My Own Mr. Darcy – Part 2

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Ben came to York with me last Saturday so he could try on his jacket. I think the photos speak for themselves…

Don’t worry, he’ll have boots on for the photo shoot.

He convinced me that he doesn’t need to bother growing out his sideburns to look more period because the collar would hide most of them anyway. I couldn’t argue with that.

Look at that posture! According to Ben, just having the outfit on makes you stand up straight.

And is it me, or is it easy to imagine that instead of a cell phone he’s holding, it’s some pocket almanac or calling card or other small hand-held Regency items?

Oh, the transformative power of costume!

My own Mr. Darcy

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Yesterday Ben came in for his fitting. As it wasn’t until late afternoon I had plenty of time to get everything ready, including nearly finishing that damned shirt!!

Anyway, without further ado…

the shirt

the shirt and breeches

shirt, breeches, and waistcoat

just look at that collar

the full ensemble

Good news: everything fits! There are some tweaks here and there, but nothing major. So, first thing Monday morning we’ll be taking apart those toiles and finalizing the pattern.

And then it’ll be time to make it all up in the actual fabric! Eeeeeeeee.

I’ll finish this post with my favorite photo of the day:

Dapper? Me?

Holy breeches, Batman!

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Excellent second day. Spent the morning perusing Pauline’s library of costume and pattern-cutting books while watching snippets of Colin Firth in Pride & Prejudice (for research, of course).  I selected an 1815-1820 ensemble, as follows:

double breasted tailcoat, waistcoat, & cravat

tailcoat & waistcoat technical drawings (not my handiwork)

split fall breeches

Even though research had been scheduled for the whole day, I had compiled everything by lunchtime and so made a move on drafting the breeches.

pattern for breeches

Pauline showed us a nifty way to scale the patterns up, which involves plotting points along the pattern by measuring up from a straight line rather than on radiating diagonal lines. I surprised myself by how quickly I caught onto this new method, and I think it’s my new go-to! I spent an hour and a half on the first pattern, and an hour and ten minutes on the second. The result:

drafted breeches pattern

Overall I am THRILLED with today’s progress, and I can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow!!