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    • Oct 8, 2020

Sewing a Regency Gown Part 5: Photos and Inspiration
























I've been thinking about, researching, planning, and preparing for this project for about six years. I was in high school then, and now I've graduated from college. I'm incredibly happy about how it turned out, so I wanted to share some photos! (This post is, for that reason, very photo heavy.)


It's not perfect, of course - bodice lining peaks out of the neckline a bit and there's still something wonky with the sleeves - but it's done. I had an art professor who liked to remind us that "done is better than perfect." I'd rather have a complete imperfect project than a perfect ufo.



Now that my white neo-classical Regency dress is done I wanted to share some of my inspiration! I've got a lot of white dresses saved on this Pinterest board, but I wanted to highlight a few.



A fashion plate from Costume Parisien dated 1798 in the upper left corner. The illustration shows a pale woman in a high-waisted white gown with short sleeves. She is wearing a long red shawl draped over one shoulder and tied at the waist. She is wearing blue elbow-length gloves and holding a book.
A 1798 Fashion Plate



This 1798 fashion plate from Costume Parisien. While the waistline is hidden by her shawl, it seems to be gathered at the waist and neckline. A line across the bust might imply the lining layer of the dress or the top edge of her stays.



















An ink drawing on off-white paper of two women. Both women wear high-waisted gowns and elbow-length gloves. The woman on the right wears a shawl and has her arm around the woman on the left, who is holding a reticule.
The Harvey Sisters by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres



This 1804 drawing by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres of Henrietta Harvey and her half-sister Elizabeth Norton. Both women are wearing gowns that seem to have drawstrings in the waist- and necklines. I think I can see the ties of the waistline drawstring on the woman on the left.

















A portrait of a pale woman seated on a chair in front of a distant landscape. She is wearing a high-waisted white gown, which is gathered in the front. She holds a book in her left hand.
Constance Pipelet by Jean-Baptiste-François Desoria



Desoria's 1797 portrait of Constance Pipelet shows a classic late-1790s gown, with a high waistline and rounded bust. If you zoom in on the image, you can tell that the waistline is gathered into a tape or piece of fabric, but isn't a drawstring.















A painting of a young woman from the back turning to face the camera. She is wearing a high-waisted white gown, a thin gold necklace, and a red shawl.
Portrait of Ekaterina Saltykova



You can't see the front of the gown in this undated (but clearly early 1800s) portrait, but I loved how the skirt is ungathered along the sides and densely gathered or pleated into the bottom of the center back bodice panel. I opted to do something similar on my dress.















The back of a white dress in front of a grey backdrop. The dress is high-waisted and has a long, sqared-off train.
Norwegian dress, 1795-1805



This extant gown from the National Museum of Norway's digital collection also features a skirt that is ungathered at the sides but densely gathered/pleated under the center back panel. The front bodice of the dress is gathered and seems to have a drawstring at the neckline, but the skirt is only gathered a few inches at the center front. If you zoom in on the bodice you can see the inner lining of the bodice.














And with that, one of my long-term dream projects is done! I know I keep saying this, but I am so excited with how it turned out! I'm already dreaming of the open robes, over bodices, spencers, and matching reticules I can make now...




Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.


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