We now continue our regularly scheduled TBT....
On Sunday for the Steampunk World's Fair, the ladies and I decided that we needed a theme...so someone chose "What's Black and White and Red all over?". This theme conveniently fell in nicely with Sunday as the answer is a newspaper and the most widely read day of the week newspaper is the Sunday paper...Brilliant!
Most of our group did equal amounts of red, white and black, but me being contrary and having found a fabulous inspiration image, did very little black in my outfit...in fact the only black was the centers of the poppies on my hat. In any case, this day was super fun and this dress still makes me so happy!
The Coca Cola Dress
Inspiration #1
The painting by James Tissot
Completed in 1885, it depicts ladies and gentlemen enjoying a circus under the Big Top. One would think that my focus would zero in on the lovely lady in the foreground in pink. Nope. My focus for whatever reason, zeroed in on the lady in white and red...
There she is. It looks like her bodice is made of white with red polka dot fabric and what I believe to be red bows stretching across the stomacher. I LOVE this lady! She is of course smoking a cigarette. No, I did not include one of those in my list of accessories...
Inspiration #2
The skirt. I have no clue where I found this picture, but I LOVE the skirt on the lady on the right. It has ruching and pleating and fun things oh my! The painting shows the lady in white with red polka dots sitting so we have no idea as to what the skirt looks like so I chose something fabulous for my skirt.
Both of these dresses are over the top wonderful! The skirt on the right however, grabbed me up by my shirt collar and screamed "MAKE ME!!!!!" in my face! So I obeyed.
Fabric and accesssories for the dress. Red dupioni silk and cotton eyelet.
Patterns Used:
Bodice: TV463 French Vest Bodice
Underskirt: TV261 1885 4-Bore Underskirt (with bustling)
Bustling: self drafted
Fabrics: red dupioni silk
white cotton eyelet
white silk bengaline
I found the wicker basket at an antiques store in McCall, Idaho...I think it looked perfect with the velvet strawberries on top!
The rectangular cut steel buckle was found on one of my antique shopping trips...I believe it came from a store in Pocatello, Idaho.
Yes...all that ruching went all the way around the underskirt....
Close up of the miles and miles of ruching and pleats...sometimes I think I go into some sort of lack of sleep induced haze. This is most likely what fuels my obsession for the things I do...like ruching and pleating.
Flowerpot hat using Lynn McMasters' 1600-1800 Tall Hat pattern. That's right. I used an 18th century hat pattern for my 1880s flowerpot hats! It is the perfect pattern! I ruched the under brim to tie in the ruching of the skirt.
Lots of great antique feathers and flowers!
Kelsey, Josie, Me and Beth!
Josie, Kat, Me, Beth and Kelsey
It seems as though Josie and I have been scandalized by something in the paper...while Beth looks on in delight....
Well, 3 SPWF dresses down, 2 more to go....I hope you all have had a most wonderful Christmas holiday and Happy New Year to you all!!
Blessings!
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Looks great! And wooow, check out that ruching. I can't imagine how long that took, but the result is totally worth it. Did you do it top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, or some other direction?
ReplyDeleteThank you Avant! The ruching did take quite a bit of time. It has been such a long time since I made the dress, but I believe I layed the stitched fabric on the floor and pulled the stitch threads from top to bottom, working with 6 inches all the way down...the top lines move 6", then the second layer, then the third layer and so on, so that the lines moved together...I didn't want the top to be all ruched then move on to the second row....I hope that came out in a way that is understandable...If not, let me know!
DeleteBlessings!
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Oh beautiful! I love that dress!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ruth!
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Holy moly are you talented, Gina!!! Seriously, I (and I'm sure the rest of the blogging world) am just in awe of your skills! Whenever I need inspiration, I scroll though your blog :)
ReplyDeleteI've really been enjoying your TBTs and all of your more recent creations as well. All of them, ALL OF THEM are just AMAZING!! Each living up to the same standard of perfection, and this bustle outfit is no exception. Your attention to the details & accessorizing is superb - I can't image doing all of that ruching & pleating without going insane! Gorgeous. And I love the group photos, especially that last one...priceless.
Happy New Year, Anneliese :)
Why thank you so much Anneliese! Sometimes I find myself in some sort of sewing daze and honestly can't remember how I did something in a dress...that's what makes it fun though! I am happy that you can use this blog for inspiration! You are very talented and I love seeing the new things you come up with! And I can't wait to see more!!! This group of friends is really very fun and we act silly more than we act serious!! I sure do miss them!!
DeleteHappy New Year to you and Blessings!
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Dear Gina, your projects are more and more fantastic! I'm impressed by your creativity and talent! In Poland this dress would be very "patriotic", because it is in colours of our flag :) Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much Gabrielle! If I ever get to travel to Poland to visit with you and your group, I will be sure to wear this dress to one of the events!
DeleteBlessings and Happy New Year!
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Your new dress is wonderful! I love the way you complete the full outfit with hat and accessories (loved the strawberries <3 ) together :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Porcelana! Accessorizing the Victorian dresses is so much fun! And it gives me an "excuse" to get more things! hahahahaha!
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My goodness, that skirt is beyond stunning :O
ReplyDeleteI laughed a bit when I saw Pocatello. My favourite memory of Pocatello was after we'd left, and stopped in a little town east of it on our way to Wyoming (maybe it was Montana, I forgot which part of the park we entered at) and watched chickens chasing dragonflies in someone's yard :D
Thank you very much Crystal! That is so fun that you drove through Pocatello! It is a nice town... What a fun memory to have of that part of Idaho! Chickens chasing dragonflies reminds me of a Little Golden Book I used to have as a little girl..."The Pokey Little Puppy"! Too funny!
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I never knew this was based on a Tissot! How very fun...I loved this dress. Contrary we all are...you fit right in. I still say best people watching ever! I've been laughing over the painting we both recently fell in want with all day. I'm eyeing it to go with the pale silver stripe and purple....or silver and gold....mmmmmm. It's yummy!
ReplyDeleteI thought I had told you! Sorry! I am so happy that I fit in! Cause you all are so awesomely fun to hang out with!! And yes....those days in the lobby parked on the couches was truly the BEST people watching ever! Except for then the clothes started getting rarer and rarer! I think we need to do that painting dress as a sister dress...Pale silver and purple sounds divine!
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Lovely, Gina! My favorite parts are the hat trimmings (you find such LOVELY feathers and flowers!) and the big buckle on your skirt (JEALOUSY!).
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
Quinn
Thank you Quinn! I love playing with antique feathers, flowers and trim...Sometimes I even go out to my feather boxes and just pet my pretty feathers! hahahahaha!! They do make me so happy! Happy new year to you as well!
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Absolutely gorgeous! I love the ruching and I must admit I'm feeling ruching envy. It all goes to together so beautifully!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Glennis! Whenever I do ruching, I pray the whole time I'm doing it that the threads don't break...I've had that happen before when I'm almost finished with the item and I just sit back and cry! Then start all over again...
DeleteBlessings!
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Love it! The ruched skirt is CRAZY! Wow! And your hat is more than perfect this time. As Gabrielle had written before, this would seem a very patriotic outfit here in Poland, haha!
ReplyDeleteThank you Eleonora! Yes, I will agree with you that the ruched skirt is crazy. I do believe I started loathing myself a bit at the end of it all...but then the pulling of the threads was over and was sewn to the skirt and all was good! I do hope that one day I can get to Poland and see your beautiful country and hang out with your group!! What fun!
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Wonderful outfit! I'm not sure if I'm more in awe of your dressmaking skills or your hat making skills!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your compliment BT!! I do love making the hats more than the dresses because I can get more them completed quicker...and there is only one fitting!! And no darts! hahahahaha!!!
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Sweet gumballs this dress is splendid! Wow, you really take it all the way with your costumes. It's such an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteSweet Gumballs...that's a fun one!! I'll have to remember that. Thank you Lauren, for this compliment! The funny thing is, that I would probably never be able to re-create any of the dresses I made...after I finish them, how they were constructed leaves my mind!
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Oh my, you looks SO youthful, cool and smashing!!! And all that pleating and ruching on the skirt, simply - WOW! I'm sure the traffic is stopping all the time when you are wearing this:-)))
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much Rosa!! That is sweet music to this 43 year old's ears!! It was a pretty fun dress to wear...hopefully I will be able to get into it again after I am done getting rid of some weight!
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Oh that skirt! All that ruching must have taken ages to complete! I'm working on a 1930s outfit right now and the blouse has 10+ rows at the shoulders. It's "sew" fussy because the rows are curved.
ReplyDeleteAs always I adore your hat! Antiques feather and ribbons are the best!
-Emily
I know! Ruching is a crazy business! I can't wait to see your 1930s outfit! Thank you for the lovely compliment on my hat! I really love making them!
DeleteBlessings!
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