To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61:3

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Elizabeth Bennet Wedding Dress: Complete!!

Way back in April, I started on the Lizzy Bennet Wedding Trouseau from the 1995 P&P.  Well,  yesterday I finally finished the coat from the wedding dress!  (Well...I would really like to find a piece of lovely lace for the veil like Lizzy's....)  But anyways....Huzzah!!!  I had been on my back last week with my annual back tweeking, so I didn't think I would be able to finish the coat, let alone do any sewing at all!  But thank God, my back is almost 100% back to normal!!  Yeeeeaaaahhhhh!!!
Anyhoo, here are some images of Lizzy in her fabulous dress as a reminder:




Alas, I cannot find the source of this image....


My coat.  There are of course some changes that were made.  The tab across the front is larger as it has to cover the waist band of the dress...and the buttons are ivory with a sparkly center.  I tried in vain the locate buttons that were similar to the originals, but no dice.  I have looked high and low for a cross like Lizzy's and finally decided to use a silver cross that I already own!  The lace is left over lace from a Lizzy Wedding bonnet that I made for a client.  My Mama selflessly sacrificed a length for the project.  Thank you Mumsy!!

Some wonderful images of the dress at Lyme Park as taken by the Paula who writes Podheim Blog.


Emma wearing Lizzy's dress.



I'm kind of stressing about the back and how far out it bumps out.  I think it is the thickness of the fabric and the amount of fabric that the coat uses.  But there needed to be that much to go around the dress.  So.....
I did find some examples of the back of pelisses that did stick out this much in fashion plates from this era.  Then I remind myself that this is a movie recreation and not an exact replica of an extant garment, so my desire to have it era correct gets to relax!  Yeah for that!!!


Patterns I used for this pelisse:


I modified Butterick 6074.  The hem of the spencer was too long so it was cut up quite a bit.  Then of course the neckline had to be altered to slope down towards a separated center front.


For the skirt of the pelisse, I used the skirt part of this La Mode Bagatelle pattern and slit the front piece up the center angling it from top to bottom.


The fabulous shoes that I got off of eBay.  I found this awesome Regency Shoe Hack from The Bohemian Belle and decided that until I can own a pair of American Duchess Highbury shoes, these will do nicely!  I will be making a fun cockade for the top of the shoes to cover the base of my tooties...


When I get back from Coco, I am going to add some petersham to the top of the shoes and the place where the side seam in extant examples is placed...but for now, I am happy to have some Regency looking shoes!!  
Onward and upward to my Gala dress!

Be blessed my friends!

g

22 comments:

  1. Absolute perfection! Did you know they had little "bustle pads" under the back waist seam to actually create a bump? Its just a little thing. I could swear La Mode had that in the pattern.
    Val

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Val! I am so happy to know that they used little "bustle pads"!!! I don't need to make one...I have one built in!! hahahahahaah!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
    2. You may have spotted one of those Regency bustle pads by now somewhere in your research, but just in case, here's an example...
      http://www.pinterest.com/pin/286752701247272485/

      Delete
  2. It ist such a wonderful interpretation of Elisabeth dress. I love it and look forward to photos of you waering it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Thalia! I will be posting pics of me wearing it as soon as I get back from Coco!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  3. This dress is so stunning!! I would like to see dress on you :))
    You did a wonderful job! :)

    P.S. You can call me "Fresh Wife" , it's an english translation for "Swieza Zona" :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fresh Wife! I like that! Thank you so much for your lovely compliment! Pictures soon I promise!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  4. So so beautiful! You always pay attention to the details and get is so right!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much my sweet friend! I think the attention to detail comes from my OCD! It is good for something I guess! hahahahaha!!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  5. Looks great! I love the coat's fabric. The whole outfit looks so lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your lovely compliment Marylou!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  6. Stunning!! Sooooooo beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so very much MaiLoan!
      Blessings1
      g

      Delete
  7. What beautiful work! Its truly gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your lovely compliment Rachel!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  8. Very, very beautiful! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so very much Emily!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  9. Thank you for your wonderful compliment Mary! I am pretty happy with how the whole thing turned out!
    Blessings!
    g

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your dress. It is really beautiful and you paid so much attention to all the details. I faithfully read every blog post you wrote about it. Can't wait to see pictures of you in the dress and I hope you'll have a lot of fun at Costume College.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Teresh-ka! Thank you so much for you lovely compliments! I hope you enjoyed what I wrote! I can't wait to get the whole ensemble on...just three more days! I think that Coco will be a total blast! Thank you again!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  11. It was beautiful, Gina! So much prettier in person and up close. Excellent job on it!
    Val

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Val! I am so thrilled that I got to meet you in person!!! You are such a fabulous lady and costumer!! I adored your Patriotic Regency dress!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete