help! what would you call this style of dress?

[woweewow]

i want to buy this pattern from vintagecat.com but it says that it doesn't come with an instruction sheet (but it does show how to lay out the pattern) and i don't want to spend 25 bucks just to have a pattern that i love but i have no idea how to make, so i'd look somewhere for if there's maybe the same pattern but with the instructions, or the dress already made or something. but i don't know what to search for!

the dress looks like this:

(i'd probably make it in the style of the two on the left)

it just looks super gathered so i tried to google like gathered empire dress 1910s and nothing came up that looked like this.

help!!!!

 

[crwritt]

It looks like a regency gown to me. Check out this pattern site http://www.sensibility.com/pattern/regency.htm
She has many similar styles of dresses, and her patterns are well designed with excellent instructions.

 

[Miss Sis]

It's an Edwardian pattern, so early 20th century.

Are you thinking of wearing it for something particular or just as a general dress from a different era? It is a nice pattern for a basic dress and you could make it up in a couple of different ways.

 

[Sunny]

I'm not an expert, but it looks like late 1910s or very early 1920s to me. Ask Lauren; she loves the Edwardian period. Sometimes they're a bit complicated to put together, particularly with linings and fastenings.

 

[Lauren]

Yes, Sunny and Miss Sis are right. If you've not done many Edwardian patterns, or even if you have, sometimes you really need the instructions. Their construction was so different than even the 1930s and beyond that it takes some getting used to. The dress looks simple, but my guess, after doing one of a similar style, is that it has at least an underbodice that you would gather the outer layer to- and the fastenings back then were deceptively hidden.

 

[woweewow]

sorry! i totally forgot i posted this

i probably should have said, i know it's edwardian, and i figured probably early to mid-1910s, but i just didn't know what to search for to find something similar besides that.

lauren, are you sure about the underbodice? it looks like i could just gather it at the neck, then gather it at the waist or just leave it and tie it with a ribbon or something.

i was just going to have it for like a normal wear thing, not for any special occasion, but it looked like it might be nice for a light flowy summer dress.

oh and thanks for the link crwritt, i am checking out that website right now it looks promising cool

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

Hm. I'm afraid I don't know exactly what to put in a Google search; your best bet may be just to go through Edwardian fashion plate/picture galleries and sites.

Lauren's right, those Edwardian outfits can be tricksy. All those gathers are often placed on a structured, boned underbodice. Without instructions, you could find yourself in over your head. I made Laughing Moon's 1910-1913 dress, which is a modern pattern *with* instructions, and that was a tedious affair. I made View A, with a little lace overlay, but see View B? That blousy bodice is mounted on the fully boned underbodice. If you're looking for a simple summer dress, I'd suggest trying a modern pattern. Or look online for 1970s patterns - you could find some very nice empire-waist, gathered styles.

None of this, of course, precludes you from buying the pattern now and saving it for later when you have more experience under your belt.

 

[Lauren]

Ditto all said above
Yes, I have done a vintage pattern that is blousey like that from that period and it was mounted on an underbodice. Not all were that way, but most were. If you can get a scan of the back of the pattern envelope you'd know better what you were getting into- the underbodice would certainly be darted and usually marked by perforations of where to attach the overbodice. They were really into the blousey appearance- but the good thing about the structure is that the pieces then would not move. A lot of time with drawstrings you'll find things tend to shift, and that's a lot of why they were constructed that way. I'm not saying for sure the pattern you showed is constructed like that- just it possibly could be. If you get a back view you'll know better.
It's late Edwardian- more WWI. I'd guess around 1915-18, though I admit I'm worse at late Edwardian dating.

 

[woweewow]

is it possible i could just plain make it without the underbodice and have it be shifty but it would be okay? i mean, nothing /bad/ would happen if i did that, right?

and yeah i was figuring more 1915 or 16 but it said circa 1910 so i was just like okay

oh and thanks a bunch for all your help, guys. i super appreciate it.

 

[Lauren]

Ha. wow. SO not 1910!
I guess you could, but the styles back then were just a little shorter waisted and the underbodice usually helped hold the blousey shape a little higher and poufier than if you just left it hanging. It probably wouldn't look period, but it would be cute!

 

[woweewow]

SORRY!!!!! again i kept being busy and not wanting to write posts or check up on things and then the fedora lounge was down so i couldn't reply and i felt bad.

good! i'm glad! i'm going to get it. i have some super cute ties too that i hope will go with it, i use them in my hair sometimes lately as a makeshift edwardian sorta thing. cool!!