Dressing a Lady for Dickens Fair

by Sally Norton, First published for the November/December 2007 issue of Finery

Many practical Victorian ladies had two separate bodices for many of their gowns. Both bodices would be made out of material that matched the skirt. This is the perfect solution for those of us wishing to attend an elegant tea and a Victorian ball. One bodice will have a lower neckline for evening wear; the other bodice has a modest neckline appropriate for tea, shopping and visiting. If the wearer desires a smoother one-piece dress look, the bodice and skirt may be attached with large hooks and bars. Do not attach a skirt and bodice with snaps. An embarrassing moment may occur.

There are a variety of ways to vary your Victorian bodice. Ladies had all sorts of items to swath about their upper selves. Their finery included jackets, shawls, boleros, braces, belts, caplets, lace fichus and pelerines. Modify bell-shaped pagoda sleeves with different, detachable under-sleeves. The detachable sleeve may tie, snap, or hook at the elbow. You could also use Velcro (it’s your secret – will anyone be looking up your sleeve!).

During the 1850s and early 1860s the crinoline was worn by most fashionable ladies. The full skirts worn over the crinoline or hoop are easily varied by tying, tacking or pinning an upper skirt into graceful swags. The swags might be two (one on each side) or as many as five. The points of the swags are often decorated with bows, flowers, ribbons, or garlands. Any of these decorations may be pinned on and removed when the skirt is ‘restyled’ for another event.

Several new patterns ideal for Dickens Fair are available this year. Simplicity Pattern 4400 is an elegant, graceful design from the late 1840s/early 1850s. It features a dropped shoulder, one or two small upper-sleeve puffs and a close-fitting lower-sleeve. The neckline is high and round. The waistline ends in a noticeable point in the center front. Simplicity shows this gown in a red plaid; it would equally lovely in a jewel-tone taffeta or cotton calico print.

Truly Victorian introduced a new pattern (TV454) in November. It is an 1845 German day dress in two styles; each style offers several options. View A has a gathered Fan Front bodice with a fitted lining and a smooth back. View B has a fitted front with reveres, is narrow at the waist and widens out to the shoulders.

You will want a dress made up from each of the styles – I do. One can never have too many dresses for Dickens Fair. This past August, Truly Victorian added an 1864 Spanish Jacket (TV 444) to their catalog. This charming (and easy-to-make) little jacket is the perfect solution to ‘reinvent’ your standard Garibaldi blouse and skirt. Don’t count how many times (or how
many years) you’ve worn this skirt and blouse. Make it a new ensemble with a sprightly Spanish jacket. You’ll be ever-so fashionable. Take care when you pass The Adventurer’s Club. The gentlemen within are attracted to a dashing female form.