Regency Reticule

Just a little post to tell you about a regency reticule I made. In the late 18th and early 19th century the waistlines on women's dresses got so high that wearing pockets became impracticle and the began to carry their belongings around in little purses or handbags known as 'ridicules' or 'reticules'.  These reticules came in all sort of shapes and sizes and were often embellished with embroidery. They could also be unusual shapes, such as this pineapple shaped reticule from the KCI.

A Pineapple shaped reticule from the KCI

Project: Polonaise- Part 8, The Shoes

It took a while for me to decide what to do about the shoes. I spent a long time on the American Duchess website fawning over their wonderful creations and wishing I could justify spending a pretty big slice of my budget on them. Unfortunately my model had quite large feet which would have made getting the right size difficult. This, added to the shipping costs and customs charges I would have had to pay, plus the fact that I was on a deadline meant I had to look for other options.

The look I was aiming for

 Whilst scrolling through Pinterest in a fit of stress and worry I came across two different blog posts by ladyannabelle-of-didmarton and  couturemayah were they demonstrated how to turn an ordinary pair of high heels into 18th century style shoes! I was saved! I gathered together shoes, epoxy putty and fabric glue and got to work...

Project: Polonaise- Part 7, The Wig

As my model had dyed, bright coloured hair making a wig for the costume was very important as a way to keep the authenticity. I had made a wig in a previous Year of my course which I actually felt ended up looking much nicer.

The Second Year Wig

The Third Year Wig on my model

Project: Polonaise- Part 6, The Petticoat

During the 1700's women would wear quilted petticoats in order to smooth out their silhouette over the false rump or panniers. This was also a sign of status, earlier in the century rich, fashionable women would sometimes wear their gowns with a visible petticoat (as in the picture below) and so they were often made of silk. As the character for my polonaise costume was a rich lady I decided that I too had to make the petticoat out of silk.

Project: Polonaise- Part 5, The False Rump

In the 1770's and 80's the emphasis moved backwards from the hips and the panniers that everyone associates with Marie Antoinette were discarded in favour of false rumps. These 'rumps' would be stuffed with horsehair of made from cork and came in various shapes and sizes as can be seen in the caricature 'The Bum Shop' (R.Rushworth 1785).

Project: Polonaise- Part 4, The Pockets and Garters

This part of the underpinnings was one of my favourite to construct. During the eighteenth century women would wear sort of bag shaped pockets around their waists and the other layers of clothing would have slits cut into them so they could be reached. Garters would be worn to keep stockings up. Both of these items would often be embroidered and I decided to make them to match. My main source of inspiration was a pair of pockets from the Snowshill Collection and two pairs of garters from the V and A that I got to sketch during my visit.

Pockets from the Snowshilll Colllection