losing my SHIT over trying to construct Monail's doll's dress. like as a costumer. from a historical standpoint. in a fantasy setting.good god
first let's talk fabrics.
her dress is made of silk, because of the historical use of silk as soft armor, as well as a status symbol. Monail is the daughter of the aasimar king and queen, and while she does not respect her title she expects others to, and being subtly high-status in her garments is an important subtextual message for her. It's also why she wears blue (in addition to it being a calming color, and one of three that blends into the dark better than black does).
However, what kind of silk does she wear? excellent question. My favorite silk to work with is dupioni, both for the texture and color shift you get from the way it's woven, but dupioni is a rougher looking silk as compared to something like a habotai or taffeta. it's beautiful, but not necessarily the classiest option for someone of her standing. Taffeta would be a good choice if the gown were for a full sized human, but since she's 1/3 scale my fear is that it will drape too stiffly to properly capture the shape. Her underskirt and the puff of the sleeves are technically brocade, but i'm afraid to use that for the same reasons listed for taffeta above. It can't be velvet, no matter how much I like velvet, and it can't be linen or wool because of the dual nature of the garment. Habotai might not have enough body to maintain the structure of the bodice, and I want multiple textures throughout the piece that can't always be shown in artistic renditions.
now let's talk shape.
The bodice of her gown is based on 1780s french fashion, and the sleeves are patterned after garments in the 1630s. The skirt itself is...rough, since I can never fully choose a design for it; it fluctuates between something from the 1890s and something from the 1460s, and I intend to use a general 1700s pattern for her underskirt, since it'll be simplest to wing without a proper pattern. she's meant to be pseudohistorical and sexy, with an outfit that accentuates curves and speaks of wealth without being overtly flashy. she has to blend in the dark, and not carry too much fabric weight without seeming out of place at a high-end party. she needs places to hide weapons and tuck stolen items.
Do you see my problem in choosing a type of silk now? I'm working with a minimum of five time periods here LMAO
I could just choose whatever I want, but what I want is informed by my historical costuming knowledge just as much as it is what looks visually best. I want to dress her like this is something that will be seen on a screen, that other people who know will understand and respect the choices i made. I want her to look fittingly royal without crossing the line into unwieldy or stiff.
AUGH
