Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

The Costume Maker's Companion

Your site is simply a dream! I am so grateful and excited to be part of it!   Find out what else people are saying about Your Wardrobe Unlock'dTM
Levitsky_mniszek_1782

Passionate about historical clothing

Travel back in time... and find the dressmaking and tailoring answers you always wanted.

At YWU you can find the community, information and inspiration to stay positive, improve your sewing rapidly & make costuming a pleasure. More

Tissot_lilacs_1875Be a winner!

Double Period Project 2010

Take part in our annual costume-making competition and get recognised in the costuming world.

Fabulous prizes are on offer for the winners, while in-depth tutorials and articles will help you make your best historical clothing yet. More


New Articles ~ March 2010

April's issue will go live on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

1770-1789: Rococo to Revolution by Carolyn Dowdell PDF Print E-mail

1776 Riding habitThe period 1770-1789 was a time of transition in Europe and North America. It is this period that historians have long considered the dawn of the Modern Age. 

Fashion often acts as a visual guide and barometer of social values and conditions, and within such a climate of change during the 1770s and 1780s, it was impossible that fashion would not be influenced.

Register to read more...
 
8 Votes

2 Comments

Taming the Stash by Diane Yoshitomi PDF Print E-mail

Choosing the wedding gown  by Oliver GoldsmithCan any of us pinpoint the precise moment when our modest collection of fabric, trim, patterns, buttons, and other costuming materials turned into a bona fide, oh-my-gosh-it's-taking-over-the-house Stash?

Probably not.

Like Carl Sandburg's "Fog," it crept in on little cat feet, and now we find ourselves in possession of more Stuff than we can possibly recall... as we stand at the sales counter buying even more of what we might already have tucked into closets and drawers, stacked in boxes, and hidden under the bed.

Register to read more...
 
7 Votes

8 Comments

Two fabric handbags of the 1920's by Danine Cozzens PDF Print E-mail

20spurse_iconI love handbags. They are the cherry on the banana split of fashion ensembles. Like hats, they complete and complement your gown. Properly researched, they add credibility to your historic or vintage attire.

Two bags came into my hands a few years ago: two wristlet purses, artfully gathered and sewn onto the highly popular Bakelite bangles of the era. “Cheap, fast and easy” was a phrase applied to high-living flappers, but the same could be said of these bags aswell. I'll show you how to recreate them both.

Register to read more...
 
2 Votes

1 Comment

Fashion Review 1876-1882 by Manon Antoinette PDF Print E-mail
The London and Paris Ladies magazine of Fashion, November 1882

Now that we have had an introduction into the fashion of the Natural Form, it's time to proceed with choosing the details of your outfit. There are many options depending on the year that's taken your fancy.

I will start by focussing on the particulars of fashion by year, and covering the three types of dress: Day dress, Evening dress and Ball dress.

Register to read more...
 
6 Votes

0 Comments

Natural Form Era Socks & Stockings by Marion McNealy PDF Print E-mail
Edouard Manet, Woman fastening her stockings, 1878

Knitted, embroidered, striped and painted: the Natural Form era had a diversity of stocking options for ladies.  

Far beyond plain black or white, catalogs of the era carried fancy knitted stockings in gold, green and bright cardinal red zig zags, striped stockings in cardinal red, garnet, tan, grey and blue and embroidered cotton stockings in red, gold, black and white.

So get ready to shop for the perfect stockings, thread your embroidery needle or grab your knitting needles! We're diving into the realm of stockings and socks with fashion reports, catalogs from 1882, stocking embroidery diagrams and  lots of knitting patterns for socks and stockings for all ages.

Register to read more...
 
3 Votes

1 Comment

Letters, Questions & Advice: March 2010 PDF Print E-mail

Doll dressed in the latest fashion in 1857This month:

  • Trisha asks about creating a dress form for a French fashion doll and patterns for it.
  • Shawn inquires about the historically correct way to piece an 1880 chemise
  • Cathy explains about the DPP Corsets competition and FR

 

Register to read more...
 
0 Votes

1 Comment