Planning an 1880's Gown

After the completion of my green 1880's gown I thought it would be fun (and efficient) to make a formal gown that can use the same foundation garments.

I had vampires on the brain this past summer and it has been fueling my desire to wear this dress. Mina's red gown in the 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula as well as the one worn by Kate Beckinsale in the 2004 Van Helsing are both inspirations.

I posted some quick concepts on twitter to get a feel for what I was looking for. I really like the romantic feel of lace paired with a warm "blush" color.

After this I spent some time picking out fabric options that I really liked. I thought the satin would drape well and I already know that I love Renaissance Fabric's taffeta from a previous project.

Doing this really helps me get a feel for what I do and don't like. At this point I'm really favoring the 12 & 13 options because I like the subtlety of the black lace over another color fabric.

I already have my patterns picked out- Truly Victorian's 261, 382, and (very modified) 416. The next step is to order my fabric!

TV416

TV261

TV382