The Grand Project

-

I don’t talk very much about this project o’mine, because everyone knows the stereotype of the person who makes loads of plans to do something amazing and talks about it incessantly but never gets around to doing it.  I don’t want to fall into that trap!  But I do think about it a lot of the time.

 A mannequin I dressed with a partner at FIT

When I was taking a class in sketching extant clothing and dressing mannequins at FIT, I liked to joke that my ambition was to be the next Janet Arnold.  My sketches went from scale versions of the study garments to full-on patterns with directions.  I even did an extra one because I wanted to make the dress.  While I was researching my thesis, I took a couple of really quick patterns of garments that weren’t technically related to my topic.  (I’m glad I did, that set of stays made up very quickly.)  Then, when I was interning at the Albany Institute, it suddenly struck me that it would be a fantastic extra if the website for the exhibition could have patterns of the dresses on view for the .05% of the visitors that would like them, or if we could *gasp* publish an eensy book or pamphlet for the gift shop.  Can you imagine?  I mean, can you imagine?



I approached the curators and while the latter was only a possibility for a short period of time, we were set to go ahead with the former.  I took the patterns of the ca.1765 sacque, the ca. 1797 white cotton dress, the ca. 1822 evening dress, the ca. 1838 day dress, and the ca. 1867 evening dress … and then it became apparent that only the two 1920s dresses were going to fit on the mannequins.  Those stayed in, and I went through all of the 1920s evening dresses in the collection (seriously, all of them) to find enough to fit all ten mannequins instead.  Oops.

 The ca. 1797 dress I patterned

But thinking for a minute that there could be a pattern book sitting on the shelf with my name on it fired me up.  And when the possibility fizzled, I said to myself, "That’s perfectly okay, because I’m going to do a book of my own."  (And then over the course of several weeks determined that it would have to be more like four books.)

I haven't really worked on this project since I decided that I was going to do it, as I've been very busy with my present internship, but it's coming to an end this Friday.  I'm working at finding a new job, but museum positions aren't easy to come by and the competition is absolutely staggering.  In the meantime, I'm hoping to really get started at talking with local museums about allowing me to do this, and at taking patterns with detailed notes.
A bodice I saw at my most recent internship - am I bribing you with photos of extant garments to like me?  Maybe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pride and Prejudice 1995: The Little Things

-
Image
I did threaten to write about the Ehle/Firth Pride and Prejudice , and since I'm in a writing mood without a topic I decided to make good. Regency adaptations tend to go for an overall accurate look, interpreting age and income within the confines of realistic silhouettes and colors, and so they avoid the scrutiny and reputation that a more obviously artistic and unrealistic production garners. But just as this version of P&P  is not entirely faithful in every respect (e.g. the added Darcy-perspective scenes, the actors nearly all being significantly older than their characters - perhaps the most egregious example being Julia Sawalha in her late twenties playing teenage Lydia), Dinah Hill's costuming is not entirely accurate - mainly in ways that make the period more appealing to modern tastes. The exact date when the story is set is never given; generally, the movie's taken to be set in 1813, when the book was published. I'm not going to go into the full story of
Read more

Ca. 1866 Brown Gown - A Close-Up Look

-
Image
  Hello, everyone! It’s Cassidy, Mimicofmodes here, on Twitter, on Tumblr, on Reddit, and on Etsy.  Anyway, I have a small but fantastic collection of historic clothing. Antique historic clothing, not pieces I’ve made. A few of the pieces I bought myself, at thrift shops and on eBay and Etsy, but most of it was very kindly given to me several years ago by a blogging friend, Natalie Ferguson . Unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance to do anything much with them – but I’m so excited to be able to share them with the world this way! My collection ranges from a late 18th century shift to a 1980s cocktail dress, with most pieces from the early 20th century. At first I thought I could show you this gorgeous Edwardian evening skirt – the bodice apparently didn’t survive, or maybe it was sold separately at some point – but it’s very delicate. I wouldn’t want to put it on my dress form. I also don’t have a large enough space on the floor to lay it out! However, I’m moving this winter, and I s
Read more

Pattern Time: 1860s Chemise

-
Image
For my 150th post ( \o/ ), a quick little pattern someone might find useful. When I was working my way through a box a few weeks ago, I came across a chemise that didn't quite want to lay flat.  I took a closer look at it to figure out why, and noticed that it had a unique construction with the sleeves cut in one with the body and gussets inserted in the neckline.  I did a really quick sketch of the cutting layout and measured the important bits, so that when I got home I could draw it up in proportion on graph paper. (nb. I messed up. I've been noticing it for a while, but didn't want to point it out from shame, but I accidentally gave the neckline length as it is when gathered - the horizontal cut should be much longer, to within about four inches of the side seam. Please correct for this when making your own version.)
Read more