The Countess Howe Gown Project (ca. 1764) A journey back in time ~ PART 1

"One thing is new, which is, there is not such a thing as a decent old woman left, everybody curls their hair, shews their necks, and wears pink..."  
[from The Cut of Women's Clothes by Norah Waugh, quote attributed to Lady Jane Cole, 1754]. 

In this current time of pandemic, I've found it's been difficult to focus as consistently and effectively on creative projects as I usually do.  In fact, it's been hard to just get started -- on anything.  I think it's taken weeks to adjust psychologically to a reality few of us could have imagined.  Yet now I feel that concentrating on a new project, even if it means a little mental pushing and shoving, is a good thing. 

Not that I needed yet another thing to add to my seemingly limitless "to-do" list, but maybe something exciting enough to jump-start the Muse.  What I really needed was inspiration to launch; that impetus came partly from an incidental chat with an online friend, and partly from the rediscovery of a long forgotten length of silk taffeta that I'd stuffed in the back of a cupboard years ago.  

Although a project like this may be rightly judged a bit self-indulgent, it is also a means of elevating the spirit and alleviating some of the stress and melancholy of the present time.  Sometimes going on a journey is the best medicine for ennui, and in this case it's a journey back in time to re-create a lovely 18th century gown. 
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