Fitted English Gown

Finishing up the tidbits on my black wool gabardine fitted overgown so I can wear it at Pennsic in August.

Firstly I must say that I did not make this- I had this made before I could sew at all, and despite the bodice fitting great, I never liked the sleeves. They were way too long, and the underarm pane hung much lower than the outer arm pane. I've been attempting to fix them, then putting aside in frustration, for over a year now! I wore this for about 10 minutes at Uprising in 2010, then got self-conscious about the stupid sleeves, so I took it off. Weird, I know! For some reason, I just decided I would freakin' do it today, and I did! Now it's wearable.

This gown is based on the picture at right, which is taken from the Tudor Tailor book (image from Ninya Mikhaila's site). I adored it so much I had to have one too!

Here's how mine looks now. I have a little more trimming to do in the black velvet- the hem, inside the collar, down the inside bodice front, and the shoulders. I might add another frog or two to make it close a little higher. The collar is deliberately open and closed for the picture, to show the trim. I just might add some black silk inside the sleeve panes, too.