a unique, colorful Regency ballgown | Historical New Year's party dress

Regency folks were OBSESSED with Neoclassical, Ancient Greek, and Roman aesthetics, so this dress can work 2000 years forward in history, no problem! White cotton dresses were so popular they became ubiquitous, and this is the perfect way to add interest to a versatile base layer. It's worn over Regency underpinnings including short stays and a bodiced petticoat with a high empire waist.

One of the best parts of historical costuming is making historical clothing that you can wear in daily life-- it's called historybounding, and it's a great way to get more wear out of your historical fashion. So when I wanted a new dress for a fancy New Year's Eve party outfit, I made one I could wear for Roman period costume and for with Regency dress too! And, of course, a sewing vlog about it. I put together this super simple chiffon dress based on a Roman dress called the stola. It's only got four seams, so it's super quick and easy and would make great beginner historical sewing projects for anyone who wants a DIY NYE dress. The history of clothing and fashion is cyclical, and it's great to have a style that works for multiple periods of fashion history.

If you're wondering what to wear with a dress like this, I got you! To show how versatile this historical dress is, I made a little historical lookbook with three ways to wear it! Firstly, there's my NYE party look, mixing the neoclassical aesthetic with modern dancewear and sparkly party makeup. Next is the Ancient Roman outfit, which isn't historically accurate but is fun, comfy, and great for SCA events or any costume event outdoors in hot weather. The stola is worn over a simple chiton made of a length of repurposed linen, tied with a ribbon belt, and finished off with a Roman style veil called a palla. In Ancient Rome this outfit would be for married women, but since a crinkle silk chiffon dress isn't period correct to begin with, I'm just going for Roman dress DIY vibes. For the Regency look, this dress is a perfect and period appropriate way to get more use out of simple Regency garments like a white cotton dress. The early Regency period of historical fashion was obsessed with neoclassical style. Add the stola as an overdress to a plain dress like my first Regency dress sewing project, and you've got a colorful, distinctive, and stylish outfit that you didn't need to sew from scratch! Happy New Year to you all, and I hope you feel as great in your party dresses as I do in mine.

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