Gown Closure Ideas

[Orphena]

Greetings! In planning a new gown, I am wondering what type of options I have for a closure. I know about lacing – currently my bodice is ladder laced up the front, with a stomacher worn underneath. The problem is that is takes SO long to get into it – I cannot leave it laced, so every time I must lace myself up it takes a good 10 or 20 minutes. If at all possible, I would like to be able to continue displaying the stomachers – so that means an open closure (I hope that makes sense!). My stomachers are simple triangles, about 10 inches wide in the top (That's a guess), and tapering down to a point – the open closure does not need to be that wide, but at least 4 or 5 inches would be nice.

What are your ideas? (Or am I crazy!?!)

[CenturiesSewing]

You could do the theater trick and sew the front to have mock lacing and tack the stomachers behind it. Then you have the option to make the gown side or back lacing.

I don't know what style of gown you are planning but another option would be a doublet gown which could button or hook up the front. Pin the stomacher to your corset or kirtle and wear the doublet unbuttoned/unhooked part of the way and the edges folded back.

[isabelladangelo]

I'm wondering how you are lacing.  (sorry if that sounds funny)   It never takes me more than five if I'm using a front lacing and that's with a lot of eyelets.   You might want to change the way you lace.

Other period options are good ole buttons and hooks and eyes.  Both are very period but lacing is honestly the easiest because of the whole weight gain, weight loss issue.  It doesn't matter nearly as much if you lace than if you use hooks and eyes or buttons.   

Have you seen the closures in the 17th Century Women's Dress Patterns book?  There is a lovely mid century gown that has a hidden front lacing that the stomacher was to be pinned over.   

[operafantomet]

Greetings! In planning a new gown, I am wondering what type of options I have for a closure. I know about lacing – currently my bodice is ladder laced up the front, with a stomacher worn underneath. The problem is that is takes SO long to get into it – I cannot leave it laced, so every time I must lace myself up it takes a good 10 or 20 minutes. If at all possible, I would like to be able to continue displaying the stomachers – so that means an open closure (I hope that makes sense!). My stomachers are simple triangles, about 10 inches wide in the top (That's a guess), and tapering down to a point – the open closure does not need to be that wide, but at least 4 or 5 inches would be nice.

Try using a lacing cord that is three or four times as long as the one you're currently using. You only have to loosen the lacing to get out of the dress, and tighten it again when getting dressed. Which means you don't have to deal with the actual lacing holes each time.

For one of my non-historical (but Rococo inspired) dresses I'm using a stomacher in front. What I do is to use hooks and eyes to attach the stomacher to the dress; three on each side. It works very well. But the skirt also have a waistband closed under the stomacher, and there's a bow tied in the upper bodice (it has A opening instead of V opening). I think that helps "anchoring" the outfit. Here's a closeup of the bodice:

[Master James]

Frankly if you don't care about historical accuracy and are just looking for quick way to  secure the front and then put the stomacher over that, why not use velcro?  Heavy duty velcro that is long enough to bridge the gap, go through a velcro eyelet (wide plastic eylet meant for velcro) and then back on itself will hold just fine and be fast and easy to put on.  You can then either hook and eye the stomacher on or snaps or even velcro as well.  Just a thought.  If you want to stick with H/A method then spiral lacing will be way faster than traditional cross lacing and it is H/A whereas cross lacing is not.  Hope this helps.

[gem]

I love the doublet gown idea, particularly if you go with clasps--they are quick, quick, quick. You also have the option of wearing it closed or open, depending on the weather.

Otherwise... if you want to stick with the current stomacher + ladder lacing, why not put your functional lacing in the back? You could leave the front permanently laced up, with spiral lacing in the back, which would only take a minute to do up. If your eyelets and cord matched your gown color, they'd be practically invisible.

There are also examples of mid-16th c. English gowns that close up the front with hooks and eyes... and the Margo Anderson patterns include this (front-and-back opening bodice) as an option. You'd have the weight-adjustability of lacing in the back, but a quick entry with hooks in front. I made a bodice last summer with skirt hooks (the really heavy duty slide hooks), and was impressed by how well they worked. (That bodice was supposed to *button,* but my machine balked at the layers, so I had to improvise.)

[Orphena]

While I like the idea of a doublet - the faire that I am on cast for tends towards Tudor (though my preference is definately Elizabethan!)- and as I am the only person on cast allowed to wear their own garb, I don't want to push the envelope any further than my current gown.

I would like to keep this gown somewhat historical - in case I am again asked to do "dress a lady" - so options like velcro are not feasable for me at this time. I also would like to be able to wear the stomachers with my existing gown, so adding hooks or eyes to them is not really possible - currently my stomacher is held in by the tension of the lacing.

My laces are already VERY long - I use embroidery needles to assist with getting the ribbon through the holes, but due to ladder lacing, each hole is passed through twice - which means it doubles lacing time - but I DO like the ladder lacing in general - it is just that when trying to get dressed in front of an audience with a single attendant, this makes for a long, boring - ish segment of the show. I also cannot just slip in and out of the bodice as if it were a sweater - the sleeves and the corset make such gymnastics uncomfortable.

I guess I was thinking of trying to make the stomacher look like a guard down the center of the bodice, without having to lace it. It doesn't look like that will be an option - but I do appreciate your ideas!

[Adriana Rose]

What about the button loops that are used on wedding dresses? When they are looped on the button it looks like it was laced, especially when you have the larger sized loops.

To make your lesson go quicker for the audience. Also it would make your life easier to get dressed if you don't have an attendant.

[isabelladangelo]

  Stomachers were tied over (ie, they had ribbon ties on the front of the gowns and the stomacher was underneath) however, they were mostly used during pregnancy in the Tudor period.  You can see several examples here with various closures:

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/morenostell.jpg