The "Landgravine" Anglaise - 1770s

(C) Stefan Winter

Sometimes you just fall in love.

(C)Stefan Winter

(C) Stefan Winter

And so I did with this dress and this portrait...
I just had to make it.

This is the long story of the evolution of the sage green dress ("The Landgravine Dress").

that colour!!! wow!
(Portrait by J. H. Tischbein d.Ä. (?), ca 1781)

Portrait Juliane von Hessen Philippsthal
more on this Lady here:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_von_Hessen-Philippsthal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landgravine_Juliane_of_Hesse-Philippsthal

From National Trust. I LOVE the buttons! Dated 1770

Dress National Trust Snowshill Collection/Janet Arnold PoF 1 p. 41
(also in Nancy Bradfield's "Costume in Detail" pp 59)


I have to admit, this green fabric (silk taffeta) matured on my fabric stash for quite a while, until I finally started with it. I really really love the colour. First I thought I might make an interpretation of the portrait dress, but I wasn't really sure about all that gauze ruching and the long sleeves and the front of the dress... so... that leaves nothing really... but the colour is still great!

Then I remembered that dress from Patterns of Fashion (J. Arnold) (Vol 1, p 41) (=PoF1) (and it also happens to be on the front cover...) and decided I would go that direction and, if the amount of fabric allows it, would even make a gown with trimming. My trimmings are not exactly as they are in the original. I didn't use a pinked scalloped  edge (I used zig-zag scissors, which is also ok on Pinking on Marquise.de) and I didn't make tiny box pleats but just ruched the strips of taffetta, because I think the zigzagged edge looked nicer ruched than pleated (I do think a box pleated scalloped edge is the bees-knees, though...!!)

I've always wanted to use the patterns from PoF just to try it and my first obstacle was how to enlarge those patterns.I first copied them on 1-inch-paper by hand. And because I like to try pleating in paper first before I actually do it with the fabric, I had a go at that - and totally failed the first times. So I thought I might have copied something wrong and it took me half of a day to find out how to digitalize and print those patterns.

In case you like to try it, this is how I did it:
I scanned the pattern page or part of the page from the PoF book and saved it as a jpeg. Then I used "inkscape" (freeware) to enlarge it to 800%. Then I saved that as a png. And then inserted it into a Word Excel file. And then I printed it on A4 pages with Excel. Worked a treat. If you enlarge the PoF you'll notice you don't exactly get a print-out that has 1 square = 1 inch, because it's not 100% accurate in the book either. But as is it rather unlikely that the patterns will be exactly our size, it doesn't really matter if you have 1 inch more or less. If you are perfectionist (or German, or both), you can play with the enlarging, maybe you need 810% or so. But you'll still have to do lots of fitting anyway.

So, with this newly and successfully printed out pattern I made lots and lots of folding experiments. After the first few tries I was convinced that Janet Arnold must have made a mistake in her diagramms (how very snobbishly arrogant of me...). I had another go at it again and tried lots of different things and all of a sudden it seemed to work. I think that seamstress did an extremly clever thing when she was doing those pleats.(Unless J.A. actually did make a mistake and this is just how it turns out...)

The main problem was, that the folding instructions in PoF were rudimentary, apart from the general direction ("it's a box pleat") it doesn't tell you much. And the drawing isn't really a  big help, either.

The same dress can also be seen in "Costume in Detail" by Nancy Bradfield, p.59. While trying and failing with those pleats I looked at PoF and CiD again and again for guidance, only to find that the description and drawings of the dress somewhat differ in the two books. I'd love to have a look at the original gown, really.
I've come up with a solution that works and looks nice, as I've not had the chance to look at the original dress I can't tell you whether it is right, but I am positive that it is entirely possible. :)


Pleating guide (xps file, easy to open in internet explorer)

https://goo.gl/IEF0lR


After I had sussed out the pleating guide and I had enlarged the pattern anyway, I made a quick mock-up of the original pattern bodice. Of course it wasn't my size, the lady was a bit larger than me, especially in the shoulder area. And she was a good deal taller, too. Also I found that I didn't really like the look of the side seam (front to side back panel) so I got the pattern for my zone-gown out (basically a variation of JP Ryans Anglaise Pattern) and made a few changes to it. The back is four gored, but it is narrower/more parallel in the waist. The neckline is also a little lower. The front, obviously, is a "normal" Anglaise front. I didn't used hooks and eyes, i like to close the gowns with needles.

As an inspiration for the back panels I looked at this dress
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/159201?img=2 

If you have the chance to browse throught Nancy Bradfield's "Costume in Detail" or just have a look at one of the large museums' online collections, you will see, that all sorts of back panel alignment solutions, grainline and sleeve insertions were used, it's really mad and exciting.

I also made light changes to the sleeves, but that's just positions of the pleats at the shoulder, dart at the elbow and a tad tighter around the elbow. I don't really like lots of pleats around the shoulder seam ("puffy sleeves) but at the same time I am moving around a lot (wildly gesticulating, obviously) and need the "space" there to feel comfortable. I didn't add wide trimming because I ran out of fabric and just added a small ruffle at the bottom edge of the sleeve.

To wear the Robe à l'Anglaise à la Polonaise I have attached 3 loops inside the Anglaise. Again, there are various ways of looping up the skirt, 2 or 3 ribbons, loops, ties, buttons....all sorts.
I don't mean the dress as a full proper "Polonaise", I want it mainly for pulling the skirt up for dancing.
I suppose loops inside with buttons outside would be easier to loop up for a spontaneous dance, but after initially contemplating about 2  buttons outside, i tried it and it sort of took the "ooomph" away from the back pleats. 


I also decided I needed  new hair with the dress...

The big hair tutorial here: 
http://hertzwerk-freiburg.blogspot.de/2015/10/1770s-big-hair-wig-tutorial.html

A word on my sources

To create this dress, I used 4 sources

- The portrait of Juliane von Hessen-Phillipsburg (for the colour mainly... the portrait is from 1781)
- The picture of the original dress in the Snowshill collection (only 1 front view, dated 1770)
- Janet Arnold "Pattern of Fashion Vol. 1"
- Nancy Bradfield "Costume in Detail"

The portrait shows the overall appearance and proves the existance of the sage green colour. And the big hair.

The picture of the Original dress gives a feelin for the dress (albeit being a completely different colour) but there are no details or close-ups.

And here started the problems

Nancy Bradfield and Janet Arnold (both accredited authors and publications) had a close look at the same dress. Or so you would think.

- Janet Arnold suggests the dress would be worn "retroussee dans les poches" but there are no pocket slits where you could pull it through in the pattern. She also didn't mark or mention any loops for looping the dress up "a la Polonaise". She does indicate a front closure with hooks and eyes though. Her pattern shows the pleating of the dress in detail.

-Nancy Bradfield's beautiful drawings and descriptions somewhat differ from that. Her pleating guide for the skirt depicts just normal box pleats. She didn't observe any front closure or traces thereof. She does indicate where the dress was looped up to wear it "a la Polonaise".

Both mention that the sleeves show traces of a sleeve ruffle, but none of them indicate where ... they both suggest a broad ruffle though, so I suppose the traces of stitching must be wide.

this is just to state, what "research" would include. If I had intended to exactly reproduce the dress from the sources at hand I couldn't have done that, because they were contradictory (there are more details e.g. the size of the buttons, that aren't the same).


A short note on dating the gown: Robes a l'anglaise came really into fashion in the 1770s. There are a few Robe Anglaise/en fourreau from the late 1760s, but mainly it's 1770s thing. As the first partition of Poland happened in 1772, the style of Robe a la Polonaise or the fashion of wearing the Robe a l'Anglaise a la Polonaise could only develop after that. Although refashioning a simple Robe a l'anglaise into a Polonaise (by attaching a few strings) is so easy... so it is really difficult, to date the robe and the museum doesn't give us any hint, why they suppose such an early date for this plain Anglaise. So we must assume that the owner was either a fashion connaisseur, or the anglaise is of a later date (more mid 1770s).

1780/90s Blue Zone Gown

Journal des Luxus und der Moden March 1793 >KLICK!!<

Above, from the 3/1793 issue of the "Journal des Luxus und der Moden" - pp. 163
"[...] 2) Aus Teutschland
vom Rhein, den 20. Febr. 1793.
hier folgen einige Bemerkungen, die ich unterm Gewuehle und Getuemmel der Kriegsheere, das sich taeglich bey uns vermehrt, ueber die neuen Geschenke der Goettin Mode, die darum nicht aussen bleiben, habe machen koennen. 
Zuerst eine Figur von der jetzigen ganz artigen Tracht unserer jungen Frauenzimmer (Taf. 7.). Ein blaues Kleid von einem seidenen FruehjahrsZeuche, weißgefuettert; Rock und Kleid uni, ohne alle Garnirung; das Corset weiß; ein weißes Halstuch von Linon und den Kopf nicht so franzoesisch hineingepackt, als wenn sich der schoene jugendliche Hals, wegen eines haeßlichen Kropfes wegen, nicht duerfte sehen lassen. Das Haar in natuerlichen Locken, nur halb gepudert, und drauf eine Art von Carcasse von Band, die aus 5 Ribben von blau und weißem Bande besteht, zwischen welchen die lockigt-frisirten Haare allenthalben durchgucken.Ueberhaupt werden Huete anjezt blos zum aeussersten Morgen-Negligee zum Anzuge aber gar nicht mehr, und zu diesem blos von jungen Personen solche Band-Carcassen, von aelteren Damen aber kleine sehr schmale Haeubchen getragen. Dieß muß ich Ihnen als etwas Neues berichten. [...]"

So,

My previous research has led me to the conclusion for my interpretation of the zone-gown

1. It's to be worn over a "corset"
2. The back of the Gown will have 4 back panels and extra shoulder straps, Front A shape.
3. The skirt will most likely not be lined as it was rather unusual (unless i happen to find something suitable in my fabric stash).
4. worn over bum pad, no train.
5. fabric is blue, greenish iridescent silk taffeta.
6. petticoat slightly shorter for practical reasons.

With A shaped stomacher (bottom line unfinished)

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The corset is the base of the thus recycled "kitsch corset" (that I never wore, twas a good exercise in attaching bias tape though... ... ...) so really it is a version of the Period Impressions half boned stays. I have removed most of the bones and just left a few in the front and around the back lacing. I also made small changes to the front and removed the taps. Then I added two layers of ivory silk taffeta. Just one layer looked a bit thin and flimsy. I also made a A shaped stomacher, just to have another option. The Stomacher still needs a bit of shortening, but I think the general idea is clear. ;) 


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I have based the bodice on the JPR Anglaise, that fitted quite well. I then changed the front to have the A shaped gap (about 1,5" at the top and just above the highest point of the hip bones at the sides (spina iliaca anterior superior)). The front in the picture seems to be nearly at the back. I am not sure about how far back it acutally went, but I didn't want it to be too far back so I settled for hip bone. Maybe the picture sort of shows front and side at the same time for illustration (who knows...), a bit of early cubism. ;)
I made a mock-up and then changed the back panels and shoulder strap and I actually made 4 real pieces in the back (not a fake 4-pieces-back as I had initially planned). I took the Anglaise pcitured below as an example but made slight changes. As those changes moved the sleeves in a bit, I had to change the sleeve pattern accordingly (and i HATE setting sleeves in!!! Sleeves are my pet hate in sewing, I find I always have to make changes to make them look the way I want and it takes AGES!). I prefer 3/4 length sleeves to long sleeves and so I didn't extend them. Also I planned to make the bottom of the bodice back not arrow but box shaped. Unfortunately I completely forgot about altering the skirt part fabric to match so I ended up making a triangular shape. Attaching those folds neatly to the bodice was really getting to me, I needed 3 tries and due to the nature of the tafetta I had to stop and be content with the way the back pleats of the skirt are now. I have certainly learned for the next Anlaise! ;)
I initially  had planned to make another skirt for some change (in ivory, like the Corset/stomacher) but when I pinned it to the dummy to get an idea what it would look like, i really didn't like it. the white A-Shapw with white skirt underneath the turquoise just looked boring and bland. So I decided in just making on skirt in turquoise. The skirt is a bit shorter than the one on the fashion plate, for practicality.Also I had to piece the skirt back, as I ran 20cms short... you can't see it anyway, I pieced it with some black tafetta. ;) 

MetMuseum Anglaise

And I am admitting: These fabrics have been maturing in my fabric stash for more than 2 (nearly 3!!) years!!!

And that Hat is STILL absolutely mental. In the picture below her nice earrings are visible, though. A hook with a plate and something in the middle (possibly a gemstone). It's always good to know what was available back then. ;)

I'm not making it, because it reminds me of this christmas nightmare below. And I have the suspicion those bands on bands will just look like a big wobbly pouf. A "Carcasse" hat, ... REALLY!!

Fabric is so addictive that it should be a controlled substance!!!!

so true, so so true.

Although I have been promising repeatedly, that I won't buy more fabric than I have actual sewing projects, AGAIN I couldn't resist this offer. My all times favourite Indienne fabric of the Kyoto Anglaise (Moda Fabric, French General, Maison de Garance):

Kyoto Anglaise back

I have found it on OFFER! in oyster (ok, I'm not going to be that crazy to sew it again in the same colour although there WAS a little moment of temptation - another stash, just in case this dress gets damaged... or burnt... or stolen...) BUT also in brown like this:

metmuseum.com

1774, a round gown?

and a red like this:

vintagetextiles.com 1790s

at http://cotton-color.com/

for an average of 8,50 Euros/m and free delivery. Keep in mind, I am petite, I only need 4mtrs/anglaise. ;) I do admit, I don't really need more late 1780s Robe a l'Anglaise, but I feel so much calmer knowing I've got the fabric. ;) I have  not decided yet whether I should make them en fourreau or not. The brown original I think, is "en fourreau", the red one isn't. With my cream coloured one I found you don't really see the pleats. which is a shame, they need so much sewing attention. ;) And isn't this a concise sewing plan? ;)

Analysing - Zone Gown 1780/90s

For my project of the blue Zone Gown (inspired by a fashion plate from the "Journal des Luxus und der Moden" from March 1793) I have started a little investigation on Zone Gowns. 

I've not found it particulary easy to find evidence and examples, but here's my conclusion which shall lead me to my result. :) Those who speak german might wish to have a look at the original article of my inspiration gown from the Journal des Luxus und der Moden, accessible at the Uni Jena (Link on my link page). The headwear is a ribbon carcasse thingy, I've not quite worked out how that works and chances are I never will, because - I don't like it. The hair falls rather loosely over the shoulders, that's worth noticing. The sleeves are long and tight, the skirt has a white lining (I found this rather unusual). White gloves, big fichu and an enormously big flower thingy (sorry, the right name for that escaped me), personally I find it absurdly big, it would certainly droop down, am going to omit that too...

Journal des Luxus und der Moden March 1793, with short description, worn over "corset"

A Zone Gown (which is the modern description for it, really we're talking about a Robe a l'Anglaise with an A Shaped cutout at the front, I can't quite remember, whether I've found a specific term for that in 18th century documents...)

This type of gown was made with a stomacher or just the illusion of an A-shaped stomacher and front closure or a corset underneath (a corset being a sort of sleeveless top). I've not found many existing gowns where I could see for sure how it's done, but these three options seem to be it. They seem to have been most popular by the mid/late 1780s and early 1790s. France a bit earlier, Germany a bit later.

KCI Museum, described with stomacher, this is not a zone gown but a court gown, yet it has the A shaped front.

LACMA, front-closing, gorgous stripes, too!

a few more examples somewhere here: Hertzwerk Pinterest 18th century clothing

The back of the gown would have most likely looked like this, with 4 panels in the back. Although if you look at existing garments, the back can look all sorts of ways, more or less tidy, detailed, pieced... looking at Nancy Bradfield's Costume in Detail reveals that. So funnily, the more I research on how the back should look like, the more I found "anything goes". So be it.

MetMuseum 1785-95 - typical back of gown

As to sleeves... I've found them in all lengths and the direction of the stripes was apparently following the gusto of the wearer, also lengthwise stripes being possible (see LACMA Zone gown).

I will let all that information mature now see what I'll come up with.