Early last November, I made the seven-hour trek down to Williamsburg to attend my first Burnley and Trowbridge workshop, “A Fitting Jacket”. I’d been interested in them for years, but never worked up the courage to attend. Either the timing didn’t work for me, or I was too intimidated to sign up. Of course, I shouldn’t have worried. It was challenging in some ways but in the end, it was a wonderful experience.
When I decided to take my first Burnley and Trowbridge workshop last year, I knew I wanted a new pair of stays. M my older stays didn’t fit my body as nicely as before, and I knew I would need something more comfortable to wear during the three days of fittings. Also, I wanted to experiment with a later style of stay. Inspired by several extant examples of pale pink and beige stays from this period, I decided to make a mid to late 1780s pair with front lacing and wide curved front piece using some lovely linen from my stash.
Now that I’ve shared some photos and some of the images that inspired it, here are some construction details for my early 1780s riding habit.