Forget the cake on Bastille Day!

Instead, pick up a copy of

Mad for the Marquess!

Or better yet, have your cake and read the book too!

Now, for:

 Say “Yes” to the Dress (#2)!

No more hand-stitching! The sewing machine had been invented (click here if you want a bit of history.) Thank goodness because with a skirt taking up to 12 yards of fabric sewing by hand would be tedious enough for me to need much more wine than is good for me.

My heroine in The Dressmaker’s Duke, Olivia Weston, was a dressmaker. Anne Winton, my new heroine in Mad for the Marquess, is the farthest thing from a seamstress. In fact, she can barely manage to repair her stockings. And where Olivia was a bit of a fashionista (as far as her limited income would allow) poor Anne owns two dresses, one more hideous than the other.

“What?!” you say. “I thought this was a romance novel where the heroine is gorgeous and dressed to the nines.” (BTW, click here if you are interested in where the phrase “dressed to the nines originated.) Well, Anne is a charity case (think Jane Eyre, or perhaps Cinderella) and like Cindy she does get to go to the ball, however her Fairy Godmother is no Oscar de la Renta. In fact she has appalling taste.

So, what are we going to build together here on Say “Yes” to the Dress (#2)?

We are going to sew a glorious Victorian gown for Anne to wear to a very important event. (You have to read the book to find out!)

Now, to choose our fabric.

Many thanks to friend Beth who donated some GORGEOUS linen curtains

Then I chose an opalescent taffeta

And finally a sweet lace

What do you want to see Anne wear???

Next week we will explore the shape of the gown.  Pinterest is loaded with options. We are looking for gowns in the 1860’s range. If you find one you love, send it to me! We may try to replicate it in our design.

Don’t forget to vote! 

Deep in the most secret place in her heart, she could not squelch the peculiar stirrings within her body. Or the feeling of reciprocity. Lord Devlin had noticed her. There had been a palpable vibration between them that had shocked her. She tried to dismiss the moment a hundred times but, like a vivid reoccurring dream, it would not die.       

(Snip-it from Mad for the Marquess)