First Fitting for Couture Evening Gown

I had my first fitting with my lovely model Sammie last week. I fitted her into the bodice for the underwear of the evening gown which turned out to be pretty successful!


The bodice fitted perfectly except for a slight alteration on the bust and lowering the chest line to make sure the underwear will not sit higher than the top dress.


Unfortunately I didn't have time to photograph Sammie in the net petticoat as well as it is proving massively time consuming to finish! Gathering is NOT my friend. I didn't realise quite how long and challenging it would be to gather 27 widths of nets to fit on 9 widths!


But in general it was a good fitting and its just time to get a move on now!

Mary Stuart - 2011

As part of a collaboration with Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama we worked on the costumes for their production of Mary Stuart.  This particular take on the play took traditional shapes and styles from the Tudor period and updated it with a modern twist, and simply using black, white and red throughout the production. 


We constructed traditional Tudor doublets for the male characters, but used leather and zips as opposed to the traditional fabrics and fastenings.
Leather was a completely new fabric for me to work with, and proved a big challenge especially when it came to fitting the garments, as obviously the toile fabric had different qualities to the leather, and the zips minimized movement.

Advanced Tailoring Project (2010)

Another second year project was to design and construct a tailored jacket taking inspiration from architecture of our choice.  We had to translate the shapes/lines/textures of buildings into our work and used advanced tailoring methods to create a fitted jacket.

Pantomime Dame 2010

One of our second year projects last year was to design and create a pantomime dame costume.  I was given Nurse Nelly from the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves pantomime.

The design idea was inspired by 1930s nurse uniforms translated into the traditional pantomime style.  The costume consisted of a fitted blue dress with exaggerated, gathered sleeves, red and white gingham bloomers, a white PVC apron with a flashing belt, a red-sequin lined blue cape, and a tall blonde wig with novelty earrings.

Couture Doll Toiles

So now I finally have my smaller mannequins, I can start constructing the dress toiles to fit them. 
I have begun by creating a basic bodice block which I can transfer to a paper pattern so that I have a starting point with each outfit. 


Cutting the basic block on the stand turned out to be pretty simple - it was just getting the darts right and making sure it was as fitted as I could make it, which was harder as the mannequins are solid rather than polystyrene so pinning things is a bit of a challenge at times!


Once I had cut the basic block, I put it on to a paper pattern and re-drafted it in calico.  I then fitted it on the mannequin and made a few small alterations to get a better fit.  Once altered, I can draw up the final paper pattern.


Next I'll move on to shaping each of the blocks individually for each dress and generally working on each small toile.

Professional Practice Logo

I had to create a logo as part of my Professional Practice module, to feature on business cards, a website, a compliments slip etc.  I wanted to keep it pretty simple, in a classic black font, so, here it is...!

Underwear Bodice Toile

Last Wednesday, I began altering my basic block to create the bodice to the underwear of my full-scale dress. 
This included:
- Shaping the bust line
- Adding length from the hip-waist to create a more flattering fit
- Moving the side seams further towards CB
- Adding a horizontal dart to the bust to create a 50s shape


After shaping, I re-cut the bodice in more calico and prepared it for a first fitting.  I sewed on my boning channels using cotton tape and added ridgeline, to be replaced with synthetic whalebone later on.

'Miss Virginia Lachasse' Bath Costume Museum

Today I had a 2-hour study session at The Costume Museum in Bath to look at a 'Miss Virginia Lachasse' doll in their archived collection.  The doll was a part of the couture 'Theatre de la Mode' exhibition and was created with an stunning, extensive wardrobe - from coats and dresses, to underwear, cigarettes and personalised paper.

I absolutely loved the study time today - the dresses and smaller garments were absolutely beautiful, all hand-sewn, and most of the items were still in perfect condition.  The doll herself was in a fairly delicate condition but I was able to look in detail at the beautiful clothing.  I have never seen such miniature clothing and especially not those which have been hand-sewn.


Now I've just got to make my own! Here goes...

'Golden Age of Couture' - F.M.P

For my Final Major Project I have chosen to study 'The Golden Age of Couture' exhibition featured at the V&A in 2007/8.
The term 'haute couture' directly translates as 'high sewing' and refers to the construction of exclusive custom-fitted clothing.
The V&A museum collection featured a whole range of dresses predominantly from the 1940s/50s, all constructed following the strict guidelines given to the couture houses of Paris by part of the French government - 'Chambre de commerce et l'industrie de Paris'.
Also in the collection was a display of 'Theatre de la Mode' dolls - a range of dressed dolls approx. 21" tall, each with their own couture outfit created with the same precision and techniques as the full-scale garments of the exhibition.
I will be constructing one full-scale Lanvin couture evening gown (1950), alongside four smaller scale dresses with reference to 'Theatre de la Mode'; a red Balenciaga evening gown (1955), a black Jacques Fath velvet evening coat (1946), a polka dot Lucien Lelong day dress (1946), and a wool crepe tailored day jacket.

Janet Arnold Competition - Sept-Jan 2011/12

The first project of our first year was to use Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion and select a dress of our choice to study and accurately re-create.  I chose a 1930s bias cut chiffon evening dress.  Although machine-sewn unlike a lot of the other dresses featured in the books, the chiffon fabric proved difficult to work with, especially as it was also bias-cut, and required me to produce a lot of samples to learn the best way to work with the fabric.


The main feature of the dress is the ruffles on the centre front.  They are made up of 10 strips of semi-circles sewn together and then stretched out along a straight edge to create the ruffle effect.
The skirt consists of triangular pattern pieces and the bodice is a sleeveless design, with gathered shoulder seams, a delicate cowl neckline and a v-neck back.
Most of the edges of the dress were finished off with a picot -edging.


The dress gave me the chance to work on new techniques that I had so far been lacking in my portfolio.  Working with both chiffon and bias-cut fabric was a big challenge but taught me how to handle the fabric and feel much less daunted about working with such a light-weight/bias cut fabric.

Cold Mountain - Ada Monroe Dress

I re-created a dress for the character Ada Monroe, from the 2003 film of Cold Mountain directed by Anthony Minghella. 

This was part of my 2nd year of study at Glamorgan University in Cardiff.

From extensive research and using detailed stills from the film, I created my own patterns for the dress and constructed the character of Ada Monroe's corset, petticoat, blouse, top skirt and jacket.

Jonathan Powell - "The Love Song (I Never Wrote You)"

In December 2010, I was given the opportunity to work on a music video featuring local Cardiff singer, Jonathan Powell.  The location of the video was in a run-down steak restaurant in central Cardiff.  There was no electricity or heating which meant a lot of the setting up and closing down of the set had to be done in partial darkness! 

The filming was completed over two days and evenings and the concept was a jazz club featuring Jonathan singing. 

As I was also involved in the organising and making of the costumes before the shoot, I gained experience in alterations, sourcing, and the general organisation of the production.  I stood side-of-set to be on hand between takes for continuity and costume checks.

I really enjoyed the experience as it was nothing like anything I had worked on before.