Court gown, copy of a fashion plate from 1805. The dress is made of bright pink silk, black netting, and white satin ribbon, and gold fringe, all of which were sewn by hand using silk thread, and assembled using my own patterns. Eventually, additional trimmings of yellow silk taffeta, and possibly some gold spangles will be added. The dress is supported by hoops made of hoop steel and grosgrain ribbons mounted on a cotton bodice. Jewellery, gloves, and feathers are purchased, and black silk taffeta sash is made and loaned by Katherine. 6/14/08 I've actually had the fabric for several months, and I'm not yet ready to start the dress since I have finished the supportive hoops for it yet, but I figured I may as well get the diary started, and post a picture of the fabric. Very pink! Very me! A bit brighter than the original, but I'm going with kind of crazy and over the top for this one, so it's okay. And, completely period-correct, because I've seen a picture of a dress from this era in exactly this color. :) 7/16/08 Now that I have hoops that work, I can start on my dress! I decided the best approach would be to make a skirt out of any old fabric (muslin, in this case) and then to build the silk skirt over the top. Here is my skirt base work-in-progress: 7/26/08 Here is my first draping of an overskirt. . . 7/31/08 The actual overskirt starting to come together and be trimmed. . . 8/8/08 In typical "Jenni" fashion, I didn't quite finish the way I wanted to, but I was definitely able to wear the dress at Costume College 2008 and it was so fun to wear! I had such a ball, that I'm definitely going to finish trimming it until it matches the vision I had, and wear it again at Costume Con 2009 (assuming I manage to get to go)! This page © 2010 by Jennifer E. Lithgow