The first idea for this costume actually came when I was at the Anno 1900 Steampunk Convention Luxembourg in 2022 and bought one of the beautiful paper flower brooches from Fée avec Amour. The flower was actually supposed to be part of the costume, but then I sewed fabric flowers instead ;-)

The transition from the paper flower made of newspaper to the script fabric was seamless because I had had my eye on this fabric for a long time.

As the costume slowly took shape, I kept thinking about Genevieve Cogman’s Invisible Library books. Hence the name “The Secret Chapter” after book 6 of this series.

As accessories there are the Secret Chapter Wrist Warmers, the Secret Chapter Bag and of course a Secret Chapter Hat.

Photos: Eric Aisling, Fred, Manfred Weis (2023)

* back *

For the jacket I used the Truly Victorian pattern TV498 – 1898 Eton Jacket and only made the shoulders a little narrower, as I almost always have to do with these patterns. Otherwise it’s unchanged because it’s just too lovely:-)

The skirt is made from a slightly improved version of my own pattern, which I made for the Stripy Dress.

The corset is a slightly more adapted version of the Truly Victorian pattern TV110 1880’s Late Victorian Corset, which I have already used in its almost unchanged version for the Pinstripe Corset. This time adjusted for comfort rather than a tight waist ;-)
It was really difficult to find a bronze corset busk for this. I ended up having to buy one from New York through Etsy…

The petticoat basically has the same pattern as the Long Petticoat, from the Burda special issue Festliche Mode E397. However, I added a little more volume to the back by folding and doubling the tulle.
I had also sewn on the top of the three tiers, but after trying it on with the skirt over it, I decided to immediately unstitch it again to emphasize the shape of the skirt and not make it too stiff. Sometimes less is more ;-)

As already mentioned, finding the fabric for the blouse was the most difficult part. I used the blouse from M7071 from McCalls’s Costumes as a starting point for my pattern. I only changed this so that it closes at the front and not with a zipper at the back, as the pattern suggests. In my version, the buttons are just sewn on and small snap fasteners are attached underneath. I sewed on the gem brooch on the collar.

Completed (Skirt, Jacket): 2022
Completed (Corset, Petticoat, Blouse): 2023

Status: in my Klamottenkiste and I wore it for the first time in 2023 for the Anno 1900 Steampunk Convention Luxembourg