Designing a historybounding wardrobe from scratch | Sew authentically

[@SingingSealRiana]

I find it so facinating, how everyone has their own reasons and things they love about historical clothing. my thing for example are long and flowey skirts, tunicy and thin longsleeved blouses for I really like covering up my skin against the sun . . . . and leering looks. I care less about the timeframe of a specific cut of skirt, then it being a long flowey skirt that keeps me cool in the summer and warm in the winter. caftans prairie dresses . . . . someone else is all about victorian leg of mutton sleeves or crinnolin skirts as well as ruffles . . . looking at the various history bounding youtuber, they all have their very own style. Morgan with bold colors, clear lines and layered looks, Rachel with more experiemental, playfull and earther colors, the most practical bounding mariah with shortened skirts and capsel wardrobes, bernadette with those very elegant lines and very restricted color palette and insane attention for detail and so many others. It really pays to follow several of them and their different approchaes to synthesise out of that, what is the best for oneself . . . like we all would love to be bernadette, but in the end neither her style of dress nor approach to sewing are probably the right one for most of us and watching Rachel to just wing it or mariah deciding to just add a zipper can be a quite healthy counterbalance. we are allowed to do shortcuts and loving to look at something does not mean we also would love to wear it!!! taking inspiration is great, but in the end what you sew should be for you and be in your colors and what you are comfortable in, not what you fell in love with on someone else!!! There is no better or right way unless its the one you yourself get the most out of, whatever that is painstakingly handsew ungodly amounts of lace onto underwear no one but you will ever see,or have easely repacable elastic lacing ^^ for example, I love the look of nicoles crinnolin dress in the how hot is vitorian clothing vid from abby . . . . but taking up that much space would drive me insane, similar with bernadets marry poppins dress, gorgeous, but all that lace and white is way to much and delicate at the same time for me and it would give me anxiety to wear . . .

[@kirashane2418]

I didn't realize Morgan Donner coined the term! Shenanigating should definitely be a new term too, love it xD

[@djf8619]

When I started sewing as a teen in the 60s, Mary Quant was one of the current fashion trends. I loved the clean lines, and fun outfits. I also liked the older styles and made outfits that were probably more like what my Mom wore when she was young. I love the new trend toward the older fashions. The young women that are taking this up jus make my heart happy.

[@dianeshiffer364]

Oh gracious, I’m so happy to have found you! I think we are of similar ages... and you’re into historical dress and history bounding. I thought I was a bit of an elderly unicorn and it’s kind of relieving to discover that I’m maybe not as much as I had thought. 😉

[@dianeshiffer364]

My personal favorite styles are the early-mid 20th century (mid teens up through very early 50s) along with a bit of lagenlook thrown in for comfort. I have a nice collection of vintage catalogs that provide me with endless inspiration. My favorites are the old Lane Bryant ones. ❤️❤️❤️

[@AltheaRizzo]

Hey sister! Us unicorns need to stick together! :)

[@karinbaird2499]

I feel the same😀 greetings from Stockholm Sweden 🌷

[@tessTN]

I'm probably the eldest unicorn here, at 60. And just now giving myself permission to dress how I please. 😉 My sweet spot is the late 1940s, after the war, but before the "New Look" took over mainstream American fashion. I've made myself a top, and two house dresses, all from true vintage patterns (funny how one looks 'dressed up' now, in 1940s house dresses!) I also made a 1970s caftan, because who doesn't need one for loafing around the house, or being glamorously under the weather? 😉 Shine on, shine out, my silver sisters and brothers!

[@sandihj]

@@tessTN I’m a bit older than you, but it’s great to realize that not all my contemporaries are in the capris and floral tunic set. Solidarity!

[@anieth]

Hello from Eugene! I may be older than you, but growing up in the 70's was all about history bounding. I made an Edwardian "costume" dress for an orchestra recital when I was 12 and have never looked back. I think history bounding is a way out for many women really, really tired of the stick woman carryover from the 20s. Not sure where the boy look came from and why it persists, but it should be dumped! There are some who can and do wear this well, but it should not be for everyone. Nothing should. I made one of my best friends (5x) a Viking dress and she looked amazing in it. She's very tall and regal, but could not stand proud until she could "masquerade" in history bounding. Glad to see an older sister working this! Let them know that history bounding is for any age. I currently love Edwardian and Medieval, but I make plus size Gunne Sax, Lolita, and Edwardian for my Etsy store. I took a lesson from historical clothing that everything should be adjustable and not for one size only. That's a joke, too.

[@mariekelley7557]

This is just what I've been looking for! I've had a capsule wardrobe for the past 8 or so years - I cant imagine life without one! And while I've been dressing in 1940's/1950's fashions for most of that timeframe, I have been needed a retooling of my capsule and really wanted to extend it to be an intentional history bounding set! I'm going with a mix of 1890-1910, as well as what I already know so well in the 1950's. I hadn't come across too much on a legit capsule choice. Loved seeing your thought process - very well done!

[@AltheaRizzo]

Thank you and I am so glad you found the video useful. ❤️ I can’t wait to see what you do in the future.

[@naolucillerandom5280]

Hey those are the eras I want to do too!

[@cynthiamunro3637]

Wish I could give you 10 likes for all the wonderful issues you bring up and offer positivity to us out in youtube land. I'm going to enjoy all your videos.

[@Randomatcrazytown]

I’m now a sewist but I wish I were. I’m a MUA with a love of Victorian and Edwardian fashion and art dolls. I have recently been inspired to bring in some of there elements into my work attire since I can only wear black and I starting to collect skirts to go with my work t-shirts. I dislike the look of t-shirts so I’ve been playing with the idea of dressing them up with a historical element. I love this video because it’s given me confidence.

[@AltheaRizzo]

There are a lot of fun things you can do to jazz up t-shirts. Search for " t-shirt embellishments" Good luck!

[@vikort1612]

great video! will definitely be trying this approach in curating some sort of cohesive capsule wardrobe, i've been trying for some time now haha. something that bothers me a little is that there is a real lack of masculine/trans/men making these sorts of guides / showing the process of curating capsule wardrobes (from what i've seen thus far; i'm aware of people like Pinsent Tailoring, be queer make stuff, Ash L G, Vincent Briggs, who are trans/masculine people and make historical clothing content, but there isn't as such any guide or whats the phrase, someones footsteps to follow in regard of how to begin curating a masculine or gender fluid wardrobe). As a trans masc nb person the struggle of most mens clothing styles being so mind numbingly boring, or there is not enough content on the funkier historical mens stuff is personally quite rough. I hope the sewing space opens up a bit more in the coming years!

[@poonyaTara]

I ❤️ how your fashion boards include Rachel Maksy and you mentioned Morgan Donner. You've really done your research 🧐

[@AltheaRizzo]

I really enjoy their videos and find any excuse to introduce them to others. :)

[@kirsten4211]

I love how you name your boards!

[@AltheaRizzo]

Thanks! :)

[@farangarris2598]

Oh thank you so much. I am now just starting my history era. We seem to be of the same age also. My kids think I'm nuts but yó know. Thank you.

[@lilaeia]

Any ideas on how to create a “capsule wardrobe” in period style? Two challenges so far are how to mix and match garments when outfits were created as matching head-to-toe sets… and how to create a capsule wardrobe when spanning multiple eras and silhouettes. A 1700s bodice, for example, looks out of place with an 1870s skirt… and vice versa (a late Victorian bodice without a bustle skirt)!! Thanks in advance for ideas 🤗💖🙏

[@AltheaRizzo]

The really truly great thing about historybounding is that you can let a lot of the rules go. You aren't trying to be historically accurate. The deeper goal is to please yourself. Find the thing that you love about fashion history and lean into it. You can mix and match centuries, fandoms, and universes. It just has to look right to you. It's also ok to stick within a single century. For instance, if you pick the 1890s, you could do a couple chemises, corset covers (without the corset), a couple of shirtwaists, a couple of skirts, a pair of biking trousers or men's trousers, and a jacket or two. LizCapism recently had a great video on starting on your historybounding journey. Keep in touch and let us know how it goes. :)

[@lilaeia]

@@AltheaRizzo Thank you so much for your reply 💖 For me, although there is no need to be historically accurate, history-bounding is not really my taste. The true beauty of bygone eras lies in their balance of details, proportion, either vertical or horizontal emphasis depending on the era, scale of prints and ornamentation, colour aesthetic (eg pastel florals in Rococo era, bold colours and brocades in Baroque era)… The moment one changes the silhouette, colours, prints, scale of decorations or trims, neckline (and hence vertical/horizontal visual lines), all the balance in proportions is lost. I would call it Historical Approximation. As true as possible to the colours, trims and silhouettes of the era, without being fussed about things like the exact type of fabric used, or whether something was hand-stitched throughout. Or perhaps the dress is one era and the jewellery taste or shoes are slightly inaccurate for the time. The next level challenge is looking at Kibbe and Kitchener body structure and essences, to consider what works best overall. A more yang type suits square necklines and stiffer fabrics, whilst a more yin type suits more rounded necklines and more flowy fabrics. More the point, some body types work well with colour blocks - like Gamines. A different colour top and bottom is their best look. Those with long visual lines, however, like Dramatics, suit a head-to-toe same colour line. Thus, a bodice and skirt made in the same colour is the way to go - not mixing and matching different colour bodices with different skirts. Unless, of course, you chose an entire wardrobe in the one colour, and made, say, a Baroque skirt, a Rococo skirt, an 1870s skirt and an 1890s skirt all in the same colour… then made matching bodices accordingly and decided you would mix a Rococo bodice with an 1870s skirt, for example… yet stay with the head-to-toe colour. I say this because I am a long visual line type. Colour blocking doesn’t work well for me. A white blouse with a blue skirt, for example, in your 1890s suggestion above, even with a blue Eton jacket, is not my best look. This has made creating a capsule wardrobe that much harder. Being able to mix and match tops and bottoms is quintessential to the idea of a capsule wardrobe!! I have been all over the historical dress-making youtube channels lol. Bernadette, Morgan, Mariah, Cathy, V. Birchwood, yourself of course!, and recently discovered LixCapism… I am all for learning how to do everything possible!! 🤗😇 Everyone has their own aesthetic of course… Bernadette is 1890s dark academia, Morgan more medieval, Lauren Rossi 18th Century panniers, V. Birchwood eclectic 18th Century. Mariah Pattie doing history-bounding capsule wardrobes. I haven’t yet found someone who is trying to mix the eras I’m trying to mix lol, or wearing my style, whom I might emulate. Since I’m not too adept with a sewing machine, making my own and just mixing them up to experiment is a bit difficult, and time-consuming. And paying someone else to make something for me is currently beyond my budget. Especially to commission a few outfits and then discover they won’t mix and match well, and thus the capsule wardrobe doesn’t really serve the minimum items = maximum combinations criteria. Was hoping someone might have some inspired ideas that my brain hasn’t come up with!!! 💝🙏😘🤗

[@Fanny-pf7oz]

I don't know about trying to make a capsule wardrobe work across multiple eras and silhouettes. I personally think that is a very ambitious undertaking, because you need different sort of foundation garments and your outerwear also need to be made accordingly so that they sit right on the foundation garments. There are ways to cheat a bit and there is this one lady on ye olde youtube who manages to make multiple eras and silhouettes work with very few corsets and certain skirt supports. Please refer to 100 Years of Underwear by Lady Rebecca Fashions. Maybe her cheats could point you in the direction you desire. Another one I'd like to mention is Liz von Villas who actually made multiple capsule wardrobes work with each other by adding in bridge pieces. Go watch her video on 100% handmade capsule wardrobe. She's a genius by using a venn diagram of all things to make everything work. That way you could also make a wardrobe work over several eras and silhouette. Who knows?

[@SingingSealRiana]

yeah . . . . you really need to balance those leg of mutton sleeves of it just looks wrong . . . only advice there, go for the less extream and specific things many shirtblouses go great with different typs of skirts no matter what style. go more for the workingclass then the high society look, those are toned down and more forgiving to mix and matching!

[@lilibetp]

You can make your own croqui by taking a photo of you in your undies, printing it out on letter-size paper, then using tracing paper to draw the outline, and making photocopies. You can do different angles (front, back, side, 3/4, etc.) to get an idea how the clothes will really look on you.

[@AltheaRizzo]

Oh, good idea! :)

[@sharondugasartist5608]

Oh, I have so been waiting for this video to find me and I love your process. I am trying to do a similar thing but I have not sewn in 40yrs, sigh! I have started thrift shopping with the hope of pulling together some looks that I can mix and match and tweak. I love dark academia but the thought of wearing tailored wool in my size is daunting. I also love Outlander and have been collecting plaids...your video has really inspired me to stick with it.

[@AltheaRizzo]

Oh, I can't wait to see what you create. Never be afraid to be yourself.

[@kitdubhran2968]

This is so thorough. I’ve watched it through at least once. And I’m back again, for more. ... and because I couldn’t remember Ivey Abitz’ name.

[@AltheaRizzo]

When I am a grown up, I want to get some of her clothes.

[@kitdubhran2968]

@@AltheaRizzo me too. Or adapt some to my body type. Short, stout, extremely busty and with a natural bustle pad. I got turned into her work by Rachel Maksy and haven’t looked back.

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

That’s very well done. I will have to try and figure if I can do something similar. Expand my wardrobe out of jeans and t-shirts.

[@zoesmith9682]

I’m so happy you popped up in my feed today! We have such similar tastes in clothing and I feel even more inspired to create a unique history bounding wardrobe. Greetings from across the pond 😃🇬🇧

[@maryroyal5138]

I just( as in less than a minute again) discovered your channel!! Hooray for me!

[@AltheaRizzo]

thank you! :)

[@chantelmcskimming6633]

Lovely video! I like your fun choice of descriptive words 😊 I also enjoy the idea of courage to choose clothing that makes us happy!!

[@AltheaRizzo]

Yep, we should wear things that delight us. Otherwise, we might as well walk around naked. :D

[@karinbaird2499]

Such an awesome video🥰 Love your style!

[@AltheaRizzo]

Glad you liked it!!

[@katherinebarich3192]

I wish I would have kept my Gunne Sax dress, but it never quite fit my farming girls arms. It looks like you have a collection of princess line coats and jackets - which is something I would really like to do for myself. I CAN see you in something professorial! And I also like that more modern Tasha Tudor look you were featuring by Ivey Abitz. I saw an idea for a custom croqui. Have someone take a picture of you in leotard/tights, and then print it out. Trace your own proportions from the photo. This week I caught some of Penguin and Pear's youtube channel, where she features places to grab some larger size patterns.

[@AltheaRizzo]

I had one that was yellow and had lots of lace. I wore it until it fell apart. the skirt had such lovely swosh. :)

[@OpalWilde]

Just found your channel. Thanks for a lovely video - subscribed. xxx

[@hedgerow.homestead]

I would love to peak at your fashion boards - would you consider making them not secret?

[@AltheaRizzo]

Done! www.pinterest.com/TheAltheaRizzo/z_personal-fashions/

[@penelope-oe2vr]

I'm starting with short stays, that are the top half of a basic corset pattern. So corset is next. Then a chemise, then petticoats, and use the above under my current skirts and shirts and then replace my modern skirts and shirts one by one with history inspired ones. I'm having a hard time though figuring out what they call/name shirts and cute jackets to find to make. Hope this makes sense?

[@AltheaRizzo]

Learning the words to use in searches is key to finding information. Check your local library to see if they have some basic clothing history books. That is always a good place to start. You could come over to the Facebook group and we can help you out. Just search for Rose Cottage Notions. :)

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

Or ask a kid... mine are very inclined to lecture about keywords!! I was using keywords not my fault that words are changing.

[@savannanicoll1507]

great video!

[@AltheaRizzo]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@christacorvidae615]

I love your style! it's very similar to mine :D will be following your pinterest board as well. Can you share where you fouond the plus size outlines? thanks

[@christacorvidae615]

oh and you have a JUKI too! I love mine!

[@AltheaRizzo]

Thank you! I purchased the plus sized croquis from Zoe Hong’s shop. :) I love supporting other small businesses.

[@SuperMrsMar]

Hi! I just found your channel, this video popped up in my recommended videos. I love how you show so many images and examples, it was really helpful. I have a question, and maybe a video idea for you, how to you tackle tops/blouses when history bounding? The skirts were something I could figure out fine, but the blouses keep tripping me up. I love the 1890s, specifically 1897-8, however, I live in the desert and am not willing to wear coats or jackets for 9 months out of the year. The blouses are giving me trouble because I don't know what to go with? White with lots of lace for every blouse (white doesn't look good on me, I look washed out), just tone down the sleeves and broad shoulders? But you lose something of the look when you leave out the jacket. Make a bodice or vest? I just don't know. Can you please help?

[@AltheaRizzo]

Oohh, super interesting question. It's really hot here in summer, also. I plan to make some linen vests and make blouses out of the lightest linen I can find. I'll keep my lovely wools in storage for the cold rainy months. As for the color, you could do any color blouse you like. White has come to seen as the norm, but history bounding is an interpretation of the past to suit your own tastes and situation. Let us know how it goes.

[@lilaeia]

Or you could get creative… and make a cotton or linen jacket, with a mock blouse filling in the neckline, as a standalone garment worn in place of a blouse!! 💖🤗🙃

[@lilaeia]

Unbleached cotton or linen could be an option in place of white? If you are cool-toned, an off-white that has a drop or grey or blue… or if you are warm-toned, a soft ivory or champagne colour could be a pretty neutral 💖💖

[@SuperMrsMar]

@@stevezytveld6585 ooo, that sounds lovely!

[@sandihj]

My biggest challenge is that I live in a year-round very hot climate, but so much of the clothing I love is far too many layers of too heavy fabric to work for me. I have reached a mental block once I get past chemises of one era or another. Any ideas, anyone?

[@alisacorgard3259]

I know this is a late reply but there are videos on youtube about how lots of layers of natural fibers can actually feel cooler in hot weather then a typical summer wardrobe in synthetic fibers. Abby Cox and V. Birchwood are two different channels that have a video on this subject. There was also a Daisy Victoria video that mentioned that they had enough space to put ice packs under their clothes to keep themselves cool through an off season photoshoot and many historical garments have that extra space between the structure of the corset or stays and the shape of the body.

[@SingingSealRiana]

layers can be very heat appropriet!!! Thin natural fiber fabrics protect the skin from direct sun while allowing a lot of airflow and allow for the moisture to evaporate which cools down quite effectivly. There is a reason many cultures wore kaftans and such. I own a skirt mage from two layers of cotton, in summer it feels breezy and cool, in winter, it is astonishingly isolating and I wore it without thights while we had snow . . . what styls do you like? if one knows what you like one might get ideas how to adapt it!

[@FlavorsandTextures]

Very good video!