V&A Open Robe: Finished


My silk V&A Open Robe from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 1 is finished and ready for the Grand Ball at next weekend's Jane Austen Festival of Louisville, KY.

As I said before, I used scraps of silk to create a trim of ruching.  The gown is entirely hand sewn.  It wasn't as bad as you might think.  I would do bits and pieces here and there while watching movies.  The texture of the silk was fabulous and very sculptural.  I loved working with it.  The one downside to the silk is that it wrinkles terribly.

There are things about the robe that I would of course change.  There always is, isn't there?  Like I would try to make the back a bit more tight and smooth if I could.  On my manikin it was fine, but on me, it wrinkles a bit....even with stays on.  I omitted the original pattern's sleeves.  I can always go back and add some on later if I want.  I still have a bit of silk left over, but for this ensemble, I wanted to have a sleeveless robe.

I apologize for the uneven pinning in the front, I didn't realize the flap underneath was sticking out until I took the pictures.  It won't happen again...promise.

 I didn't follow the original robe's pleating pattern exactly, but instead, I pleated it to fit the contours of MY body shape...a process that worked great for me.


 I love the contrast between the tailored crispness of the V&A robe and the white, ethereal softness of the Tidens Toj gown. 


The silhouette is possibly my favorite part of the whole ensemble.

The silk of the robe rustles when I move. A sound that I imagine will be fabulous while dancing at the grand ball of the festival. 


For the ball I think I will Polonaise the back of the robe. I don't trust myself to dance in such a long train. Bad (and rather embarrassing) things surely will come of that.

Comments

Lindsey said…
It looks fabulous! I love your color choice! I just finished a reproduction of this robe last night (for a customer). It's a fun one to sew. :) You did a beautiful job!
Jenni said…
Thank you, Lindsey!
Mr. Riggenbach said…
Jenni,

This is a lovely ensemble. I too, love the crisp silk paired with the flowing Tidens Toj gown. Really, really nice! Wow, your skills have come a long way in just a few short years. :-) Now I want one, just like it!!!

Karen (the Mrs.)
Sarah said…
What a perfect outfit! You are going to be the belle of the ball! Wonderful workmanship, fit and visual appeal. I can't wait to see this in person!
vesna said…
you've done a perfect outfit! love love love the ruches!
Isis said…
That's so beautiful! Love the shape and the colour is stunning!
Beautiful! It's such an eyecandy in combination with the muslin dress - and the color is perfect!
Very well done!
Sabine
Jenni said…
Karen, Sarah, Vesna, Isis, and Sabine:

Thank you, thank you, thank you... I appreciate your encouragement and compliments more than I can say. You are all inspirations to me.
Deedee Smith said…
Wow, Jenni!!! It looks fantastic! :) I can hardly wait to see it in person... This weekend!!!! :)
Jenni said…
Only 3 days, Deedee!!!!
Nabila Grace said…
Absolutely stunning :o)
Lisa said…
Jenni, it's so pretty!! Beautiful.
When you said silk wrinkles, I was reminded of Charles and Di's wedding - she got out of that fairy tale coach and her gown was a mass of wrinkles. But they seemed to shake out, and the later photos all looked good.
Great work!

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