Stripes Over Cobwebs

Oh dear. I thought I was getting good at regular blog updates too.

I have been sewing - a little - and progress on my current project, the France Dress, continues apace. In lieu of a proper update, because I have completely and totally neglected to take any photos, I thought I'd share some of my influences and a few ideas for anyone else looking to combine two of my favourite things, namely stripes and the 18th century

These come from a variety of sources, and span the whole of the 18th century. Look at how different kinds and directions of stripes are used, and in what colours. Look also at the self fabric and non-self fabric decorations and trimmings done with stripes. Striped garments are great to try and reconstruct without a pattern, because you can (usually) immediately judge grain and angle by them - but they're notoriously hard to work with, because if you're off by a hair matching your stripes on a seam it's very obvious, they're a bugger to top stitch, and choosing trims is a minefield. Extant pieces are always helpful in this respect because someone else has already torn their hair out over the exact same problem for you!

Striped Waistcoat, the Met

Striped apron, the Met

Striped bodice, the Met

Striped coat, the Met

Striped jacket with pieced lining, the Met

Striped and dotted robe a la Francais, petticoat, stomacher, the Kyoto Costume Institute

Striped Pierrot jacket, the Kyoto Costume Institute

Striped polonaise and petticoat, the Kyoto Costume Institute

Striped robe retrouvere dans le pouches, the Kyoto Costume Institute

Striped robe a la Francais, LACMA

Striped robe a l'Anglais/round gown(?), the Met

Striped/plaid robe a la Francais, the Met

Striped Spanish robe a la Francais, the Met

Striped stockings, the Met

Striped robe a la Francais, the Met

Striped robe a la Francais, Tidens Toej