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Alexis’s Sophie Hatter
(click images to to enlarge)
https://youtu.be/jxElp48fC_A
Outline the story …
The character I based my design on is Sophie Hatter from ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ written by Dianna Wynne Jones and is set in the land of Ingary during the Edwardian era. Sophie, a girl in her mid-teens, is very talented at sewing clothes and has the remarkable ability to speak life into things, but thinks very little of herself because she is the eldest. Resigned that her fate was to inherit the family millinery, she spent her days trimming hats feeling isolated and dull in the demure grey dress that she knew didn’t suit her, but was the shops uniform. From here, my goal was to create a historically accurate outfit that represented her character and combined elements from both the book and the movie adaptation. Thus, the white pintucked shirtwaist was inspired by the fact that they were more commonly worn, but the idea to include the yoke was taken from the movie. The walking skirt and shawl are grey to match the book, but all of the adornments are inspired by Edwardian fashion. In the end, although her uniform was described as being fit for an old woman, I believe Sophie might have added her own touch to it with the extra scraps from the hats she trimmed; nothing too loud, just subtle enough to be slightly more interesting. I also wanted to incorporate a lot of floral elements as a nod to how she finally finds herself while working at a flower shop.
Outline the construction…
I only had a faint idea of what Edwardian Fashion looked like before starting this project and found the blog ‘SewHistorically’ written by Lina and the article “How to Make an Edwardian Blouse’ by Lauren Martin very helpful resources, along with many vintage photos and post cards on Google, Pinterest, and VintageDancer.com. As a base for this costume, I used parts of Butterick B5970, but did some slight adjustments to the fit and altered the patterns by replacing the back zipper with a button-down opening in the yoke, adding more volume in the sleeve, and incorporating pleats to the skirt. When it came time to purchase my materials, I had to find a middle ground between using historically accurate fabric and getting creative with the resources I had available at my local store. The shirtwaist is a cotton blend with a subtle floral print and is adorned with floral hem tape and lace ribbon, and pin tucks that shift from 1/8” to ¼”. The skirt is a solid grey muslin with satin ribbon accent strips, and the capelet was luckily added to the ensemble after an inconspicuous grey bolt was found in the clearance section. The applique came from the same yard of bridal lace that was cut apart and dyed as necessary. Some construction challenges I faced where the math to create the curved pleat panels and discovering that I would need to incorporate elastic in the waistband of the shirtwaist because the zipper was removed.
This caught my eye and is very prettily done. Congrats on your hard work, and do wear this is public to show it off!
I love how the fabric hangs so spotlessly, and especially how the whole outfit fits to the story : a simple, well-made one, but that a young girl with access to some bits of trims and skilled fingers may have embellished….. I really love it !
Beautiful work, a very pretty ensemble. I love the pin tucks.
Well done! I’m in awe of how simple it looks at first glance, but the closer you look, the more and more beautiful little details you find!
A well defined character portrayal beautifully rendered
The shirt waist is exquisite, and I love all the floral embellishments! Beautiful portrayal of the character!
This is great!
Wonderful job! I love this outfit and would happily wear it! Lovely details- you made it feel fresh yet historically appropriate, and who doesn’t love a little cape!
Beautifully made, and I can absolutely imagine Sophie wearing this outfit.
Oh that blouse has turned out fantastic!
I love Sophie! Those pleats are to dye for and the fabric choices, especially the cape and blouse with the dimension are gorgeous.
I love this version of Sophie! She might not care for the gray, but this silvery gray with the lavender accents is charming. I love your shirtwaist as well. I would not mind owning a similar outfit….even if gray isn’t really my color either. 😉
I think I may need to find a copy of the book version of the story at some point. I’ve only seen the movie.
This is a very beloved story for me, and your interpretation of Sophie is great! I particularly love the pleats at the back of the skirt, just like Sophie it seems simple at first glance, but with closer inspection is far more complex!
This is so lovely! <3