The Portraiture Project

As I was researching 1860s fashion I came across an online archive of Godey's Lady Books and it made my day! It is absolutely wonderful to scroll the editions of the magazine and make observations though the fashion plates. I also love thinking about the recipes and which ones I would make if I was hosting a tea party. Anyway, enough jibber jabber I know you just want to go visit the archives I have been talking about and here it is:   Godey's Lady Book Archive Some of my favorites include:  this one from 1863  and  this one from 1880 And, if you're like me and you don't read the text they have  this  which only shows the fashion plates from one specific edition instead of the text and the plates. I mean, the hairdos, fashion and, embrdoiery patterns are soooooo much more exciting. Enjoy and keep sewing!:)

I promised on my about page that I would post daily updates. I really thought I could do it. It was only six days ago that I was cruising along, making this goal seem easy. Until it wasn't... Yeah, I tried guys but daily updates are not manageable when my school year ends in three weeks and I have projects and essays that I need to do. Even so, don't despair! I have been sewing, okay, I have been trying to sew. My first attempt at an 18th-century shift failed miserably (I blame it on the sleeves!). Shifts, chemises, and smocks are all supposed to be quick and easy projects. Sadly, they aren't' if you add the sleeves the way I did. I tried to put them on in an un-historically accurate way that backfired. I will be doing more research on 18th-century undergarments before I attempt another one. Honestly, the shift is unusable and ugly. The interiors are also a mess and I botched the french seams! I want my undergarments to be perfect. Every good dress needs a good fou...

As I continue my Victorian era clothing research (pintucks and lace galore!) I keep on coming across the most charming photos from around the 1860s! Just look at them, they are amazing. How can you not just want to spin around in petticoats and a corset at a candlelit ball after seeing these?

Every good costume needs a good foundation. The problem is that I hate making mockups and hate making petticoats... But I love making the dress! Just thinking about how this affected my first pair of 18th-century stays makes me cringe. Anway, I have decided the counter this issue by making myself all of the necessary undies from a variety of era before making the dress.  If I am diligent and organize my sewing area that it might work! Here is the plan: Tudor: 1 Tudor shift 1 Tudor petticoat 1 Tudor kirtle Georgian: 1 linen shift 1 pair of stays 1 pair of panniers 1  bumpad Petticoats, petticoats, petticoats! Victorian: 1 chemise 1 pair of drawers 1 corset 1 crinoline 1 crinolette 1 bustle All the petticoats! What am I doing right now? I am working on the mockup of an 1880s corset that I will use for 1850s-1880s dresses. I am also waiting for some lightweight linen from a fabric.com order to make a Georgian shift. I will update...

Google defines a portrait as "a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders" As helpful as this is, it has a lot of holes that need patching up, especially in the context of my project.  When researching portraits, I came across a lot of fashion plates which got me thinking about what a portrait even is? If I wanted to recreate a gown from a fashion plate, could I? Under googles' definition, a fashion plates counts as a portrait. This seems a little odd since the goal of fashion plates is not to represent people like a traditional portrait, it's to show the latest trends and styles. An example of the dilemma that this brings up is apparent in Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Googles' definition technically makes this painting count as a portrait because like in a fashion plate, Venus is a person even if she is not real person. Confusing! At the end of the day, the goal of kn...

 The Portraiture Project is officially thing, a real life thing that the world can know about with a few clicks! For my fist post, I wanted to show you guys some of the portraits I have found that are candidates for my first dress in this project! The list is organized from oldest portrait to newest portrait starting in 1545 to 1777 Katherine Parr by Master John, National Portrait Gallery, circa 1545 Woman At A Mirror by Gerard Terborch, Private Collection, circa 1650 Portrait of a Woman by Jan Mytens, The J. Paul Getty Museum, circa 1660s Portrait Of Ekaterina Nelidova by Dmitry Levitzky, circa 1773 Portrait of a Young Woman in Powder Blue by  George Romney,    Fergus Hall Master Paintings, circa 1777 -Ella