") to make sure you're trimming the correct side of the seam allowance to get it turned the way you want it. Still, not nearly as much work as the corset. ;) I do think that if I make that particular corset pattern again, though, I'm going to move the straps towards the center back a skosh. Even with my linebacker shoulders, they keep slipping downwards.
Now that that's done (I did the hemming after my photo session), it's on to the last step of this particular costuming journey: the gown. The fabric I've picked out is a dusky, grey-blue silk with a windowpane check pattern woven into the fabric, shown below with its shockingly mismatched royal blue lining. I couldn't find any lining that matched the dress fabric. Well, that's not entirely true. I couldn't find any silk lining that matched the dress fabric. They had a million synthetics at the store, and at least one or two that would suit. But dangit, I wanted the whole thing to be silk. So this is what I found myself with, since the pale grey I'd originally picked out was a good yard shy of what was called for. Sniffle.
What I will do, most likely, is line the bodice with some of the extra dress fabric, so that if the facing inches up out of the neckline, it won't look bizarre, and then use the other stuff to line the skirt and sleeves. I also have been wondering about getting some tear-away stabilizer for it...I worry it may prove slippery and difficult to work with, since my sewing machine sometimes seems to have trouble pressing the fabric down firmly enough into the feed dogs.
In the meantime, I need to start figuring out what to do for shoes and stockings. I think I know of a store that carries the sort of stockings I'd need. But shoes...are another matter entirely. I have a hard enough time finding 2008 shoes for size 10W-11 feet, and finding period shoes that size will be worse. Right now, I'm thinking maybe men's black ballet slippers would do the trick? As long as I don't need to go outdoors, that is. Ah, well. I'll come up with something soon enough.