Yesterday was my first wearing of the suffragette dress and it was great! It was also educational on many levels.

All of the layers fluff me out a lot, but I love how clearly the shape of the clothes fall into the right silhouette.

Here is a close up photo that shows the detail. I love this insert lace so much. It is a bit spiderweb inspired, and original to the early 1900s. I got it on Etsy. Here is a close up of the lace and process video for setting in the sleeves.

Using old lace

Something to note on old lace- most of the time the color is just from age. I bought this lace when it was a deep tan color. A soak in cool water with a drop of dish soap and it brightened to an ivory white. No fancy techniques needed, just a soak in a small bowl and hanging it to dry took away the years beautifully. Note: the lace is quite light, just looks darker over skin here.

Using insert lace (see process photos here) also helped with the heat of the day brilliantly. Every small breeze cooled my neck and arms more than I expected. I was able to wander through the stalls at a local strawberry festival at a Victorian mansion on an 80+ degree day for several hours.

The stiff cotton of my under petticoat held the weight of the skirts off my legs enough that it cooled me a bit when I walked. Hurrah for another antique! The cotton petticoat I use is an original that I put a new waistband on. The fabric is so very tightly woven that the fabric is quite stiff, though still thin. I would love to get my hands on about 25 yards more of the stuff and make a petticoat for every silhouette.

Suffragette dress sash

I made the whole outfit, except the sash. There is a wonderful Etsy seller who makes these sashes very inexpensively. I love supporting other artists, and I highly recommend taking a look at her work. She has a wide range of items to add to your suffragette dresses. Purple and gold are the US colors, Purple and green for the UK.

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Suffragette dress patterns

I used the Truly Victorian Edwardian 1903 patterns for the chemise, drawers, corset, corset cover, shirtwaist and trumpet skirt. The patterns are excellent! I modified as I went for my figure, and to add detail. These are great patterns to use for the finished garment or as a base. Example: the blousewaist (shirt) pattern is plain, but it was simple to put in insert lace to the cut out pieces as I was making the dress.

Suffragette dress hat

I made the hat from a $2 hat. This link will show you the step by step process. The morning I wore the dress I added a bunch of pink netting fluff for added “oomph”. My only complaint is that the brim is so floppy, so I may put in some hat wire to help it out.

Wearing the hat it felt huge. I had to duck under things like I was holding an umbrella. Looking at photos from the time though? I could have gone a lot bigger! I have a big Pinterest board on Edwardian Daywear, if you are curious.