Feature Friday: Regency Couture
What do you do when you love creating but have too many ideas to save just for yourself? Start an Etsy shop, of course! This month’s feature, Regency Couture, did just that when she found she had more outfits than she knew what to do with and not enough excuses to wear them.
Owner Julia explained that starting her business wasn’t necessarily a grand plan, but rather it was something that naturally grew from her creative pursuits. “I decided to simply give it a go with the shop because I was making too many dresses and had too much fabric and too many ideas,” she explained. “When making more dresses for myself I noticed how I loved some ideas, but when they were done they just weren't me. So I decided to sell them. It then turned into taking on custom orders and producing specifically for the shop.”
When asked what inspires or drives her overflowing creativity, Julia responded, “Usually it is some fabric I see or a dress detail that gets stuck in my mind. A flat piece of fabric immediately becomes a 3D version of the dress or clothing item that it could be in my mind. In my everyday life I have little room for all the colors, all the patterns, and all the different silks and muslins. Having this creative outlet lets my mind breathe some fresh air every now and then throughout my ‘real grown up’ job and life.”
Some of her favorite ways to explore that artistic side include challenging herself to try new aspects of sewing. “Working with my embroidery machine and branching out to create my own patterns on plain fabric has been quite a journey, but with some very lovely results,” she shared, “[and] playing around with haberdashery has given my hands a new way of working and my mind a new way of thinking.”
Like so many of us, that creative spark evolved from a young age. For Julia, it was Jane Austen and a shared community that really fanned the flames. “I have always been sewing, ever since elementary school,” she shared. “In general just little projects, some baby quilts and small bags. During my university studies I had the opportunity to spend some time in Bath, UK. I saw flyers for the Jane Austen Festival and had been wanting to go. I never found a partner in crime to come along until I met my husband, who, although not having anything to do with historical costuming or Jane Austen, was up for a silly adventure and dressing up together. That first trip we met some wonderful people that we became friends with and still are today. Seeing all the wonderful costumes, seeing a level of costuming I wanted to aspire to, really got me hooked on creating more and more items and adding more layers of detail to my outfits.”
“Some of my very first Regency dresses remain my most favorite makes to this day, because they remind me of where I started,” Julia added.
Still, while she loves this creative hobby, it remains just that—a hobby—and one that Julia is determined to have some fun with. “There is no point in being too serious about any of this. It is a fantasy escape world we are all moving in. There shouldn't be any gatekeeping; come to any event with the level of costuming you are at and just have a good time,” she explained.
“As this is my hobby, I really don't have any goal besides making sure anyone who buys with me is happy with what they get,” Julia continued. “I do try to add a variety of items every now and then and try to enable more people to buy costumes, as this can be quite a pricey hobby. At the moment, with work and life (two toddlers), I try not to take on too many custom orders and pick the projects that I am sure will bring me joy. I have to be really mindful of my sewing time and want to work on my own projects as well.”
“That being said, truly, every order I get just makes me so happy and excited as though it is my first order,” she added. “I truly appreciate that people trust me with their costume ideas and dreams and have found many new friends in the community this way as well.”
You can find Julia’s current stock in her Etsy shop, Regency Couture, and you can find all her gorgeous projects on her Instagram, @regencycouture.