Details on a Reproduction

Wilhelmina Murray

By the end of the century, clothing was changing every year to follow the latest fashion, and Victorians were at the height of innovation. Clothing designs were highly decorative, with sweeping trains, massive amounts of drapery, ruffles, pintucks, ribbons, a slew of brightly colored fabrics, feathers, beads, and all things frou-frou, the Victorian ladies of 1897 were quite a sight to behold. However, a new type of Victorian feminine ideal was emerging: the “New Woman.” The ensemble of the New Woman consisted of a tailor-made boned bodice or jacket and skirt of matching fabric. Paired with a blouse or sporting a false vest front, this “suit” empowered the young women who were making their way into the Victorian world and work force. It is this ideal that Francis Ford Coppola’s Mina Murray is modeled after – the New Woman: capable, hardworking, but still feminine and virtuous. The Green Town Suit that Mina wears in her first meeting with Prince Vlad, designed by Eiko Ishioka, reflects Mina’s pert attitude and self-sufficiency in the Victorian sphere.

Bodice: Mina’s bodice is standard for end of the century wear: made of olive green taffeta and lined with olive cotton, boned along the seam lines with spring steel stays, with puffed sleeves and a high collar, and adorned with embroidery and lace along the collar, cuffs, and lapels. Made from a French Vest Bodice pattern, I had to alter the bodice to recreate Eiko’s design. A cream silk plastron with three waterfall pleat extensions was added as a false vest front and is fastened with hooks and eyes along the bodice lining and at the neck. A taffeta closure band along the waist was added, also with hook and eye closure. Lapels, collar and cuffs were hand patterned from dark green taffeta, and the embroidery is a combination of hand embroidery and machine stitching. The tail of the bodice was altered from box pleats to a simple open V back. Synthetic taffeta was used for the bodice, 100% cotton twill for the interlining, 100% cotton for the lining, cotton embroidery floss, and synthetic lace.

Skirt and Train: Mina’s skirt is pleated olive green synthetic taffeta, lined with 100% cotton and turned up at the bottom hem, with hook and eye closure in the back. Attached to a narrow waistband, the pleats are designed to lay on the hips and flare out in a tulip shape. Due to the pleats, stiffening along the hemline was unnecessary. The train is constructed of three large waterfall pleated drapes of silver and emerald green synthetic taffeta and attached to a waistband (credit to Michaela de Bruce for tutorial). It attaches to the back of the skirt waistband using hooks and eyes.

Hat: Top hat was made using a top hat pattern by Lynn McMasters and severely altered. Since Mina’s hat is a small top hat and perched atop her head, I had to reduce the size of the hat by two sizes smaller than extra small. It is also tapered, so I had to curve the sides of the hat to taper up to the crown. I used Peltex Pellon interfacing instead of buckram because it seemed sturdier and was much easier to work with (this is only the second hat I’ve made). Padded with cotton flannel and covered and lined with synthetic taffeta, I used both machine and hand stitching to make the hat. The outside band and decorative ruffled ribbon were also made of taffeta and are recreated perfectly. It is affixed to the head using hat pins.

Gloves: Vintage beige leather kid gloves were purchased on Ebay and dyed an emerald green using Tandy’s leather dye.

Shoes: Authentic Louis style Victorian boots were purchased on Ebay. They fit perfectly and are in a ruddy brown color. I have treated and polished the leather and repaired a few holes in the laces. Metal aglets tip the laces.

Underpinnings: Chemise and closed-front drawers were made of fine cotton muslin and decorated using synthetic lace along the neckline, armscye, and bottom hems, and pintucks near the bottom hems. Corset is made of cotton twill and light green synthetic taffeta, decorated with olive green taffeta boning covers, green ribbon and synthetic lace on the outside. Sewing lines on the inside of the corset are decorated with twill tape and white ribbon for neatness. Above pieces were made using Laughing Moon’s Victorian Corset Pattern. Petticoat is made from light green synthetic taffeta, with an emerald green taffeta ruffle and white cotton lace, beaded with white ribbon. Corset cover is made of 100% cotton sateen, with pearled buttons and ribbons for front closure. It has lace trim along the neckline beaded with ribbon, and ribbon trim along the faced armscye and bottom hem. The petticoat and cover were made using Laughing Moon’s Victorian Petticoat and Corset Cover pattern. Stockings are cotton with elasticized tops and were dyed green to match Mina’s outfit.

Prince Vlad

Eiko Ishioka's design for Prince Vlad's town suit is quite striking. The monochromatic color scheme coupled with the elongation of his garb (the stovepipe top hat, the long frock coat, the cane, the long hair) give Prince Vlad stature and style befitting his status. As a wealthy visitor to England, Vlad can afford the best garments while trying to blend in with the Victorian gentry, and I have tried to replicate this feeling of suavity through the use of fine wool and silks. I have had to make specific replacements due to the model's irregular measurements in some aspects of the reproduction, but I thoroughly believe I have recreated this costume to the best of my abilities.

Trousers and Suspenders: Vlad's trousers are made from light grey 100% superfine wool in the standard high-waisted Victorian style, with button fly, hook and bar closure, split waistband and back buckle. I chose to make tubular pants rather than fitted due to the slack shown in the references. Though not seen in the original, I have also made suspenders out of grey silk satin and leather, with an elastic back.

Frock Coat: Vlad Prince Albert style frock coat has large lapels faced with silk satin and decorative buttonholes. It has a single button closure below the waistline and is lined in silk satin for the top and silk georgette for the skirt. The back flaps of the skirt are quite unique. Ishioka's design features a single-piece back panel that lays atop each side back panel in the middle of the skirt. I had to hand pattern the flap and alter the skirt pattern to recreate the look. I also hand patterned the collar and altered the lining and lapels, and lengthened the entire coat to fit the model's height. Buttons were covered in matching wool fabric.

Shirt, Cuffs and Collar: I altered the shirt pattern to make a pull-over style shirt with extra gathers in the back and more length on the bottom, and hand patterned the shield front and button-down closures. Cuffs were elongated to peek out of the coat sleeves and I made the collar with front tabs for the collar stud. Collar was stiffened with starch and pressed into a Wing-tip style. All three were made from 100% cotton sateen, then dyed grey, with the cuffs lighter and the collar darker than the shirt, as shown in the original. Links and studs were purchased.

Vest and Cravat: The pattern was altered to allow a lower neckline and double-breasted button closure, and has a back buckle. I hand patterned the scooped collar and hidden pockets. The vest is made of silk satin, with silk georgette for the lining, and buttons were covered in matching fabric. Cravat is informal length (45 inches) and is made of 100% silk, dyed dark grey. Though the original has a checked pattern, I thought it best to leave the cravat a single color, for worry of distressing the silk. The cravat is pinned into place with a silver double-headed eagle pin. This insignia is actually the official coat of arms for many Eastern European countries, including Russia and Armenia, and the Byzantine Empire.

Shoes: There are no available references of Vlad's shoes, but given the historic resources, I opted for a black patent leather lace-up shoe. Recreation shoes were quite expensive, and since the model wears a size 14 dress shoe, I thought it the best option.

Hair: Though the Victorian style is short, Vlad has long hair styled in waves, but still keeps it parted at the center. I achieved the look by using a wig. Facial hair is cut precisely as seen.

Accessories
Gloves: Due to the model's irregular hand size and long fingers, leather gloves could not be purchased. I attempted to make a pair, but the leather I had purchased was too thick. I decided to use 100% cotton gloves and dye them grey for recreation's sake, and I feel they complete Vlad's look very nicely.

Hat: This was my first foray into hat making. Using a top hat pattern by Lynn McMasters, I used Peltex Pellon for the hat instead of buckram, due to a suggestion by a fabric store employee that it was sturdier and easier to work with. The hat was machine sewn, padded with flannel and covered in grey felt (silk beaver was unavailable, and felt mimics the appearance), then lined in silk satin and trimmed with a grey satin ribbon. I had to lengthen the crown sides to nine inches to achieve the stovepipe hat that Vlad wears.

Cane: The cane was drastically altered. The resin wolf's head handle was removed from the metal cane body and placed on a body of wood, painted black, with a leather stopper. The actual cane handle is an ornate dragon, but expensive to purchase, so I opted for a wolf instead.

Glasses: Vlad wear silver pince-nez with blue glass. Authentic vintage pince-nez were purchased and the glass painted blue with glass stain (and is easily removable).

Underpinnings: Drawers were hand patterned and constructed out of 100% cotton linen, with a button front and a split waistband. They are fitted to provide the slimmest figure. Socks are black cotton socks with an elasticized band at the top.