Recreating a Regency Gown circa 1800

I promise I’m still around, in fact, I recently moved this whole blog to a new server, although not everything transferred perfectly and I’m still fiddling with the look and feel of the site.

I finished this costume project earlier this year. The design is heavily inspired by this dress in the Museum of London. It’s dated to between 1776 and 1800 but I think it is closer to 1800.

Finding a good fabric really spurred me to recreate the gown. It’s not an exact print match but the colors are similar (I think the original fabric was probably more vibrant than it is today). The two fabrics were created using slightly different print/dye methods but I think my fabric gives a similar “feel.” My fabric is an Indian block-print cotton which I love the weight and feel for a dress of this time period.

At the time I only had the three low-quality images on the website plus this random pic from when it was once on display.

Then, right after I posted my YouTube video on the making of my dress, someone shared with me this Instagram video of someone examining THE dress. Oh, how I wish I had seen that earlier!

I used Laughing Moon #126 as the basis for the gown and the only changes I made were to redesign the front bib to copy the original, shorten and gather the sleeves at the inner elbow, and to change the waistband situation. I just had to guess as to how the bib attached to the buttons and what the buttons were supposed to look like.

Even though my dress turned out slightly different than the original I am still super happy with it. It’s my first Regency dress with a train, I’m in love with the print (dark-colored Regency dresses aren’t common) and the fit and it’s just such a cool unique design in front that makes the dress feel special.