Use a Guimpe to Create a Girl's Heirloom Gown

A guimpe? What's a guimpe? This beautiful girl's dress that I listed in my shop recently is an excellent illustration of a guimpe, also called a chemisette.  Typically of lace or embroidery or contrasting fabric, it is a fill-in at the top of a low-cut dress. 

McCall's 1654

As you can see, comparing the pattern with the following illustration (courtesy of Wikimedia), the term "guimpe" really is appropriate.

Courtesy of Wikimedia

While the McCall's pattern has the guimpe buttoned to the dress, more typically it seems to simply have been tucked into the dress. 

A guimpe can also be a short blouse or a dickey worn under a dress or jumper. And from this image, there seems to be no difference between the guimpe and a "modern" dickey or short blouse:

The advantage of the guimpe is the advantage of any detachable insert, that is, flexiblity! Like the detachable collar, you could switch out one insert for another and create a different look. 

And this is my little excursion into fashion history. :)

Costume Time - Tudor and Victorian Belle

As Halloween draws near, an intense focus on costumes occurs here in the United States. However, sometimes I think the UK provides more opportunities for dressing up in period costumes than we here in the US. Here are two excellent examples, as shared by my customer Jan in the UK. She originally shared her story of sewing a historical costume for her daughter in my post "Before and After Hit Parade: Girl's 1940s Wartime Frock - Reliving History!".

After I blogged about that wonderful experience, Jan shared pictures of two more costumes that she had sewn for her daughter, Georgia, for school events. Georgia makes such a beautiful model - and the detail of the costumes is fabulous.

Here is Georgia in a Tudor costume, complete with fabulous gable head-dress decorated with pearls and daisy medallions. The gown is sewn in a rich fabric, complete with a square neckline edged with tulle, and a standing collar or ruff.

The next picture shows Georgia in a Victorian dress that Jan sewed for Victorian day at school. Jan said that Georgia had a bad cold that day, and so she thinks the photo isn't as good as it could be. She also made a matching cape which isn't in the picture (and regrets not getting a picture of). But look at the fine details: fitted bodice with center trim and long sleeves, full skirt with front draped apron, high demure neckline, and matching bonnet.

Lucky Georgia, to have a mother who sews so well! And lucky Jan, to have a daughter who looks so beautiful, no matter the fashion era. I look forward to seeing more of Jan's creations. And happy sewing to all of you who are sewing costumes for Halloween and other fun occasions!