Dress Diary: Post Edwardian evening gown - That Corset!

In the "a little knowledge might not be a good thing" category:

I just got a look at the pattern directions for Laughing Moon's corsets pattern.

Ho-boy, does that one have a lot of interesting information.

The LM pattern recommends finishing the front and back openings before doing the actual fittings. This means installing the busk and the grommets, lacing it up, and then doing the actual shaping of the panels. The mockup seems to be valuable only to determine the height of the corset and possibly ensuring that the width is correct.

Radical. Makes absolutely perfect sense. When you're making a Gothic fitted dress, you put the eyelets in the front, lace it up, and then do the final fitting.

And now I'm thinking that I need a redux on the 1910 corset. And a trip to Colorado Fabrics with the almost-finished corset to buy boning.

Dress Diary: Post Edwardian evening gown - the underpinnings

I've never done one of these before.

That's not entirely true. I've never completed a corset before. I tried to make an Elizabethan corset once upon a time, and then in the early aughts, I wanted a Goth corset. Yeah, no.

But now, I have need of a Victorian corset. I typically do 1890's for the Steampunk genre, and I have designs on a Worth-inspired "absinthe" evening gown. Corset required. And I'm totally out of my element.

And then comes the opportunity to make a 1910's evening gown. Corset required...

Except it's corset lite. Straight lines, made to control the hips, tummy, and derriere. Seems to be a gateway project on the way to the hard core Victorian corset. Yeah, I can do this.

We're lucky in that there are two historic pattern companies out there doing that odd period between Edwardian and the Titanic. I call it post-Edwardian. Clothing lines have doffed the pigeon-breast look, the s-curve in the spine, for a more classic and columnar silhouette.

Dress Diary: Post Edwardian evening gown - development

The opportunity has arisen for an evening at The Edison later this month. Described as "living history in downtown Los Angeles", The Edison is a destination lounge and supper club located in the basement of the historic first private power plant in Los Angeles, the Higgins Building. Some call it Steampunk, for which the retro-futuristic appointments might qualify, but the building was erected in 1910 and the décor is actually Art Nouveau to Industrial Gothic. 

Known for vintage cocktails, the absinthe service complete with winged fairy, as well as the vintage styling, The Edison is one of LA's most unique night clubs. They feature live music, burlesque, and aerialists. Although it's said that period attire might get preferential treatment, the appeal of dressing to go with the vintage atmosphere cannot be underestimated. However, my usual 1890's-based attire just won't quite do.

And thus the current project. A 1910's evening gown, from (almost) the skin out. Let me just state for the record that there is nothing cheap about this project. I haven't thrifted anything, and almost nothing has been able to be purchased at a discount. This is an all-the-resources project. Because the occasion is worth it.