Costume from Russian Folk Tales, Part 1

Costume from Russian Folk Tales...

This project was begun at the end of 2020 as a rough idea triggered by the Foundations Revealed competition for February 2021. My executive dysfunction wasn't letting me anywhere near that, plus I found I would far rather do this "properly" than to an external timetable.

So, what is this project?

This project is part historical costume, part folk costume, and part cosplay. It's actually in two parts, with two characters being developed.

The Context

 I first fell in love with Russian folk tales, specifically the type called skazki, when I was an undergraduate. I chose to write my BA dissertation on the nature of the Russian Skazka, and I have never lost my love of folklore since then.

I am specifically focussing on the "skazka" in this project, but Russian has many types of folk tales. One of these days I should write up that, but the difference between the types is far too long for this post. The skazka, or "things said", is the type of folktale I focussed on in my dissertation, and which remain my favourite. The word is skazka in singular, and skazki for the plural.

Although some people like to translate the word as "fairy tale", that's inaccurate, since Russian folklore in general lacks "fairies" - those creatures are a tradition of different regions, like Ireland, Scotland, and France. However, they do broadly align with the fairy tale tradition - mostly or completely fictional traditional tales. In England, fairy tales traditionally start with the phrase "Once Upon a Time", and the skazka has a similar cognate phrase used to begin tales "Жили были" - literally "There lived, there was". 

My personal favourite tale is the Tale of Ivan Ivanovich, the Firebird, and the Grey Wolf (Сказка об Иване-царевиче, жар-птице и о сером волке). Russian folktales have other fantastic creatures in place of the Western European "fae", in addition to the aforementioned Firebird, there are magicians, like Koshchei the Deathless, named birds like Finist the Falcon. For more generic creatures, that reflect the risks of the Russian landscape, there are the Rusalki, spirits of the drowned who live in bodies of water, the domovoi, polevoi, and leshi - spirits of the home, field, and forest respectively. There are also personifications of things like the Midday Sun.

All across Europe many different folktales were collected in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The pre-eminent collector of Russian tales was a gentleman called Aleksandr Nikolaevich Afanase'ev, and where possible I'll be sticking to variants of the tales that he collected.

One important thing to note about folklore, and folktales in particular: these are from an oral literary tradition. The original tales were never intended to be written down in any country, but were passed on from one person to another over the years. Tales varied with each retelling and with each storyteller, so there is no one canonical version. This goes for tales like Cinderella and Snow White as well. In the study of folklore, a key figure is the Finn Antti Aarne, who wrote the original "Folklore Index" in 1910. This index lists so-called "motifs" which are found internationally in folklore, and which exist across cultures and traditions. In 1928, Aarne's Index was expanded by a US folklorist called Stith Thompson, with the work becoming known as the Aarne-Thompson Index. In 2004 it was updated again by the German Hans-Jörg Uther, expanding the descriptions and numbering, but also removing motifs attributed to a single ethnic group. Russian folktales are a weaving of the many cultures and ethnicities that their polity came into contact with. 

The Characters & Their Tales 

There are a number of characters I would like to create costumes for, but here are my current plans:

Vasilisa (Василиса) 

There are a number of girls in Skazki called Vasilissa, most notably Vasilisa Premudraya - Vasilissa the Wise, and Vasilisa Prekrasnaia - Vasilissa the Beautiful. Her epithets can get mixed up in tellings, and she can also vary from a peasant girl to a princess depending on the tale. The tale I have chosen to focus on is often seen as a "Russian Cinderella" tale, although some of the similarities may be later additions. I'm focussing on the core of the tale.

Vasilissa is a peasant girl, daughter of a travelling merchant and his wife. His wife dies, but before she does she gives her daughter a doll, with instructions to give it food and drink if she was in need. An unspecified amount of time later, her father remarries to a widow with two daughters, both older than Vasilissa. At this point it is the standard cruel stepmother and wicked stepsister motif, but the story deviates again when the father leaves on a journey and his new wife moves the new family to a house beside the forest. There are various shenanigans, which lead to all the candles and fires being out in the house, and Vasilissa being sent into the woods to get a light from Baba Yaga. More on Baba Yaga later, but it's important to note here that she is a chaotic witch character who, like many other witches-in-the-woods, is predisposed to eating children. When Vasilisa arrives, Baba Yaga gives her semi-impossible tasks to perform in return for the fire. With the aid and protection of her doll, Vasilisa manages to complete all her tasks within the time limits and (long story short) is ejected homewards with a burning skull-lantern. It transpires that in her absence no one had been able to sustain a light in the house. even when brought in from another place. When she arrives home, the skull causes the whole house to burn down, with the evil step family included, after which Vasilisa buries the skull according to the instructions to ensure no further harm would come from it. What happens to Vasilisa after that varies from telling to telling, with some having her just living "happily ever after", others leaving her apprenticed to a local cloth-maker, and some extending that to having her skill noticed by the Tsar himself who marries her.

The key elements here, to me are:

• Peasant costume
• The doll
• The skull

Snegurochka (Снегурчка)

Sneh-GUR-och-ka

Snegurochka is an odd character in that she is still evolving. Originally there were two contrasting stories which both had a main character called Snegurochka. 

In the first tale, she was created by an elderly infertile couple from snow and ice. She grows up a lovely girl, but when taking part in Spring festivities which included jumping over a bonfire, she turns into smoke and vanishes. This tale speaks to me as one half of an infertile couple, seeking to conceive through "other means".

In the second tale, Snegurochka is the natural daughter of the Spring and Grandfather Frost. She falls for a shepherd, but cannot feel true love because she has a frozen heart. When her mother grants her the ability to love, her heart warms with love for her shepherd but she then instantly melts.

In more recent times, Snegurochka has gained the tradition of being the granddaughter of Grandfather Frost, and is frequently portrayed in art and festivities around the New Year and Christmas celebrations. 

Rusalka (Русалка)

The Rusalka (plural Rusalki) is sn Eastern Slavic female watery spirit, who varies between being a fertility symbol and an evil entity depending on the tale and / or the teller. According to renowned folklorist Vladimir Propp, the association of her with evil was a 19th century change. Ignore any descriptions which describe them as "mermaids" - they're not associated with the sea or salt water, and fish tails are not widely featured in their mythos.

The evil rusalka is often portrayed as the spirit of a young woman who had died either in or proximate to a body of water, and who then haunted that location. Some stories suggest (or even state) that the women died by drowning themselves, others that they were murdered by lovers, and yet others that these were accidental deaths. Jilted lovers, abused spouses, and unmarried pregnant girls are among those who have supposedly become rusalki, as well as unbaptised children and girls who died before marriage. In some regions, that could also include women who died in childbirth, between birth and churching, and also those who got abortions. Basically any women who wasn't the perfect Maiden-Mother-Crone, one might say.Their raison d'etre is usually vengeance in one form or another - some are pacified by being avenged, but others seek out young men to lure into the water with them where they will tickle them to death. Yes, tickle...

Visually rusalki are frequently described as "beautiful" (of course), but not always. The further North, the more likely the tradition is to make the Rusalka older and uglier. Where the body is described in detail they are often given big breasts, which are "big-big, so scary"! They usually have either long ed or green hair, however some tales do give them light brown or blonde hair instead. The significant point is that the hair is long and loose, even unkempt. They are almost invariably naked, and sometimes have notably long arms. Where they converge with the Western mermaid mythos is in their attitudes - they have long hair which they like to comb out when out of the water, and they like to sit on rocks or docks with their feet in the water. However they do have feet. Some tales suggest that they use fishbones to make headwear of some type - possibly akin to the unmarried woman's kokoshnik. Although they are usually portrayed as solitary, there are tales where they exist in groups. Almost all descriptions give them a love of music, singing and dancing.

Traditionally, the Rusalka would come out of the water on "Kupala night" to join in the more general festivities. Coincidentally, this is the same festival that causes the death of the first Snegurochka. In early June there was "Rusalnaia Nedelya", or Rusalka Week, when the rusalki would leave their home bodies of water to sit and swing in the branches of birch or willow trees at night. During this week it was considered dangerous to swim in the water. The week would end with a ritual banishment (or burial) of the rusalki.

Her fertility connections came from a belief that she would take care of the fields, forests and waters near to her "home", being something of a genus loci or spirit of a locality. In this way, the rusalka is part of the mythos with other Russian spirits-of-place like the leshi and polevoi. It is notable, however, that the rusalka is not consistently believed to actually inhabit her body of water - some tales give their residences as being the tops of tall trees in the forest. Other tales suggest that rusalki migrate annually from the water to the trees during Rusalka Week. In some regions, it was believed that if your local rusalka was having fun, then there would be a good harvest.

Escaping from a Rusalka was impossible once in the water, but if you met one walking in a forest by accident, you could escape by throwing them a scarf, a sleeve from your dress, or another piece of cloth or clothing. One legend type has it that rusalki steal cloth, clothing, and food from women who fall asleep without praying. According to Zelening, the rusalka would also seek her lovers from amongst the men of these women who fell asleep before praying. If a young man was able to grab a rusalka and put a cross around he neck, then she would "submit" to him and live with him willingly until the next Rusalka Week.

Rusalki are liminal characters, existing between life and death, and there is almost undoubtable a connection between the Rusalka Week of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the earlier Rusalia festival in memory of the dead.  

My love of the rusalka myth comes from their duality. On the one hand they are vengeful beasts who lure young men and drown them, on the other they save young children from wild animals and save people from drowning. They want to hurt and cause harm to those who harmed them, and they are also cheerful girls who love to play. At once malicious and sly, and also joyful, humourous, and fun-loving. I like their liminality, but also the fact that you could interpret their state as a refusal to accept a strictly prescribed route in life - they weren't the maiden, the successful mother, or the doting grandmother. Life gave them lemons and they made lemonade - they took the hand they were dealt and rolled with it. I also like that they are all women when in groups, who love to sing, to dance, and to generally play around. 

Baba Yaga (Баба Яга)

Ba-ba-ya-GAH

Baba Yaga is the witch archetype in Russian folklore. Sometimes she's a solitary woman, and sometimes she's a trio. She's an ambiguous character, who sometimes helps the protagonist, sometimes hinders, and sometimes neither. She can be an old wise woman who grants important guidance, or a fearful child-eating monster to be escaped, all depending on the tale. Baba is a word signifying woman and/or grandmother across Slavic languages. The second element, "Yaga" is currently seen as cognate to words that can be translated as horror, anger, witch, fury, disease, pain, or worry. 

In Vasilisa's tale, above, her status is even more ambiguous. On the one hand she is clearly shown as desiring to eat Vasilisa, yet she also gives the heroine the vital thing she needs - fire/light. Some scholars have interpreted her role here as being a necessary intermediary between dependent childhood and independent adulthood - a repository of wisdom, only to be shared with those who are worth of it, and after they have passed through some right of passage event.

Baba Yaga is a very clearly described person, who is associated with a number of specific objects and traits. Her mode of transport is almost invariably a pestle and mortar, where she rides in the iron mortar, using the pestle as power, and has a broom behind her which sweeps away her trail. She lives in a small hut in the woods, which usually has chicken legs and may even walk around. Occasionally her hut is instead propped up on blini (pancakes). When she approaches, on reciting a rhyme her hut turns to face her and lets her enter. Like Western European witches, her home is surrounded by a fence but instead of being made of sweets, it's made of bones and topped with glowing human or horse skulls. Inside her hut is a stove, on which she sleeps, and she has a big nose - so big that in some tales it reaches the ceiling. Her nose is powerful, and in some tales she can smell the scent of the hero when hidden. One of her legs is bony - in fact one of her epithets is Bone Leg. Her teeth are described as being made of iron. She is always ugly and old, with grey hair and sagging breasts. Yet for all that she is not the beautiful protagonist, or the heroes prize, she remains a valuable person who demands the respect she deserves. Successful heroes and heroines are the ones who treat her, at least eventually, with respect and humility, and who endeavour to complete the tasks she sets them.

Her hut is interpreted as being a type of house-coffin used for the dead in the region in early times. These huts were small, just fitting a body, and were raised up on legs above the ground. The entry point to these huts was traditionally placed facing away from the living villagers. This reinforces the interpretation of the symbolic nature of Baba Yaga as a figure on the boundary between life and death.

Baba Yaga is usually alone, even when part of a trio each sister lives alone. As a mother in some legends, of the sorcerer Koshchei the Deathless, she is never given a mate. She does have magical associates, both human and animal. In Vasilisa's tale, she is associated with three knights - one red, one white, and one black - who symbolise the dawn, midday, and night. In The Geese-Swans, she is supported by the eponymous birds who initially snatch the baby brother, and then who chase the sister and brother as they escape home. However, in neither tale is she seen with the others, merely that they are associated with her.  

Firebird (Жар птица)

The Firebird is a magical beast, who can be a blessing or a harbinger of doom depending on her tale. In most tales the bird is precisely that - a magical bird which can be captured or stolen, and which can sometimes talk, but otherwise is just a bird. In her Land of the Firebird, Massie told another version of the Firebird tale whereby the bird was actually a young girl tragically transformed by the evil Koshchei, but I don't have a copy to hand to verify which tale that was from originally.

In many of the stories about the Firebird she is a quest goal for someone - usually the youngest Prince, and in one instance a royal archer. In almost all of these tales, the trigger for the quest is the finding of one of the Firebird's shed feathers, and triggers a covetous desire on the part of the monarch. In both the Firebird and Princess Vasilisa, and Ivan Ivanovich and the Grey Wolf, the quester must also retrieve the beautiful princess, called either Elena or Vasilisa the Beautiful.

The mythos of the Firebird has influenced artists in and around Russia for centuries. In particular, Stravinsky's ballet and traditional folk art. 

To Be Continued

Well, this is getting a bit long, so perhaps I'll pause here and continue in another post...

New Brain Squirrel!

 So recently I've been thinking a lot more deeply about how I want to approach historical costuming for me. Both in the direction of historically adequate and inspired work for everyday, but also for more intentional costuming, e.g. for events.

So my first issue is physical. Me. I am not young, I am not princess-beautiful, I am not single, and I am not slim. I am (mostly) OK with myself - I don't mind my age, or my looks, and I'm not getting a divorce; yeah, I need to lose some weight, but even without the extra I will never be slim because my frame is naturally broad and solid. I am from working class and middle class stock, and it shows. And I am good with that. BUT I need to work with that, rather than pretend to be something I am not. 

To look at this from a historical perspective, in past centuries a woman of my background, marital status and appearance would have been heavily mocked for "aping her betters", or for pretending to be something she wasn't. High fashion is usually, then as now, directed at the young, the rich, and the fashionable. Most of the country just weren't that, and wee unlikely to have seriously desired it. Would living a life of luxury have been nice, of course, but you could daydream while washing the dishes, managing a home, and raising the children, because life as always carries on needing to be lived.

The upside of this, from my perspective, is that clothing that the average woman would have worn was more likely to be practical and usable in daily life. Ball gowns are pretty, but aren't really practical for wearing on a daily basis. 

All that said, even lower class women may have owned one or more nice dress. 

• It may have been a wedding dress, much amended over time, and adjusted to accommodate new necklines or hemlines. 
• It may have been bought from a clothes reseller - second hand markets have existed for a Very Long Time, and have always been a way in which men and women could potentially access to things otherwise out of their reach. 
• It may also have been a gift. Gifts of old clothing from employers to servants, particularly in a domestic setting, were not uncommon. These clothes, while no longer high fashion enough for those who were being served, were absolutely acceptable for Sunday Best for those serving them, perhaps with a little adjustment. And if no longer usable as-is, the gifted clothing could happily be made over into something else more suitable to their needs (or indeed sold on via the above mentioned second-hand trade). The giving of clothing and/or fabric as gifts to vassals, to indicate favour, or indeed to curry it, has been used since at least the Elizabethan era, if not earlier^[1]. 

So what does this mean for me, and what has my Squirrel Brain decided to do?

For me, it means I want to concentrate more on making clothing that my ancestors would have worn, rather than "Princess Pretty" clothing. That means middle to working class mostly, with a mixture of rural farming society, urban domestic servants and some northern factory mill workers. These were people who were more likely to be illiterate to functionally literate, than readers of magazines. If they did see fashion plates it would not have been because they sought them out, and more like when I look at the houses in Country Life - ultimately not something I ever expect to own anything even close to!

And as for my squirrel brain? Well that's decided on a new Project, which is superficially simple, but may prove to be Quite Long... Squirrel Brain would like me to find images of at least one working to middle class costume that I like, for each decade of the 19th Century, and possibly early 20th Century too. And then to make them up. Perhaps one working, and one middle class. This isn't to say I can't make the Pretties too - as above, women could still access nice clothes; plus I can make what I like for the fun of it! However, I probably will not count anything like this towards this project. 

The Plan

First step in this project will be gathering images. Initially photos to give the impression of a decade, and then picking specific looks to recreate. While I'm doing that, I will probably work on underwear for a while, as that will also be necessary for anything I make outside this little (hah!) project. After that, will be the long process of creating them...

To be helpful to myself, I'm not going to do this chronologically, but instead let my brain bounce around as it wills it. That has the advantage of while I want to get stuck into more complicated eras to source at the beginning of the 19th Century (i.e. before widespread photography, and when the average person wasn't getting their portrait painted), I can also do easy bits bringing in images I already have from the 1890s-1920s period. 

I may do years within a given decade for later periods where we have more surviving source material for me to use. Nevertheless, I want to stick to a minimum of one costume per decade, with more being a nice-to-have option.

I also am seeking to actively avoid uniforms and livery. The stereotypical working-class image of a 19th Century woman is of the domestic servant, but while I am interested in her clothes, what I want to recreate is what she wore when not a work. Basically, going beyond the stereotype of the black dress with the white apron over it. What did she wear on Sunday? What about after she married and left service (if she did)? Those are the outfits I'm seeking to find.

While I'm happy to look at extant examples of clothing, for this project I want to focus on images from the time. Images show you want was being worn, by whom (status/class), and how. I hope to only use museum examples to pad out the iconographic resources, rather than replace them, although I have no idea how successful that idea will be!

Is this all I'm going to be doing for the future? Oh no. Definitely not! I have other plans in the pipeline, and idling in the back of my head still, but this is something I want to do gradually over the next few years. In the long run, it may even be able to be a resource that others can use on middle to lower class fashions.

Citation

[1] One example would be the donation of a dress (or dresses) by Elizabeth I of England to the wife of a prominent Irish nobleman who she wished to have allied with her.

The Outer Layer - Head

Oops, procrastination and squirrel brain posts have unintentionally pushed this one back from when I originally scheduled it to post... By 2 weeks at least now. Sorry! I had intended to do the Regency Wardrobe group as a straight series of posts, but brain go "Wheee! Look over there!" and I did. Mea culpa...

So back to the original plan: The outer layers of my planned Regency costume.

 The outer layer in this project is the layer where I will attempt to make something, but where I accept that I may well run out of time. For the purposes of these posts I am going to list the things I would like to make (and may make later if I don't have time this time), and alternatives I may consider adding instead. I am considering here three specific areas:

1. Head
2. Body
3. Feet

Head

Head coverings of some kind were both normal and socially acceptable for adults of both genders. For women what was expected would vary depending on their age, but even in a ball situation, the hair would have some sort of decorative covering, even if it did more to adorn than conceal. Depending on your age, wealth, and taste, these could range from simple and plain, to incredibly elaborate affairs. Common types of coverings included Caps, Bonnets, and Turbans.While millinery was a definite profession by this time, it wasn't uncommon for women to buy hats to trim at home, or to trim and retrim the same hat to go with multiple outfits, so fashion plates were useful places for the contemporary woman to gather inspiration. It has been argued that these plates show the extremes of fashion, akin to modern catwalks, or show composites of various options which could be mixed, matched, and omitted according to the wearer's tastes. Being able to modify or create your own headwear allowed women, in particular, a lot of capacity for personalisation.

So what would a women in around 1818 have worn throughout the day?

In the morning, women wore lighter headwear, such as lace caps, linen bonnets, and similar items. These were "at home" items, and seem to have been commonly made of the same sort of fabrics and colours as both visible and intimate underwear. The fashion plate below shows a woman sitting in a very decorated yet simple white dress. The tucks and lace on the hem are reminiscent of petticoat edgings. The dress has looser sleeves than the dresses worn outside or later in the day, and the fichu at the neckline would have kept her warm in a colder house. Her cap is completely in line with this "undress" fashion style, with a deceptively simple fabric cap to keep her hair out the way. I say deceptively, because like her dress, the simple shape is then covered with a huge ribbon (the width and depth of her forehead), and a very frilly decorative border. The whole ensemble is about the impression of intimacy, for an at home, without actually being either simple or undressed.

Morning Dress, 1818, La Belle Assemblée

Candice Hern's Regency World shows a number of fashion plates of hats dating from this about 1800-1817. Although there were variations each season and by activity, from about 1815 one popular shape for daywear was of a blocky crown (think of the crown part of a top hat) tilted back about 45° from the face, with a curved brim. The brims on this style gradually grow deeper and more exaggerated as the years progress. By 1818 a fashion plate from La Belle Assemblée shows a deep sweeping curved brim coming out from the nape of the neck outwards to shade the whole face, and then upwards above the face. The upper tip of the brim is about the same distance up from the head as the crown, or even a little further, and forms an angle of about 90° with the crown. Depending on the style, some brims form a straight line out from the crown, and others have a slight curve. All the plates I've seen of this style of bonnet, show that the edge of the brim, and the top of the crown were Very heavily decorated, with options such as lace, ribbon ruffles, and what looks like cording being quite popular. They were then finished with a broad ribbon running from the centre of the crown down to a point below the chin. This was to secure the bonnet to the head. It's not clear from the plates whether this ribbon was sewn into the seams of the bonnet form itself, sewn into the covering, or attached underneath a band around the base of the crown. Some prints (e.g. the middle left one in the image below) have a triangular effect with the chin ribbon being mirrored upwards and then along the back edge. The others on the page show a slightly puckered ribbon extending out below the crown ribbon.

Parisian Bonnets, 1818, La Belle Assemblée

Evening Dress fashion plats often seem to show a type of hat that is reminiscent of military hats, covered with a riot of feathers. Unlike the bonnets described above, these are worn much more vertically up from the head, extending the profile upwards, with the feathers above even the tops of the hats. Other evening dress plates show more turban like affairs wrapping around the hair, and again topped with feathers.

An undressed bonnet was not a thing that a lady of the time would have accepted! In addition to the edge trims, bonnets were also decorated with floral decorations, and possibly other natural items. This poke bonnet from the 1820s at the Met Museum, while of a different bonnet shape from the 18-teens, shows a wonderful riot of leaves, flowers and other plant matter. Decorations were seasonal and also influenced by activity. Feathers seem to have been prefered for evenings, and also for winter outdoors activities like riding. Flowers were popular for daytime wear in the spring and summer. Autumn seems to have brought in berries, leaves and other foliage. Ribbons

Hats and bonnet forms were often covered in silks, which could be of a coordinating or in a contrasting colour. Other fabrics could be used depending on your means and your outfit, but silk appears to have been both the most common (or the most common to survive) and the ideal described in the women's journals. 

Making

So what have I gone for? I decided quite quickly that a bonnet in the style of the Parisian Bonnets plate above would be the most appropriate option for me, based on the time of day (afternoon), the activity (a promenade), and my personal preferences. While looking at Black Snail Patterns during their sale, their "Romantic Era" bonnet pattern fell into my basket. *cough* Although this pattern is designed for about a decade later, the broad shape of the bonnet in the pattern is not dissimilar to the one above, and I felt that it wouldn't be too difficult to adapt to the 1818 shape. If it doesn't work, I may just go ahead and draft my own pattern instead!

Black Snail Sewing Pattern #0615 - Romantic Era Bonnet & Pellerine

I am currently piecing together the PDF pattern for this bonnet, as I plan to decorate it for part of my Harvest Hat challenge entry.

I will post the Body & Feet work in a separate post, probably tomorrow, as this one has got rather long. Again.

Harvest Millinery - inspiration post

This is going to be a fairly light post with links and images to inspiration sources I have for each of my final ideas. This is not a decision post, because I haven't decided yet!

1. Pseudo-medieval hood(ie)

This image from Rosalie Gilbert has a shape I love. I prefer closed to open hoods, but the buttons would allow me to make a hood in the open style but which can be closed when I want or need more insulation from the elements. She also includes a useful way to draft an appropriate pattern for this style.

Couture Mayah's post from 2011 shows a rather beautiful hood where she trims the hood using a contrasting wool for the dagging at the edges. 

Racaire's Workshop has images of a lovely embroidered hood made in c2009. While the quality of the embroidery I feel is far beyond my current abilities, I am inspired by the use of contrasting the thread and fabric colours. Racaire suggests using chain stitch, which I know and could possibly work with providing the imagery was Very simple.

Notably both the previous two examples refer to the Medieval Tailor's Assistant book, which I already own.

Finally, I was really inspired by the decorations on the second (green) hood shown by Maille is Riveting. The idea of a simple band of decoration, plus the leaf-shaped dagging really got me excited to have a go. 

I think that even if I don't do this for the Challenge, I want to do one anyway before the end of the year! In that situation, I will probably make the shape somewhat different from a normal late medieval hood, and take inspiration from ponchos (a longer back), consider making the front more of a scarf cross-over effect, and dropping the liripipe altogether.

2. Simple Regency bonnet

This is the bonnet pattern that happened to fall into my basket during the recent Black Snail sale:

I could potentially trim the shape with autumnal themed items, like berries and leaves. I'm not sure, however, how autumnal colours will go with the petrol-blue of the dress I want to make.

This hat from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is a nice inspiration for trimming an 1820s hat. Although with the MFA hat being of a different shape to my pattern, I can't be certain how accurate it would be to transfer that style of decoration across to another type of bonnet.

Another 1820s hat, but from the Met Museum, which has a brim somewhat closer to that of the pattern above. This one is even decorated in a style that could be described as almost Autumnal!

For a style closer to the pattern, these images from a fashion plate of 1818 (La Belle Assemblée) show floral, foliage and ribbon decorations. Source: Flickr.

3. Trimmed late Victorian hat

Flipping through the Met Museum's web archive, I can see that straw based hats with wider brims were in fashion (with variations of course) from the 1890s through to the 1910s. That covers the 1890s of the fan skirt alongside the "Edwardian" of the blouse. While this costume would not be historically accurate together, I feel that none of it would be too out of place aesthetically when worn together.

Possible sources of inspiration (All (c) The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

This hat is dated 1892-95 and is made of straw with silk and feathers. The floral top decorations could make a nice historically inspired hat, but this hat itself would be useless in a practical sense because it is angled so as to leave the entire back of the head and neck exposed. No good if I wanted to wear this to keep the sun off.

The Met also have a lovely simple boater from c1890, but I would be unsure whether that would be a woman's hat. That said, in a non-accurate costume, does that matter?

Moving forwards to the 1910s, I found some much more useful images for inspiration. By this decade the hats seem to be angled towards the back of the head again, making them more useful for my modern wear. They are exceedingly extravagantly decorated in some cases, but that might be good for the Challenge, and at the same time, I can deviate if I choose since I'm not intending on creating a true replica.

This 1910s straw hat has a band of what might be velvet underneath the brim, and a large cluster of flowers across the front brim. This style could be an awesome source for a Challenge hat - Straw base, autumnal coloured velvet band, and then a riot of autumnal leaves and flowers with a large ribbon around the crown.

Another straw hat dated c1911 shows how the brim width and crown depth could vary. That's quite useful when finding a relatively inexpensive base straw hat to begin with.

Instead of straw, this c1910 hat is described as being made of cotton, although in a similar shape and weave to the straw ones above. Like the first 1910s straw hat, this one has a band of fabric below the brim, and a wide band around the crown (of the same colour in this instance).

A last straw hat, dated again to c1910, is also made of straw. It's quite a bright yellow, compared to the first two so may possibly be dyed, or even painted? In common with the first and third of 1910s hats linked above this hat has a band below the brim, and another around the crown. As for the first straw hat, the hat is decorated with flowers and leaves although here they are attached onto the front of the crown itself. This hat is also different in that it isn't the simple circular or oval shape, but instead has a downward sweep almost presaging the 1920s cloche hat. It's a rather lovely hat to take as a modern sunhat due to the deep drop of the brim towards the back, which would nicely protect the nape of the neck.

Unfortunately, due to rights restrictions, none of images of the 20th Century hats can be reproduced, so you'll need to look at them on the Met's website.

The Visible Layers: The Dress, Part 2 - Practical plans

Cora Ginsburg & DAR Dresses

Analysis of the Dresses 

Bodice:

Both the Cora Ginsburg and the DAR Museum dresses appear to be back fastening (there is no obvious opening on either fronts). The DAR Museum dress has a centre front seam, which may be an opening, but that would seem unusual for the time period, leading me to believe it's either intentional construction (e.g. for maternity/postpartum) or an adjustment. The round neckline appears to be hemmed all the way up indicating a probable back fastening, as the bodice construction suggests that a front opening would not open wide enough to be put on with a fixed band at the high waist. The neckline is gently scooped and not completely square.

The decorations on the Ginsburg bodice would seem to preclude a front fastening, and the shoulders don't appear to have a bib front either. Unfortunately I've not got access to an unobscured back view of either dress to be sure exactly how either was fastened. I adore the "woven" appearance of the front decoration on the Ginsburg bodice, but I suspect that the DAR Museum dress bodice will be more sensible to make as a first attempt Regency dress. The woven effect, to me, seems to simulate the crossed over bodices that were also around at this time. This bodice's neckline is squared off, with straight lines across the breasts and over the shoulders, and with clearly defined corners to the line. 

Sleeves:

Both dresses have long sleeves, but with differences in the decoration at the shoulders and cuffs. The DAR dress has capped shoulders with the banded decoration to reflect the hems and cuffs, and then a long and fairly loose sleeve ending in a slight gathering before the cuff decorations. The Ginsburg dress has the more common puffed shoulder ending in a bad around the upper bicep, and then extends out into the long sleeve. The sleeves on this dress are not as straight at the DAR ones, but do appear to have more fabric in them. They are gathered into the top band, then remain reasonably loose until mod forearm at which point they are gathered in tight with a decorative band that is a couple of inches wide. The cuffs then puff back out and continue to approximately the middle joint of the thumb.

Due to the more conservative style preferred in the newly independent United States, the necklines are relatively high compared to European fashions for the same style of dress. Both dresses have a more defined bodice space than would have been seen a few years earlier, presaging the silhouette of the 1830s.

Skirts and hemline

Both dresses are placed on mannequins to show a hemline that is just short of trailing on the floor, and neither has any evidence of a train. Both dresses are straight down from the high waists, projecting gently outwards to a width a few inches wider than the natural shoulders. 

The decoration on the DAR dress continues about a foot up the dress from the hem, whereas that on the Ginsburg dress only covers about half that height. The Ginsburg decoration is more fancy, but the contrasting colouration 

Possible patterns

There are a number of excellent patterns out there for Regency dresses, as well as guides and diagrams for DIY or draped variants. I'm certainly not experienced enough to drape, and I prefer the comfort of having a pattern, even if I often only follow them broadly. A non exhaustive list of pattern companies (in no particular order) includes: Black Snail, Laughing Moon, Sense & Sensibility, Folkwear, and Nehelenia. I've not linked to any of these as the best value vendors for any may vary depending on where you are based and which currency you are using, however many use Etsy or have resellers on there, so that may be a good starting place to look.

My shortlist is based on patterns which appear to be close to the design of the two dresses I have been talking about in detail in this post and the previous one. I knew that finding an exact pattern for either dress was likely to be impossible, so I took what I decided were the key features of both, and focused on those when searching for the most appropriate pattern for me. The key features I decided on were:

• Back fastening
• A simple neckline, either squared off, or more rounded
• Not too high a waistline, and one that was in the cut of the pattern (not defined by a belt only)
• The plain flat front of the DAR Museum dress
• A (high) waist seam as part of the dress
• The puff-band shoulder on the Ginsburg dress
• Long sleeves that are not tight.

By looking for a back fastening dress, I had to rule out a number of earlier Regency patterns (logically), as the earlier period was better known for the bib fronts to dresses. Some earlier patterns were also ruled out because the bodice shaping was less defined by the cut and more by the belt/overdress. Relatively few patterns had long sleeves, instead going for the short sleeves more suited to hotter climates than an autumnal England! I also wanted that shoulder interest that is in both of my inspiration dresses, so no patterns where the sleeve falls straight from the armscye.

That left me with two patterns! Laughing Moon #138 & Sense & Sensibility "Regency Gown". Technically there is a third, from Fig Leaf, but I found that one after I had completed my purchases.

Laughing Moon #138

None of the views on this pattern have the very square neckline shown on the Ginsburg dress but are quite similar to the DAR Museum dress' neckline. The shape of the skirts on all views look appropriate to either of my inspiration dresses.The short-sleeve over long sleeved variant is very reminiscent of the Ginsburg shoulders and sleeves, although a bit too baggy. The way they are made, however indicates that adapting the pattern to have a smoother sleeve could work well.

Sense & Sensibility Regency Dress

This is the original source of one of the Simplicity patterns, which was licensed from the creator of this one. In my opinion, this is better than the mass market variant because it is more accurate. For my purposes, it is possibly slightly earlier in style that my aim (1801-1812), but a) the author then says "1810s", which would still encompass 1818, and b) US fashions were ever so slightly lagging compared to Europe due to the time for new ideas to travel.

So, the envelope designs didn't seem to be quite what I needed, but then I looked at the photographs of made-up versions, and the first image has almost exactly the neckline and sleeves of the Ginsburg dress. 

Fig Leaf 222

This pattern is specifically based on the DAR Museum dress, but I found it after I had bought another pattern. I would definitely like to buy and try this one later, should I find the need to make another Regency era dress!

~~

So what to do? 

Sizing: 

The Laughing Moon pattern cover sizes up to 56"/48"/58", whereas the S&S one only goes up to 48"/41"/50" AND requires a supplement to make the larger sizes.

Fig Leaf 222 goes up to 51"/42"/56".

Format: 

Laughing Moon is paper only for this pattern.

S&S has both paper and PDF options available.

Fig Leaf seems to be paper only

Cost: 

Laughing Moon is $18.00 plus postage or £23.99 (no postage) from Etsy

S&S in PDF is $9.95 for the base pattern, plus $2.95 for the large chest supplement, no postage, but printing out costs of course.

Fig Leaf is $23.00 plus postage.

In the end I bought the Laughing Moon pattern via Vena Cava on Etsy. Why? The bodice was closer to the later style ones I am hoping to recreate, even though the sleeves aren't quite right. I also figured that if I can't get the sleeves right, I can buy the PDF of the S&S one still, and Frankenstein them together...

Colours

The official descriptions of both dresses describe them as being Clarence Blue. But what is that, and where does its name come from?

With regards to the Queen herself, there are possible indications of the colour she liked. I wrote a separate post last week on Queen Adelaide and blue as this section was getting Rather Long!

Neither my Inspiration dresses nor the portraits of Queen Adelaide are categorical confirmation of precisely what was "Clarence blue". I feel that I have two possible directions I can take.

1. Follow the colour that is on the garment(s) now
2. Attempt to decide and re-create the garment in the shade I feel is closest to Clarence blue.

As I am intending to re-create an extant dress, I will be going in direction 1. The colour of the extant garments were what drew me to them initially, so in keeping with that, I plan to make my dress in a colouration similar to the shade they are now, 200 years after they were made. This may not be the original colour, nor may it be a true example of Clarence Blue, but I loved it from the start and that is what I will use. 

Modern fabrics in Petrol Blue, Teals, and dark Turquoises seem to be the best representations of the colour I initially saw.

Fabrics

Both original dresses were in silk, suggesting evening wear. I am not planning to wear either in that way, so I am considering either a heavy cotton or a light wool (or wool mix).

Links/images to dream fabrics

Links/images to more realistic fabrics

The Visible Layers: Part 1 - Questions, &, Inspiration for the Dress

My big initial questions

Day vs Evening dresses. Walking dresses. Practicalities based on Promenade dress vs dancing dress.

So, continuing on from my general musing on what "I" would have been most likely to wear, I also started to consider practicalities. These practicalities are twofold: 

1. Where will I be, what will I be doing, and what time of year?
2. What is my realistic budget (financial & chronological)?

The answers to this are:

Question 1:

• Bath, so England, and more to the point, outside in the Promenade
• Walking and "showing off"
• Late summer into Autumn

Question 2:

• Financially
• If I spread financial costs, then I can afford a nice-but-not-elite dress. So good quality fabric, but probably not 100% natural fibres unless there's a nice sale on with what I need.
• I might be able to make a cheap polycotton test run dress, but otherwise I will only be able to afford the fabric for the main dress. Fabric, followed by notions, will probably take the largest portion of my budget.
• New era: Also, this is one event, so it's not reasonable to invest that much into a new era which I may not regularly return to.
• Chronologically
• I am a slow sewer, and as I currently do not own a sewing machine - the one I use is locked down at the opposite end of the country from me right now - I will be hand-sewing everything to begin with, so I feel that it would be more realistic to make one versatile dress, rather than separate day, walking or evening dresses. 
• I will need to make/obtain a shift, stays, and a petticoat (or two) at a minimum, and will have to make the appropriate financial or chronological adjustments to own them. This affects the dress in that time spent on those layers takes away from time available to make another dress.
• Time also means that a very decorated or fancy dress would be less practical. One with clean lines, and relatively simple decoration will be easier to complete well within the time constraints.

Decision:

A walking dress would be ideal, but a day dress would be more versatile and could even potentially be an evening dress with appropriate accessories. 

Inspiration

These two dresses are the two I feel completely in love with. Initially the colour caught my attention, but each has elements which I really like, and which also fit with the "me" I want to portray.

The dress on the left is listed in the 2016 Cora Ginsburg catalogue (PDF). It is described as being from the USA and of "Clarence-blue silk twill" or of "levantine", and is dated to c1818. The deep blue shawl Kashmiri shawl isn't original to the outfit, but would be appropriate to the period. I adore the details at the cuffs, the shoulders, and across the chest, but I suspect that my skills aren't quite there yet.

The second dress is in the DAR Museum, and is dated to c1818-1820. This dress is also described as being in "Clarence-blue" silk, and I freely admit to having fallen in love with the colour of both these dresses. The dress does not appear to be made of a "shiny" silk, but rather a crepe.

The decoration on this dress is in the form of bands of shiny bias-cut satin silk that has been sewn on around the shoulder caps, on the cuffs, and at the hem; three bands in each location. There is also another band of the same contrasting fabric around the high waist. The triple bands sewn at the edges of the shoulder caps and those at the cuffs are all of narrow equal widths; probably a few cms at most. In contrast the bands at the hem are graduated in width towards the hem, and are significantly wider.

The sleeves appear to have an extra frill at the edges of what looks like lace. The neckline is simple and the Museum has chosen to fill it in with a file almost transparent ruffed chemisette, and it is not clear whether this is also at the cuffs, or if that is a separate piece of decoration.

It is interesting that both these dresses are believed to have been made and worn in the USA, but are in a colour that because famous and fashionable specifically due to Princess Adelaide, who married the British Duke of Clarence in 1818 (hence the name). It is believed to have been her favourite colour.

Unfortunately I've not been able to find any fabrics being sold specifically as "Clarence blue", but I have found some modern shades which seem to approach this blue-with-a-greenish-hint. More on that in a later practicalities post.

Other dresses I liked 

...but ultimately haven't gone with (this time?)

1. Princess Charlotte's Russian Dress 

(That's it's actual name!)

I saw this one in an exhibition at the Queen's Gallery a little while back, and I still love it. It's definitely on my list of dresses I'd like to recreate one day.

2. Tat'yana Borisovna Potemkina, by Vigée-Lebrun, 1820

I love the colour and the cross-over style front. The long sleeves with the lace are also quietly beautiful.

3. Jane Johnstone's Mourning Dress

This dress in the V&A is marginally later than I was originally looking at, but I love the simplicity and shape of the bodice decoration. I'm also a big fan of both black and of velvet, although I've not sewed it in decades. My other half likes the decoration on the bottom, as well, so we both like different elements of it. I think this one is on one side for if I ever need a regency or even early Victorian evening/ball dress.

 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1191391/dress-unknown/

Formal mourning dress of black velvet and grey silk satin decorated with satin piping and appliqué. The dress is full length and has a wide, shallow neckline outlined with grey satin piping. It is lined with cream silk in the bodice and black silk grosgrain in the skirt. The short puff sleeves are decorated with an appliquéd satin motif stemming from the shoulder seams and are finished with the same satin piping. The waist is high but falls a good 5-10cm under the bust. Decorative lines of satin appliqué stem from the waistline to the neck and shoulder seams on the front of the dress and two lines of piping form a V shape from the waist to the shoulder seams on the back of the dress. The dress fastens at the back from the waist to the neck with seven hooks and eyes and a drawstring at the neck. The skirt is gored with a circumference of 220cm around the hem and is gathered slightly at the waist. The hem of the skirt is appliquéd with a wide band of an overlapping, simplified floral motif in grey silk satin, underlined with a band of satin piping.

The Base Layer

This post is about my plans for making/buying Regency era underthings for my 2021 Regency Project.

The Layers

There are three main undergarment layers in the Regency period. I own nothing suitable at present, so I will need to buy/make everything here.

1. A shift - This will be a basic, square necked garment. The purpose of this garment is to protect my outer garments from me, as in my sweat etc. The shift is easier to change and to wash, so was very important for keeping outer garments less smelly or dirty. They didn't wick everything away, but less sweat on your fine dress is still better. In the Regency era there seems to have been some variation on whether your shift had sleeves depending on what you were wearing. When worn with a long sleeve dress, it could have had short sleeves like the V&A example below, but with the very short sleeves, it may have just had a slim shoulder strap. Unlike a medieval shift (the ones I have currently!), a Regency shift has a much more open and square neckline to fit under the dress necklines of the era. Although women were still rarely showing actual cleavage at this point, the area between the neck and breastbone was more likely to be partially or completely uncovered in comparison with earlier eras. That necessitated the change in necklines.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O327719/shift-unknown/

1a. Long drawers or pantalettes. In the later Regency era, this layer sometimes also included leg coverings (see the below the stays in the next image). These could even be visible below the skirts for some women. These were two single legs gathered to a band as clothing approaching modern knickers wasn't worn by "nice" women at this point.

2. Long stays (image from the same page as the V&A shift above). Along with the change in necklines and shift patterns, this era also saw a change in undergarments. Others have done far more research than I on the changes of support garment during this era, but in summary, the main changes were a distinct "cup" area which caused/was caused by a change in how the breast tissue was shaped and supported. Prior to the introduction of the Regency silhouette, women's breast area was supported by being bound against the body, usually either with a specific boned undergarment or via the cut of their underdress or kirtle. The flimsiness of early Regency dresses seems to have triggered a need for a new type of support, which went through various iterations. In the c1818 period I am looking at, this would have been long stays. Long stays could be boned or corded, and gently contoured the body from armpit to around the hips, and seem to have included dome kind of breast cupping or pocket.

Regarding the stays I will make or buy, I read this rather interesting study, which seems to suggest that by the time I'm looking at, cording was beginning to be dominant over boning as the method of support. Depending on patterns and cost of materials, I will seriously consider whether "Harriet" would have worn an older set of stays that from 10+ years earlier, or whether she might have updated to the newest style... 

3. A petticoat which goes over the stays and protects the dress while creating an appropriate shape. Like the shift, the petticoat had been forced to change shape from earlier eras. Some Regency petticoats were hung on thin straps from a high underbust waistband, and others were entirely without straps. I am practically minded, so thin straps seem logical to reduce the risk of it slipping!

The image below also includes artificial arm puffs to boost the shape and stability of early Regency sleeves. That's not in my plan so I won't need them at least!

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O354431/petticoat-unknown/

I'll skip (making) other underwear and wear normal tights instead of stockings.

To do list for an underwear layer:

• Buy a basic suitable shift from a vendor, possibly at the next TORM that runs
• Make a set of long stays. Long ones because I'm "squishy", and need more control to achieve that silhouette.
• Buy a kit and pattern - 
• I'm looking at getting this RedThreaded kit if the postage isn't too punitive and I choose the boned variant
• If I go for corded, then maybe the Laughing Moon pattern #115 . This pattern also includes instructions for a simple chemise. I found an online class that follows the LM pattern as well. These instructions may help if I go it alone. 
• Buy fabric.
  This layer will be next to my skin, so it needs to be breathable. Going by museum pieces and the Foundations Revealed article (linked above), I will probably buy cotton instead of linen, as cotton seems to be beginning to dominate for underwear by the later Regency period.
  
  A middle class lady may well have had contacts with the owners of the burgeoning local cotton mills by blood, marriage, or friendship, so wearing cotton would have been a practical choice.

Next post, next layer! The Dress.

A Regency Outfit?

So, my first sewing project for 2020 is looking like it might be a complete Regency outfit...

It's not an era I have a particular interest in, as far as costume is concerned, but it is an era I love for fiction settings. The Discord group I am a part of has suggested going to Bath and either joining with, or meeting up with those who are formally part of the 2021 Jane Austen meet-up. So, that needs Regency appropriate attire.

Now my first thoughts for the Regency era are based on ball dresses and outfits worn during the Season - both from museum collections and in novels. They don't appeal at all. I'm neither young nor sylph-like, and I feel that I'd just feel so self-conscious in a flimsy muslin dress, let alone a White dress. My disabilities affect co-ordination, so white as a colour is deeply Out for me - I will be wearing something on it by the time I get there, if not before I leave the house. 

So, no flimsy, white muslin for me. Does that mean no Regency clothes at all?

I'm older, married, and also not rich. If I was living then, I would have no need to wear the "pretty" clothes of a debutante or other husband-hunting Society lady. What if I dress as a middle class lady, and one of middle age? Oh, and it's winter, would an older lady really have worn muslins in November? What about white? Wasn't that for young virginal women who were showing off their purity for potential husbands? I don't need that, I can "wear colours", so I shall. I don't have a lot of money, so I can see it would be reasonable to wear something less fussy than a young, and/or wealthy woman.

On "It's winter!", what about a coat, or headwear?

Oh, and underwear. Oh hell, I'll need underwear - you can't get an authentic outline without the right underwear!

So, as it's very much early days, and nothing is decided, but below are the beginnings of my thoughts, inspiration, and tentative plans.

I've fallen in love with two dresses from c1818, so I'm looking at narrowing my clothing to broadly that year. 

I've realised that my way of approaching the concept of a dress from a specific period is to create myself a rough character. That "character" is mostly a meditation on who would I have been if today was 1818? 

My "character"

As an "older woman", I can get away with have clothing items that are a few years out of date as don't feel I'd have been in the first stare of fashion). I'm giving 'her' the name/reference of Harriet or Henrietta.

So who is this person I feel I would be?

Middle class - I have never been wealthy, but having grown up solidly middle class, I feel that that is a background I feel confident in portraying. It's also more realistically achievable for me - while I couldn't afford fine silks even now, I can afford to buy decent quality fabrics if I budget sensibly.

Older - I have no desire to pretend to be younger than I am, and I am not ashamed of my real age, so I'm content to portray a woman in her 40s

Married - hopefully my other half will be coming to Bath with me, and may even be willing to dress up too. A married woman would be more likely to wear the darker and richer colours I prefer, and wouldn't be looking for a marital partner. A single woman in her 40s would have been reliant on her relatives in a way that a married woman was not, and I feel that I am pragmatic enough to have married for "job security" when I was younger. 

Comfortable - By this I am referring to her preferences in fashion. She's neither first stare of fashion nor totally out of date. She's comfortably within the range of normal for her era, without being at all obvious.

Quiet - not physically quite, but in line with the "comfortable" above, she is not overly visible or noticeable. As someone who is not always seeking the most up-to-date fashions, she's therefore less obvious and more likely to blend in with the background scenery. This fits with an older middle class lady who is not seeking to raise her station or marry off children. She has no need to be noticed, so she dresses "quietly" so as not to draw excessive amounts of attention. I'm an introvert, so I am more comfortable and confident when I am not the centre of attention, and Regency Me is going to be the same...

Neither poor nor wealthy - this is different to class, which was somewhat less easily changeable. Because my creations have to live within my real life budget, I choose not to portray someone who is vastly more wealthy than I am. I choose to portray a woman who is comfortably off, but not rolling in money. She can afford nice fabric, but she won't have multiple changes of clothing nor a vast wardrobe of clothes to pick from. She prefers to buy/make one to two good quality items and vary how they look with accessories. Her clothes will be well made and made for/fitted to her, rather than second-hand and made over ones. They aren't high fashion, because that lasts longer and she's not so wealthy as to waste money on buying new clothes before the older ones are unsuitable for wear. She has some servants, but her clothes are cut to allow her to dress herself where possible rather than being reliant on employing a dedicated ladies maid.

Creating the Costume

Subsequent posts on this topic will go through my plans for making/buying the different layers to dress u[ as this character. Before I go though, here is a great guide to the general outline of the layers: http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/regency/tips/