Knowing I wanted to visit Felicity in the 18th Century, Momma made a steampunk version of a 1770s Sacque Back Gown and Caraco Jacket, by Thimbles and Acorns:
The Sacque-Back Gown, as it was commonly known in England and the American Colonies, originated in France as the robe à la française as an undress fashion. Undress meant that they were informal articles of clothing that were presentable enough to wear inside one’s home while entertaining, but not something one would wear in public. It’s most notable feature was the box pleats which fell loose from the shoulder to the hem. At its most informal, this gown was unfitted in both the front and back and called a contouche, or robe battante. The style was not limited to gowns, but also carried over into shortened jacket forms that were called caracos or pet en l’air. The jackets were originally knee length, but shortened to just above the hips as the century progressed. Toward the middle of the 18th century, the Sacque-Back had emerged as one of the most fashionable gowns, and by the 1770s, it was second only to court dress in its formality. As these gowns gained popularity, the artist Antoine Watteau captured their elegance in many of his paintings which later led to them being referred to as Watteau Gowns.
Momma knew immediately what to make when she spotted the black-and-white version of this Midnight Pastoral Skeleton Toile
. Toile, or "Toile de Jouy," is a type of fabric with a white or off-white background with a repeated single-color pattern (usually black, dark red, or blue) depicting a pastoral scene such as a couple having a picnic or an
arrangement of flowers.Momma completed My Look with her newly designed Summer Corset. Her childhood spent at the Gulf of Mexico collecting fossilized teeth convinnced her teeth and bones were black. Hence my black "Addie's Rib" summer corset.
A version of this should be available in Momma's Etsy shop within a week.
Neat!
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