Elinor Dashwood’s Dress Goes To A Picnic

Happy Fashion Friday friends! Today I have a fun post full of inspiring Regency attire. Grab yourself some tea and enjoy Elinor Dashwood’s Dress Goes To A Picnic.

Elinor Dashwood’s Dress Goes To A Picnic

My dear friends, Cheryl and Harry, recently hosted a lovely picnic at their country home Champ d’Étoiles. Everyone was encouraged to dress in styles from the Regency era. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to dress in Country Fashions. 

This simple dress worn by Elinor Dashwood (Emma Thompson) in the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility has long been a favorite of mine. 

It’s a simple crossover style gown with a sheer neck flounce and apron. 

The costume designers for the film were Jenny Beavan and John Bright. I love all of the little details they used. 

You may recall that last summer I was inspired to create another dress from this film, Marianne Dashwood’s ball gown.

The Pattern

In thinking about making the crossover gown I was inspired by a recent frock created by the tremendously talented Young Sewphisticate, who also has a blog.

Anneliese used an altered version of the bodice front from the Elegant Ladies’ Closet by Sense & Sensibility patterns.

The pattern went together very well. A beginner could sew it with a bit of assistance from an experienced sewist. 

I wanted to make things more difficult by attempting to do some pattern matching. Smile. 

I had found this vintage plaid fabric a few years ago at an estate sale.

The white neckline trim is actually some Edwardian era scrap that came from another estate sale. I had EXACTLY the right length for this project. 

The entire bodice is lined in a pale blue linen that I found in a $3 scrap pile in the NY fabric district last fall.

Do You Like My Hat

Elinor is never seen wearing a bonnet with the crossover dress. But as the picnic was outdoors and I burn at the drop of a hat I needed something. 

I had a similar bonnet to one Marianne wears so I imagined that the two sisters perhaps share. 

A blue cotton Petersham ribbon was added to the bonnet.

It was quite a blustery day and my organdy apron seemed to have a mind of its own. It was originally a vintage curtain. 

I wore a full length cotton petticoat under my dress and was so glad that I did!

However, I need to lower the front and back neckline of the bodice. This is the second dress I’ve worn it with and both times there has been a wardrobe malfunction. 

I also wore my Regency short stays and cotton clock work stockings. They were held up by gorgeous garters. My friend Michele had embroidered me two lovely pieces of linen. I decided to stitch them onto cotton twill tape to make garters. 

A Country Outing

Our wonderful hosts, Harry and Cheryl. They also put on a wonderful tea every year at the Dickens festival in Galveston. 

Eide and Tim were also artfully attired. 

Eide’s dress was made from a historical pattern from Fig Leaf. I believe it is the Surplice Dress 214. 

Tiny hand sewn stitches.

Jacki and Rachel’s skirts were really poofy in the wind. LOL

Many thanks to Fantastical Follies Costuming for taking the photos of me in my Elinor dress. 

Dashing Gremlin with lovely Beth. 

Three adorable sisters!

It was such fun to see two sets of twins!

Ellen and Ilana were so well outfitted. I adored the shako style bonnet!

Seeing so many different Regency styles was truly wonderful. 

This Week’s Video

This week’s short video features some beautifully attired members of the Houston Area Costumers Society

If you wish to view the video in a larger format just click on the black box in the lower left hand corner that says Watch on YouTube.

 

See you Sunday,

Laura