I wanted to show off my favorite outfit of mine in the context of it being something a rural lady in the Pacific Northwest might have worn in 1895-96

My next project is to make a 1880s American day dress and evening gown based on these images I found online. The 3 blue photos are for my day dress (love the high neck and the blue) and all the others are inspiration for my evening gown (going to be pink red and roses) Are there any good patterns that are more “plus size” friendly? I am a LX in most stuff.

We are hiring costumes from a local amdram company for my debut play. If we do attempt anything it will be with their permission.

We love this gown but breasts are rather squished so from the side looks a little odd.

Either side of the bodice are hook and eyes so should be relatively easy to add and later remove something providing everything lines up...?

Option 1 - Add something to each side of the bodice to create more room.

Option 2 - Put in a different bodice here. The 2 gold fabrics don't actually match so could see what works.

Which option would people recommend? And based on the answer you give, where do we then start? 😅

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting here.

I am a historical costuming enthusiast a few years ago and bought a Vietnamese civil mandarin uniform. This costume is a replica of the one that my 3rd Great-grandfather wore in 1910 when he was the county magistrate under the Nguyễn dynasty in feudal Vietnam. Due to financial circumstances, I need to sell the entire costume somewhere in the US. However, I am new to selling historical costume so I am not sure which market or store would be interested in my rather niche costume. Are there East Asian costume experts or anyone on this sub who can help me with finding a suitable place to sell it?

Thank you!

I have also attached photos of the costume for your reference.

Hey everyone, I was suggested to come here from r/laundry.

I found a big box of like a dozen 100-year-old swimsuits, both male and female. They're in great shape, and I'm trying to figure out how to clean them and or preserve them.

I'm not really sure what to do with them.

does anyone know where i can find replica 1940s men's american work boots that are high quality but not too expensive

Hello, I have been working on these stays from the Simplicity 8162 pattern and I’m a little confused on one part of it. Step 7 says: “Machine-stitch 1/4 inch from lower edge, slit edges and 1/8 inch from each side of cutting line. Cut along the cutting lines on side front and side back sections”.

‘Lower edge’ seems obvious, and I imagine the ‘slit edges’ will be what I have marked in white, but I’m not sure what the ‘cutting line’ is? Thanks!

I'm trying to identify the source of the phrase "Gates of Hell" (or "Hell's Window"???) as applied to the sideless surcoat common in the ~14th+ centuries. I've gotten it down to a Swedish word, "helvetesfönster," from a book on the costuming of Gotland. Even this, though, is just "other people say it was called this mean thing." I'm just getting an endless circle of "people call it X" without a firm citation.

I also have a section from Newman's Daily Life in the Middle Ages, which is also rather non-specific and only mentions "some preachers" and "sermons" condemning the fashion, but not with specific phrases or, again, specific documentation.

So:

• what documentation do we have showing this dress being called some word or phrase indicating disapproval of the fashion?
• what words or phrase were actually used, and what is the correct English translation?
• were these words or phrases specifically about women and sexuality?
• and what's the actual citation that shows this?

I'm watching outlander and I love this wraparound bodice (I'm not an expert so please correct me as to what it is)- is it historically accurate at all, or is there any evidence of such a garment? Or is it just a modern TV adaptation.

So my problem is that the tension does not seem to distribute well when I lace up my regency short stays. They are made with two layers of decently thing cotton. I did add a boning channel next to the eyelets. The bones are zip ties. The channels are simply the two layers of cotton with two rows of stitches to hold the bones in place. I have not bound them yet, and wanted to try them on to fix any problems. Would mire eyelets help? More layers? Please help!

Hello, I apologise if this is not the correct place to ask but I know how knowledgeable you folks are

I am making Angela Clayton’s M7763 pattern which is a renaissance inspired gown

I would like to make a chemise for underneath that is more low cut like this one pictured. I can only find high neck ones. I have never drafted my own pattern so am in search of one that already exists, has anyone come across one that would be suitable?

Thank you so much. I am in awe of the things I see on here and you are all so inspiring.

Hi, I'm somewhat new at sewing, and i need advice on thread.

In my day to day life i try to cut down on plastic clothes, and when I'm buying 'nice' linen or wool fabric to make garb I'd rather not use polyester thread.

I've seen advice online several times though that polyester thread is stronger than cotton. Also i bought a sewing machine at a yard sale and took it to be serviced, i had a spool of cotton quilting thread on it, and the repairman left a note when i picked it up that i needed better thread.

So my question is, what thread(s) should i be looking for hand sewing medieval or renn pieces? What thread(s) should i be using for machine sewing historical outfits?

I don't want to sew something together and have it fall apart at the seams on me!

Totally patterned and sewn by me! I used the Medevial Tailor's Assistant, Morgan Donner, and original art to get the look I wanted. The dress is machine sewn for speed with all raw-edges hand felled using a running backstitch for the look. The belt was made with an old hoop earring, horsehair braid, and crochet lace for an "embossed leather" texture on a budget.

I'm new to the costuming scene and my friends are planning to go to a ren fair in 2 months I was wondering where you guys recommended for accurate 17th century English noble clothing

Hello!

I am making myself an Edwardian closet, from purchases and self made reproduction pieces.

I have now linen skirts and 50/50 linen/cotton blends, some cotton/wool blends, etc...

I do okay with ironing shirts and thin fabrics, but...

And I have never been able to get the skirts to not look a little bit wrinkly.

(pictured : beige = linen/cotton, sage green = 100% linen (and *pleated* 😱)

Hanging while drying and making sure to tug a bit at the seam lines does a whole lot of good. Then I iron them with a spray bottle of witch hazel for the big creases.... so then the bug creases become small. But I never really manage to remove them.

Do you have recommendations for those types of garment? (I have seen : steam! Never iron! And the complete opposite in a different blog post.)

Do you know of tutorials that you find give good advice and technique?!

Do you have equipment recommendations?

I know I'm very shy about heat settings because those are valuable (not only emotionally but financially) garments and I'd hate to ruin them. So before I burn one, I'm asking for advice from this community. ❤️

Have a wonderful day.

I have a hypohetical project in mind where I recreate an approximate attire of my (potentially) distant ancestor who... wasn't Persian by blood but he adopted their customs and was an acquaintance of some Persian royals in approximately 1760s-1770s. There is no depictions of him, and I can only guess his fashion choices from his lifestyle. He was a nobleman

I found a variety of Persian paintings from the time period but I still cant quite differentiate the separate garments. If anyone knows more about this specific fashion region/style, I would greatly appreciate help

I saw this painting of St. Catherine and would love to recreate the look. What do you think the gold bodice piece is? A brocade corset? Filigreed gold armor? Maybe even leather?

I want to get into historical costuming- I'm doing archaeology at university in september and have had a keen interested in historical fashion for a long time- but i don't know where or how to start?!

I have a sewing machine, embroider and sew often, and i love any era and location of clothes! theres such a wide variety of things to choose to make that i'm just not sure where to start as a total beginner! Can anyone advise?

Hi everyone,

are there any well-known historical sewing books in the community, like the Keystone or similar, that are available in German? I’m really struggling with the Keystone; it’s hard enough to understand as it is, plus it’s not in my native language, and then there’s the annoying need to convert everything to the metric system ^^

I’m specifically looking for instructions that are freely available online—like on the Internet Archive, just like the Keystone.

edit: late 19th century - early 20the century

I can literally see anything BUT CORSETS. I want to commission someone to make a pair of stays for me so I can wear it with my other dresses I have made does anyone have any recommendations? Or are there any easier to understand patterns for making stays?

I just stumbled across the SASA conference, which is happening right now and is a free academic conference designed to make ancient history accessible to the general public.

This year’s topic is fashion so I thought there might be folks in this sub who are interested. :)

Sharing the link to the livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/live/y7gUyZ_SZQM?si=Pwx7xjBN7V8GsKgr

(Mods, hope this ok! I’m not associated with the conference, I’m just very hype about fashion history)

This is my 1840s evening gown photographed at the beautiful Newport Rhode Island mansions. It's made of a blouse weight silk shantung, internal seams were done on my machine and all external finishing work was done by hand. If you can see it, I did it be hand, and if not, I did it by machine. The dress is fully self drafted, and is worn over a shift, pantaloons, corset, corset cover, and several petticoats including a corded one to creat that lovely bell shape to the skirts. The crinoline years might take the cake for me, but the 1840s is a close second!

Thrifted this fabric that I'm thinking of using for a historically accurate Erika from Princess and the Pauper. I've seen a lot of complicated block and roller prints from the 1700s, but nothing quite like my pattern. Does anyone know of any examples of similar prints or know if this pattern could at least be historically plausible, if not historically accurate?