At my house in the country.



Awaiting my guests in the Octagon Room at Orleans House

This magnificent gown is the most elaborate I possess. The overgown is deep blue Dupion silk shot with red, and the underskirts are silver taffeta, with rows of silver lace-trimmed flounces. The gown is decorated with serpentine curlicues and borders of gathered and ruched organza and silk, silver lace-edged bows, and the elbows flare to reveal three layers of lace-trimmed chiffon ruffles. The stomacher, over which the gown is fastened with silver lacing, is silver brocade, over-embroidered in coloured silk threads. The entire costume is supported on folding panniers and heavy petticoats, worn below a tightly laced corset with a rigid busk. The wig and headdress is constructed over a wire framework, and decorated with ribbons, bows, and ostrich feather plumes.

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Here are some details of this masterpiece:  



Flounces of the silver petticoat




Embroidery on the stomacher




Decoration of gown and sleeves



The inside of the gown

Strolling in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace.

This panniered gown was my first effort at reproducing eighteenth-century fashion. The gown is made of a pale gold satin fabric with little flower patterns, edged with borders of gathered chiffon, and with generous masses of lace at the elbows. The underskirts are moire taffeta with two rows of deep flounces. The gown is fastened over a stomacher with five satin ribbon bows. The ensemble is worn over corset and panniers - details of which can be found on another page. Ostrich plumes, flowers, and rows of 'pearls' decorate the tall wig. Underneath the gown I wear layers of petticoats, pantaloons, stockings, and high heeled shoes covered in taffeta.

Cinderella's gown has pale blue Dupion silk overskirts and a patterned brocade silk bodice constructed in one piece with the stomacher and fastened at the back (with a zip - cheat!) Lacy ruffles adorn the elbows, and bodice and skirts are edged with pearl and lace trims. The petticoat is pale pink taffeta with a deep flounce at the hem. The wig has been adapted from the one seen in the first picture.

What an extraordinary experience it is to wear these fabulous fashions! I feel totally transformed into "Madam Marcia du Pompadour" and slip effortlessly into that role. Actually getting dressed in these costumes is anything but effortless, though! It is a lengthy process, entailing a marked degree of discomfort. The corset has to be laced up as tightly as I can bear, when it braces back my shoulders unyieldingly. The weight of the panniers and skirts bears heavily on my waist. The effort of bending down to put on my shoes leaves me breathless. Yet, once completely dressed, the discomfort fades, and I begin to enjoy the support of the corset, and accept the restrictive hoops as necessary. The entire effect is literally breathtaking! It is amazing how naturally I seem to adopt the correct carriage and posture, and how readily I find I can handle the encumbrance of those enormous skirts. I feel my confidence growing by the minute that I could maintain this role indefinitely.

And yet, all this effort is fruitless unless I am to be seen and admired. These fashions are so thoroughly restrictive that there is, after all, very little that I can actually do while dressed in this way. I have worn each of them at events where I received such abundant adulation that I cannot imagine how such experiences could ever be surpassed. Those occasions remain among my most treasured memories.

Click here for details of my corsets and panniers

To see pictures of these fashions that have inspired me, click here!