1880s day dress of white wool

At last a soon-to-be-finished project! I've worn it a couple of times already - thanks again to the inventor of safety-pins! It's made of cream-white wool with diagonally woven-in stripes which invite the avid seamstress to toy with the pattern.

The skirt consists of eight panels instead of the usual six, as I wanted the front and back to show an even zig-zag pattern.

The front of the overskirt is draped as an apron typical for the early 1880s, the back is longer and leaf-shaped. The pleats are secured to a little yoke hidden beneath the basque of the jacket to fall evenly over the bustle.

The jacket was actually intended to be a bodice with a small standing collar, but I miscalculated and the thing turned out too small to close all the way up to the neck, so I turned it into a jacket instead, to be worn with a matching cream silk blouse and a brooch to fasten it beneath the bust. It looks almost as if I had intended it! :D The sleeves are just a little puffed, as was fashionable before they became those monstrously huge assemblages of fabric around 1900. And as in so many of my costumes, the buttons are still missing...

1880s dress "Egyptian" style

To fit the occasion of an Egyptian exhibition, I decided to use up the remnants of a blue-gold striped fabric I once used to make an oriental costume and make them into an "Egyptian" dress like a woman of the 1880s would have worn, toying with the resemblance of the fabric to those typical Pharaoh-headdresses.

The skirt is made of matching blue velvet, 6-panel pattern with train that can optionally be tucked up over the bustle.

The overskirt is going to be an asymmetrical arrangement of that striped fabric. In the beta-version, I just pinned it to the back of the skirt to form a of decorative backside.

The bodice is based on my newly-made perfect pattern ;) , this time high-necked (standing collar of blue velvet still to come) and with long, narrow sleeves (blue velvet cuffs still to come). I wore it with a white blouse that was a complete improvisation ten years ago but still is of excellent use, and it turned out those lace-rimmed ruffles and jabot look really nice with the blue, so I guess I will keep it!

The turban - well, THAT was a complete improvisation. After finishing the skirt and bodice, I ended up with some scraps of fabric and the need for a hat (as every decent Victorian lady needs one), twisted and rolled them, put in some random stitches (yes, really random, it was kind of "lets sew something together and see what the outcome may be") and decorated the thing with golden paper leaves and a small peacock feather. It definitely served the purpose! And in Victorian times they wore all kinds of weird things on their heads anyway...