Vanity

[chargirlgenius]

So, when and if I ever get around to making 18th century clothes, do they all have to be ankle length? I've been looking mostly at extant stuff, so I have no idea how long it would be on somebody.

I'm vain, and I've always preferred floor-length to make me look longer than wider. Ok, so I know if I add the bum roll thingies and maybe pocket hoops and all of that I'll be plenty wide, but y'know what I mean?

In other news, 29 lbs of tropical weight wool arrived today. Woo! The cranberry is a little too stretchy to be the 100% that it's advertised as, and the houndstooth is a bit too modern. So I have to think about those and what to do with them.

Comments

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

I certainly haven't exhausted everything I have yet, but if you have links, I'll be glad to file them away!

[isabelladangelo.livejournal.com]

Beyond the normal museum ring (Manchester, Met, V7A, ect) and the LJ blogosphere, I've found this blog helpful:

http://fuchsias18thcdress.wordpress.com/

She has some pictures of extant examples that aren't available on the museum webpages.

For books, have you gotten your hands on the Dangerous Liaisons exhibit book that was put on by the Met a few years back? If not, you are welcome to borrow it. It's more "Oh! Pretty!" rather than any information on cuts or how-tos but it's great for inspiration.

EDIT: Forgot to add my own extant piece (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jubileel/sets/72157623133836121/). It's about a decade later than you are looking at but it might help. I learned a lot while I was restoring it as best as I could. That, and it's pretty. Or, rather, I think it's pretty. :-)