1910 evening dress
May - September 2018
Inspired by
Downton Abbey & Titanic
This project is a blue and purple 1910 evening dress, mainly inspired by the tv show Downton Abbey and the movie Titanic. I used Janet Arnold’s “patterns of fashion” as my base patterns and added my own ideas to it.
I started making this project in May 2018 and finished it in September 2018.
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I decided to make this evening dress because I wanted to create my own embroidery designs and use them for a historical costume. After watching Downton Abbey I realised that this style of dress would fit that idea really well and it would also be the perfect dress to wear at an 18th, 19th & 20th century themed event that took place in September 2018.
Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion"
my sketches
strengthening and structering the dress with boning
the inner layer of the dress
This costume is made out of two different fabrics, a purple and a light blue voile/organza. The purple fabric is used for the actual dress and the belt, and the blue fabric is used for the sleeves and the over skirt.
The main challenge of this costume where the embroidery designs. First I drew them on paper and then copied them to my computer. Finaly I created the embroidery files and transfered them to my machine. Then I could start sewing!
In the end, the whole dress is covered in embroidery that I designed myself. A LOT of sequins are sewn on by hand to give it that final touch. 826 to be exact!
my embroidery designs
Many, many hours of sewing for my embroidery machine...
trying to get the exact placement to
make a repetitive pattern
826 sequins
sewn on by hand !!!
To complete the evening dress, I needed some accessories. First of all I noticed that a lot of 1910 evening dresses are worn with white gloves, so I started by making a pair of long white gloves to go with the dress.
I wanted to keep the hair simple so I made a long ribbon decorated with some sequins to be tied in the hairstyle. At last I made a small bag that matches the dress, also decorated with some embroidery and sequins.
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I finished the costume just in time... to wear it at the
