Reproduction 1910s Evening Dress 2

Costumes > Reproduction 1910s Evening Dresses 2

1910s evening dresses were made for the West Coast Ragtime Festival using Laughing Moon pattern #104 as a base.

List of Dresses

• Burgundy Silk

Pattern Base

Laughing Moon #104 1909 - 1913 Day or Evening Dress
The shoulders on this are wide for this pattern. If you have a small back or narrow shoulders, you may need to make an adjustment.
The historical back hook and eye closures are impossible to dress oneself. So, on subsequent dresses, various invisible zippers and bodice/belt coverings to hide the closures were tried.

Hint: Tack the top edge of a ribbon or belt over the skirt and bodice join. Just tacking the top edge lets the belt move instead of buckle.

For these the pattern adjustments for me were:

• Shortened hem 5". Still about 2" too long.
• size 16 bust
• size 18 waist and size 20 hips
• narrowed shoulder by 1/2", moved armpit up 2" and then cut it down by 1/2"
used size 16 sleeve widened 1", cut down sleeve head height by 1/2"
• used invisible zippers on the bodice and skirt

Burgundy Silk

Made this dress to wear to a the West Coast Ragtime Festival in November 2019 using embroidered net lace given to me by a friend. Also worn to Costume College August 2022.
Silk satin from Dharma Trading for underdress with silk chiffon for kimono sleeves. Flatlined with polyester cotton blend from stash.
I've made this pattern before. The skirt is pinned on to the bodice and attached which may seem unfinished to modern eyes. It makes draping all sorts of overskirts easier. Looking at extant dresses and fashion plates from the era show all sorts of layering on skirts and sleeves.
Added waterfall tail in the back that goes over the back closures.
Accidentally sewed one kimono sleeve onto the bodice inside out

Photos by Mark Edwards Photography

Closures

Completed: 24 November 2019