Hi Kitty,
First I would recommend the 18th century woman list which is a
Yahoo Group - 18cWoman. There is a concentration of people who just
do that century, so lots of knowledge and information.
Approximately what year of "colonial" does your friend want?
Stomachers went out of fashion around the time of the American
Revolution, but were very much in use in the early part of the
century.
What class is the outfit, and any particular ethnic group? Is
it to wear to a dance, as a volunteer for a historic site? A
theatrical performance? Every-day or formal?
help keep the shape.
I'm not familiar enough with the patterns available to be able
to talk about them (I tend to draft or drape my own from books such
as Patterns of Fashion). Stays (18thC corset) really will help,
especially if she is heavy. Otherwise she can make the stomacher
stiff (with boning and interfacing, which they did in the 18thC), and
use a substantial lining in the bodice of the gown to
Style-wise, the gown and petticoat (underskirt) can be the same
color with a different color for the stomacher. That will draw the
eye up to the bustline. (But you don't want to be spilling out of
the gown!) A different color petticoat is a sort of mix & match
style sometimes seen in casual wear. (Back to the question of the
purpose of her gown.) The stomacher should not match the petticoat.
I'm not sure what you mean by a lace overlay on the stomacher.
Some have a criss-cross ribbon pattern to look like the gown is laced
overtop, and another style is a series of bows, as if the gown is
tied over the stomacher. Lace is sometimes used to give the
appearance that the item is embroidered. Some original stomachers
are 3-D, with chenille embroidery, ribbon work, etc. They can also
be plain fabric or a brocade, without extra embellishment. (Again
back to the purpose/class of the gown!)
If you look around the web for ideas, be sure you know what is
original to the 18th century (portraits & clothing) versus people in
repro clothing. Everyone makes their own changes and compromises,
and it helps to know what you're looking at.
-Carol
She wants to do a stomacher to minimize the width, and wonders how
her skirt should look. I can't find any pattern sites with a
stomacher for colonial patterns, and my best guess for her is to
make an over skirt to draw the lace overlay from the stomacher to
the skirt and keep the eye moving and not fixated on the width.
Any other ideas? I'd like to be able to email her some photos or
sites to help her visualize the ideas if anyone has anything to help
her.
Oh. she is basically doing an impression, not perfect accuracy.
She's never tried a corset and I'm not sure if I should offer to let
her try mine. LOL I think mine might be too long anyway.
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