Christmas Dress

I've got a new dress I want to show you! It isn't technically a Christmas present, but I kinda. My other half and I were visiting his mother during the Christmas holidays, and among other topics, we discussed sewing and I mentioned I've been planning to make a historical dress now that I've stocked up on fabrics. My other half's mom said she had once sewed an Edwardian dress as a part of her studies, and that she might still have it. After some rummaging in the closet she pulled out a wondrous dress made of black and purple striped fabric. She told me she had no use for it any more, and I could have the dress if I wanted to. Naturally I did, it's gorgeous! And it fits me perfectly, lucky me!

I had some trouble with the lights, so these are not the best possible pictures of the dress. I'm planning to do a photoshoot with it outdoors when I find the time. I know just the place with a neo-Gothic mansion that's the perfect backdrop for this dress. Thank you so much, Marja!

The dress a a turtle neck, large pleats on the top and medium leg-o-mutton sleeves with beautiful black rose buttons on the cuffs. The hem has corded appliqué work, but the picture doesn't show it well, and I guess the dress needs a little bit more ironing. There's also a separate collar, which I didn't remember to take photos of, and a belt.

I don't have proper underwear fit for Edwardian styles, so a petticoat in the right shape might make the dress even more awesome. Or a corset, but then again the Edwardian silhouette looks like it might not benefit much from a corset. The big sleeves make posing a bit of a challenge, but I'm sure I'll find poses that work. The sleeves have a lovely shape, they just tend to look like one big lump with the bodice, so I need to find ways of keeping my arms quite far from my body.

Here's the belt too. It has a bow in the back and is made of black satin.

And the cats always want to participate ;D This is Tirri!