FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Inspector Lestrade colleague to Sherlock Holmes
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
I saw some of my favorite YouTubers create Sherlock, Watson, and Moriarty, but I felt like an important character in the series had been missed. When the opportunity to create the character came about in the form of this year's theme I jumped at the idea. That important character was Inspector G Lestrade. His name in the books was never revealed besides his first initial 'G', so I have decided that the female could be 'Gwendoline.' Inspector Lestrade was mentioned in 13 of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books. I knew that I wanted to have a walking suit for this outfit as Lestrade, woman or not, would have to potentially run after suspects. So a long gracious gown wasn't going to do the trick. I came across the fabric and fell in love with the colour and pattern as it makes me think of the blue and gold police colours. It was also important to the Lestrade mindset to have both jacket and skirt as the same fabric. Lestrade's class in the books was not discussed, however, we can assume that he was an upper lower class or lower-middle-class individual, and being promoted to Inspector would have been a very important social step up. Having both garments being the same fabric would have definitely said you had enough money to buy the amount of fabric needed for both and that money wasn't an issue. Even if it probably was an issue for someone in Lestrade's position.
Outline the construction…
This is my first ever Victorian outfit, I have only previously made one historical dress on my own, which was incredibly daunting at the beginning. I used the 'BlackSnailPatterns' Edwardian Skirt pattern but had to considerably alter the pattern as the original mockup came up to mid-calf. I used small back stitches, which were improved by my using a thimble for the first time. I also created all of my undergarments for this outfit, following a self draft from foundations to create the corset and combinations, that I couldn't wear because they were at my University, from the Harper's Bazar magazine. The jacket pattern was from the book '59 authentic turn-of-the-century fashion patterns' pages 89 and 90. This was extremely challenging because I did not have the correct measuring tapes for bust or waist measures. I had to mock-up the pattern directly from the diagrams as if they were inches, I then after many mock-ups was able to create pattern pieces that would fit me after a lot of mathematics. The materials I used were; 7 meters of tropical weight wool and 8 meters of plain cotton canvas that I used as the interlining. Due to the financial issue that I am a second-year University Archaeology undergraduate student, I wasn't able to give any more money to the project to have a lining fabric. However, I believe that this might be historically accurate for those who didn't have the finances, as linings can be added after the fact.
Absolutely stunning. This is one of my favourites!
Totally amazing outfit. I want one! Love the detail. Great job!
This is lovely, really a great job!
Great work and research – excellent design built on a intriguing back-story – you should def pitch this to a TV production company!
Definitely a very serious inspector about to reach out to Sherlock Holmes- the colors, the cut, the design all works together to bring out your character. Well done
Love it. The look is so “Bow Street Runners”, absolutely convincing.
Huzzah! Gwendoline! Perfect, perfect, perfect! Love this so much!
This is so good!!
Yes! Love this. And you move so boldly in it just as you intended 🙂
I am in love with this garment. So beautiful! I find myself a bit jealous of your talent! Thank you!
I adore this outfit! Those imposing sleeves and big wide collar definitely give off no-nonsense police inspector vibes, and the fabric choice is so perfect too! I love your feminine take on the character and all the thought that went into creating this garment! Well done!
Absolutely wonderful outfit! Amazing work.