JESS RUSSELL AND THE DRESSMAKER'S DUKE

Victoria here, bringing you the delightful story of Jess Russell, who opted for historical accuracy to the extent that she fashioned her own regency gown, sometimes working by candlelight, to know what a regency dressmaker would have experienced.

DRESSMAKER JESS RUSSELL
I met Jess at the Beau Monde’s 2015 Regency Writers Conference and Soiree, where she appeared (above) in her lovely creation.  All of us were wowed in the best 21st century tradition!
Jess is the author of the best-selling novel The Dressmaker’s  Duke.  To Read more about Jess and her novel, click here.



Jess agreed to tell the story of her novel and her gown for this blog.  She writes:

In The Dressmaker’s Duke, my Heroine, Olivia Weston, is (surprise) a dressmaker. To help launch the book I decided to create a Regency gown from scratch, just as Olivia would have done.

Imagine sewing everything by hand, in poor light, without even a dress form. And then, after working your fingers to the bone creating this stunning gown, you can’t even get your rich client to pay up. Well, my poor heroine goes through such a trial. The good news is her money troubles throw her smack up against my monkish, but oh-so-sexy Duke.

So, I thought it only fitting that as Olivia’s creator, I should have to step into her slippers.

Below is the finished gown~


And now me modeling~


Things I learned making this gown~
1.       Hand sewing a simple straight seam takes about 7 x’s longer than using a machine.
2.      Use a thimble if you can master it. Your fingertips will thank you. (I ended up using the finger
         tip of an old leather glove.)
3.      Approximately 29 hours spent sewing.
4.      Approximately the same number of threaded needles used.
5.      Back stitch! If you have to cut the fabric and have used a back stitch you won’t lose all your
        stitches.
6.      Run your thread through bees wax. This helps the thread from snarling.
7.      It is EXTREMELY hard to rip out when sewing lace. All the threads look alike.
8.     It is surprisingly hard to sew in a straight line.
9.      My best running stitch was 14 stitches per inch.
10.   I now have arthritis in my pinkie finger.
11.    Good lighting is paramount! Not easy when you are trying to sew by candlelight. Seamstresses 
         must have had very tired eyes.






Things I learned wearing this gown at the Beau Monde Soiree~
1.       It is surprisingly comfortable.
2.      These light gowns must have been lovely in the summer, but brutal in winter in a chilly castle.
3.      You have to be aware of the blasted train at all times! I would think it’s much like driving; 
        you have to watch out for not only you, but the other drivers as well. (I can’t imagine 
        negotiating a crowded ball room. No wonder there was always a maid installed in the “ladies 
        retiring room” to m
end ripped hems.)
4.      Country dances are exhausting but great FUN!
5.      You cannot do a darned thing when wearing gloves. And taking them on and off can be a 
        painstaking task.

At the Beau Monde Soiree, L to R: Ann, Sir Reggie, Jess

I made the over-dress out of an old bed canopy. Re-purposing this piece of lace inspired my blog called “Trash to Treasure.” Each month I transform a thrift store find into something new and exciting! You can find me at://jessrussellromance.com/

For a sneak peak here is my Mid-century evening coat re-made into a 19th century Redingote!





The Dressmaker’s Duke was a double finalist in the National Readers Choice Awards for Best First Book and Best Historical and is available at Amazon, iTunes, and BandN.


Thanks so much for having me share my love of sewing! Jess Russell

Victoria again. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, Jess.  And just to remind readers of this blog and not incidentally myself (!) — all us us who thinks this might be easy — Jess adds:

I have been sewing since I was very young. So when I embarked on my first novel the phrase “write what you know” came to mind. Well, I know sewing. Here is my wedding gown. The pattern I made out of newspaper and the rest I made up as I went along.


Jess in her bridal gown



Again, all I  can say is wow!!  Even if I were an experienced stitcher, I could not begin to imagine creating such a fabulous dress!!  Brava, Jess.

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TOUR: WALMER CASTLE

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TOUR STORMS WALMER CASTLE, 
DEAL, AND DOVER CASTLE 

We boarded our ‘bus’ outside the Grosvenor Hotel and met our wonderful driver Graham. As we learned over the next few days, he was a diamond of the first water among coach drivers — remember not to call the vehicle a bus!  We set off driving through London into Kent toward the Channel coast.

Walmer Castle, September 2014
You will not be surprised to hear this blog has written of Walmer before.  Here is our introduction to the visit on the Duke of Welington tour, in which we relate many facts about the Castle and the Duke’s residence, including the visit of Lady Lyttleton, the very one you met last week on the St. James walk as once the lady of the building now known as the Stafford Hotel.  Click here.

Wellington’s life at Walmer here.

The Death of Wellington at Walmer here. 
You can see all of my (Victoria’s) pictures in the previous posts.  Here are a few from Diane which will giver you a flavor of Walmer Castle and its lovely gardens.

We made a quick stop; in Deal, not far from Walmer…and a larger town. Here is the beach, as photographed by Denise.
Elaine photographed the Town Hall, dating from 1803
A row of 18th C. houses along the seaside, in one of which Admiral Horatio Nelson lived.
Thanks, Elaine.
For more about Deal Castle, a larger version of Walmer, dating from the time of Henry VIII, click here.
Denise also shared some pictures of our final stop that day, at Dover Castle on the heights of the White Cliffs, here as seen from the Beach.

Denise an
d I shot almost exactly the same picture as we approached the walls of Dover Castle.

from Denise

from Victoria

Tour-goers scaling the approach
Modern weaponry still guards the channel and port

Formidable!!
A visit to Dover Castle takes you from the time of King Henry II (1133-1189) to World Wars I and II, through medieval tunnels and secret modern wartime tunnels, from ancient armaments to today’s garrison keeping watch over the English Channel and the important port of Dover.  
Diane’s View from the Top
A model of the working castle fortifications

For more from Denise, click here.
For more from Diane Gaston, click here.
Dover Castle is maintained and programmed by English Heritage, which has an excellent website,  click here.