I finished my first copy of my neoclassical inspired dress and I love it! I am in the process of digitizing this pattern so that it will be available to you!
Neoclassicism
I absolutely love the neoclassical period. On a timeline the Neoclassical period, as it pertains to fashion, falls between 1790 and 1800, right before the Regency period. I used a red gauze linen with white flowers and cotton muslin as the lining.
Waist lines were rising but they were not quite as high yet as the Regency period just a few years later. I have a somewhat high true waist so the neoclassical waistline is by far my favorite silhouette.
Pride and Prejudice
If you want to see a great example of neoclassical style clothing take a look at the 2005 rendition of Pride and Prejudice. Although the novel was published in 1813, author Jane Austen started writing Pride and Prejudice in 1796 and finished the first draft in 1797. Therefore we can assume the clothing of the characters in the book would be those of the neoclassical period and not the regency period as many theatrical versions portray.
Above is a picture from IMBd of Keira Knightley in the 2005 rendition of Pride and Prejudice, decked out in neoclassical attire.
Although some disagree with this version’s accuracy to the literature it is derived from, I think we can all agree they nailed it when it comes to the accuracy of the clothing.
My Version of the Neoclassic Silhouette
All Women’s Clothing Should be Breastfeeding Accessible
This dress is a true front opening dress, all buttons are functional so breastfeeding is possible (as it should be in all women’s clothing, see rant in video above). On that note I should add that all of my patterns will be nursing friendly, regardless of whether or not you are a mother. If they can put a hole into the underwear of men’s briefs for men to relieve themselves (a hole which I’m pretty sure most don’t even use) then surely they can make all women’s clothing breastfeeding accessible……..
The bodice back of this dress is made in four panels all intersecting into a point at the waistline.
I am planning to make a second dress and so I ordered some swatches of medium weight linen from an Etsy merchant called LinenDi. She supplies beautiful linen and I can’t wait to order my next batch of fabric from her.
I am eager to start playing with stripes cut on the bias as you can come up with some beautiful patterns of intersecting stripes on the mid-line back of this bodice. One of my favorite options in the swatches I ordered is a blue and white striped linen. I think I will be ordering the blue and white stripe and one solid for my next batch I sew.
Asymmetrical Hem
I gave this dress an asymmetrical hem, longer in the back than the front.
To achieve this look I cut out a skirt that’s hem ran straight with the grain but curved up at the waist line so that when gathered and sewn onto the bodice the bottom hem fell into a (nearly) perfect arc.
Never cut the back of your skirt lower at the hem, it always ends up looking very strange.
A true neoclassical dress would have sleeves that spanned dramatically into the bodice back. For my inspired look, though, I decided to make it sleeveless for a modern summer look. Here is a picture I found at Vintage Textile that is a great example of neoclassical sleeves.
I extended the back of my bodice back so that the arm holes wouldn’t be so gaping. I may change this, though, to be more true in the back to history for my next copies.
I Used My Modern Bernina Sewing Machine
I am not a historical sewist, so I do not sew by hand and I do not strive for historical accuracy in my sewing creations. I love the history of clothing and simply use fashion history as my muse.
If I had to give myself a label of what kind of sewist I am I would say speed sewist (or speed-skating-speed-sewist…) with copious amounts of sewing to accomplish at any given moment (more than is probably healthy).
What Am I Going to Sew Next?
Speaking of copious amount of sewing sewing, I have some projects in the queue right now that hopefully I will get to show you all soon.
I will be heading to the beach later this summer and am in desperate need of a new swimsuit, so that is on my list. Chris, my husband, is ragtag recently and needs new t-shirts so my next big order from Organic Cotton Plus will include beaucoups of light jersey t-shirt cotton for him.
I am also working on sewing a diaper stash but we’ve had so much on our plates recently I fear I will never get the time to sit down and tackle that project. I will get there…..
What Color Should I Sew the Next Neoclassical Inspired Dress In?
I am for sure going to make my next neoclassical inspired dress out of one of theses blue and white striped linen’s from LinenDi.
I would also like to make one in a solid linen so what color do you think I should go with? Leave a comment down below of which color you think I should use next! And sign up for my email list to stay tuned for my next makes!
