Regency Costume

The Spencer Jacket

Here's how the jacket turned out - I'm really pleased with it actually, it feels lovely to wear and very snug fitting without being too tight.

I used a sage green corduroy, interlined with cotton sateen and lined with a sage green polyester 'mock silk' - whoops! I really caved on this - I was planning to use natural fabrics only but there was no silk available in the colour I wanted so I decided to go with the lovely shiny polyester. It was a nightmare to work with though, so serves me right. Looks great though.

I knew the jacket would be a challenge but all Nick's help (endless fittings and pinnings) was worth it! For the collar facing I used some heavy duty canvas left over from a harpsichord cover, and with 2 pieces of rigilene boning I got the 'standup' look I wanted. I had to re-do the waistband as it was originally too thick. Looking at the proportions in my reference book I knew it had to be daintier.

The sleeves were tricky - I cut my own pattern pieces because the actual pattern was simple straight sleeves. Unfortunately I managed to make one arm just a bit too tight - enough to notice - so I ended up having to buy more fabric to re-make the sleeve. I also messed up the piping on one arm, getting the join at the front rather than somewhere less noticeable! Nevertheless I loved some of the details like the button cuffs, the diamond shaped back and the peplum. It took a while to get the button placement correct so that the the bodice sat smoothly - once again I'm indebted to Saira Foden for her advice. Saira is a mine of fantastic knowledge about dressmaking, tailoring, historical costume and general tips and tricks. Her shop The-Stitchery has become like a second home to me and it's where I bought all the fabrics and notions I needed for this project.

Making the dress & petticoat

I made the bodiced petticoat using a cream sateen cotton, and used the same fabric to line the bodice of both the petticoat and the dress. I was looking for a white or very pale printed cotton for the dress itself, with some kind of delicate pattern. What I chose in the end wasn't exactly period correct if you look close up but from a distance it's great! It's a cream background with a tiny gold dot print. All pure cotton of course, no polycotton!

Sewing in the cotton fabric was easy, and good thing given the number of seams I had to unpick and re-do! I tend to naturally cut corners or ignore pattern instructions at will. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes not!

With the dress, I'm not entirely happy with how the neckline turned out, the fit isn't great, but maybe that's because I changed my mind from the crossover bodice to the round neck, after I'd cut it out, and was determined to patch it up rather than start again! Next time I would start again.

I enjoyed adding my own details: the ribbon ties on the sleeves, the overstitching on the neckline and the mother of pearl buttons. Thanks to Saira at The-Stitchery who put me right about buttons - bone or wood only, no plastic please!

Although I enjoyed following the pattern there were a few niggly things - like being told to 'cut 2' of certain pieces only to realise later it should have read 'cut 4'. Also, the illustrations didn't always apply to the style I was following, and sometimes whole stages were missed out, leaving the reader to fill in the gaps!

I was pleased with the the waistline gathers on both dress and petticoat - I made them flat at the front and put all the gathers at the back, giving a nice swishy feel and a smooth front (as opposed to the pregnant look). I'm no sylph and I need all the help I can get.

Style of dress and jacket

The pattern from La Mode Bagatelle gives a wonderful ranges of choices. The bodiced petticoat and the dress can be made up either with a round gown (less full, just one piece front and back) or a shaped skirt (gently flaring out, in 6 panels with optional train). For the dress, there is a choice of length of sleeve as well as the shaped of the bodice. I decided to make both the petticoat and the dress with the shaped skirt, and the dress with little puff short sleeves and a crossover front to the bodice.

As regards the Spencer, I liked the silhouette of View H, which looked like the sleeves were puffed at the top and then fitted the rest of the way. (Actually I mistook the contruction of this, but I don’t think it mattered too much in the end). I also liked the View H collar, which stood up and curved away from the neck like a sort of Red Riding Hood costume. I was thinking of my neck getting cold in the November air! However, I preferred View G for the little peplum or skirt at the back of the jacket. So I knew I’d be doing some mixing and matching of pattern pieces.

Here's how the Spencer jacket turned out - I was really pleased with the collar and the peplum. I made it in a sage green corduroy and added the piping on the sleeves, though not terribly accurately as other photos will reveal!

A word about underwear

I had read that to make my costume truly authentic I needed to start with regency-correct underwear, which meant stays. Stays are the foreunner to the corset, and instead of boning they have cording, with a busk centre front. I was keen to get the ‘uplift’ of a corset, especially as I had seen some photos of homemade dresses which had ended up without a great deal of support (it looked like!)

I found this pattern on the Jane Austen centre website  - which looked a little daunting. My friend Saira who runs The-Stitchery here in Lewes gave me some advice about corsetry and showed me the Rigilene synthetic boning material that she recommended I use. You can see I was wavering already as regards the period-correct detail!

When I studied the La Mode Bagatelle pattern that I’d bought, I realised it included a ‘bodiced petticoat’, so actually I could get away without the stays. Hurrah! As Jessamyn says, that means about a quarter of the work. Although she also says the bodiced petticoat doesn’t work for large busts, and on this I have to disagree.

Once I got going on the petticoat I decided I would give myself a break. I would wear a bra – one I knew gave me a good ‘uplifted’ shape. Stays or corsets – they would have to wait for another project. I had to think of the principal reason I was making this outfit – to wear on Bonfire night, which means walking in processions through the town all evening (about 6 miles in all), plus all the standing around at the firesite, carrying flaming torches and looking generally dignified in front of a huge audience – I had to think of comfort above all!

The Reference Book

I bought a copy of Costume in Detail, Women's Dress, 1730-1930 by Nancy Bradfield and referred to it often throughout the project. The illustrations are so inspirational. I had to remind myself that these were actual garments from the period that had been preserved, so although they were undoubtedly authentic, they were not generally everyday clothes but clearly had been deemed to be worthy of keeping and handing down. So I shouldn’t be daunted by the level of workmanship and detail in their makeup. All the same it was lovely to have the clothes described in such detail – the fabrics, the fastenings, every little thing down to the distance between buttons and how a seam had been finished.

A visit to Bath

On the last weekend in August I was with my choir, the Lewes Singers, in Bath, singing services at the Abbey. Bath! What a great place to get inspired about Regency costume. We visited the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms and the regency house at 1 Royal Crescent, which was wonderful.

 

Unfortunately I was the only one in our party who wanted to visit the Jane Austen Centre (!) but then again I couldn’t expect the others to understand how I needed to get into the Regency thang! The Museum was a strange experience – the way it’s organised is that you are given a short presentation which takes place every half hour or so, then you are taken downstairs into the museum proper, and left to wander round in your own time. Because entry is timed, it means you don’t get those awful crushes you get in some National Trust houses in the summer.

 

 

But the strange thing was, although about 20 of us all trooped in together, within a few minutes I appeared to be alone. I don’t know if the others had rushed through, or decided they wanted to get to the tearoom, but I found I was able to stop and spend time looking at the exhibits in a really relaxed way. There were a number of costumes on display, and I had a good look at the fabrics and construction, where I could. The problem with dresses on dummies/mannequins is that they are pinned and so they don’t really fit properly, or look like they would on a person.

 

 

Anyway, I came back from Bath with renewed enthusiasm for the Regency dress project. And I knew I only had 2 months until Bonfire night!

Choosing the pattern

I started this project by researching a suitable dress pattern. I knew I wanted a regency style outfit, something akin to those lovely costumes in ‘Sense & Sensibility’ and all the other Jane Austen productions. I just think it’s an attractive look, and I particularly wanted one of those little fitted jackets (which I soon found out were called Spencers). I also thought I could walk in it through the streets and it would be practical to wear. My chance to play at dressing up!

 

First of all I was keen to make it as period-correct as possible. I knew I didn’t want anything that was obviously a ‘modernised’ version of the real thing, nor did I want it to be too basic.

 

On the internet I searched for ‘regency dress pattern’ and similar phrases, and came across a number of good websites where various dress patterns were reviewed. The same patterns kept getting mentioned. Jessamyn’s site was very useful, in partcular her review of all the patterns which critiques them in some detail. I also looked at Koshka the Cat as her site shows the garments she has made and from which pattern, plus she talked about what had worked, what hadn’t and what she had done. I looked at all the photos, several times over, trying to decide which pattern to buy.

 

In the end I decided against the Simplicity pattern and instead to go for the La Mode Bagatelle Regency Wardrobe. Although Jessamyn had said this pattern was more about the ‘Regency look’ than period-correct techniques, I felt that it offered the best mix of authenticity and accessibility given my level of experience. It also included a large number of garment versions and accessories all in the one pattern.

 

When I looked for a supplier of this pattern, I found only one outlet with it in stock and ready to ship (as opposed to ‘currently unavailable’ or ‘call for availability’) which was Old Time Patterns.  Unfortunately, since this meant buying it from the States, as well as the $50 cost of the pattern there was $10.50 in shipping. Well worth it though – it arrived very quickly and I wasn’t disappointed!

 

The pattern comes with a 42-page instruction booklet which I read and read several times prior to starting to make the costume. It’s entertainingly written with many interesting insights, and there is even a list of useful links and publications at the back.

Why the Regency dress?

The regency dress project was already an idea about 2 years ago. I had been a ‘smuggler’ with Commercial Square Bonfire Society for 2 years, and I quite fancied having a more interesting costume.

 

There are so many smugglers, you are always at the back of the processions, which means you don’t get to see anything and you’re surrounded by youths all out to drop as many ‘rookies’ (very loud bangers) as possible. Plus, in 2006 I’d had a particularly bad time in the ranks with a very drunk girl causing problems. So I did plan to make a costume for 2007 Bonfire, but with one thing and another I never managed it.

 

But by spring of 2008, I was already talking about the Regency costume I was planning, and this time it was going to happen.