Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Monday, February 21, 2022
1790s round gown – construction
Avant Garbe: A round gown is so-named because it had the skirt attached all the way around the bodice, in contrast to so many 18th century gowns which were open in front to show the petticoat underneath.
I love articles like this. I have definitely talked about this before, I always gravitate towards these types of articles, the more blog-type articles simply because I think they’re more fun. An added bonus is that if I realllllyyyyy wanted to, I could construct a 1790s gown! I don’t think I will be doing that any time soon but now I have the option. This dress and the time period it comes from is so stunning, at least aesthetically. I don’t think I could commit to that many layers every single day, it would be a lot of work to commit to every day. I would love the opportunity to wear a dress like this one or even something more extravagant. This dress seems well constructed but I only know what's better than my own skill and the bar is pretty low. There are so many steps but the author of this article does a really good job of including pictures with each step. Pictures for steps on projects that are more tactile like this can be really helpful for the person attempting to recreate this dress.
I could spend hours reading historic costume blogs and Avant Garbe does absolutely incredible historic garment reproductions. Another garment blog I follow closely is “The Drunk tailor”, who doses reproductions mainly from the 18th century. Historic garment reproduction is no easy task and Avant Garbe dose an absolutely amazing job of replicating garments with true historical accuracy. In a lot of my work, I’ve found it very important to implement historical accuracy in not just fabric use but also construction and patterning. Creating a garment that is 100% accurate to a time period is so much more rewarding because it not only feels and wears like the real thing but to some extent it lets you walk in the “shoes” of people from the time. The 1790s are also an incredibly drastic and liberating switch in fashion for women, from the previous incredibly structured dresses often worn with stays. Gowns and specifically round grounds emphasized a more relaxed look and eventually lead to the infamous empire gowns. Fashion will always to some extent reflect the culture and politics of the times and this type of clothing style was very groundbreaking for its age.
2 comments:
I love articles like this. I have definitely talked about this before, I always gravitate towards these types of articles, the more blog-type articles simply because I think they’re more fun. An added bonus is that if I realllllyyyyy wanted to, I could construct a 1790s gown! I don’t think I will be doing that any time soon but now I have the option. This dress and the time period it comes from is so stunning, at least aesthetically. I don’t think I could commit to that many layers every single day, it would be a lot of work to commit to every day. I would love the opportunity to wear a dress like this one or even something more extravagant. This dress seems well constructed but I only know what's better than my own skill and the bar is pretty low. There are so many steps but the author of this article does a really good job of including pictures with each step. Pictures for steps on projects that are more tactile like this can be really helpful for the person attempting to recreate this dress.
I could spend hours reading historic costume blogs and Avant Garbe does absolutely incredible historic garment reproductions. Another garment blog I follow closely is “The Drunk tailor”, who doses reproductions mainly from the 18th century. Historic garment reproduction is no easy task and Avant Garbe dose an absolutely amazing job of replicating garments with true historical accuracy. In a lot of my work, I’ve found it very important to implement historical accuracy in not just fabric use but also construction and patterning. Creating a garment that is 100% accurate to a time period is so much more rewarding because it not only feels and wears like the real thing but to some extent it lets you walk in the “shoes” of people from the time. The 1790s are also an incredibly drastic and liberating switch in fashion for women, from the previous incredibly structured dresses often worn with stays. Gowns and specifically round grounds emphasized a more relaxed look and eventually lead to the infamous empire gowns. Fashion will always to some extent reflect the culture and politics of the times and this type of clothing style was very groundbreaking for its age.
Post a Comment