Regency: Lavender Striped Drop-Front Dress

I LOVE striped Regency dresses. I keep thinking about making one, but I had no fabric to use …but wait, I thought - don’t I have a lavender striped cotton duvet cover in storage not being used for anything? 

I’d seen people use duvet covers and sheets for regency dresses before (I've even made a dress out of a pair of curtains myself); but I was worried it wouldn’t be enough fabric, but it turned out, the duvet cover was exactly enough for what I needed. (And to tell you how old this thing is, I got it at Linens N Things - remember them? It’s old but it’s in great shape).  

I used my Reconstructing History pattern for this dress, because I wanted the flat front and bib to show off the stripes. I was leery about using the pattern again, as the first time through was a nightmare - but when I made it before, I knew exactly squat about the construction and fitting of Regency dresses, and now I have more experience and a much better idea of what I'm doing now, and this went together really easily. 

 

I drafted new sleeves for the dress, since I wanted a straight long sleeve, and the pattern only had a short sleeve or a double sleeve option. (The double sleeves are neat, but I have broad, square shoulders, and puffy shoulders make me look like a linebacker, so I wanted a more streamlined silhouette there). I measured all the sleeve pieces from the pattern and then drew out my own sleeves based on that, adjusting the fit a bit for slightly-larger-than-usual upper arms. I also added a thin wrist band with a hook on it to close the sleeve around the wrist: 

I started this project and got about halfway through it when I realized I was going to have to make a new corset to go with it.  You can read about that in my previous post here.  

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But wait, you say, isn't lavender/purple a mourning color?  Yes and no. From what I've read, in full mourning (the period right after a person's death) one would wear black or as near to it as was feasible (gray, dark gray, black accessories if you didn't have/couldn't afford a new black dress, etc.).  In half-mourning (the later half of the mourning period, designed to transition you away from all-black and back into more cheerful colors), softer, muted colors like gray and lavender and purple became acceptable.  You could always wear purple any time you wanted, of course - it wasn't strictly reserved for half-mourning.  The folks in the Regency weren't nearly as strict about these things as the Victorians were.  

That said, if I wanted this dress to be a half-mourning outfit, I could always accessorize it with my black crocheted mitts and a sheer black shawl: 

I love my new dress, and I plan to wear it this weekend: the local JASNA is having their annual Box Hill Picnic near Austin, and so I’m grabbing a couple of Regency-friendly friends and we’re headed down!  I’ve never been to a JASNA or Regency-themed event before - I did check to make sure costumes are allowed, and was told that yes, some people wear Regency attire to the picnic. Now I just have to figure out what to bring to eat for lunch. And what to do with my hair! And - where the heck are my white gloves??