Mid-1870s Day-to-Night Bustle Dress

For the first weekend of February this year I got to have a little costuming adventure in Ft Worth, Texas. This was especially exciting as I’d never been to Texas before! And I have to say that what I saw of Ft Worth left a very good impression! It was so clean, the people were so friendly, the prices and portions for food were fantastic (even if the portion sizes were a little overwhelming) and the hospitality was overall so gracious!

The reason for the excursion was an event organized by the Dallas/Ft Worth Costumer’s Guild, entitled the “Victorian Soiree.” They found out that the Ft Worth Symphony was going to perform a selection of pieces from the later Victorian era and decided to make an event of it!

So, we went to the Symphony in costume and it was just delightful!

I had initially planned to re-wear my CoCo 2017 Gala gown but have decided I don’t think the bodice is really all that flattering on me and I’m feeling self-conscious these days about my flabby upper arms. Add to this that an idea for a new 1870s bustle dress had been planted in my head by a silk purchase a few months ago and I couldn’t resist making something new – with sleeves, lol!

Voila!:

1875 Autumn Plaid Dress – Construction

If you’re just joining, this is my follow-up post to last week’s that was full of pretty photoshoot pictures of my recent 1875 bustle gown, made for my Big Ass Birthday Bash. This post focuses on construction and the insides of the ensemble. And thank you to everyone who responded to the last post with questions about the making of this outfit, I’ll do my best in answering them!

The foundations for this dress are my trusty pink Victorian corset along with the Laughing Moon bustle/crinoline I made earlier in the summer…..

1875 Autumn Plaid Bustle Dress

Well, I did it! I’ve now made everything that was on my historical sewing list for 2017 – and I still have a couple months to cram in a few more makes, ha! This dress was the last on the list and was made for my recent Big Bustle Birthday Bash. And last week I was able to do a dedicated photoshoot of it courtesy of Taylor of Dames a la Mode.

My BIG BUSTLE BIRTHDAY!!!!

My birthday is right at the end of September and this year was a milestone/slightly depressing one (though I’m really not that fussed about it, thankfully). My actual birthday was a little over-shadowed by the wedding of very good friends in Toronto (my husband was best man and I made the wedding dress – yes, there will be a post about that in the near future *winky face*). So, I decided to throw myself a big birthday party down here in DC a couple of weeks later; and to make it even bigger and better I made it a Big Bustle Birthday Bash! The main idea was Victorian bustle dresses but I also allowed late 18th century ones so as not to be *too* restrictive.

The party was set in 2 locations. First, we had a picnic together at the National Arboretum; then cake and champagne/cocktails at my house on Capitol Hill.

It was a pretty big undertaking but it was such a blast! I highly recommend costumed birthday parties if you can get the people together for it!

So now, without further ado, I’m just going to post a whole pile of pictures of the day!

Note: Photos with the watermark “In the Long Run Designs” in the lower right-hand corner were taken by Gloria of In the Long Run Designs

2017 Sewing Plans

I’ve never done a sewing plans post before but with the year ahead already starting to fill-up event-wise I thought it might be useful for me to have it all laid out in one post. This is going to be (primarily) historical sewing plans because they (usually, though not always) involve more planning and lead-up time. Modern makes are often more spontaneous.

So here’s what’s on the docket for this year in (roughly) order of making: