My first costume of 2014

I was supposed to finish 2013 with an Regency Christmas party, but thanks to crazy winter weather it became my first event of 2014 and a Regency 12th Night Party!

A large group of us went to Alice's incredible 1820s home to celebrate the holiday, and I can't say enough about this amazing house!  Fireplaces, wonderful furniture, bottomless punch bowls, incredible food, and enough candles and candlesticks that we were able to spend the entire evening in firelight only!  And every time I am around my friends I am astonished at how talented and beautiful they are.  The costumes were just spectacular!

I pulled something out of the UFO pile and finished it up (on the way to the event, naturally!).  It turned out to be a 1790s-ish open robe out of blue and gold striped taffeta that I purchased wayyyy to much of many years ago.  This is my 2nd gown out of this fabric, but I do love it very much!

I made it all up, and it isn't based on anything in particular, but there were a few images floating around in my head: 

1790s Silk Open Robe, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I'm annoyed that I can't find the source for this- I'm down a dead Pinterest link rabbit hole and even my reverse-image-search google-fu isn't helping!  All I seem to know about this one is that it is a 1795 open robe.  Anyone know where it is from?  EDIT!  Thank you to Sabine (http://kleidungum1800.blogspot.com) for giving me the source for this.  It is part of the personal collection of Hyancinthodes non-scripta who posted it on her Pinterest page (http://www.pinterest.com/pin/431501208017826941/.)  Thank you for sharing!

And a few trusty fashion plates, per usual:

Journal de Luxus und der Moden, 1797

1794, Ann Frankland Lewis (LACMA)

 And two from Gallery of Fashion, 1794 and 1795, respectively:

(The red one on the left)

And here is what I managed with mine:

It still needs some work!  I'd like to make the front more decorative- perhaps a false buttoning front?  And maybe a row of tiny ruffles along the neckline like the extant pink gown? 

All in all, I'm pretty darn happy with something I threw together at the last minute!  It definitely has the longest train of anything I've ever done, which miraculously was only stepped on three time!  And given the amount of punch, champagne, and sherry we consumed, miracle is the correct word to use!