Now here's where the insanity strikes. There is a grand ball Friday night of the event. Ergo one must be dressed appropriately.......and what better reason for a robe a la francaise! (I know, I'm nuts.) Originally I thought I'd finally make the curtain along dress, but calculated out I'd need four panels, rough $100! I don't exactly have $100 lying around to spare. If I did there would be shoes. So Stash Shopping it is. Stash then grants this:
Actually 5 yards of this. The tag still stuck on it read that it was an Upholstery/Slipcover fabric and original retail was $4.79 a yard. The tag was written by a typewriter so this fabric has been around for awhile. It has a nice shine to it and a heavy-ish hand. The edge claims it was made for Concord Fabrics by Joan Kessler. A quick Google search turns up several similar fabrics. All are polished cotton from the 1980s. So it works. plus the print is almost identical from this example found in Patterns for Theatrical Costumes by Katherine Strand Hokeboer:
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Pg 231
I feel pretty happy with myself. I know cotton isn't fully period but so far one of the biggest pieces I've ever made has cost me absolutely nothing! Which is always an awesome feeling.
I intend to use these two patterns from Norah Waugh's The Cut of Women's Clothes as inspiration along with Katherine's tutorial from The Fashionable Past (link goes to the start of the tutorial. With the fabric amount I have, I feel the second is better for conservation of fabric, but I love the cuffs on the first.
Now if only I could have stays that actually fit and no fear of hoops........
More on Lover's clothes later!
Cheers,
Merlina
