Bodices

The day bodice

Here’s a picture of the day bodice in the making, still without sleeves, decoration and the detachable gilet front. The basque – still without waistband – is pinned to the underskirt.

As you can see I have made the sides of the bodice from black velvet.
This was not just done to save some of my precious blue patterned fabric – it also creates the optical illusion of me being thinner than I actually am. Making the sides of a garment darker than the front and back middle pieces generally creates this illusion, and it’s a good method if your natural body shape is no more the one of a 20 years old.