Parts of a Cosplay Part 1

Since I have been in a cosplay dry spell since I completed Amilyn Holdo over six months ago, largely because of financial constraints, I have been left in a place where the closest I can come to starting a new project is dreaming and sketching, which led me to think a great deal about how I plan out a cosplay.  I think this is a really important skill that's hard to master, but it's absolutely essential to the final outcome to understand how the costume will be built from the inside out BEFORE starting to even shop for materials.

Cosplay is, and always will be, an experiemental craft, so I am not necessarily telling you that you need to have a step-by-step layout of what goes where on your costume.  Rather, that what goes underneath will affect everything that goes on top of it.  I've made this mistake so many times in my own projects.  In fact, I'm staring at a 1770s robe a la polonaise (okay, it's a historical repro, not a cosplay, but bear with me) that I made BEFORE making or purchasing a proper corset.  The result is that the bodice fits...a little snug in the bust, which means I can't wear it at all until I make a corset *specifically for this dress that can't be worn with any other dress* because I need bust compression that I would normally consider too extreme for comfort.  This is a lesson that I should know well by now, but I know, we all want to get to the exciting part, and no one ever thought that hand-stitching a 1770s corset was good fun.

To get myself back into the swing of properly planning a project, and to give you what I hope will be a good primer in how to do this, I thought I would start out with some exercises to help you understand how this process works.  This is something that takes practice and research and a great deal of understanding with regards to how outfits are put together and how garments are constructed, so don't feel bad if it takes some time.  My first few examples will be relatively easy because they will be paintings or photos of ensembles from real human history and ALL of them will be ensembles that I have made, so you can see the final result.  Later we will get to the fantasy cosplay stuff because that requires more creativity and problem-solving.  These, at least, we can be relatively certain existed in one form or another, so we aren't dealing with incompatible garments or gravity-defying shit.

La Duquesa Blanca by Francisco Goya, 1785, Collection of the Dukes of Alba

This is a fairly simple outfit, and it's one that I covered on here in a fairly recent post.  It's a good place for me to start this lesson because we know the date of this painting, who the subject is, exactly where she lived (Spain), and that she likely posed for it.  A fashionable garment in the 1790s, it would not be hard to find that this type of garment has several possible names from "robe en chemise" or "chemise a la reine" to "Chemise à l'Anglaise" and that, while all of those names have specific connotations with regards to the style of the garment, all of them will be good keywords to use when researching how to make this garment and what was worn underneath it.

The dress itself is likely made of a lightweight cotton Swiss dot textile, almost sheer, so that you can see the layers of fabric rippling beneath it.  Although the sash lowers the waist visually, the waist on a dress like this is right below the bust and all the skirt fabric is gathered at this point.  Research will tell you that early versions of this dress, such as Marie Antoinette's famous chemise a la reine, were often NOT gathered to a "waistband" but gathered only at the neckline and then belted at the waist with a sash.  For this particular outfit, either version is an option, although by the mid-1790s you were much more likely to see this style of dress WITH a waistband.  That will be especially helpful in keeping the gathers over the bosom perfectly in place the way the Duchess's are.  Below you can see two examples of this type of chemise dress from the 1790s without a sash so that you can see where the waist falls. 

Dress, American, 1799, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988.242.4

Vestido (dress), linen and silk, 1795-1805, CE000668, Museo del Traje

Because we are already talking about a garment called some form of a "chemise dress", named so because it resembles the ladies' undergarment of the same name, it can be hard to conceptualize the idea of putting structural undergarments under such a seemingly freeform ensemble.  It is very important, I tell you, that you do not skip this step!  With a few exceptions, a corset was ALWAYS worn in the 18th century and if you have a corset then you MUST have a chemise to prevent the corset from chafing and blistering your skin.  Design your undergarments with the final ensemble in mind.  The Duchess's dress is very low-cut, so your chemise and corset must have a suitably wide and low neckline.  The following chemise would be the perfect undergarment and this corset from the Victoria and Albert Museum will give you the necessary "perky" bosom for this silhouette.  You also need a good petticoat or two and likely also a butt pad.

Chemise, French, late 18th century, linen, C.I.41.161.7, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Stays, England or France, Cotton, c.1790, T.237-1983, Victoria and Albert Museum

There is very little else to this ensemble besides the sash, which at this time would have been a simple rectangular piece of fabric long enough to wrap around your waist a few times.  The shimmer indicates that, unlike the dress, it's probably a high-quality silk taffeta or some other suitably shiny silk.  I am not an expert in jewelry and decided to forgo the bracelets, but you can certainly find information about this type of cuff by researching the painting itself and by researching late 18th century jewelry.  The necklace is likely coral or some precious red stone.  Appropriate shoes for the late 18th century can be hard to find, but I encourage you not to forget that footwear can really make or break the visual authenticity of a costume.

Shoes, 1785-1795, Spanish, MR000863, collection of the Museo del Traje, photo by AlbinoShadow Cosplay

Me as the Duchess of Alba at Federal Hall, New York City

For my second historical example before we get into the cosplay stuff, I will jump ahead about seventy years to the late 1860s.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, c.1867, Drexel University Archives and Special Collections, P2122

I have a fascination with "cosplaying" (err, I'm sorry, in reenactment we call them "impressions," my bad) as historical figures.  Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a doctor and surgeon who served in the Civil War and a lifelong dress reformer.  Around 1870 she stopped wearing skirts at all and only wore masculine suits, but at the point where this photo was taken just after the War (it was taken after because she received her Medal of Honor for services rendered in wartime), she was still wearing the short dress and trousers of the dress reformers.  I am upping the difficulty a little bit with this example because in this case there are NO publicly-known surviving examples of exactly this type of reform dress (if you find any, please email me?), so this is a little closer to cosplay where we must recreate a garment that we can never see in person.

We are lucky, in this case, that one of Dr. Walker's contemporaries and friends, Dr. Harriet Austin, wrote and spoke about how she dressed and how her garments were made.  We know already from articles about the Dress Reform movement in general that these women refused the corset and voluminous petticoats on the grounds that they inhibited the wearer's ability to move.

Dr. Harriet Austin in a similar ensemble to Dr. Walker's, unknown date, 03169, Loma Linda University Department of Archives and Special Collections

These dresses are cut fashionably for the 1850s or 60s and in that way, even without a corset, it gives the wearer some of the effect of fashionable (that is, WITH a corset) dress.  That said, you can definitely tell that neither Dr. Walker's nor Dr. Austin's bosoms (yes, I'm telling you to look at their bosoms) are not propped up the way a foundational undergarment would.  They looks fairly natural, which is not what we are used to seeing in 1860s fashion.  In any case, patterns for 1860s combined skirt and bodice dresses are fairly common and may even be what these women used to make their garments.  I would not be surprised to find that these dresses had boning just like their fashionable counterparts, at least for such a smooth fit over the waist, which would have provided some bust support.

As for the trousers, I will pass the microphone to Dr. Austin herself, who leaves little to the imagination with regards to what these look like:
"My pantaloons are all cut, at the bottom, like a gentleman’s  I like them better than straight ones; and those which some ladies have worn, full and fathered at the bottom, are “unmentionable.”  My pattern was cut by a tailor, his wife taking the measures.  Where this is not practiceable, a skillful person may cut a pattern from a pair of gentleman’s pants.  I always wear a pair of elastic suspenders."
(““The American Costume.”” The Louisville Daily Courier, 24 March 1860)

This being the 19th century, every person wears undergarments, so once again, we must consider what will both work with this ensemble and fit into the parameters set forth by the Dress Reformers.  Once again eloquently put by Dr. Austin:
"The best undergarments, for winter particularly, are a waist, with long close sleeves, and drawers buttoning to the waist.  These may be of jean, cotton, flannel, or other warm material, and if this is not sufficient, woolen flannel garments, corresponding to the inner ones, may be worn over them.  Ladies of the feeblest vitality dress comfortably in this costume.  Some can wear over their inner drawers, another pair wadded.—The drawers may be buttoned or tied onto the pants at the top, instead of buttoning to the waist.  Of course, each person will arrange all such matters according to their own judgement." 
(““The American Costume.”” The Louisville Daily Courier, 24 March 1860) 

While we are left with our modern difficulties in parsing exactly what Dr. Austin is talking about, I would guess that a "waist" means either a corset cover or an underbodice, which would have been a typical undergarment and would have worked quite well...provided you don't need too much bust support (how bustier dress reformers achieved this is still a big questions mark).

Corset cover or underbodice c.1860, via Antique-Gown

When Dr. Austin talks about drawers, my guess is that she's not referring to women's drawers, which I could not fit under my pair of authentic 19th century men's trousers.  They were too bulky and with the split crotch just didn't want to, well, behave.  So I expect that the dress reformers were wearing something closer to men's drawers.  I can't find any photos of men's drawers from the 1860s with a confirmed date, but they looked something like this:

Godey's Lady's Book, September 1869

With that, you've got most of your outfit from inside out.  I will admit that I forwent the corset cover and drawers and wore a regular (authentic) chemise instead, but as Dr. Austin said, "each person will arrange such matters according to their own judgement"!

The final touches to consider are Dr. Walker's watch pocket, watch and chain, and, if you're really going for photo realism, her Medal of Honor (which I decided to leave off).  I took my hair inspiration from another photo of Dr. Walker.

Vogue, August 1989

My reform dress at Mt. Vernon Hotel and Museum; photo by Elisa Libratty

At Mt. Vernon Hotel and Museum with Elisa Libratty; Photo by Kathy Libratty

That's all I have for this post, which is probably one of the most comprehensive that I have written to date!  I will be posting this on Instagram and Facebook and I look forward to your feedback.  Which cosplays do you want me to break down for my next post or posts?  Do you want more historical examples?  What would you find most helpful?  Leave me a comment here or on any of my social media!

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