Bespoke | designforperformance

Bespoke bodices with crinoline

Here I have made 2 bodices for a client based on an 1847 historical fashion plate (see right). One is historical, and as close to the era as possible in terms of design, and the other bodice is again historically accurate but with a contemprary take on the design. They both use a crinoline as a base, the historical has removable boning strips and the contemporary bodice has a hidden internal corset.

Fitting the Crinoline After taking measurements from my client, I padded out the mannequin to her measurements and covered it tightly in jersey. Then from studying the era I was creating the bodies from I decided to make a crinoline to create the shape of the bodices.	Working on the stand Here I decided where I wanted my seams and darts to best resemble the fashion plate I was using. Using black tape to make it visually easier to see where I wanted to place the seams.
Curved seam	First fitting After making a toile out of medium weight calico, I did my first fitting. There were various things that I needed to alter before progressing; for example the sleeve head needed to be higher as I had lengthened the shoulder seam and the bust needed to be more fitted.
First fitting- Historical This is the first fitting on my client, as you can see a few things needed to be altered to her body shape.	First fitting
First fitting- Contemporary I was fairly happy with the fit for the contemporary bodice. I decided to take out some of the boning in the back panel and move some of the excess fabric into the side seams to give a better fit.	First fitting- contemporary
First Fitting- Contemporary	Bias Binding Using my set square at a right angle, I created biding strips to use as piping in the seams. I decided to use contrasting greens to embellish the historical bodice.
Piped binding	Fitting the historical bodice
Fitting- internal corset	Contemporary internal corset
Internal corset As you can see there is an internal corset. This is the base layer for the contemporary garment.	Contemporary fabric This is the fabric I have used for the contemporary bodice. I have used a green base layer and a lace to go on top of the fabric.
Historical	Lining the contemporary bodice
Lining This is the lining for the contemporary bodice, there are 3 layers in total for the bodice. A lining, an internal corset made out of cotton drill, and the top fabric.	Contemporary fitting
Lining This is the lining attached to the facing on the contemporary bodice.	Final Historical bodice
Final Contemporary bodice	Patterns