1880s ballgown of embroidered silk

This is kind of a "Scarlet"-dress in three ways: firstly, the main fabric actually was a curtain that, secondly, is Irish because I bought it in a little second-hand store near Dublin, and is, thirdly, scarlet ;) Not that I'd particularly like that pigheaded priss, so it'll rather be my Ireland-gown.

I miraculously found matching fabric for underskirt, lining and decoration immediately - that's good because a week ago I was given the date of our upcoming victorian ball, which is not far into January. So I hastily put aside the umpteen-thousand marguerites for February baroque and whisked that dress through the sewing machine. This is what the internet offered as inspiration:

As an option I even found perfectly matching trim in my neverending store!

Dark blue 1630s dress

Actually it was the second one I ever made, right after the red one. Dunno why I never mentioned it here. It's already served its purpose very well several times.

Here I went from the original design (that I wasn't too content with) to the design that's closer to the actual look of 1630s dresses. I altered the pattern to this trusty one that closes with hooks and eyes below the bust and has the typical flaps round the high waist. Only here I hadn't discovered yet that actually the skirt should be attached to the bodice beneath said flaps, so the skirt is still separate which has the disadvantage that if the flaps happen to move in a gust of wind or so, one can see the white chemise beneath. Plus worn as a winter version (as the skirt doesn't drag too much) with long gloves and a high-necked blouse, this area around the waist still becomes the least insulated part.

The sleeves are a little longer and fuller this time, and I found really nice, broad lace that has the perfect look. Ignore the limp curls - it was raining when we arrived at the park for our picknick, and curls don't go well with rain :P

© Iam NOther

And here the winter version with longer undersleeves, gloves, and hat. You can't see much of the costume here but I'm so proud of this pic because at last there's one in which I look really good! :D

Baroque jewelry

Thankfully they used a lot of pearls back then, which are cheap and easy to come by if you content yourself with fake ones. And as I also tend to randomly buy all things that look baroque, I have a nice selection of jewelry parts that I can choose from when I design something. Here's an overview of pieces I put together either for my baroque jewelry-case or for sale in my webshop. Maybe you'll find something inspiring for your projects ;)

This is a design you often see in baroque pictures - those short necklaces made of large pearls with a medallion.

The white crystal set was made for the silver-grey renaissance dress (aka "winter dress"). I admit that I'm not 100% sure of this design's authenticity, but it certainly looked good ;) A similar set was made in blue with a medallion and matching earrings.