(no subject)

[mandie_rw]

Did sew today! I suffered through the 95-degree sewing room, even. Briefly. A silly cap-headband thing doesn't take much sewing, happily.

I didn't do a whole lot of research on this one, just some Internet poking, really. And American domestics are actually fairly difficult to find information on; their "Downton Abbey"-type counterparts have loads of documentation, comparatively. So most of what I looked up is actually on British servants. I'm sure everybody at this event is going to be really concerned with that... And of course most of the images I found had no attribution, which makes the dating difficult. So pretty much everything I'm basing my outfit on is "1920s...ish". Again...sense the concern of everyone else. xD







So I'm not trying to reproduce any one outfit exactly, of course; that would be silly anyway, as there wasn't one uniform for all maids everywhere! And that the fabric I bought is actually a dark navy rather than your standard black - it was the cheapest tropical-weight wool I could find that was explicitly sold as 100% wool. I am not into any polyester for being outside all day on August 1!

Anyway, the cap. Made from my leftover stiff striped cotton organdy (from the fluffy beast) - something else would have definitely been less awful to baste the pleats in, but this is stiff enough that I don't have to starch it, and I call that a win. :D I also call loads of machine stitching and actually finding some black elastic in the stash a win.




It's really hilariously dorky on, because it comes so far down on my forehead. But that's the look! ...well, A Look, haha.

I also cut out the apron pieces today, but I didn't feel like spending that long in the sewing room! Not that the rest of this week is going to be any cooler, so I'm going to have to suffer or set up camp in the dining room. We shall see.

Comments

[bauhausfrau.livejournal.com]

It's super cute and looks a lot like the period ones.

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad I made the cap first, it's gotten me excited about what could be a kind of boring outfit. But yay for silly caps!

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

It looks good. I'm sure it's a bit goofy looking, but they looked goofy on the original wearers so you're in good company. Everything I read says that domestic staff were much less uniformed in America than in England so it doesn't really surprise me that most of what you found was British.

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Haha, there's just no way around that low-on-the-forehead '20s goofiness! Good to hear that about Americans vs. British...then I feel less guilt about my navy-blue dress! :D

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, such tiny pleats! It looks really good!

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) The stripes made it a lot easier to deal with, but it was still a PITA.