The finished closed-front robe à la française

I only now realised I never posted pictures of my closed-front robe à la française. Well, it was finished (sort-of)
and worn at the ball in June, and I had an absolute blast:

Now I need to change a few things. The bows on the sleeves are set on the wrong place and need to be moved
(that is what happens when you attach them five minutes before you really should leave…).  And the decorations on the

robe needs to be sewn down along the edges and not only with basting stitches in the middle. I also plan to make
a pair of winged cuffs and an embroidered stomacher so I can use the gown for an earlier date than the 1760s.

1913 and 1762

It’s been a bit of the quiet sewing wise this autumn. I’m hand sewing an early 16th century
shift; it’s sewn together, had the seams felled and it’s hemmed. I’m currently gathering the
neck and cuffs.

I did a fast and fun project, completely from stash,  a couple of weeks ago; a 1913 evening
trousers with a simple kimono top. The top was simply drafted on the fabric; an off-white
dupion which once was the skirt of my first wedding gown. The trousers were made after
these:

https://collections.lacma.org/node/230873

LACMA helpfully have the pattern online in this PDF. As I was unsure of the original wearer'
size but deduced she was probably more slender than I am, I simply used the width of the
fabric for the widest part and then used that measurement as the first leg on scaling the
pattern proportionally. It worked really well, apart from the fact that the original wearer must
have been a tall woman. I’m above average, and the trousers were a tad too long. But I
loved the way it draped; the fabric is a cotton/rayon blend which I bought on sale almost
twenty years back. It was perfect for this project.

Apart from a need to shorten it, I want to find tassels with a bit more oomph! I also need to
change the button eventually as these are actually meant to go on my Victorian bathing suit
when I get around to make button holes at the sides of it. But I love this outfit and want to
wear it more. I was also very pleased with how my hair and makeup turned out. And I’ve
found a picked apart lace dress among my grandmother’s things, so I plan to reuse that for
something similar to this:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/155885?rpp=20&pg=12&ft=dress&when=A.D.+1900-present&pos=228

But my next project will have to be a robe de francaise. On June 8 there will be a grande ball
at Svartsjö Castle, close to Stockholm. Here is the event on Facebook. And here is Menuett
Akademien’s invitation:

Chers Monsieurs-Dames de la noblesse Suédoise.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen.

The year is 1762, an evening in the promising month of June.

His Majesty King Adolph Fredrik would like to invite You all to a pastoral evening, une vrai fête champêtre, a grand yet intimate event for those members of the Swedish nobility still loyal to the Monarchy, at His Majestys charmingly beautiful Hunting Lodge Svartsjö Palace. Svartsjö is located at Färingsö, just outside the town of Stockholm.

This gracious fête takes place on Saturday the 8th of June, starting at 6 o’clock in the evening.

The event is arranged to provide amusement for Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden, Lovisa Ulrica.

As a mark of love and of gratitude for her successful personal contribution to the peace negotiations with her brother His Majesty the King of Preussia, thus securing advantageous conditions for Sweden following the Pommeranian war.

• A true Minerva of the North •

The evening will provide You with wonderful entertainment, such as excellent music, song and dance (of an International quality ), a rich Souper with delicious foods as well as sweet treats, etc. And possibly some other sort of surprise peut-être..? The whole evening is meant as a surprise for Her Majesty the Queen herself.

All this for the price of only 1550 SEK per person. You do not want to miss out on this fête champêtre. His Majesty does not want you to miss out either…

* Please note that only payment equals a ticket. Kindly make the payments to the bank account: 122-4989

If you reside abroad, kindly use the following details: IBAN : SE06 6000 0000 0006 8949 7288

* When payment has been duly made, kindly send an email containing your full name (and stating if you have any special food preferences) or allergies, to the following address:

menuettakademien@gmail.com

* Included in the price is some refreshments, such as a few glasses of wine or beer, and a drink upon arrival. There will also be a bar available, if You wish to purchase any further drinks. (!We do only accept swish at the bar!)

* Please do note that You will need to bring your own appropriate cutlery, glass and dinner plate. This in order to preserve the historical feeling of the event.

As Svartsjö Palace is located some distance away, there will be a bus leaving from Stockholm Central Station (at a small extra cost), providing easy transportation both there and back.

The Dancing will be organized in three different levels of dancing:1: advanced, 2: intermediate, 3: beginner. Kindly choose your own level. (Dancing is naturally voluntary)

There will, of course, be a prize awarded to the best dressed guest at the ball. (Dresscode: 1755-1765)

His Majesty expressly wishes this Fête extraordinaire to be a complete surprise to Her Majesty up until her arrival (just like at the inauguration of the Pavillon Chinois at Drottningholm Palace some years ago), so please do not reveal the secret beforehand as that would spoil a part of the amusement.

A warm Welcome to You all!

I’m very excited over this! Menuett Akademien is known for their spectacular balls; last year
it was the 1680 ball I made a mantua for. Now I plan a closed-front robe de francaise. It may
not have been the height of fashion in 1762, but you do see them all through the 1760’s, and I want to sew something I haven’t done before.

A couple of closed Robe à la Française

Not the most popular version of the Robe à la Française, but the version with a closed skirt crops up from time to time, roughly between the 1730s-60s.

Ca. 1735, The Museum at FIT

1740s, The Stibbert Museum

Ca. 1740, National Museum Of Scotland

Ca. 1745, Kent State Museum

Mr. and Mrs. Andrews by Thomas Gainsborough, 1748-49

Mr. and Mrs. Carter by Thomas Gainsborough, 1748-49

Ca. 1750, Metropolitan

Full dress of a lady of Nuremburg in 1755

Burial gown of Maria Anna Josepha von Dietrichstein, 1764

Ca. 1760, The Museum at FIT

Dated 1760's-70s, LACMA

OMG, OMG, OMG, squee!

Today I received this:

A friend in Czechia told me about it earlier this year, and with her help got into contact with the university who had it published. You can’t buy it, but if you are researching historical clothes you can get it provided you send them postage. I wasn’t sure I would qualify, but clearly I did. There are a lot of pattern diagrams from the 16th- to the 18th century, for men, women, girls, horses(!), liturgical clothes and a few tents. The wool gown I made a few months ago comes from this book, and now I have so many things I want to make.

Like continuing on my late 17th/early 18th century wardrobe. I now have patterns for stays, riding habit and something I very much will look like the kind of loose nightgown you see on a lot of Swedish and Danish portraits from this period.

Unknown Swedish woman, late 17th century

Elizabeth Faltz, Sweden, late 17th/early 18th century

My old pet-en-l’air which is too small, basically has the same fabric as this one, only the pattern is smaller. Doesn’t it just beg to be re-made into it?

Christiane Marie Foss, Denmark, 1700-1709

I also strongly suspect that the riding habit I want to make will look very much like this one:

Hedvig Sofia, Princess of Sweden by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl

 Also, there is the pattern for a riding habit from 1769 which includes the waistcoat. I haven’t seen an old pattern for that before.And, from the same year, patterns for two pair of stays, one which would look a lot like this one made up:

Late 18th century stays

You understand why I’m a bit incoherent of joy?

Also, I found a gown which looks very much like my wool gown on a Swedish painting.

Hedvig Sofia, Princess of Sweden, detail from a painting atributed to David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, painted in 1697

Late 17th/early 18th century mantilla

What the item is: A stole, or mantilla.

There are two extant examples of this kind of garment in Scandinavia One in Denmark and one in Sweden. Both are made of black silk gauze and embroidered white silk. It’s a shawl, there the front is elongated with an extra panel. From the front this makes it look like a gown when worn. Both the extant mantillas have a stomacher made of the white fabric. The Swedish one is dated to the 1690’s, the Danish one to 1695-1709(ish)

Nationalmuseum, Denmark

Nordiska museet, Sweden

I’ve found very little information about this kind of garment. Ellen Andersen writes that this type of garment originated from Spain, and has been known since the late 16th century. In France it became popular in the 1720’s. Garsault mentions it in 1769, when he talks about how a lady should dress for court presentation:

If the Lady to be presented is not able to endure the heavily boned bodice [of a robe de cour] then she is allowed to wear a lighter one, covered with a mantilla, with the court train and petticoat.  As the mantilla covers the upper arm the top lace flounce, which would not be seen, is omitted.  The mantilla is made from any light material such as gauze, net, lace, etc.

I strongly suspect the boundaries between the kind of mantilla I have made, and one which is just a plain shawl, is very hazy. I have only found one painting where I’m almost sure the lady is wearing a mantilla. Christina Brodersonia, Carl Linneaus mother:

Source Linnè Hammarby, Sweden

It drapes the right way, but it may, of course, only be a shawl. There is certainly not difficult to find paintings of 18th century women wearing shawls. Most of them only show the upper half of the body.

It seems to me that this must be a versatile garment. It’s a lightweight wrap and worn over just stays and petticoats it must have been a good alternative for a hot day. It must also have been quite practical to wear during pregnancies.

The Challenge: Monochrome

Fabric: White silk brocade. Black silk habotai.

Pattern: I used the pattern in Danske Dragter , though adapting it to fit my own body. I aimed to keep the ratio between measurements the same as in the original pattern. In retrospect I could have cut the black silk shorter, but it still works. I omitted the stomacher as I realised I had enough brocade left to make a pair of stays, if I did so.

Year: 1695-1709, but can probably be stretched a bit further into the 18th century.

Notions: Silver lace and white sewing silk. I cut the lace down the middle to make it go further. Silk ribbons to bind the seams in.

How historically accurate is it? The pattern is made after an original garment. However, the original was made of white embroidered silk and black silk gauze. So I would say about 80%.

Hours to complete: I cut it all out just before Midsummer. It’s completely hand sewn and I have been sewing all summer, but I have no idea how many hours it took.

First worn: For these photos. I apologize for wearing a pair of 1780’s stays. All my other stays are in the attic, and I was feeling lazy. Period accurate makeup; pearl powder, burnt clove for the eyebrows and lip pomade coloured with alkanet. Reproduction earrings from Dames a la Mode. 

Total cost: 1045 Euro. One yard silk habotai: 13 Euro. Three yards of silk brocade: 60 Euro (but I will get a pair of stays out of it too). Fourteen yards of silver lace: 40 Euro. 18 yards of habotai silk ribbon: 32 Euro. Thread from my stash.

Sources: Andersen, Ellen, Danske Dragter: Moden i 1700-årene, Nationalmuseet, 1977

Brown, Carolina, Mode: klädedräktens historia genom fem sekler, Rabén & Sjögren, 1991

Waugh, Nora, The Cut of Women's Clothes, 1600-1930, Routledge, 1984

HSF 2016 Travels: Wool gown, 1680-1712

I have finished a gown! And for once it also fitted into The Historical Sew Monthly!

The Challenge: Travels.

The pattern for this gown came to my attention thanks to a friend in Czechia. It was part of a small collection of pattern diagrams published there in 1712 and called “Swedish court clothes”. They are not, however, particularly fancy clothes, and the fabric notes indicates wool for all the garments except for a pair of stays. In the early 18th century, king Karl XII of Sweden and his army were, if not actually in present Czechia, not all that far north from it. Even if a king at war didn’t have a sumptuous court, there were still a number of aristocratic ladies travelling their officer husbands, so there was some kind of travelling court. My guess is that these clothes, which seems quite useful for travelling, came from that court. And the pattern themselves have done a bit of travelling.

Fabric: Double sided wool, striped in grey/blue/brown on one side, black on the other. Brown linen for lining.

Pattern: I adapted my basic 18th century bodice and sleeve pattern while trying to keep to the proportions of the original pattern diagram. The skirt is made of four half trapezoid pattern pieces. The skirt was drafted directly onto the fabric, using the same angles as the pattern diagram.

Year: 1690-1712

Notions: Gold braid. Sewing silk in black, brown, blue and pale gold. Grosgrain ribbon in pale blue rayon. Antique paste belt buckle.

How historically accurate is it? I would say 75 %. The pattern is based on original sources, but due to fabric shortage I had to do a few changes on the skirt. The original skirt length was the back bodice length multiplied with three, which would have given the skirt a longer trail. The measurements of the skirt was double the waist measurement, but the front has much less fabric, I’m sorry to say. I sew it all together on machine, but all other seams were made by hand.

The gown turned out too big, partly because I’ve lost weight, but probably also because wool is stretchy. Even if I’m quite pleased with it, I’ll need to do some changes for a better fit. I also need to drape up the skirt more toward the back when I wear it. The fontange cap was made after a self drafted pattern, using these instructions. I thought it was too narrow on top, but it looked fine when I actually wore it. I used fine linen and remnants of lace my grandmother made. I need to purchase lace for the lapels and add a bow on the back. I also made a first try for the proper hairstyle and I Think it turned out ok. Not as high as I wanted it, but I merely worked with curled hair. Next time I'll see what pomade and powder can do.

Hours to complete: Cant’s say. The cutting, fitting and sewing it all together took about five hours. Then came all that hand sewing.

First worn: Yesterday at an 18th century picknick.

Total cost:  4 meter of wool fabric; 77 Euro. Belt buckle; 7 Euro. 4 meter of gold braid; 23 Euro. The brown linen was the gift from an aunt and originally purchased in the 1980’s. The grosgrain ribbon and the silk thread was inherited from my grandmother. So I guess the total cost would be 110-115 Euro.

This kind of gown can be seen on paintings and fashion plates in the late 17th/early 18th century. Though the skirt is slit and draped the same way as a mantua, the bodice is smooth and not fitted with the help of pleats.

Anne Marie d'Orléans while Duchess of Savoy by L. Mariette, 1684

Anne de Souvré, marquise de Louvois (1646-1715) by Simon Dequoy, 1695

Anonymous portrait, 1680-1700, Nordiska museet

Recueil des modes de la cour de France, 'Fille de qualité', 1680

The Cryes of the City of London Drawne after the Life: Fair Lemons & Oranges, 1688

The Cryes of the City of London Drawne after the Life: Crab crab any crab, 1688