I have gobs and gobs of photos to show you, and stories to tell, from my recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Where do I start? How shall I structure these posts!? Eeek! How about one dress at a time? Although I made the Chemise gown last, I wore it first, so let's start there!
One of my favorite things about "living" in costume for a week is discovering the how and why of clothing through first-hand experience. Williamsburg is located in tidewater Virginia, which is basically Hell. It's hot and raining, or cold and raining, or just hot, or freezing cold, humid all the time, then raining. UGH! But boy does all that shape the choices women made about their attire.
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We were really happy to be there, and really happy it wasn't 100 degrees! |
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So so so happy with this gown. I made mine short enough that it didn't suffer from mud-creep, but I still ended up with splatters on the back, just from walking and sitting. |
I paired the Chemise with a black sash, black corsage, black Dunmore shoes, and my *huge* black silk market hat, along with Thomas Jefferson around my neck. The black accents against the white gown looked sharp, but I love that I can pair this gown with any other color or mix of accessories for a totally different look.
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To say I was really excited about this hat is an understatement. You'll be sick of it by the end of all my CW posts, because I wore it every day! |
Hooray for the Chemise, then! I wore it two days and fussed neither of those days, which I cannot say about the other outfits. As far as recommendations go for what kind of dress to take to a place like Williamsburg in the Spring and Summer, I wholeheartedly say the Chemise a la Reine. It's easy to make, easy to wear, looks great, and is fantastic in warm and wet weather.
- For all of my posts on this gown, start to finish, click here
- For the Market Hat pattern, click here
- For black wool "Dunmore" 1770s-1790s shoes, click here.
It looks lovely! One of my favorite parts of costuming is getting to really live in a costume. You learn so much about how women would have felt actually living in these dresses.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! I quite enjoyed that too.
DeleteYou look beautiful! I can't wait to hear more about the other outfits!
ReplyDeletethanks!
DeleteI'm skeptical it is POSSIBLE to tire of that bonnet. Glorious - and I still adore the chemise.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm not tired of it yet, lol. It kept me from going blind in the sun :-)
DeleteLovely! I'm amused to see that you chose the same black and white theme for this outfit as I did a couple of months back. :) Still need to finish my blog post on mine... It's only lacking some construction photos and then I'll be done.
ReplyDeleteIt's a dashing color combination. I chose it rather by default. I had a black sash already and I knew I would be wearing a black hat in CW, so I just went with it.
DeleteYou both looked lovely, mud splatters and all :)
ReplyDeleteThank You!
DeleteBeautiful! The gown looks so crisp and the black accessories make for a really chic ensemble!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteYou look marvelous, and the possibility of wearing the chemise a la reine with different colors of sashes and corsages is, to me, the most attractive thing about the gown! (It's great that it's cotton and therefore easily washable, too.)
ReplyDeleteI love that too. It could look quite different with just a few changes of accessories.
DeleteI've seen some Barry Lyndon screencaps recently and now THIS! The Lord is testing me. 1780s, here I come! Seriously though, this is one of the prettiest CaLR's (LOL too lazy to write it properly + I don't speak French) I've seen so far. And I'm sorry but I have to ask - how on Earth did you make those crazy hat decorations? Are these just simple bows that turned out perfectly? WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?
ReplyDeleteDo iiiit!!! It's easy, quick, and fun to wear.
DeleteHat decorations - they're just bows made out of the same fabric as the hat, a rather stiff silk faille. I once read a quote that went something like, "good bows are tied, great bows are built," if that gives any sort of clue :-)
Love! I love your bonnet. It's so fabulous!!! You're whole outfit is lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI seriously doubt I'll be sick of the hat by the end of this series. I have loved it since last year's Williamsburg posts and it's been on my "to sew" list for very nearly as long! I love the dress and all of the accessories. You both look marvellous!
ReplyDeleteWell now there's a pattern for it! It's a great GREAT hat to have. It kept both the sun and the rain off my face, and looked swell :-)
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