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

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Natural Form Era Maternity Gown


Hello all!  I hope you are having a lovely weekend!  My weekend has been exhausting.  But exhausting in a good way.  Yesterday I finished up my NFE maternity gown that I wore today to the Mary Hallock Foote centennial celebration at the Boise Public Library and today I got to wear it!  It was so funny and fun!  I do plan on altering it into a regular tea gown and then I wish to wear it to tea!  


I totally forgot to take a picture of the wee little pillow I made for my "baby".  


I was so proud of myself for remembering AND taking the time to make the pocket for this dress! And yes, I did use it!


Stitching the antique christening gown I purchased at Antique World Mall.


Close up of the really squirrely satin fabric for the front...UGH!!  It was most vexing to work with!


This was the best "back" image of the dress.  The wind really cooperated for this shot as it caused the dress to billow out nicely!


The inspiration for my gown came from the below two sources.  I loved how the first dress from Kent State University was ruched around the collar and then fell straight down.  I also liked the trim on either side of the opening.




I got the idea for the horizontal ruching below the collar from this image.  I was going to attempt the ruching all the way down the front after I reverted it back to a tea gown, but after the way the fabric acted, I decided that it really didn't need to be done!!!



Some images from the day!

7 of us ladies had a wonderful time modeling dresses for the MHF fashion show!


The stairs at "The Cabin" was a perfect place for showcasing the dresses!


Mama and me!


Sweet Addy was our Southern Belle today.  This dress looked so great on her!


Big sister exclaiming at the news!  This was a fun photo!


Beautiful mother and daughter, Marilyn and Aubrielle.


Tammy, me and Dana.  We have known each other since youth group in Jr. High!


Victorian ladies on a Victorian Bridge!



Silly video.  This was the 5th or 6th attempt at making a video and I wasn't going to start another one.  Please note that when I was grousing about the dress construction, I was not intending to grouse about the Truly Victorian pattern itself, but my alterations to it.  I did correct myself in the video, but I just wanted to reiterate it here!

Well, that is all for today.  I am off to bed and a very well deserved sleep!

Blessings to you all my friends!!

g

16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you so very much Lieschen!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  2. I love this, Gina! So good to hear your voice after 20+, or is that 30+, years??? ;0) Do more videos! I love you, cousin! ~Allison

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It surely has been a very long time...way too long! Thank you so much!! And I love you too cousin!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  3. I have never been thrilled about this era of fashion but I have to say this dress is lovely! What a beautiful fit on you and the colors and style are graceful and flattering. It looks like such a wonderful time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *Squee!* Thank you Sarah! As I was making this, I kept thinking about you and your lovely maternity dress and your gestation stays (I will be contacting you about your when I get around to making mine for future shows), so your compliment makes me super happy! I think this style would look very flattering on you! The day was a truly wonderful time!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  4. You managed to accomplish what I tried, and failed; altering the front of the tea gown to make the insert. I would love to know how you did it. I was unfortunately trying to use a sheer chiffon that ended up looking more like lingerie, and I scraped it. Just beautiful, Gina!
    Val

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Val! It did give me quite a bit of grief, not the pattern, but the alterations. So, I am thrilled it turned out as well as it did! I think you should try yours again!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  5. Lovely colors, Gina! It sounds like you guys had a great time. :)

    Best,
    Quinn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Quinn! These are my most favorite colors and color combination, so the dress made me super happy!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  6. You look magnificent! Absolutely! May I have a question about the style? Is this influenced by the Aesthetic Dress movemement, or am I mixing up things? (Still so much to learn, you knowXD)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rosa! Thank you so much for your lovely compliment! Now about the Aesthetic Dress Movement. I haven't don't a lot of research into that specific movement. I do know that a lot of the tea dresses from that movement were loose and the "waist" fell to below the bust. I don't believe corsets were worn by women who went along with the Aesthetic Dress Movement (ADM) and so the dresses were loose. The dress I made for a maternity dress actually has a front panel that buttons up right under the purple overlay (I will take pictures of it when I alter the dress back to a regular tea gown) so, it would not be considered an ADM dress as it will end up fitting rather snuggly. I know that did not answer all of your questions! I will probably do a bit of research for the next post on the dress!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  7. Well my goodness crazy rock star girl! Love it so much, I'm doing the tired after an event thing so my brain won't come up with anything more elegant than ohhhhhhhhhh preeeeeeeeeety. I'd squeeee but my throat hurts. It is truly outstanding. (Video!!!! YES!!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahahahah!! You make my heart so happy my friend! Thank you so much! This was a fun dress and your pink and white Coco breakfast gown was looked at a lot as I went about making mine. I hope you had a wonderful time during your crazy sewing get away weekend! Can't wait to hear about it!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete
  8. Fantastic outfit - great fit and great details! I love to see period maternity wear shown off. :)

    Despite my suspicions that you have more than 200 followers, I nominated you for the Liebster Blog award. Don't feel you have to go along with it, if you don't want!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so very much Cassidy! This was a super fun dress to wear, and then take the pillow off! hahahahaah!!

      Yes, I do have a little more than 200 followers...but I thank you so very, very much for the nomination! That is such a wonderful compliment!!
      Blessings!
      g

      Delete