Justine,
I wouldn't worry so much about labels. All of us have different
skill sets, and we all aim to improve over time. Some of us are
lucky enough to make our living doing this, but there are many others
who are quite serious and highly skilled but who are not technically
professionals.
You've already started taking the right steps to improve your
knowledge and skills. You've gotten some good tips on research, so
that's one thing you can do. If you're interested in the mid-19th
century, look online first at some of the fashion plates from Godey's
Lady's Book and some of the others from that era. Examples can be
found at
http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/godey/godeytitle.html
http://www.iath.virginia.edu/utc/sentimnt/gallgodyf.html
http://www.history.rochester.edu/godeys/toc-m.htm
There are plenty of other places online where you can find images
from the 19th century
http://www.costumegallery.com/ (some content requires subscription)
http://www.vintagevictorian.com/Victorian.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
http://www.marquise.de/en/1800/index.shtml
and sites that have images of extant garments:
http://www.demodecouture.com/realvict/
http://www.elegantvintage.com/
http://www.meg-andrews.com/
http://www.vintagetextile.com/index.html
http://www.trousseau.net/trousseau.asp
http://dept.kent.edu/museum/costume/bonc/3timesearch/tsnineteenth/
19.html
These will give you more information on styles, details,
construction, and materials. The closer you can get to those, the
better your costumes will be. In fact, they'll start looking like
historic clothing rather than costumes. Try choosing a specific year
or two and researching the clothing of that time. Then narrow it
down to a country and then a region, because there were certainly
regional differences, even within countries. For example, people in
New York City in 1850 were wearing very different clothing than those
in rural Kansas in the same year. Then focus on a specific type of
garment--evening gowns or working dresses or maternity dresses. As
you narrow your research, you'll begin to see the details of cut,
color, fabric, style, etc. much more clearly.
Once you're ready to start on a new project, there are some places
online selling fabrics and other materials for 19th-century
reproductions, including
http://www.corsetmaking.com/
http://www.grannd.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=GS&Category_Code=CC
http://www.farthingales.on.ca/
http://www.reproductionfabrics.com/index.php
http://www.periodfabric.com/
http://www.colonialcrafts.com/category/Reproduction_Fabric/c41
There are of course many purveyors of reproduction patterns out there
of varying qualities. Reviews of some of them can be found at
http://www.gbacg.org/great-pattern-review/
If you have strong patterning skills, you can use one of the books
that reproduce 19th-century patterns, like those sold at R.L. Shep
http://www.rlshep.com/
As for dyes, the mid-19th century was an exciting time. I can't
recommend any specific resources, but you might try some histories of
textiles to start and see what their sources are for this particular
period.
I've taken most of the links above from my online bookmark site at
http://del.icio.us/melisant which has many many other fun links.
Feel free to browse.
Melanie Schuessler
(also a contributor to Your Wardrobe Unlock'd)
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