I’ve gotten a lot of neat stories and photos from customers over the years, but this one has to take the cake. First, let me share the note this husband sent to me earlier this year when he inquired about my Regency patterns:

I’m actually making this for my wife as a surprise for our 10th Anniversary. My friend is going to her work in full period clothing, pulling her out of work (in front of all her girlfriends, of course), taking her to my sister’s to fix her hair and dress her in this gown, then she will meet me for a picnic lunch on the grounds of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, TX, while string musicians play the music from several Jane Austen movies (P&P, S&S, Emma, etc.). Then off to a carriage ride and tour of the King Williams District (Victorian houses) stopping to check in at the Jackson House Victorian Bed & Breakfast. Then off to dinner and then our daughter’s school choir concert (she goes to a parochial school attached to a church that looks like an old English Castle) and after the concert the Priest will renew our vows. All the guys here at my work hate me because I’m making them look bad!

My wife is 10 weeks along with kid #4 and I have 7 weeks until our anniversary.

Robb B.

Now that’s an amazing anniversary gift! And did you catch the part where he mentioned that he would be making his wife’s outfit? Well, I just got the photographs from this amazing day and am delighted to share them here with Mr. B.’s fantastic description of the day’s festivities:

Hi again,

I purchased and you sent me the pattern file for your Regency Era gown. This was for our 10th anniversary. Well, it all went off wonderfully. Not everything went according to plan, but well enough. No carriage ride. That was a bummer. But we still toured the King William District, including the “Steve’s House.” Attached are some photos of our day. The guy with the powdered wig was my friend, James, who helped out.

It took me quite a while to make the gown, as I only have about 30 minutes each day between when I got off work and had to pick up the kids. But it all came together quite nicely. The bodice was a bit difficult, since my wife was four months pregnant with our fourth child. (Sarah Catherine is her name. She is due October 23rd.) I decided to add an adjustable panel in back with some lacing cord and a ribbon around the waist so that whole area could be adjustable. Keep in mind there was no way for her to try it on, since it was all a surprise. My mom and sister-in-law helped as stunt doubles, since they are both about the same size/shape.

Here’s how our day unfolded.

9:00AM My friend James pulled my wife, Odette, out of work early on the day before our anniversary in full dress with a scroll that he unfurled and read aloud in the lobby of her office building. Her boss and friends were all in on it:

O’yez, O’yez, O’yez, M’lords and M’ladies, friends of the [my wife's workplace] and citizens of San Antonio, gather ‘round and lend me your ear. On the twenty-second day of May in the one-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-ninth year of Our Lord, then Miss Odette Marie F. did give her hand in holy matrimony to Mr. Robb Alan B. For nine years and three hundred sixty four days have they been married. And on the morrow, they will celebrate their tenth year as man and wife. Please wish them good cheer.

Then he said “Mrs. B., In keeping with the custom of traditional anniversary gifts, and in honor of your first year together, allow me to present to you a gift of paper; an invitation from your beloved husband.”

The hand calligraphied, wax monogram-sealed parchment invitation read:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a married man in possession of a large hunger must be in want of a wife to join him for lunch. Please allow my man to escort you to the estate of my esteemed parents at Timber Hawk where Ms. Bloom, your lady in waiting, is ready to receive you.

In great anticipation of your arrival,
and with my deepest love,
Mr. B.

9:30AM James escorted her out and dropped her off at my parents’ house, where my sister was waiting to do her hair and put on her outfit, which was presented in a fancy box. Included in the box were the gown, her bonnet, her shoes, gloves, my grandmother’s antique jewelry, a fan, and the reticule which had some mints, a tin with calling cards, some writing paper and pencil, a vinaigrette and some perfume. Also inside the box were some perfumed sachets and on top were two letters:

What you’re wearing now will just not do.
A gift of cotton is traditional for year number two.
These modern day clothes will just have to go.
An empire waist dress is more apropos.
I went searching all over, “This should be a breeze.”
But I couldn’t find a thing. I was most seriously displeased!
I might have found one in a costume store,
But one lovingly hand made would mean so much more.
Now your head of course should have something upon it
You wouldn’t want to go outside without your bonnet,
And lastly, the reticule and some trinkets within it
Now THIS lovely outfit would please Miss Bennet

Mrs. B. is helped into her beautiful gown...

Matching bonnet and beautiful curls -- and look at the back-lacing closure!

Now you have on your dress, with your hat and your purse
But nothing on your feet, what could be worse?
A pair of shoes would be nice, don’t you agree
as a gift of leather for year number three.

Mrs. B. with her period-attired driver...

12:00PM James took her to meet me on the grounds of the McNay Art Museum for lunch. We were situated in a little wooden gazebo next to a lovely Koi pond.

James then read,

The gift for year four, as I’ve heard them say,
is one of fruit and the flowers of spring,
So I present a picnic lunch on the grounds of the McNay
with fruit and cheese and crackers and every good thing.

James then presented the wicker basket (prepared secretly by my mother) with some sparkling apple juice, finger sandwiches, grapes, crackers and cheese, nuts, and some huge chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert. We used our fine china and our wedding gift crystal wine glasses. Not included was a bottle opener. I had to open the sparkling apple juice by using an exposed nail head in the gazebo. When the cap finally popped off the juice exploded out the top and I got a nice shower!

After that, the violinist came up and read,

In honor of your fifth year, if you could,
Allow me to present to you a gift of wood
the violin, or rather the music from it
You may recognize these songs, and I’m sure you’ll love it

She then proceeded to play several pieces from “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma,” and some other classical pieces.

During lunch, we drew quite an audience. There were several school bus loads of children touring the museum. They all gathered around the pond and just watched as we ate lunch. We should have charged admission. I even had a few “Can I take a picture with you” requests before my wife showed up.

Mr. and Mrs. B. ready for their picnic lunch...

1:00PM We then toured the McNay art museum.
2:30PM Then we drove downtown and walked through La Villita (a quaint Mexican shopping center in downtown San Antonio)
4:00PM Then had an early dinner at Texas Land and Cattle (A nice steak restaurant on the Riverwalk where we last went on our honeymoon 10 years previous)
5:00PM We toured the King William District, which is an area of Victorian era homes, including the Steve’s House which was incredible. No photos allowed unfortunately. In our outfits, we felt entirely like we belonged there.
6:00PM We checked in at Jackson House Victorian Bed and Breakfast, which was quite a shock and very pleasing to my wife. We had the whole place to ourselves. We had a lovely breakfast at the Oge House the next morning.
7:00PM We then attended our daughter’s Spring Choir Concert. Not in costume as that would have mortified our daughter. We are not THAT cruel!
9:00PM Then we had our priest renew our vows and I presented my wife with an anniversary diamond band.

After the renewal of vows with friend and children...

The next evening we attended a dinner theatre. The play was a Victorian Thriller. This was quite serendipitous, as I only found out about it when I checked in to the B&B early before everything went into action. The rest of our weekend we spent in Fredericksburg, TX, shopping in all the antique stores. After it was all over, we took all the photos and video (burned onto a DVD) and put it in this red velvet photo album:

There were supposed to be five more poems, but because the carriage ride fell through at the last minute, the other anniversary gifts didn’t quite line up like they were supposed to.

All in all, my wife was completely overwhelmed, shocked, but very very happy. I’m still redeeming some of those brownie points I got.

Robb B.

The dashing Mr. B....

I defy anyone to beat this amazing anniversary story! What a day! And what a fantastic husband to go to such creative lengths to make his wife’s outfit and show her how much she means to him. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. B.!

Hi

I wanted to send through some pictures of the dresses I made from your patterns for a role-playing convention over Easter. The team I play in always costumes, and this year we chose the theme Regency, so I searched found and bought your patterns. I found them very easy to make and very fast to make, the online directions were fabulous, and the girl in light blue even has a boned petticoat made from those instructions. I am the only one with the short stays - though I think the girls look just as nice without them, and as you will notice, the green dress is from your drop front instructions.

Heather

What a wonderful project for a group! I love the variety seen in these gowns — gathered bodices, fan bodices, drawstring bodices — all kinds are represented! Simply smashing work, Heather!

I wanted to send you pictures of the completed Beatrix Potter Outfit. It was very easy to make with your online help. Did not get the shoulders quite right, but we were very excited about how pretty she looked in it. Fun pattern to sew! ~ Lisa W.

I absolutely love this outfit! I’ve never tried sizing the “Beatrix” patterns down for a child, but Lisa did a fantastic job and made it work. Thanks so much for sharing!

Attached are some pictures of the prom dress I made from your Regency pattern four years ago. I made a dress and a sleeveless overdress out of different satins. I played with the pattern a lot to make it my own: drafted new sleeves, changed the hem, put soft pleats in the back, and put darts in the front instead of gathers. It wasn’t perfect, but I had so much fun both making it and at the dance! Plus, I learned a lot for my next project.

As for my current dress, I’ve just finished fitting the toile for my bodiced petticoat. I move to “real” fabric on Monday. Thank you so much for your beautiful patterns and site! I love all the inspiration for alterations to the basic pattern.

God Bless,
Jenny P.

Lovely work, Jenny! Royal blue is one of my favorite colors.

Hello, Mrs. Chancey. I wanted to let you know how much I’ve enjoyed using your patterns, especially the Regency ones. I just finished a Christmas outfit using the Regency dress pattern (with piping attaching the short sleeve to the undersleeve and a fan front bodice) and the Spencer pattern. I lined both in flannel for warmth.

Sincerely,
Rowena D

It is so much fun to create a historical outfit for a special occasion! I love the deep scarlet of the dress–perfect for Christmas!

Hello Mrs. Chancey,

I made this dress to wear for the 400th anniversary celebration in Jamestown. It had such a feminine, graceful feel as well as adding to the remembrance of a past era! It is very comfortable for walking, yet feels very tailored since the gathers are all in the back. I totally love the way the skirt fits and feels! I loved the idea of wearing a historical dress–but one that is more practical for everyday wear as well–and hope to make another one soon.This is the gathered bodice version, and I hope to try the other Regency styles sometime. My mother and I ended up needing to make a bow for the back to hide a mistake, but it all blended in nicely. I also made the underskirt separately, like a slip, because of my mistake on the back closure; it seemed to work very well, though it may not have been authentic:-) And for that event, I tried to arrange my hair as you have described, with a ribbon in it. Thank you, Mrs. Chancey, for designing all of these patterns!

~ Renée D.

Beautiful work, Renee! I love the complementary fabrics and the colors–very Regency!

I made a gown from your Simplicity pattern for a New Year’s party last year. Here are the pictures! The first one is from the Prom-Themed New Year’s party I went to, for which I made the dress. The second picture is from Halloween this year; I went as Jane Austen. Thank you so much, and I’m looking forward to buying more of your patterns.

Sincerely,
Rose B.

Lovely work, Rose! I love the overdress and the light lilac with white. Great use of fabrics for a special occasion dress!

Thanks so much for the Regency gown pattern! It was my next dress to make for my cloth dolls. I finally finished!! She’s gorgeous and so is the dress. I adorned her a little more than was the style during Regency, but I can’t help but bead! Thanks!!

Faith T.

Faith creates her gorgeous soft-sculpture dolls by hand. She simply shrank my Regency Gown pattern to fit the scale of the doll (something you can easily do with ePatterns!). Beautiful work, Faith!

(Click for larger images.)

Here are pictures of my first creation with your patterns. My 7-month-old daughter’s Regency Gown turned out soooo cute. Thanks for the patterns. I am having a blast. ~ Kim E.

What a cherubic little angel! I love this beautiful winter Regency dress. Fantastic work, Kim!

(Click for larger images.)

“Hello Jennie,

Thanks a million for the fabulous patterns. I made two chemises, sets of stays (.huge amount of work) and dresses for my show, ‘Loving Burns’..a play about the women of Robert Burns the poet. Enclosed are two pics of the frocks (I made the caps too). I made that lot from 29th Dec to 10th Jan. I haven’t worked so hard for a long time! I’m the one with the pale dress…it’s a light cotton with a lovely golden sheen on the surface…not strictly period but worked with the lights. I flat-lined it in muslin. I made the other one in a polyester taffetta (black shot with orange hence the fabulous tones). Hope you like them. Thanks again, Alicia”

Oh, those gorgeous fabrics! Stunning work, too….