The elusive velvet

Some things floats around in one’s costume mind, things that you have heard, but that you don’t really know if it’s true or not. One of those things that I have heard several times is that velvet wasn’t used for women’s clothes in the 18th century. How about you? One reason is that there is no evidence for velvet gowns if you read testaments and lists of assets, at least not in Sweden. And the other reason is that there are no extant women’s clothes in velvet from the 18th century. On the other hand there are paintings of gowns that look more like velvet than silk.

I know, a painting isn’t proof. You can paint in anything in it, but I can’t see why velvet would suddenly be totally absent from female fashions. I can see why it could be less popular, but velvet is nice and cozy and luxurious, so why not have a velvet gown for the cozy winter evenings. This is why I made my wrapping gown in velvet, even if I didn’t have any proof fro velvet gowns.

Well, thank to Pinkdiamond and Corsetrasewing, I now have. A velvet gown , dated to the second half of the 18th century. I wonder why, though- to my eye it looks like the first half.



Then there are a number of velvet bodices found here. I don’t speak Spanish, but following Corsetraweing’s advice and searching with the words chronologia, the segle 18, then gipo, then vellut, they can be found. Just bodices, but I don’t think that’s so odd, given how much fabric an 18th century petticoat was made of.

Can’t have been used for anything else than nursing, but I wonder if it was really made like that originally or if it was changed into it after it becomes unfashionable.

This one looks very Spanish to me.

And this one is evidently of the very late 18th century.


Of course, this is not proof that velvet was used everywhere in Europe. The bodices are Spanish and the gown French or Italian. The painting I have seen which looks like velvet have been German, French and English, so I think it’s likely that it was used, albeit not a lot. I’d love to find out more, though.

One day late, Monday blogaround

The Lingerie Addict writes about the lack of real women in lingerie advertisement.

La Mode Illustree again, this time with pictures of extant costumes. The first an 18th century robe de cour. I’m not sure if it’s the dummys faukt or iif it has been changed, as the silhouette looks more 1850’s, but it’s still interesting.

Pauline's Pirates & Privateers writes about the real world of piracy, this time on Teach and the “reality” of“Pirates of the Caribeean.

More goodies from Nordiska

Not stays, but really nice clothes from the 17th and 18th century. And unusual- what do you think of the patchwork jacket? And I love the ladies shoes from 1653.

Banyan, dated to 1770-1790, in printed cotton dated to 1750
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/morgonrock/S-NM/NM.0186307?pos=12

Banyan, double-breasted in cotton, 1720-1775.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/rokrock/S-NM/NM.0263181?pos=192

Banyan in red silk, 1740-1770.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/nattrock/S-NM/NM.0192128?pos=280

Man’s red wedding suit, with embroideries, 1764.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/brudgumsdrakt/S-NM/NM.0238756A-C?pos=427

Man’s cravat in very fine cotton, with white embroidery
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/halsduk/S-NM/NM.0138957?pos=146

Man’s cuffs with white lace, 1750-1799.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/armkras/S-NM/NM.0138956A-B?pos=120

Gown 1780-1790 in striped cotton/silk.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/klanning/S-NM/NM.0022937A-C?pos=475

Woman’s jacket in fine pink wool, 1775-1790, the sleeves cut together with the bodice.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/troja/S-NM/NM.0025203?pos=69

Woman’s jacket in many-coloured patchwork, 1770-1790. I have never seen anything like that before!
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/kofta/S-NM/NM.0085949?pos=98

Woman’s jacket in black, “shiny” wool, 1770-1799.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/troja/S-NM/NM.0158626?pos=127

Ripped apart bodice, but the fabric! Oh, the fabric is pink, flowered goodness. I want! 1760-1770.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/tygprov/S-NM/NM.0178586A-I?pos=422

Stomacher, 1740-1760 in white, quilted cotton, embroidered in white.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/brostlapp/S-NM/NM.0273749?pos=149

Stomacher, 1770-1779. White linen decorated with striped silk ribbons. Very cute.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/brostlapp/S-NM/NM.0186310A-C?pos=264

Engageants in white work, cotton, 1750-1779.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/engageant/S-NM/NM.0081408A-B?pos=95

Woman’s hat in green, 18th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/hatt/S-NM/NM.0214269?pos=283

Pink embroidered shoes in silk, 18th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/skor/S-NM/NM.0087047?pos=100

Blue shoes with white heels, 18th century
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/balskor/S-NM/NM.0003915?pos=298

Mules, 17th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sko/S-NM/NM.0000649?pos=291

Ladies shoes, 1653.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/fruntimmerskor/S-NM/NM.0081332?pos=94

Brown embellished gloves, 17th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/handske/S-NM/NM.0114893?pos=113

Extant 18th century stays in Sweden

While searching for inspiration for my 1790’s stays I looked through the online collection of stays and bodices belonging to Nordiska museet in Stockholm. And though the text is in Swedish, I thought it could be interesting anyway. The photos are, I’m sad to say, not very large. I have added a short description with every link.

An absolutely gorgeous pair of white brocade stays, 1730-1770. Fully boned, back laced, lined with linen and bound with white leather.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/snorliv/S-NM/NM.0022164?pos=1

Front laced stays in “sämskinn”, (the only translation I can find are deerskin, which doesn’t seem quite right. It’s pliable and rather thin leather anyway.) 1750-1760. Said to have belonged to a priest’s wife in the provinces. And unusual shape, I think, not as low-cut as stays usually seem to be. Ten fabric pieces and 20 boning channels. Boned with whale bones, and, probably, steel outside the lacing holes.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/snorliv/S-NM/NM.0004796?pos=2

Fully boned stays in ”sämskinn”, 1750-1770. Back-laced and lined with sturdy linen. More robust whalebone horizontally at the top front and along the waist. Possibly originally a bodice in silk that has been altered into stays.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/snorliv/S-NM/NM.0001007?pos=1

The museum also has stays that doesn’t have photos (grumble grumble) but descriptions that really wets my appetite.

A bodice to a robe de cour in white silk, 1770-1779. The shape similar to other robe de cour bodices, but the inner layer has probably had stiff paper glued to it before the outer silk layer was attached, which I find interesting.

Stays with a stomacher, 1770-1779 in tan silk.

Stays in unbleached linen, 1740-1760. Back laced, made out of 12 pattern pieces. Bound in “sämskinn”, at the lacing holes pink in colour. Boned with whale bone with a sturdy steel boning set horizontally at the top front. The lining attached after the boning channels were sewn.

Stays in dark brown leather. The museum dates it to 1720-1729, but the stays are dated on the inside with “Anno 1687”. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see them? I wonder if they may be 17th century stays after all. Only four pattern pieces, the side seams well into the back, 12 tabs. The description is a bit fussy, but probably back laced. Bound with “sämskinn”. No mention of boning, but I’m not sure if it’s because the stays suffer from still have a text written when it was acquired (1907) or if it hasn’t any.

These below are not labeled stays (”snörliv”) but bodices (”livstycken”) and have been worn in rural areas in Sweden. Their shape are very close to modern folk costumes in Sweden, though today they are rarely boned and there are indeed unboned bodices from the 18th century too. Anyway, I find these interesting because I have often come across the notion that working women didn’t wear stays. But I find some of these bodices more akin to half boned stays than a bodice. They do seem, however, to have been worn visible, more than as an under garment. Also boned with reed instead of whale bone. Horror upon horror- the wench costume may not have been so historically inaccurate anyway. At least not if you are a Swedish peasant woman.

Bodice in brown sturdy calf skin. Front laced and lined with sturdy linen. Boned with 18 bones, probably reed, except at the lacing holes were it is steel. Overlapping tabs, like scales and a rather pretty inside with patches of leather to enforce the ending of the boning channels.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0001252?pos=145

Bodice in fine blue linen, 1790-1820. Front laced and tab-less, half boned with reed. Very decorative boning channels sewn in white linen thread.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0011974?pos=39

Similar bodice in red wool, 1780-1820.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0031360?pos=44

Bodice in cream-coloured ”sämskinn”, 1750-1799. Front laced with overlapping tabs and sparely boned with reed, steel at the lacing holes. Bound in white leather and have a pretty decoration in pinked white leather. Lined with linen. Supposedly made as an engagement gift.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0194150?pos=31

Bodice in green wool, 1780-1820. Boned with reed at the lacing holes and the seams, boning channels sewn in white linen thread. Lined with linen. http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0009162?pos=179

1790's stays in progress

The fashion of the 1790’s is reeling between the earlier 18th century and the upcoming Regency fashion, and stays seem to reel too. My love for the 1790’s is quite new, but in the last year I have made three gowns from that period, so I felt that it was about time to make a pair of stays that were more correct for the period. Then I got really inspired when Katherine Hay posted about an extant pair in Corsetmakers in December. I want stays like that, the kind that are more like earlier 18th century stays in shape, but shorter and tables. For a pattern I once again turned to Norah Waugh and based my pattern on the front and back-laced pair that have the four stuffed balls attached to the back. I used the pattern I drafted for my un-finished stays as a template and came up with this. Picture of those can be found this old post on my stay-making history.


Mats made sure I did it correctly.

I’m making it out of two layers of white linen and one of light blue silk taffeta. I also added a small stomacher. I have never seen that on stays from that period, but my weight fluctuate a bit and I want stays that I can use even if my weight differs. There will be shoulder straps too, but they aren’t cut yet. Here they are with the silk basted to the linen.

You may wonder why the silk doesn’t completely cover the linen. Well, that has to do with the fabric. Last summer I planned to make a striped robe battante. I wanted it in light blue and white and found the perfect fabric. I ordered and the colours were exactly what I wanted! However, the stripes were not 8 centimeters wide as I thought, but 8 inches… Totally my own fault as the website clearly states the width. So, no robe battante. I do have some plans for the fabric, but there’s a lot of it and I liked the idea of pale blue stays. However, 8 inches are wide, but not as wide as my pattern pieces, so some piercing was necessary.

I know that it would have been easier to choose another fabric, but I got set on having them in this colour, so piercing it is.

I am now in the process of assembling the stays and I hope to show more of them next week. Though I’m full of admiration for those who hand sew their stays completely, my hands can’t handle sewing through all those layers. So I use my machine for assembling and boning channels and then hand stitch the lacing holes and the binding. My plan is to make them fully boned with stitching and other details in white.

Swingdress sew-along

Casey of Elegant Musings have a sew-along on a swingdress, starting today. I’m going to join in. I like the dress, it can be purchased as an e-pattern and I’m pretty sure I can find fabric for it in my stash. Anyone else up for it?

Monday blogaround

Some of the blogs I follow have blogarounds once a week, which I think is a neat idea. I don’t actively seek out new blogs- too time-consuming, and I’m sure one misses some great things and I haven’t seen it much when it comes to costumes. So I will give it a go and hopefully give you four of five links to interesting posts every Monday. Only this time it is three. ..

Diary of A Mantuamaker writes about her Brunswisk jacket, with some informative photos.

La Mode Illustree have posted a series of late 18th century fashion plates. This is a link to the last of four.

Fru Aleydis”> have a wonderfully inspirational cavalcade of last year’s sewing projects.