Colonial Unmentionables for an Adult Lady

To give the robe a la polonaise it's proper shape, we must begin with the correct foundational garments. ;)

The first thing every lady puts on is a shift--a loose, slip-like garment to absorb body oils and sweat. Mine was made using the free instructions here.

I used a white cotton sheet from the thrift store and trimmed the wide neckline with Wal-Mart cotton lace. Green ribbon makes it adjustable, so a bit of lace can peek out from my dress neckline.

Next come the stays--the eighteenth-century corset. I used the half-boned stays pattern from J.P. Ryan. It was pretty easy as long as you followed the directions carefully (altho I have made stays before so that probably helped), and the stays are very comfortable and give a lovely accurate shape.

Twenty-four (?) hand-stitched eyelets...phew!

Mine are actually a bit too big; the back edges are not supposed to meet up and they are rather loose on me--but that was the smallest size! It does make the colonial outfit quite a bit more comfortable than my Civil War garments though. ;)

I used plastic zip ties in place of boning; the stays are made from natural colored linen (pants from the thrift store!) and lined with scrap cotton. I cheated a little and used polyester blend quilt binding for the edges, which isn't accurate, but oh well.

After the stays the lady would tie on her pockets. I have two, made from scrap linen & leftover quilt binding. These are really easy to make without a pattern; there is a lovely site here with more info on pockets.

To give the gown its bustled shape (quite in vogue during the 1780s), a bum pad (or bum roll) must be worn. (Panniers were from a previous decade.) I think this was my 3rd attempt--the others were either too fat or too thin. Again, scrap linen. ;)

And finally over all of that, the lady would tie on one or two petticoats. In the interest of saving time, fabric and money, I multi-purposed and wore my Civil War petticoats under my colonial gown, so unfortunately I don't have a colonial-style petticoat to show you.

Lastly, a lady would not be completely dressed without her cap. I drafted mine using my head measurements based on this reproduction from the Silly Sisters. It has a lovely pleated ruffle around the edge. Since my cap covers most of my hair, it would be considered quite modest and appropriate for everyday wear. Basically, the smaller your cap was, the fancier the occasion and the less modest you were being. ;)

A Manteau de Lit, c. 1750-1770

In honor of George Washington's birthday, something colonial for you all!

Due to health problems and concerns for overall comfort, the lady I created this outfit for is unable to wear stays (the 18th c. corset) and so I had to find a viable middle-class option for her to wear to living history events.

Enter the shortgown. (Also known as the bedgown or manteau de lit.) Shortgowns consist of a tied-on skirt and a separate, loose jacket-like garment worn over top. The jacket can be crossed over the front and pinned, held fast by an apron tied around the waist, or tied with ribbons.

Worn with an apron and fichu (neckerchief), for work in the home.

Shortgowns were worn mostly by the lower classes, as it was hard to do work in stays, but they were also found on upper- and middle-class ladies--made of nicer fabrics, of course. A wealthy lady might wear a shortgown in the morning, to breakfast, or before getting properly dressed. The loose fit of the gown provided ample room for expectant mothers, and middle-class ladies enjoyed wearing them as housecoat-type garments.

Without the apron, shortgowns make excellent maternity wear.

 The fabric I used is a cotton sheet set I found at the thrift store for a few dollars (from the print I gather it's from the 1970s!). I did some research and found an extant middle-class shortgown made from a floral cotton print and based this lady's outfit off of that.

The skirt is made simply, like all colonial petticoats, with the fabric pleated to a two-part waistband. I think it took me about two hours, start to finish. :)

The shortgown is a simple T-tunic shape, lined with unbleached muslin.

The actual shortgown itself was made using the lady's measurements, rather than a pattern. The shortgown site provided ample explanation of fit and measurement, as did the Manteau de Lit page at La Couturiere Parisienne. Actually I found those instructions confusing and rather daunting in their complexity, and instead opted to use the Civil War infant sacque pattern (via A Day in 1862) to help, as the designs are extremely similar. (As you can see, I had to do quite a lot of research!)

Fastened with ribbons & a close-up of the collar.

The shortgown is very simple, with a turned-back pointed collar--an unusual feature for the time--and cuffs rather than engageantes (ruffles). I lined it with an unbleached muslin from the stash and attached two sets of ribbons at the top for fastening, as per the original. The shortgown can be worn with a simple white apron and fichu for a day of work in the home.

Other Helpful Resources:
Shortgown Drawing/Diagram
Katherine's Shortgown

Robe a la Polonaise, c. 1779

I made this gown for myself, to wear to colonial living history events.

This lovely, lightweight cotton lawn was purchased from fabric.com. I wanted an elegant, more "dressy" style for my colonial gown since my Civil War garments were a bit utilitarian. I based the style of this gown on one found in Costume In Detail, minus some of the elaborate ruched trimming. Perhaps I'll add that later.

The first thing to put on is the petticoat (also called the underskirt or jupe). I made mine with the same fabric as the outer gown, but petticoats were just as often made from contrasting fabric.

The petticoat was made quite simply; pleated into a two-part waistband and faced at the hem with white cotton.

To put on the petticoat, first tie on the back part (like a backwards apron).....

And then tie the front part around the back! (Like a regular apron, lol. Rather difficult to explain.) The overlap of the two sides of the skirt provides easy access to the pockets, which are worn underneath the petticoats. (More on my colonial undergarments later!)

Next comes the gown (or robe).

(the bodice doesn't quite fit my dressform)

I didn't use a pattern for this gown; the bodice was simply drafted on top of the stays (which I did use a pattern for and will be posting later). It pins shut up the center front.

the back bodice

The back bodice is made of four panels and lined with plain white cotton. The panels are whipstitched together.

sleeves and engageantes

The longer sleeves (on me they're between my elbow and wrist) date the dress to the late 1770s--full-length sleeves would be in vogue by the 1780s. I added lovely engageantes made from the dress fabric--they're simply ruffles cut from a half-circle of fabric, with the edges pinked in little half-circles.

Colonial-era armsyces are always a little bit wonky--lots of room towards the back, which makes it hard to stretch your arms forward!

The sleeve cap is tucked to fit the armscye. The sleeve pattern is actually free and came from here.

The skirt of the gown is "polonaised" up with ribbon attached to buttons on either side of the bodice. This gives the skirt a lovely drape, quite fashionable. (A bum pad is worn underneath to give the "bustled" look.)

You can see the ribbons better in this photo!

All in all, I love this dress. I love the silhouette it gives and I love the fabric. Lots of fun to wear!