After watching the series about Queen Victoria of England, I started to sew this dress out of silk taffetta I purchased some time ago. Everything had to be sewn by hand, because the sewing machine had not been invented in 1845. While the bodice has to be laced, the skirt uses several pairs of hooks and eyes on every side seam.
Before starting the project, I created the pattern myself to fit my measurements. The bodice is lined with unbleached cotton. Since the hooped petticoats were not used in this decade, several petticoats have to be worn to create the volume. In the last step, the bodice was decorated with flowers and glas beads.
As you can read on the separate page about perfectionism, I altered the sleeves berfore the ball the photos were taken. Originally, they were way shorter. Photos by Nils.
Thanks to Becky for this additional photo:
