Robe à la Française: A New Project

March 12, 2021

Robe à la Française: A New Project

I first saw a Robe à la Française in season 2 of Outlander. It was love at first sight. I loved the extreme hip shape that looked like a shelf and the back design which gave a cape-like look to the gown. I knew from that moment that I was going to make a Robe à la Française one day. Now is that day.

I will be applying for Toi Whakaari's course in Costume Construction later this year. When decided which two costumes to make for my submission, a Robe à la Française was my first thought.

What I need to make

Basic under petticoat
Pocket hoops (Panniers)
Top petticoat
Stomacher
The Gown
Lace sleeves
Lace tucker
So much trim

I already have some stays that I made last year which will work for this.

I have a shift that was one of the first things I ever made. I will probably be redoing this as it's not very well made. I'll probably do this quite late in the project as I don't think it will take me very long to make.

I will be following 'The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking' as my main source of instruction. I will be changing some things such as trim decoration, stomacher design, lace trim design, and the top petticoat. For the top petticoat, I will be making the back panel out of cotton and the front panel out of silk. This is to save myself some money as no one will be seeing the back panel when the gown is worn.

I'll be using a mix of hand sewing and machine sewing depending on which part of the project. I have ordered some silk thread but will have to use polyester until the silk arrives. I haven't found good quality silk thread in NZ so I've had to order from overseas which can sometimes take up to two months. Fingers crossed it doesn't take that long.

Now, let's see some of the pretty gowns that I'm taking inspiration from.