In 2015 I had less than a week to make a gown for the Saturday night gala, so it had to be something simple, fast and straight forward. I decided to make a Victorian court presentation gown after one

Lena

Ball Gown Jacques Doucet, 1898-1900 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Evening dress with presentation train, United Kingdom, ca. 1880s. Plain and brocaded pink silk faille. Photo: Anne Bissonnette. Univ. of Alberta

Portrait de Mademoiselle X, Marquise Anforti

This project was inspired by the beautiful paintings Auguste Toulmouche painted in the late 1870's and early 1880's. The idea was to make a ball gown after The Love Letter and Le Billet to be worn at Costume College gala and change the bodice later in to a corset cover and short jacket combination, like the artistic boudoir ensembles seen in Réflexion de la Beauté or Watering the Flowers later in the evening. The dress is made from duchess silk satin. The bodice is flat lined with soft…

This project was inspired by the beautiful paintings Auguste Toulmouche painted in the late 1870's and early 1880's. The idea was to make a ball gown after The Love Letter and Le Billet to be worn at Costume College gala and change the bodice later in to a corset cover and short jacket combination, like the artistic boudoir ensembles seen in Réflexion de la Beauté or Watering the Flowers later in the evening. The dress is made from duchess silk satin. The bodice is flat lined with soft…

This project was inspired by the beautiful paintings Auguste Toulmouche painted in the late 1870's and early 1880's. The idea was to make a ...