Wednesday Weekly Wishlist: 18th Century Hoodie

And just like that, I’m back to the subject of 18th Century dresses. Someone I follow on DeviantART (Idzit, who makes amazing, amazing dresses – do check them out) recently told me I should defiantly try my hand at a pattern from Janet Arnold’s book Patterns of Fashion 1: Englishwomen's Dresses and their Construction, c. 1660-1860. I really feel like making a jacket right now (it takes less fabric and I could use some of my leftovers), so I started to flip through that book and I fell in love with this one:

A white quilted satin jacket with a hood and a matching petticoat, c. 1745-60, Snowshill Manor (page 30).

ARNOLD, Janet, Patterns of Fashion 1: Englishwomen's Dresses and their Construction, c. 1660-1860, Macmillan Publishers Ltd, London, 1964, 76pages.

ISBN 0-89676-026-X

I call it the 18th Century Hoodie.

I hope to make it for this summer’s Les Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France. I’m thinking of using my usual 1$ / metre jacquard for the hooded jacket, dye it yellow and wear it with a pink skirt (either the linen one or the satin one, I haven't made up my mind). Colour wise, it would look a little like this:

Peach & Pink Dress

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette (2006)

After I had begun planning this outfit (and this post), Idzit posted pictures of her own version of this dress (which is much more accurate to the description Janet Arnold made of it than anything I intend to make). She very graciously gave me permission to post it here.

Gaze... by Idzit

1745 travelling suit by Idzit

Photography/editing: Chocomalk

Here is what she had to say about this ensemble:

This outfit is made of a cream-coloured quilted cotton lined with a cotton broadcloth (in the jacket). I'm wearing a bumroll underneath because I don't have a hooped crinoline, but the effect I find is just as lovely and probably more convenient.

The muff is fairly high-tech; it's lined with polar fleece and Thinsulate©! Not to mention there's a little pocket inside for a mirror, lipstick, cell-phone, wallet... blunderbuss - whatever! I did not use a pattern for the construction of the muff, it was fairly straightforward. I might one day post a tutorial on how to make one though...

"The white ruffles of a chemise would have shown below the flounce at the end of the sleeve. This suit would probably have been worn for travelling... A handkerchief would have been worn at the neck. The skirt would have probably been supported by a dome-shaped hoop-petticoat."-Janet Arnold.

Absolutely beautiful. Again, I really want to thank Idzit for letting me share her work here.

I’m really itching to start working on an 18th century project. Anything, just 18th century.