The Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild puts on many special costuming events. This one, called ‘At home with Josephine at Malmaison’ was an elegant afternoon in Empire (1804-1814) court dress, complete with Champagne, nibbles and Opera. The Oakland Bellevue Club was our glamorous venue and it was fitting indeed.

Here I am in my completed gown. I’m happy with how it turned out, and happy with my hair and accessories as well. I’m pictured right with Lori Fisher who made her gown using a Sari. Her hair, feathers and gloves complete her look don’t you think?

This was such a beautiful event. Each costume was thoughtfully put together and the company was delightful as well. there were several dresses with red bodices and white under dresses (like mine), but each one was unique and suited the wearer perfectly. Many of the gowns made from saris as well and each of those, very different entirely.

And then were were serenaded with Opera. It was just beautiful. Like the ladies of the era we were representing, these ladies and gentleman were quite accomplished in their musical pursuits.

When the back of the gowns are as beautiful as the front.

The Making of my Gown

After actually deciding to make a gown for this event, I looked back at a bunch of Pinterest images and then drew the sketch you see above. I then made a pattern for the UNDER DRESS that was based off of my petticoat bodice. I fit it on the dress form, over the underpinnings and sewed it together with piping at the neck and a fully lined bodice. The back has hand sewn eyelets and boning so I can close it up myself. And the skirt is just made from a rectangle of fabric that is pleated along the back side of the body. For both under and outer dresses, I only used materials from my stash. My exploding stash needed to be thinned out and this was the perfect opportunity.

I then created a bodice pattern for the OVER DRESS based on the UNDER DRESS and stitched it up in muslin. The front wasn’t sitting right and the neckline gaping, so I took a few tucks at the center front and voila! it solved the problem.

My original design had a large puffed sleeve with strips of fabric that would be red going from the armhole to a wide sleeve cuff, covering a white organza sleeve. After sewing it up I wasn’t convinced of both it’s beauty and also authenticity. So I modified the sleeve to be shorter and the bands slimmer. You can see a sample of that sleeve below.

Above, is the bodice, sewn up in the fabric which is a two sided jacquard check. I think it’s silk but did not do a burn test. Pleats were taken in the front and all the edges were finished with piping. I used regular cotton twine for the piping filling and bias self for the piping. Using piping in necklines is a really great trick for fitting. If you are careful to avoid stitching the cord/filling, you can then pull that cord to make the edge smaller. Works great for gaping necklines.

In this case piping was used at the neck, waist, armholes and back seams.

This neckline needed a ruffle, so I hemmed (with the machine) a long skinny silk organza rectangle, gathered the edge and stitched it on.

I still was not happy with the puff sleeve (Red/White) and tried a different sleeve, that I liked much better. I used the same sleeve pattern as the original, omitting the band and putting gathers in vertically on the outside edge. It was much more flattering and cohesive with the dress.

The skirt was a simple rectangle that was finished with deep hems along the front edge and was pleated at the back between the seams. The skirt was attached at the waist of the over bodice and finished off with the lining on the inside.

The last bit was embellishment. I love that part! Cockades were made using pinked strips of the silk folded in half and sewn together, then gathered. A covered button was stitched to the center and then embellished with faux pearls and beads. I made one cockade for the front of the outer dress, where it closes and one for each shoe. The shoe cockades were not beaded in the center, but had pearls along the button like the one at the front. And to top it off, a few beads were sewn to each sleeve over the gathers and a small matching tiara sat upon my head.

This project was so much fun and I can totally see myself living in this era for a while. I am very happy with how this turned out. It’s simple but elegant and I felt very fancy while wearing it.

On another note, It was mentioned to me at the event, that this era was called EMPIRE in France and REGENCY in England. And since our event was with ‘Josephine’ (as in Bonaparte) we were in the Empire and not the Regency.

I’ll be venturing back in the 20th century for a while. Lots of fun outfits and vintage adventuring to be had.

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

xo Jennifer