You know the saying “the more you know, the more you know you don’t know?” Well, that certainly applies to my Regency learning curve. This morning I awoke with a long list of questions. But first, I should back up to say I am calling this an information gathering stage rather than a reseach stage because with so much information and so little time, I don’t feel this is proper research.
On to the clothing questions I need to find the answers to. I’ll seperate these in “his clothes” and “her clothes”.
His Clothes
- What year did this waist seam on the coat come in?
- What is the evolution of the shape of the front, sorta waist line down into the tails? (I’m seeing 4 different versions.)
- Collars… 4″, is this on both the coat and waistcoat?
- Is there a significance in the the width between the button rows for occasion or material?
- Is that side seam on the waist coat straight like it appears in some?
- How much of a difference should be seen between the coat front length and waistcoat front length? I was guessing 2-3 inches. Then I saw some maniquin displays with much more space.
- Where should the coat waist land, natural waist or just above natural waist.
- Pants…. I still have the plaid question. Is it appropriate for this occasion? What would be my best replacement on a budget? the slightly heavy cream wool I have? a narrow wale corduroy? a twill cotton?
- White stockings…. is it awful to ask him to wear one of my pairs?
- Am I correct that stripes tend to go vertically or horizontally on waistcoats? I think I just saw one diagonal.
- Is there a formality difference in pocket construction on waistcoats? Does it matter?
- What are the overall fabric formality guidelines?
Her Clothes
- With such a small bodice, where do I stuff all the fabric from the chemise if I do a straight cut chemise? Should I just do a lower cut yoked chemise?
- Should my shoulder straps on my stays be attached or not? I think I’m seeing both. If I attach them, there should be less bulk. But, does this make wearing difficult?
- I’ve seen bodiced pettis and pettis with straps. This just seems to add to the fabric under the bodice. What other methods keep the petti up at the ribcage? Did they button it to the corset? Maybe the straps are the best direction.
- Does my petticoat go over or under the little tail on my short stays? I’m picturing bumroll, tail, petticoat or petti, bumroll, tail.
- What are acceptable closures? I’m seeing ties and small buttons on the drop/bibfront bodices. Are hooks & eyes acceptable as well? For a cross-over bodice, I can figure out buttons if need be.
I’m sure there will be more to add to my list….. Is it odd that I find this part fun?
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 