Spring theater technical jury, a dress based off of the painting "Empress Sissi With Her Hair Down" by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.
Satin, lace.
The materials used for this dress came from the school costume shop.
Satin, lace.
The materials used for this dress came from the school costume shop.
Inspiration taken from victorian nightgowns and paintings of Empress Sissi
A victorian gown where I drew inspiration from the top of the dress.
A simple nightgown which helped with my ideas on the simplicity and gathering of the skirt
The rendering of the dress, presented during my jury.
"Empress Sissi With Her Hair Down" by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.
1. I first chose my fabric to create the dress with and set out the pattern for the dress. To create the form for the dress I pinned the skirt around the waist and sewed a simple top for the bodice. The inner lining for the bodice was cut on the fold and cut along the center back and center front. I ironed the seam flat and sewed the shoulders together, then putting the bodice on the mannequin. For the outer lining of the bodice, I cut a new bodice 5/8 inch of the inner lining pattern and placed it on top of the inner lining. Once pinning the linings with their right sides facing together I baste stitched a scoop neckline.
2. I draped the skirt around the waist of the mannequin and pinned pleats for the back of the skirt. This added extra length to the train of the dress as I imagined Empress Sissi would have had it. Once I had finished the bodice, I measured the waistbinding to begin with pleating the exact length of the skirt. I planned to add a crinoline underneath the skirt in order to add volume to the dress. Once I had made the the waistbinding, I baste stitched the pleats of the skirt and pinned the waistbinding to the completed bodice. I ironed the basted pleats down and sewed them in place, tucking the unfinished edge underneath the hem. I pinned the skirt to the waistbinding and hemmed the raw edges before sewing in the inner lining of the skirt.
3. Once I had completely finished the inside of the dress, I cut along the center of the back of the bodice. I placed binding along the cut edges and sewed outer lining over the loops for the ribbon. Because this dress looked informal, I wanted to refrain from using any clasps or complicated fastenings to fit the dress to the body. Using a laced corset method fit my model well and made the dress more comfortable to wear.
A side view of the dress
