I want to preface this by saying I know this example is not a historical costume, it’s fantasy, but you guys seemed like the community that would have this answer.

I came across this art and it had me thinking. I always see the pointed part of corsets drawn so nicely fitted, but every time I’ve made something with a similar design feature, it doesn’t do this. Even with the pre-made corset I own, the pointed part is just kind of… there.

Is this a feature that is only present in art? I don’t see how enough tension could be created on the bottom of a corset with that shape to be so fitted. Or is there a way for it to be possible? Maybe a curved busk, to bring the bottom in a bit?

I vaguely remember following a Russian(? Not sure but most of their post had Cyrillic letters in the caption) costumer on instagram who made gorgeous videos of them dancing in ballroom competitions(?) in accurate 1850s-60s costumes where they quite literally seemed to be flying across the floor, taking such great leaps into the air that her hoop-skirt would fly up and the crowd would get a scandalous glimpse of her pantalets, and the skirt would spin and twist as they danced in very graceful ways as they danced, it would like like they were skating because their shoes seemed to slip and slide across the floor but like in a good way, they haven’t shown up in my feed for ages and I can’t find them on my following list sorry that this isn’t necessarily costuming related but I don’t know where else to ask.

My first sewing project in ten years. I made this 1890's chemise. Completely handsewn

I'm interested in making a historically faithful version of Victor Van Dort's coat from the film 'Corpse Bride'. I very much like the look and cut of it. Though no specific year is given, it seems it is set in the mid-19th century or 1870's at the least. What patterns should I base it off of? Would it be possible to take something like an 1840s single breasted frock coat and redesign it in a cutaway fashion? All help is welcomed and appreciated.

http://propstore.loc/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Corpse-Bride-Victor-3.jpg

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Hey historical costume community! I am writing a comic/graphic novel series that takes place in Germany in the 1580s (Trier) and the 1620-1630s (Wurzburg). It will also take place in Scotland in the 1620s-1630s. The series is about witch hunts in Europe for anyone curious. Anyways, I want the characters outfits to be historically accurate, but I am having a hard time finding reference pictures from these decades. As you can imagine, there are multiple characters of different classes involved, so I am looking for a variety of clothing from this time period. Does anyone have any recommendations of where I can search for references to base my character’s outfits off of? Colored images are preferred but monochrome is also super helpful! I don’t know much about historical fashion but I’m doing my best to try to be realistic with my drawings and decided to turn to the wise folks of Reddit to point me in the right direction. Thank you for any suggestions! 🫶

Hello all. I'm a relatively amateur self-taught seamstress and I've been sewing historical costumes for a few years now, with historical adequacy in mind rather than strict authenticity (my costumes are seen only in photoshoots, nerdy parties, casual historic site visitations, or SCA events rather than reenactments), so I'm okay with poly blends and machine work. I'm admittedly not well versed on the workings of actual fibers/weaves, though.

I have a few questions about some wool blend yardage I've received as a gift (attached photo). It's a relatively lightweight (but not "tropical") uniform-type suiting with a fiber content of 55% poly and 45% wool. I've been itching to do another 14th or 15th century kirtle but I don't know if I'm right in assuming this suiting weight wool is not quite right for a supportive kirtle of this time period. I know obviously the poly content isn't HA but my main concern here is the weight and weave of the fabric.

I always have a sort of flannel or melton type wool in mind for medieval kirtles, and I'm wondering if there is any way for me to give this suiting a brushed flannel or felt-y appearance for a more medieval look/feel, or if that's either based on incorrect assumptions or simply so much work that it wouldn't be worth it. I also don't know if a poly blend would even respond to any such fabric treatments (I've heard of felting in the washer/dryer for example, but doubt this would work on a poly blend).

If a medium to light weight suiting is wholly inappropriate for a medieval kirtle, would it lend itself any better to something like an 1770s redingote or an 1820s pelisse? Thank you so much in advance!

I bought a pattern off of reconstructing history (mistake I now know). It seems like the size chart uses letters and the pattern itself has numbered sizes. Am I just being stupid? I know I am a size G with H hips but which size line on the pattern do I use if they are labeled 6-26?

https://preview.redd.it/p7vxi3krkkqc1.jpg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98e4bd0099f7052576c39b78c080ede4e675fa9a

https://preview.redd.it/z1eix3krkkqc1.jpg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43e44009f489e878aad97e75f5f822925f3d7163

When did the modern j seam for trousers become popular compared the first pairs of trousers with a separate gusset. How was the j seam developed. Doesn't seem intuitive?

Hi! Im someone who absolutely loves historical clothing, but i also love nature and being out in it. Ive noticed for some time that im in need of fitting clothing to make my nature walks a bit better (i am not experienced at all with outdoors stuff, so the few times i have gone outdoors ive improvised with what i have and whilst fun, definitly in need of more fitting things). Im from sweden and one of the essential mottos in my country is that there essentially is no bad weather, only bad clothing. So what im wondering is if there exists historical clothing that is nice to wear outdoors in terms of keeping warmth, mobility, comfort and just handyness i guess? Im thinking through a very broad range of seasons so any ideas are welcome since i deal with everything from harsh winters to wet springs and autumns to warm summers. Does any clothing come to mind? Patterns? Or even just an era that you come to think of. To add i can say im a girl and for the most part prefer to wear skirts lol but im open to all suggestions. Any thoughts for a little troll looking to get some time with mother nature?

I am currently making an Ashitaka cosplay from Princess Mononoke. During my research I found that a lot of the clothing is historically accurate and I want to make it as realistic as possible. His shirtless sleeves are called Kotes (hopefully I'm not butchering the plural version) and were used for horse back archery but I'm not sure how they were historically attached. In the movie there are just two string ties but where they are in the movie don't actually work for holding them up comfortably and staying put. Does anyone know how they were held onto the body realistically? Thanks in advance!

Hey Everybody! I've been considering studying costuming and i'd love to hear from those of you who are already working in this field.

How did you get into costuming as a profession? Was is through formal education, internships, self-taught skills? What has been your career trajectory so far? Have you found steady work in the field, do you freelance? Any tips or resources you'd recommend? I guess having connections is very important, how did you get to know the "right" people? Did working in that field turn out as you'd Imagined it to be?

Feel free to share as much or as little as you'd like! Sadly i don't know anybody working in that field and therefore have nobody to ask these questions. Please also tell me if this is the wrong place for these questions and forgive me for my english as it is not my native language.

Thank you in advance! I would be very happy to hear about your experiences!

Hello everyone!

I'm hosting a themed party based around A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I was wanting to make a relatively period accurate Athenian costume. I wanted to make an exomis and chlamys, and I have a pretty good idea of how to pin and drape the fabric over my body, but I'm having trouble finding information on a few details:

For one thing, none of the resources I've found provide any details on sizing. For an exomis and chlamys that fall just above the knee, how would I take and apply my measurements to a square of fabric?

Also, I understand that these garments are typically held with belts and pins called "zosters" and "fibulae" respectively, but I'm having difficulty locating information about typical materials used for a zoster. I see a lot of renaissance paintings of women in peplos with a sort of silky cloth zoster, but I understand these renaissance paintings to be rather inaccurate, and also I am not a woman.

If anyone can answer any of these questions for me, I would be extremely grateful!

I make hand embroidered linen kaftans. I have a loyal patroness who wants me to create her a kaftan in real silk charmeuse with hand embroidered adornments and she’s happy to pay well into five figures for it.

I am in need of advice and tips for adding embroidered adornment to silk charmeuse. She likes the 19.5 momme weight so we’re not talking about a really thin, fragile silk, but we’re not talking heavy dupioni either.

I’d be using silk embroidery threads imported from Japan for the work as well as Japan import gold work embroidery accents.

I know that very nice embroidery work has been done on silks in many of the Asian countries, from India to Japan but finding information on how to hand embroider silk garments has proven difficult.

How to stabilize the material?

How to avoid puckering?

How to avoid damaging the fabric?

Would it be better to create the embroidered elements on a fine linen dyed to suit the silk charmeuse and to somehow appliqué it on?

How would I do that?

(I also work with wools and silk painting and am good at mixing and matching dye colors with the Jacquard dye family, so I’m confident that the color matching won’t be an issue)

Thank you for your time.

I am trying to put together an accurate men’s Medieval English costume. Think of not really a Knight or Nobleman, but not a total peasant either. Maybe a soldier in their “regular” garb. Did they wear just regular pants with leather shoes and a white cotton shirt or did they wear loin cloth wrapped around their legs and a plain tunic with their sword strapped on? I’m assuming what I’ve seen in movies like Kingdom of Heaven or Robin Hood and the like were to elaborate.

Howdy! I worked in a pioneer village one summer and I loved my costumes so much. I found it quite cool even in the heat, and loved the way I was able to extend wear until laundry day. My costume consisted of a cotton petticoat, a dark navy skirt, a light blouse, an apron, and a straw hat. I was dressed as a middle class North American rural woman around 1900-1910. I wore modern underwear and often a light pair of shorts underneath for chafing. Since then, I think almost everyday about how good it felt to wear that and think of dressing that way everyday. How do I start? I'm not super intent on historical accuracy or staying within the Edwardian time period - that's just the experience I had and I found it comfy. Open to any suggestions, and since this will be daily wear I'm on a bit of a budget

Tldr; how to start an everyday Edwardian closet.

Just scored 2 reproduction club collar shirts at goodwill, I’ve always wanted one but I have no idea what to wear with them, and what would’ve been worn with them. I’m looking at a time period between 1890-1920, any help is appreciated greatly.

I'm doing a simple two color, four strand per card, four forward, four back, pattern, and it didn't look right, plus every so often, I kept having a very long strand on the outside.

After a fair bit of trouble shooting, I realized that my issue is that the paired strands aren't twisting, (or are twisting), at the point of the weave, so where it should be black-white coming from the card, it might instead be white-black. This also causes the outside thread to not weave inwards, and results in the extra long strand on the outside.

The solution I've come up with is to use some straight pins to hold the weft strands where they should be, but I was wondering if this is a known thing, and if so, is there a way to deal with it that I should be doing?

Thanks.

These are on sale right now from Joann's. Are they worth considering? I'm not so much looking at the super-historical things like the corset (though I'm encouraged by the appearance of patterns for a chemise and Edwardian underthings, not just the overgarments). I'm more looking at the dirndl, the vest, and the armistice gown, so I'm guessing there's less room for "we totally know what we're talking about, fingers crossed" there.

But at the same time, are there better places where I can find the same things? Are these patterns fairly easy to follow, or are they really complicated. Are the other patterns bad enough that I shouldn't encourage the company at all? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello!
(forgive my bad english)

Im a Brazilian Fashion Desgin Student. I'm in my last year of college and creating a collection inspired by martial arts and chinese culture.
Unfortunately, there is little-to-no content about chinese ancient and traditional clothing avaliable for me, so I'm looking for some help.
I need access to some books or research papers about Hanfu, it's parts, names and how male and women clothes differ. I'e found 2 books online, but I can't afford them since they are sold in dollars
If anyone here has one of this books:

- 5000 Years of Chinese Costumes (by Zhou, X. & Gao, C.)

- Chinese Clothing (by Hua Mei)

and could sent me some photos of the parts about Hanfu, I would be imensly greatful. I really love this theme, but when I started I didn't knew it would be so hard to find reliable information for my references (I can't quote Wikipedia), so now I'm struglling to go on.

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I am extremely passionate about historical fashion and for the last year or so I have been part of a wonderful team who has been working on a dress up game based entirely on historical garments from the 1820s!

https://preview.redd.it/lc7yiusz3vpc1.png?width=4026&format=png&auto=webp&s=4eeaea00b9eadf5fb2856050627933ef65668f06

It has been such a passion project and I really want this to reach the people who also care deeply for historical fashion. We are a very small team so reaching any kind of audience is extremely difficult. I hope I'm allowed to post something like this on here. I know you are a wonderful community with so much passion for historical garments.

I hope this can be used as inspiration into 1820s garments and if we get enough interest we also hope to expand to new time periods! (I would love to know your favorites btw!)

Some of the inspiration for the game. All parts you see are based on fashion plates, paintings or preserved garments from different museum collections.

https://preview.redd.it/6uehgfitqupc1.png?width=1155&format=png&auto=webp&s=78d8a1aaa500a1a91cf3270748348adc7e70f22f

https://preview.redd.it/p5p9heqtqupc1.png?width=1160&format=png&auto=webp&s=42d8533a52fcd63597acb59eb221ed824d5f8e96

https://preview.redd.it/2ga9knatqupc1.png?width=1179&format=png&auto=webp&s=74c5cdd310dcadef829e18701d5af3d36ac5b37d

I hope this seems interesting! I have put a lot of love and passion down and I hope we get enough interest so we can expand with even more time periods!

I will link the game and other stuff in the comments!