From Mr. Chris and my brother and sister, two books that have been on my list for a long time.
The Harper's Bazar Book
The other book, The Basics of Corset Building, is a beginner's guide to making Victorian corsets. Though I've made many types of corsets, I'm crap at Victorian corsets. I feel I need to start from the beginning and really get a good step-by-step handle on this to fully understand how to work this type of garment, so I can't wait to get into this book and improve my feeble skills.
These books above are from the Lady Lever Art Gallery, a wonderful museum that had a small exhibit of Downton Abbey costumes while we were there, hence the book (apparently not available on Amazon).
Paired with the film's costumes were several original antique garments from the same period, from the National Museums Liverpool collections. I thought this made the exhibit rather multi-dimensional, with the reproductions right alongside the extant gowns with local provenance.
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One of the extant Liverpoolian gowns on display - absolutely stunning. Made by T&S Bacon, Bold Street, Liverpool, c. 1910-12 |
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Another of the extant Liverpool gowns on display with the Downton Abbey costumes |
Only a few of these books appear to be on Amazon, so I highly recommend you go to the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight, and enjoy it for yourselves!
The book a "Year in the Life of Downton Abbey" is available in the US with a different cover. I got it for Christmas and it is a great book.
ReplyDeleteThese are absolutely divine! I would die to be able to wear something like this someday!
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Super jealous about the Downton Abbey one and the Harper's Bazaar as well! The corsetry might be useful too. Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteBasics of Corset Building is a great resource book for when you start doing corsets! It really breaks everything down and makes fitting and construction less perplexing. Enjoy it!
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