Countess Grantham's White Suit

Countess Cora Grantham's white suit is perhaps one of my favourite costumes featured in the Downton Abbey series so far!  I was lucky enough to be able to get some close-up photos when I visited the Creative Stitches exhibit in Glasgow last month.

This white suit has the most beautiful trim around the neck and midway down the front.  The same trim is applied to each of the corners at the bottom of the jacket front.   We also see the same trim on the bottom of both sleeves.

I'm wondering if the coat is a faux coat in that it is worn more like a tunic?  I also wonder if the blouse underneath is just a dickey or collar piece and not a full blouse?

Here's a bit of a close-up of the trim.  You can see that the neck is an intersting shape that bends slightly out and features a high neck lace blouse piece.  Take a look at the trim.  Doesn't it look like separate pieces sewn up on the jacket to make it look like one continuous piece?  I think the diamond trim is separate and that the trim is individual pieces of four corner looped trim placed one after another.  What do you think?  There are also small white scrolled trim pieces applied to the front with the last pair of white trim pieces overlapping the black trim.  Lastly, there is some sort of textured cord that is sewn all around the front opening all the way down to the bottom (but not around the coat except at the neckline).  I can't tell if this is sandwiched between the facing and the front of the coat or applied only on the outside of the coat.  I also can't tell if the coat is sewn up part of the way and the rest is kept closed with a series of hook and eyes?

Here is a close-up of the bottom of the coat.  You can see the diamond trip is flipped and placed on in a square shape at the bottom to mimic the corner line.  I also see that the textured cord is simply wrapped under the bottom of the coat on the front and is applied at the sleeve cuffs as well:

Here's a close-up of the sleeve cuffs.  I really like the simple placement of trim on the sleeves.

 In this photo, you can see the height of the neckline and also the placement of trim at the back of the neck:

Here it is again....They've placed the diamond trim in the middle and it looks like they've cut the other trim and placed it around the diamond to connect it to the main trim.  I really like how this looks.  Unfortunately, white makes it really hard to see the seam lines on this coat.  Does it look like there is a center back seam??  The sleeves are definitely pleated at the sleeve caps (a look I LOVE):

They also had the fabulous matching hat on display. It's a wide brim hat with a silk like fabric covering the main part of the hat and a black net with small velvet dots.  There's also black and white ribbon trim, white ribbon trim, what appears to be silk flowers and black and white feathers!  Phew!

Here's a lovely portrait and a close-up of the hat front.  The feathers really stand out in this photo as does the trim on the jacket.  Is it me or does it look like the jacket could have used a narrow shoulder adjustment for Elizabeth McGovern?

What do you think? Do you love this suit?  How do you think it was constructed?

An Edwardian Picnic

Oh, how I wish it was warmer! These Edwardian picnic photos from Scotland are making me want to pack up a picnic basket and head up the nearest hill!  All of these photos except the last one are from the RCAHMS archives. 

This is a photo of my great grandpa and grandma (they are the smiling ones in the front next to each other) taken in 1907.  They look like they are having a grand time!

ahhh...I can't wait for some proper sunshine!

Edwardian Scotland

While doing some research on Edwardian Scotland, I came across the amazing archives of The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).  You can view the Edwardian archive photos here... All photos are copyright of RCAHMS.

Here are a few of my favourites of ladies from the time period.

This is a fantastic shooting party photo which brings to mind that episode in Downton Abbey!  The photo is titled 'Pearsons, Bells, Watsons on the Williamwood Moss', 'The glorious 12th 1912':

Here's another one that reminds me of the Downton Abbey hunting party episode:

This photo was taken outside of Duchal House in Renfrewshire.

Here's an iconic Scottish photo if I ever saw one:

I just adore her hat and the scenery is fantastic (hasn't changed much).  This was taken at Braid Hills in 1902.

Here's a cute picture of two women swimming (sisters?):

Those waters definitely look cold and rough!

I really love this woman's outfit.  Look at that hat!!

This photo is titled 'myself' and the album is titled 'These photographs were all taken with my little Kodak'.

Speaking of cameras, I just love this photo:

But my favourite photo is this one:

It is of a woman (!) changing the back tire (tyre) of a possible steam car (!!)  The design of that car is amazing, though no wonder she has to change the tire...those tires don't look like they can handle Scottish country roads.

Which photo is your favourite?

It's Edwardian Week at My Happy Sewing Place

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your lovely comments on my Marlene suit.  I am just absolutely in love with it!  Our weather has turned decidedly more Scottish so I'll get lots of wear out of it in the months to come!

This week I'm turning my sights to 100 years ago in order to celebrate the Edwardian era.  As you know, there's a huge buzz in the sewing and costuming community about the milestone centenary.  While I'm not super excited about celebrating the sinking of a ship, I AM super excited about celebrating the beauty and innovation from the time period.

Many of you may recall that I've signed up for Project 1912 which is being hosted by the Vintage Pattern Lending Library (VPLL).  Janyce from VPLL has undertaken a massive project that has created a tremendous community of those interested in sewing from this time period.  She is transcribing all the patterns from the 1912 issues of La Mode Illustree.  La Mode Illustree was a weekly magazine that had several patterns in each issue (much like a modern BurdaStyle but with less instructions).  And she has invited sewists to participate for one year in the project and to blog about their experiences sewing up these patterns (which she supplies one at a time for those involved in the project).  Janyce originally thought this would be a great way to have a small handful of people involved.  Little did she know that Threads would run the story in their online newsletter--resulting in over 350 people participating!  Janyce is a superstar and is keeping to her original mission to make these patterns available and to create an online sewing community around this activity.  What a fabulous lady!!

I received my first VPLL Project 1912 sewing pattern in the middle of March but am just now getting around to it: 

 
It's a long skirt with a scalloped trim and high waist.  I can't wait to tackle this!  And of course, I need a blouse to go with the skirt....so I'm going to be sewing up the new Wearing History repro pattern for a 1910's blouse:

My goal is to finish these both by Sunday but we'll see how that goes (have you seen all those scallops on the skirt? hehehe).

Throughout the week I'll be posting the rest of the Downton Abbey costumes close-ups and some photos of Edwardian Scotland!  Looking forward to exploring this decade more!