Use the following pattern and links to create your own Regency styled masterpiece.
You know those mysterious costuming mysteries that sometimes plague us? How to tie a turban is one of them. If you are practically hair-less like me, a quick and easy head-wrap is the perfect way to finish off a Regency gown, day or evening, and hide
When Regency fashionista Lord Byron was invited to visit Topkapi Palace in 1810, the Ottoman Turks refused to recognize his peerage and, as a non-diplomat, he was ranked behind everyone else. In ho…
Turbans are wonderful things. They are good for day wear and evening wear, they allow for a variety of hairstyles, and your options for decoration and embellishment are endless. Turbans are the salvation for short-haired ladies, who need only style and curl the hair around their face (comb forward like a man’s hair, or curl into ringlets) and then add your turban to cover the back. It is also a very elegant, patrician sort of look. I recommend that you use silk or silk-like fabrics for your turban. Try to stick to natural, not-too-shiny or slinky synthetic fabrics (that should be a rule of thumb with pretty much ALL historic costume creation; synthetics may look pretty at the store, but once their sewn, they kind of get ugly; especially when photographed). Anyway, I digress… I have put together a little set of basic instructions on how to create a turban in three general styles; and using these construction methods, your options are limitless. I’ve given each style its own moniker (these are not official, these are my own titles). 1. The wrapped turban. 2. There is the cap turban (it’s more of a soft hat than a turban). 3. There is the rope turban (which is a form of the wrapped turban). Creating each one of these individually requires some different approaches. 1. The wrapped turban. One can easily wrap a turban on the head each time you want to wear it, and when you take it off, it will unravel into the long rectangle of fabric each time. I have an example of a wrapped turban below where the tail of the turban falls from the knot. It’s a simple design that can be used with a nice long rectangle of fabric. It’s a turban that would work nicely with a casual day dress or walking dress, and would be very nice if the ends of the turban are embellished with a fringe or teeny tassels. The one pictured above is a single wide wrap, but you can go with a longer, narrower piece of fabric and wrap it around multiple times while occasionally twisting the fabric, and then knotting or tucking if need be. (Update: 11/2011) Miss Lauren Reeser aka 'The American Duchess' has provided a wonderful video on how to do a simple wrapped turban using a scarf or any kind of fabric. You can view the video here: In order to create a wrapped turban that doesn’t require constant rebuilding, you can wrap one and then fix it in place. Carefully wrap your turban around a head form, arranging and ruching (bunching) the fabric to your linking. As you go along, tack-stitch it in place—creating a hat shape as you go. That way you can just put it on and take it off with little worry of it unraveling on you. A great advantage of doing it as a stitched, permanent headpiece is that you can add tassels, lace in strings of beads, ribbons and whatnot as you stitch it down, to give it interest and dimension. It’s the simplest of projects, and it makes for a very attractive turban. You can also add a medallion with either game-bird feathers arcing across the front for a day-wear turban, or you can add a big froofy ostrich feather across the front, side or coming up from the back for evening. See the links provided below for fashion-plate examples from that time period. 2. The cap turban (also known as a capote or beret). This turban is a sewed fabric hat, however the mushroomed fabric makes it very turban like and it also has the same versatility as day and evening wear depending on embellishments and fabric choices. You start with a large circle. As with most first-time sewing projects, I recommend you create some cheap muslin mock-ups that when successful, can have the baste-stitches removed and used as a pattern later. Joanne Fabrics pretty much always has very cheap muslin ($2 - $3 a yard)… it’s good to always have some on hand for projects like these. (click image to enlarge) The diameter of your circle depends on how ‘fluffy’ you want your capote… I’d say, and this is just a wild guess, start with 20”. You can always trim the bottom edge down once you’ve done your gathering if it’s too poofy. Sew a wide baste stitch all around the edge, and then when you’ve sewn the circuit, clip your thread, and start again slightly above the first set of stitches. Try and match the stitches below, and go around again parallel to the first set of stitches. Then you will gently pull your threads on one side and gather up your edges of the circle. You can then affix the gather once you get that desired circumference with a nice tight stitch all around the edge with your sewing machine (or by hand if you’re a purist). You will then create a band. Cut it twice as wide as your desired width, and then fold, sew the long edge closed, turn inside out, and iron flat. You now have an inner surface to which you can stitch your capote without revealing the stitches on the facing side. There you have it. The addition of tassels, feathers and medallions, whatever you like will make it work very nicely. 3. The rope turban (click image to enlarge) This turban can stand alone, or serve as an enhancement for the above turbans. The premise is to take two (or even three) fabrics, or perhaps fabric and a string of beads or ribbon, and to twist-fold them into a rope (or plait them as well). You can create a circlet or open-topped turban so your updo can cascade out the top, or you can make one or two and sew it to a closed-top turban (as seen in my drawings below). It’s a simple style, you can either hide the ends by sewing them together, or let the long end drape down the back or the side onto the shoulder. Making two or three of the ropes and stacking them on top of a capote is also a fine option, and don’t forget to use embellishments. Beads, tassels, ribbon, trim, medallions and feathers are all acceptable decorations for your Regency turban. I recommend you check out the links provided below. You will see for yourself how elaborate these turbans can seem but really how simple they are to make. Let the images inspire your own project. Happy turban-making! Sometimes a loose, narrow, long bandeau with beads wrapped around it also works very nicely for evening wear... it's sort of a turban, so I thought I'd throw this drawing in. :) Some inspiration: http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/dress/turb.html http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/dress/turb2.html http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/dress/turb3.html
LINK
Use the following pattern and links to create your own Regency styled masterpiece.
Turbans are wonderful things. They are good for day wear and evening wear, they allow for a variety of hairstyles, and your options for decoration and embellishment are endless. Turbans are the salvation for short-haired ladies, who need only style and curl the hair around their face (comb forward like a man’s hair, or curl into ringlets) and then add your turban to cover the back. It is also a very elegant, patrician sort of look. I recommend that you use silk or silk-like fabrics for your turban. Try to stick to natural, not-too-shiny or slinky synthetic fabrics (that should be a rule of thumb with pretty much ALL historic costume creation; synthetics may look pretty at the store, but once their sewn, they kind of get ugly; especially when photographed). Anyway, I digress… I have put together a little set of basic instructions on how to create a turban in three general styles; and using these construction methods, your options are limitless. I’ve given each style its own moniker (these are not official, these are my own titles). 1. The wrapped turban. 2. There is the cap turban (it’s more of a soft hat than a turban). 3. There is the rope turban (which is a form of the wrapped turban). Creating each one of these individually requires some different approaches. 1. The wrapped turban. One can easily wrap a turban on the head each time you want to wear it, and when you take it off, it will unravel into the long rectangle of fabric each time. I have an example of a wrapped turban below where the tail of the turban falls from the knot. It’s a simple design that can be used with a nice long rectangle of fabric. It’s a turban that would work nicely with a casual day dress or walking dress, and would be very nice if the ends of the turban are embellished with a fringe or teeny tassels. The one pictured above is a single wide wrap, but you can go with a longer, narrower piece of fabric and wrap it around multiple times while occasionally twisting the fabric, and then knotting or tucking if need be. (Update: 11/2011) Miss Lauren Reeser aka 'The American Duchess' has provided a wonderful video on how to do a simple wrapped turban using a scarf or any kind of fabric. You can view the video here: In order to create a wrapped turban that doesn’t require constant rebuilding, you can wrap one and then fix it in place. Carefully wrap your turban around a head form, arranging and ruching (bunching) the fabric to your linking. As you go along, tack-stitch it in place—creating a hat shape as you go. That way you can just put it on and take it off with little worry of it unraveling on you. A great advantage of doing it as a stitched, permanent headpiece is that you can add tassels, lace in strings of beads, ribbons and whatnot as you stitch it down, to give it interest and dimension. It’s the simplest of projects, and it makes for a very attractive turban. You can also add a medallion with either game-bird feathers arcing across the front for a day-wear turban, or you can add a big froofy ostrich feather across the front, side or coming up from the back for evening. See the links provided below for fashion-plate examples from that time period. 2. The cap turban (also known as a capote or beret). This turban is a sewed fabric hat, however the mushroomed fabric makes it very turban like and it also has the same versatility as day and evening wear depending on embellishments and fabric choices. You start with a large circle. As with most first-time sewing projects, I recommend you create some cheap muslin mock-ups that when successful, can have the baste-stitches removed and used as a pattern later. Joanne Fabrics pretty much always has very cheap muslin ($2 - $3 a yard)… it’s good to always have some on hand for projects like these. (click image to enlarge) The diameter of your circle depends on how ‘fluffy’ you want your capote… I’d say, and this is just a wild guess, start with 20”. You can always trim the bottom edge down once you’ve done your gathering if it’s too poofy. Sew a wide baste stitch all around the edge, and then when you’ve sewn the circuit, clip your thread, and start again slightly above the first set of stitches. Try and match the stitches below, and go around again parallel to the first set of stitches. Then you will gently pull your threads on one side and gather up your edges of the circle. You can then affix the gather once you get that desired circumference with a nice tight stitch all around the edge with your sewing machine (or by hand if you’re a purist). You will then create a band. Cut it twice as wide as your desired width, and then fold, sew the long edge closed, turn inside out, and iron flat. You now have an inner surface to which you can stitch your capote without revealing the stitches on the facing side. There you have it. The addition of tassels, feathers and medallions, whatever you like will make it work very nicely. 3. The rope turban (click image to enlarge) This turban can stand alone, or serve as an enhancement for the above turbans. The premise is to take two (or even three) fabrics, or perhaps fabric and a string of beads or ribbon, and to twist-fold them into a rope (or plait them as well). You can create a circlet or open-topped turban so your updo can cascade out the top, or you can make one or two and sew it to a closed-top turban (as seen in my drawings below). It’s a simple style, you can either hide the ends by sewing them together, or let the long end drape down the back or the side onto the shoulder. Making two or three of the ropes and stacking them on top of a capote is also a fine option, and don’t forget to use embellishments. Beads, tassels, ribbon, trim, medallions and feathers are all acceptable decorations for your Regency turban. I recommend you check out the links provided below. You will see for yourself how elaborate these turbans can seem but really how simple they are to make. Let the images inspire your own project. Happy turban-making! Sometimes a loose, narrow, long bandeau with beads wrapped around it also works very nicely for evening wear... it's sort of a turban, so I thought I'd throw this drawing in. :) Some inspiration: http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/dress/turb.html http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/dress/turb2.html http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/dress/turb3.html
Use the following pattern and links to create your own Regency styled masterpiece.
I actually sewed! I've had this Sari sitting in my stash for a while, and I had a ton of (non-period) pale pink dupioni I got when the Joan...
Illustration from Modes et Manieres Du Jour, 1798 – 1808 I have changed my mind, & changed the trimmings on my Cap this morning, they are now much as you suggested, – I felt as if I…
English fashion plates from 1801, and French fashion plates from Year 9 (1800-1801) of the French Republican Calendar. All images come from the collection of the Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs. www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/bibliotheque/ PLEASE ATTRIBUTE THESE IMAGES TO THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS. At a minimum, please link back to this Flickr set.
By the early nineteenth century, imitation of the classical was the rage in Europe, in architecture as well as fashion. Ladies’ gowns became simpler, with low necklines and ribbons tied benea…
Explore Jejune Ennui's 2552 photos on Flickr!
If you’ve read Leveling Up Your Regency Look: Part 1, then you’re all ready to start building your Regency ensemble. You’ve figured out which part of the Regency you want to repre…
Use the following pattern and links to create your own Regency styled masterpiece.
A Peacock Themed Regency Dress and Open Robe features a DIY costume made for under $10. It was worn to the D/FW Costumers Guild Picnic.
I was at a convention in one of my Regency gowns, and someone asked, “What did black people wear?” The answer is that the clothing expressed a wide range of styles depending on a person’s station a…
A little while back I was leafing through a book by the Gemeentemuseum in the Hague, ‘Romantische Mode’, which accompanied their exhibition on 19th century fashion a while back. And I s…
Ackermann's Repository was a popular monthly magazine in England from 1809 - 1829 that listed a wide variety of current subject matters to entertain the masses of Regency England. There were political commentaries, poetry, short stories, current events, special exhibit information, stock and commerce reports and other interesting tidbits in its pages. Each issue also contained wonderful color illustrations showing fashions, home decor, public places of interest, architecture and a variety of items that would be of interest to their readers. I've been spending this summer posting the Fashion plates from Ackermann's here on my blog so I could share all the pretty ladies that have been hiding in the dust of it's pages for 200 years. You can see the ladies of Ackermann's Series 1 (1809 - 1815) in my July postings and I continue now with Ackermann's Series 2 (1816 - 1822) here in my August postings. Ackermann's Series 2 Series 2 - Vol 1 & 2 - 1816 Series 2 - Vol 3 & 4 - 1817 Series 2 - Vol 5 & 6 - 1818 Series 2 - Vol 7 & 8 - 1819 Series 2 - Vol 9 & 10 - 1820 Series 2 - Vol 11 & 12 - 1821 Series 2 - Vol 13 & 14 - 1822 This would be my tip pick of the 1817 Fashions Today I'm posting the fashions from 1817 Series 2 Vol 3 was Jan - June 1817 Series 2 Vol 4 was July - Dec 1817 Please note that the two fashions for December 1817 are Mourning costumes. This is because all of England was in mourning due to the death of Princess Charlotte; who was the only child of the Prince of Whales, later to be King George IV. I will post her death notice below all the fashions for those you are interested in seeing how her life, death and funeral were reported in the pages of Ackermann's. Enjoy! The Ackermann's Repository 1817 Fashion Plates 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - January Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - January Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - February Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - February Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - March Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - March Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - April Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - April Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - May Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - May Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - June Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 3 - June Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - July Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - July Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - August Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - August Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - September Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - September Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - October Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - October Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - November Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - November Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - December Issue 1817- Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 4 - December Issue The last two fashion plates for December 1817 are Mourning Fashions due to the death of Princess Charlotte the previous month. She died on November 6th 1817 at the age 21 - in childbirth, the child was a stillborn male. Had she outlived her grandfather and father she would have been Queen of Great Britain; however this was not to be. It appears the death of Princess Charlotte has a similar effect to the Regency people as Diana's tragic death effect their descendants close to 200 years later. I found Ackermann's account of Princess Charlotte's death fascinating in comparison to the historical records I have read. The historical references show that her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld had been with her through the trying ordeal but after the child proved to be stillborn and he was informed his wife was in stable condition; he took an opiate and collapsed into bed. When it was later discovered that Charlotte was in distress and dying, he could not be roused due to the drugs in his system, yet Ackermann's reported that he was there holding her hand and telling her that he loved her as she died. Here is a case of telling the public what they wanted to hear over, reporting the actual facts. It is still interesting to see how it was portrayed in publications of the day so I hope you enjoy seeing it too. I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into Regency England and that you join me again for more Ackermann's Fashions and interesting tidbits of that era. Till next time... Thanks for visiting me here at EKDuncan.blogspot.com If you have enjoyed seeing these images from Ackermann's Repository and would like the opportunity to see and read an original for yourself they are are available on line at www.archive.org Click HERE then choose the volume you are interested in. You can then see and read them online or download them to your computer for future reference. Enjoy!
A little while ago I did a post meant as an introduction to my love of tartan. Originally that plaid obsession was supposed to stay in the 1860s, where Queen Victoria put it (a post on that later!), but it has bled into just about every period I do. Oops. As lately I've been all about building a Regency wardrobe, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I jumped at the chance to make Regency tartan. In particular, I am in love with these two fashion plates: Feb. 1801 Paris fashions after Waterloo, 1815. Please excuse the blur--I scanned this from the book The Costume of Scotland, by John Dunbar They are both of a similar style, although from 14 years apart: the actual plaid part is an overdress with no sleeves and a "v" neckline. Overall I like the second plate better (and it's within my target range of 1810-1815 for Regency sewing), because I am fond of chemisettes, but the hat from the first image really does it for me. If I end up buying a light wool plaid to make something like this, I will aim for enough fabric for an overdress and hat, which I can then mix and match. But was tartan really popular during the 18-teens? or are these images unique? As I discussed here and here, the wearing of Highland dress was banned after the Jacobite uprising (the Act of Proscription, 1747, can be read in full here). The act was officially repealed in 1782, but for at least two or three decades before that the enforcement of the law had dropped off. In fact, even before the repeal the Highland Society of London was founded in 1778, which strove to preserve the art of tartan weaving as well as preserve the already dwindling Gaelic language and culture of the Scottish highlands. The society also maintained a philanthropic branch which aided expatriots and worked to promote economic and agricultural growth in the highlands. The society was instrumental in the repeal of the Dress Act, and was the first group to collect tartan patterns specifically from the clans, which they kept in The Collection of Certified Tartans--the beginnings of the modern governmental board. Diploma of the Highland Society of London, designed by Benjamin West 1805 In the 1750s tartan was also re-adopted into military uniforms. The Scottish Highlands were a popular area for recruitment during the earlier Seven Years' War as a way of combating remaining negative feelings towards the British crown and because Highland men were tough. As a way to encourage recruitment, these regiments wore a militarized version of highland dress (allowed by the Act of Proscription due to an exception for military use). During the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century, these Highland regiments played a large role and were well-known by their tartan uniforms, which had developed into a standardized set by 1812. Illustration of Grenadiers from the 42nd and 92nd Highlanders during Waterloo, 1812 "Mac Mhic Alasdair," by Henry Raeburn, 1812. Portrait of Colonel Alasdair MacDonnell of Glengarry, wearing a fabulous ensemble meant to show his heritage as leader of Gaelic society These uniforms were similar to more traditional British military dress in that the color of facings and jacket details varied based on the regiment. The standardized kilt was of the "'Government Pattern,' a dark tartan of green, blue, and black in which distinguishing lines of red, white and yellow were added for different regiments" (Tartan by Hugh Cheape, p44). This tartan was adopted into women's fashion during the period as well; wearing military-inspired items was a common occurrence during the regency, and there are many other examples of this besides the wearing of tartan. a cartoon portrait by John Kay, in which the ladies are wearing feminized versions of the West Lowland Fencibles uniform, 1795 (courtesy of the British Museum) While there are several tartans in the modern Register of Tartans dated to this period, they share some traits: they tend to be dark-colored, with mostly blue and green--similar to the tartans in standard military dress for the Highland regiments. Registered tartan of the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment, as recorded 1819 Black Watch tartan, originally dated 1725 Sir Etienne Tache, date unkown. Noted that the owner fought in the War of 1812 tartan of the 42nd Highlanders, dated 1797 This is just an assortment of the ones I like--you can find all of them in the Register of Tartans, and several more of my selections on my Pinterest board. But did women really wear tartan? We know from the 1801 fashion plate that plaid was present to some degree in women's fashion, and certainly tartan was quite popular by 1815. fashion plate 1814, plaid shawl and plaid ribbon-trimmed bonnet tartan-themed opera dress (and hat!) in Ackerman's Repository, 1814 Day dresses for June, 1802. The one on the right is plaid! "Portrait of a Lady, Half-Length, in a Plumed Dress and a Tartan Shawl" by Sir Henry Raeburn, c. 1756-1823 tartan walking dress, 1811 So the final verdict? Yes, women wore plaid--and even tartan--in the 18-teens. There are enough examples (not all of which are collected here, obviously) to justify a tartan ensemble, especially if you are British, or hanging out with a British reenacting regiment at your next 1812 event. Too bad all the guys I know are going American with their uniforms...boo. For those on the other side? A tartan ribbon at the waist, on a hat (or a tartan bonnet!), or a piece of outerwear (shawl, spencer) are perfectly acceptable. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for navy blue/hunter green-based tartans at the fabric store... Sources! Scottish Register of Tartans (see the link above) Costume of Scotland, by John Dunbar (1981) Tartan, by Hugh Cheape (1995) The National Museum of Scotland The British Museum
