It has taken me months to put together just the right kind of lace and fabric to make this gown up for an Tonner American Model doll. This is one of the gowns I viewed in the back room of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a dream come true and I knew I wanted to reproduce these gowns as close as I could to what I saw, only in a doll size. I choose the American model, because of her size, and her ability to pose, as well as how pretty she is. My model had a straight ponytail, so one of the first things I had to do was to restyle her hair into a Gibson Girl style.
This first gown is from 1884, in an iridescent burgundy taffeta, with a black net {not nylon} overlay. That is then hand sewn with black lace motifs. The bottom ruffle, of the skirt {which is separate}, is hand pleated from the same netting. and a black net {nylon}ruffle is laid under this to help create fullness.
On the underside of the skirt is a dust ruffle with edges pinked with scolloped sheers. The bottom facing only extends less than half way up from the bottom.
There are several different style laces decorating this bodice and skirt, and I tried to match them as closely as I could. I have paid very strict attention to every detail, and reproduced the gown as closely as I could to what I viewed.
I hope you like this endeavor , and can perhaps see the likeliness to the original as well as the many hours spent recreating it. Please email me if you have any questions or comments, as I would like to hear what you think.
