Lady Mary's Garden Party Dress

Happy Easter! Today I premiered my version of Lady Mary's garden party dress!

I used Vogue 8648 as a starting point and then drafted away. I really wanted to capture all of the different directions of the stripes so I changed a lot! Here's what I did:

• Raised the neckline of the front
• Drafted the waist band on to the skirt
• Lengthened the skirt
• Changed the shape of the skirt from pencil to more aline
• Drafted the back bodice from 4 pieces to 2
• Moved the zipper from the center back to the side
• Made the sleeves less poofy
• Raised the back neckline
• FBA
• Added some extra space by the hips
• Adjusted the cutting layout so that my stripes lined up with Mary's dress
• back-all cut on the bias
• center front bodice-horizontal
• sleeves-horizontal
• rest of front- vertical

The only pieces that I ended up cutting straight from the original were the bodice side front and the sleeves. But I really wanted mine just like Mary's so I put in the extra effort.

 

I also bought a cloche type hat and retrimmed it to be like hers! It will be getting it's own post later this week.

I was able to use a piece of my great-grandma's lace, which was really cool!  It's not in perfect condition but it was perfect for this dress.

A better shot of the hat.

It was very pretty out today and just lovely weather for this dress.

Hey look! Matching chevrons! :)

The dress came out a bit big in the waist has more ease at the waist to give a more period shape and is therefore very comfortable and good for days when I pig out get served lunch at 12 pm and then again at 2 pm. I just wish my Astorias were here! And I need a pair of crochet gloves. It would have been perfect then.

Dressing Downton: Deconstructing an Outfit

Trying to figure out what's going on in a costume can be pretty tricky. If you're not lucky enough to live someplace that the Downton Abbey costumes are touring, you'll have to rely on other techniques.

You'll want to start by finding lots of pictures. Watching on tv can be helpful but it's nice to have a still image to look at. If you can't find a good picture online, you can take your own screen caps or check out this website.

Things to look for:

• full length shots
• front shots
• back shots
• side views
• detail shots
• shots where the garment is moving
• officially released shots

The piece I'm looking at today is the green skirt. I can tell it's ankle lenght with a belt and has a rather deep, handstitched hem. It's also a very different shape than the skirt Edith is wearing. It's much more aline than pencil.

Movement shots can help you determine a bit more about the fabric used in the garment. This one has lovely movement. This shot also has a nice crisp shot of the belt and buckle. The belt is exactly the right length (no room for post dinner expansion!) and has a square buckle with and oval hole. I don't see a prong. It doesn't look to me like a self-fabric belt but it could be a nice green leather.

This picture is not a good one to use because it's very dark and we can't see much of the skirt.

 

Backs of garments are the most difficult shots to find. This one is has loads of outfit details available. Mary's skirt has 6 buttons on the back. I suspect they are decorative as I don't see any button holes, but they may be there.

Another difficult thing to discern is closures. Cora's skirt in this shot has an obvious closure in the back that looks like a zipper. It may also be a more period snap placket. If the buttons on the back of Mary's skirt are decorative, her skirt must close on the left. I haven't found a nice shot of the left but front and right side shots show no closures. Edwardian closures are often tricky with each layer having the closures somewhere else to prevent one spot from being too bulky. The other option is to just say forget it and put your closure in where ever you want.

Candid shots are great for giving a different view of things. This skirt looks much less full in this shot. (Plus we get to see how they have perfect hair all the time!)

Official release photos are nice because they are crisp and often much larger than screen shots so you can zoom in and see all the details. Look at all of the types of lace on this blouse! I must learn some heirloom sewing techniques!

You can apply these techniques to any period (or vintage) movie/show that you like.

Lady Mary's Closet: Powers of Fascination Dress

This stunning red dress comes from S1.Ep3 when Evelyn and Mr. Pamuk come to stay. I choose the name from a quote that Matthew says to Evelyn when Mary passes these two suitors over for the exotic foreigner. "We should brush up on our powers of fascination."

This dress features a rather simply shaped sleeveless red underdress with a floral embroidered sheer over layer. It looks kind of sparkley in this photo so maybe there are metalic threads or beads on the top layer. It also has the characteristic between empire and natural waist waistline of the period with a wide red sash. The fun red sleeves are made from a darker sheer red fabric.

This full length shot shows that the sheer overlay goes only part way down the dress and has the same pretty scalloped edge on the bottom as on the neckline. It also looks like there may be a small train. And I do believe the sheer layer is a smidge longer in the back than in the front.

Here's a close up of the front and a bit of the back reflected in the mirror. Looks like the sash may have a bow in the back.

Mary styles it with a midsized necklace with dark (red?) stones and elbow length evening gloves.

I really love this dress! If I do ever get around to making an evening gown for Costume College, this one is a possibility.

Dressing Downton: Modern Mourning

 I have been sewing up more Downton Abbey inspired pieces. There have been a few hiccups but I'm still pushing through for these lovely costumes. This month, I replicated a blouse Mary wears in S1.Ep1. to the memorial service for the late heirs.

It features white trim along the top edge and another row right below. And there is a row of cute white buttons. She pairs it with a high waisted tuxedo looking jacket and a black skirt. I also adore Sybil's military inspired jacket and the scalloped collar of Edith's blouse.

For my version, I reached for the ever handy Sorbetto blouse. The drafting was very easy! I added piping to the neckline and across the middle of the shirt. I stole a sleeve pattern from another pattern and slapped them on there.

I was going to try and use the white piping as the neckline facing but all of that white was really distracting so I used black bias binding for a much cleaner look.

I covered buttons with some white bias binding (after lots of pressing!) so they'd match the white of the piping. I hate it when blacks and whites don't match.

Mary's has a straighter neckline and probably had long sleeves but I wanted a simple, wearable piece and I'm super happy with how it turned out.

Lady Mary's Closet: The 1920s Sweater

There is not a lot of knitwear in Downton Abbey but I did spot one in epsiode 7 of season 1 (and I've seen one in season 2 too!).



Mary wears this lovely grey blue sweater when she arrives home after remaining in London with Aunt Rosamund. It's got a cream button placket and grey blue buttons. She pairs it with a cream skirt and a simple white blouse and pearls. I always find it interesting when the Downton costumers put together a look with unusual (to a modern viewer at any rate) color combos. Generally, white and cream together is a no go. Not sure what color blouse I think would look better but I adore the grey blue color of the sweater!




Here's a back shot of the sweater. It's a nice slouchy sweater that reminds me so much of 1920s sweaters. Perhaps Mary has brought back some of the latest fashions from London!

This one has such a similar color palette!

Don't they look so warm and comfy!

Looking to make your own 1920s sweater? This 1918 pattern on Ravelry would be a nice pick or start with any slouchy ribbed cardigan pattern. Knit the button placket and collar in cream to get the two tone look. Not a knitter? Modify a thrifted sweater by sewing on a fabric button placket and collar in contrasting color.

Dressing Downton: Suits

There are some really fabulous suits in Downton Abbey. These three lovey suits are from season 1 episode 2. The girls wear them to the ceremony where Isobel is made director of the hospital board but these suits pop up in other episodes too.

 

 Sybil wears this darling powder blue suit with tassels.

Edith's suit is a lovely coral pink.

And Mary's suit is grey with adorable black frog closures and tassels again!

Mary also wears this suit when visiting her aunt (who also has a killer suit!).

I just love the unusual shape of the back of the collar!

This candid shot is just too cute!

Lady Mary's Closet: The Bad News Blouse

One of the first costumes you'll encounter in Downton Abbey is this lovely blue blouse worn by Lady Mary to breakfast when the family learns of the Titanic tragedy. It was an early favorite of mine that I'd love to make.




















It features a waistband that ties in the back and has seven small buttons. I'm not sure if these are decorative or functional but it is definitely possible to make this a pull over blouse. It has a V-neck and a cute accordion collar. The bottom of the blouse is shorter in front and longer in the back.



I adore the sleeves! They are not separate pieces but rather cut in one piece with the blouse. The cuff of the sleeve is made of the same kind of accordion fabric as the collar and is longer in the front than in the back.

Collar close up!

Looking to make this blouse? Look for blue fabric with darker blue spots like this one available at Fabric.com for $9.98/yd.

Have a costume you'd like to see? Send me a request!