The Fashionable Figure series continues in Maitland, Florida:  Build Your Regency Wardrobe!  Regency instructors Jennie Chancey and Audrey Russell return with three more workshops to help you build your Bridgerton or Jane Austen inspired wardrobe! 

Mercy A. enrolled in my Regency Gown class in 2022 and has just gone to town with making one gown after another—then altering the pattern to create overdresses and more. I am so proud of her work, which she shares here!

Teresa shared these photos of the dresses she made from my Regency and Romantic era patterns for various events in 2021. Doesn’t everyone look splendid? What fun!

I love it when long-time customers send me links to what they’ve been up to, and this one totally takes the cake. Laura and her friend, Michele, decided to recreate looks from the new “Emma” film, and WOW!! The historical eye candy is real, folks!

WWD contacted me a few weeks ago to talk about a new trend their editors had spotted due to the massive uptick in viewers of Regency film and television adaptations over the last year. They’d christened it “Regencycore”….

This very talented seamstress just reached out to share what she had made with my patterns, and I was bowled over! I always cheer hardest for beginners, but I hardly think she fits that category any longer. BRAVA, Adina! This is simply spectacular work!

21 years ago, two customers, harp-playing sisters who loved to wear beautiful gowns while they performed, dropped me a line to ask if I'd consider bringing out patterns for some of my designs. At that point, I'd been filling custom sewing orders for about 18 months, mainly catering to the Regency/Napoleonic groups in the D.C. area by making day dresses and ball gowns. I'd also fallen in love with Regency fashions for everyday wear, finding them an excellent match for my expectant silhouette in 1997! But, while I designed patterns for my customers and myself, I hadn't considered publishing any of them. After all, that was what Big Companies did, and how could I possibly compete in a market that was positively flooded with patterns?

After finishing the bodice base, it was time to make the sleeves. Because this material is so thin and delicate, I chose to make full long sleeves with short oversleeves instead of using removable under sleeves. The fantastic border of this beautiful sari fabric provided me with an instant border for the long sleeve hems and the sleeve bands of the short sleeves.