Rose's Tea Dress and the Titanic Centennial

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic on April 14, 1912, I joined some fellow Edwardian enthusiasts on the Queen Mary for the day, where we strolled about and took photos, enjoyed a lovely dinner at Sir Winston's, and observed a memorial ceremony for the victims of the tragic event.
 

When the film "Titanic" was released in 1997, I was 17 years old, and fascinated with the story and the costumes. I had been musing over the idea of reproducing Kate Winslet's costumes for some time, and finally I had the opportunity to do it for the Centennial. I chose to make her stunning tea dress, green with tiers of white lace, with an orange sash and large flower at the waist.

This was a project I was very excited about, and everything had to be done just right. The chartreus silk for the underdress was relatively easy to find. It was the many lace components that proved to be a challenge. I love working with lace, and sculpting it to form a seamless, structured piece, is an art form.

For the long sleeves and bodice overlayer I found an embroidered net with a scalloped edge that fit the bill perfectly. The lace for the skirt took a bit more searching, but I settled on four different types of lace. The longer tiers were comprised of 45 lace appliques that I backed individually with tulle, an arduous process that took some time, but worth it. By backing them with tulle I created the correct amount of weight and flutter as I walked, to match the flutter as Rose moves in the movie. A narrow lace connected the appliques to the skirt layer, and a wide, heavier scalloped edge lace formed the hem.
 

The sash was made in an iridescent silk dupioni, edged in bias strips of black taffeta, with a snap closure. The perfect large orange silk flower placed center front completed the look.

Of course, this gorgeous dress would not be complete without the right foundation, so I patterned and created a long line, Edwardian corset in silk twill to give me the correct Director silhouette. 

I adore the fashions and silhouette of the Edwardian era, and I have worn this dress many times since I made it. This is one of my favorite projects; I had so much fun sourcing the materials, figuring out the pattern and construction techniques, and of course wearing it! 

Scroll down to see process photos and the inspiration clip from the film!