Polonaise
In October 2001 I was to attend my first ball and I felt that blue linen was far too plain. I had the pattern of the polonaise gown in Arnold already enlarged and as I still did not have any hoops at the time, a polonise it was going to be. I was dead broke, so the fabric was what I found in my drawers, all pure, nasty polyester. The petticoat I made in blue-green satin and the polonaise itself in a thin cream-coloured fabric, meant for lining, which I backed up with white cotton, to give it some body.


The pattern fits quite well in the back, but the decolletage is too wide.I did a big mistake in fitting it in the front and it was impossible to close it without lacing myself to near-fainting point. As I was very late finishing it, I did not found this out until the day of the ball. Ouch.


Here it is. The one and only photo. You can see the strain on the fabric in the front. And my stays at the shoulders. And my bosom looks like it´s about to be cut in half, because of the tight-laced stays. I will never wear it again. But the ball was fun, although I couldn´t breathe properly all evening.