Hello, It's Me

Dear Followers, 

If you're anything like me, quarantine in Covid times has meant returning to long abandoned projects (in my case, both sewing and writing) and losing yourself in the comforts of old favorites like Jane Austen movies and favorite childhood classic books.  

Apparently it also means returning to abandoned blogs. Unfortunately, the habit of blogging is one I've had a hard time getting back into over the years.  I've been sharing my research and creations on my Instagram-- @melanie.designs -- and I lurk and occasionally comment in some fantastic Facebook groups. But I never got around to sharing my more "recent" creations or inspirations here.  So here I am; let's see if I can stick at it! 

Towards the beginning of quarantine, I delved into a re-read of Sense & Sensibility for the first time in maybe eight or more years.  As you can guess by the title of this blog, and can see if you scroll back through, Sense & Sensibility has been a profound inspiration for me.  I've always identified with the Dashwoods-- a family of three sisters, like mine-- and 1995 film adaptation with Emma Thompson was one of my earliest introductions to Jane Austen and to Regency fashion.  Rereading the book was ultimate comfort for an otherwise troubled and worried soul-- like a spiritual hot bath. It also renewed all my Regency fashion inspirations and had me searching through boxes and tubs to find my tiny, abandoned collection of historical costumes I've made. 

This then led to trying on everything to see if it still fit.  

To my surprise, my stays which I made a good ten, no, eleven years ago still fit!  Despite the fact that I've gone up multiple dress sizes and at least two bra cup sizes.  I think part of this is attributable to the extreme fundamentalist religious sect I was in as a teenager, in which frumpiness was essentially next to godliness, which meant at the time I really didn't have a good concept about how things should fit and always made things too big in order to be "modest."  A cousin of mine, who is a historian, shared an additional perspective, that clothing prior to the end of the industrial revolution tended to be more adjustable in order to fit longer, because you couldn't just pop over to J.C. Penney's when you're clothes started getting to snug.  So it is not surprising that the design of the stays would be a little forgiving over the years.  

I don't believe I ever shared my first set of Regency stays on this blog (all part of the modesty bit, and the shame I felt about anything that had to do with the female body.)  Here they are, a bit yellowed from use (lots of Regency balls), but still in tact.  The pattern is Jennie Chancey's Regency Underthings pattern, which was the first pattern to usher me into the world of historical costuming.  

I was happy to discover that at least one of my Regency dresses still fit-- barely, but I still managed to get it fastened in the back.  This was one of my first dresses and probably my least favorite, but I was pleased it still fit. 

The others didn't make the cut, which is sad considering I only ever got to wear my absolute favorite dress twice. Weight loss goals, maybe?  Either way, I have all kinds of opportunities ahead to make more gowns, with more historically accurate fabrics and more interesting details. Now, whether I'll have opportunities to wear them anywhere for a while-- that is the question. 

Until then, here's a sneak peak at my current, almost finished project.  I like to think of them as my Batman stays.  

I hope, dear reader, wherever you are, that you are staying safe and healthy! 

Until next time,

Melanie