Titanic - Downton Abbey inspired dress tutorial

Hello guys! After some days of heavy rain and storm we have sun, spring, hot weather and ice creams, lol!

Today I'd like to talk you about my first Titanic - Downton Abbey - Edwardian inspired dress using Simplicity pattern 8399. I've always been in love with the dresses worn by Kate Winslet in Titanic (1997), and since I was a child I dreamt to wear an Edwardian costume. The pattern is not 100% accurate but it creates a nice look, though it needs some adjustments. First of all, the shape of dress is too large to be a perfect Edwardian dress and it looks more like a Regency costume, so I suggest you to choose a tight fitting. The back closes with a zip so if you're looking for  a good historical pattern,  this is not the one for you (you can always change the zip with some buttons). The pattern includes two dresses inspired by the movie Titanic, the swimdress and the jumpdress; for my costume I used the swimdress pattern (model A) which is more "daily" and simple. The original dress is made of several layers of chiffon but for mine I used two fabrics only, overdress and skirt. I'm planning to sew a good replica of the swimdress in the future, but for the moment I need to improve my skills. 

The fabric I used it grey silk with a georgette black skirt, the ribbon is of black satin. I used a normal white blouse I had in my wardrobe as bodice. As underwear, I wore a longline corset to recreate the Edwardian silhouette a little. The gloves are true vintage gloves from my grandma while the hat comes from a flea market for a couple of euros! I know the hat is not Edwardian but I don't have another one heheh *blushes* 

So, for this model you'll need:

- Pattern (of curse)

- Fabric

- Lace/trims

- A blouse/white bodice

- Satin ribbon

- Many accessories as gloves, hats, jewels

My fabric was a gift so I've been very lucky, and I had to buy the skirt only. I started cutting the two pieces of the over dress and I noticed immediately it was really large to fit the Edwardian shape (so avoid the piece 6A included in the pattern); the overdress bodice has been really fast to cut and sew because the sleeve is included in the main piece. I attached it to the overdress skirt easily and then I've been forced to accept the challenge with the remaining fabric of the skirt back: I did some pince inside the dress to hide the excessive fabric but next time I'll do a tighter cut. 

After sewing the skirt I basted it to the overdress and put the dress on with the white blouse. Then I sewed the pieces with the sewing machine and added two carriers for the ribbon on the back. The final touch has been the black lace all around the sleeves and the overdress hems, and this part took me a while to be completed since I proceeded pinning the lace to the fabric and sewing it step by step with the machine.

The basted dress on

That's the finished dress on during a shooting: