Advice needed - bodice detail

[Lady Rosalind]

Hi folks! I am smack in the middle of an extremely large project right now, and am stuck on a small detail. I really just need some opinions on the waist treatment for a bodice I am working on for a friend.

Here is the bodice (the color is a dark lavender taffeta, with darker purple iridescent taffeta binding):




The question I have is this: for the square tabs at for the waist, do the tabs look better with or without piping?

Without:


With piping:


I am leaning towards the piped version, but really wanted to get some opinions before I spent more time on this part... Any help is really appreciated! 

(fixed that top link!)

[Syrilla]

What are you doing on the bodice and for the shoulder treatments?

[Lady Rosalind]

Thanks for the quick response! The shoulder treatments will be looped tabs, longer than normal, and tacked down at the center edges. They will be piped, to help give the loops better form. I've pretty much decided to use piping, after a bowl of lemon sherbet and some time to think it over. 

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Shoulder and waist tabs look best piped, epsecially when there is a slight curve to the tabs or picadils. It finishes a Bodice off very nicely.

"When in doubt...PIPE!"

[Lady L]

Ohhh, pretty. I agree, piping looks nice on that.

[Silverbee]

Another vote for piping!

[Kate XXXXXX]

Mine too if for piping.  They look wonderful piped.

[verymerryseamstress]

LOVE the piping. 

[Marietta Graziella]

Piped-without a doubt!

[Lady Rosalind]

Thanks for all of the responses! I posted in a moment of panic, once I had finished the piped tab, and did the non-piped one to see if it looked better (mainly because it would take less time to make them). I am nearing panic mode here, as I have less than 3 weeks until opening day, and this is our queen's new gown. Basically, the only thing she'll be wearing that I didn't make will be her farthingale, caul, and crown! She's been helping with a good deal of the prep process, especially on the sleeves, but it is an enormous project. I'm dropping off the caul pattern and fabric tonight, so that she can take over that project.

List of things left to do on this gown (this is why I was looking to save any time possible):

1. Finish hand sewing part of binding on bodice.
2. Finish all 16 PIPED waist tabs (thanks for smacking me out of my indecision!).
3. Sew waist tabs to bodice waist, and slipstitch the binding.
4. Sew decorative lacing rings to back of bodice (need to ask her if these came in yet), and rings on the underside of the shoulder straps.
5. Finish trim! And pearls!
6. Hook on overskirt and underskirt. Steam press!
7. Pearls on overskirt trim! (that same wide gold trim on the bodice)
8. Take in smock neckline.
9. Finish sleeves (I made 5-paned sleeves, altering the Margo 3-paned sleeve pattern - they are a pale gold silk with... purple taffeta piping - nearly 20 yards of it). Just need to be tacked together on the inside seam, and points added.
10. Partlet.

And not to mention the King's doublet, the sum of which as of this moment consists of a roll of purple taffeta and an altered pattern (final draft). I have to get this started and mostly finished this week... And the trim on my red gown needs to be redone...

Did I mention we open in less than three weeks, my son starts high school in less than 2, and the university classes start 2 weeks from today (and I have labs to get ready, employees to train)?