Anne Outfit Plans for an Anne Picnic

 My friend and I may have, somewhat accidentally and most certainly impulsively, started a fantasy event company early this year - and our first event is this coming weekend!!! (If you follow me on Instagram this probably isn’t news to you, as I’ve been sharing about our events there for a few months now.)

We’ve got balls and a tea coming up over the course of the next year or so, but for this first get-to-know you type event we decided to do a free picnic in the park - an Anne of Green Gables themed picnic to be exact! 

The idea is people can come dressed in their finest “cottage core” attire for a delightful afternoon and get excited about the larger, fancier, events we have coming up. I am, of course, also using this as an excuse to make myself a new Edwardian ensemble! One I’ve had planned for atleast the past 2 years, but haven’t made a priority, until now. . .

Ok, I suppose the real beginning of this ensemble was about 3 years ago when my mom gave me this white cotton nightgown. 

Nearly sheer, embroidered, white cotton - with a pin-tucked yoke and mother-of-pearl buttons. This thing was just begging to be re-fashioned into an Edwardian blouse! There was only one problem. I liked it as a nightgown. It was a welcome addition to my collection of summer sleepwear and I didn’t really want to cut it up. 

This issue was solved when I found an identical nightgown at Goodwill few months later. The thrifted nightgown could get refashioned into a frilly Edwardian blouse, the nightgown my mom gave me could stay intact!

The idea for a skirt to go with the blouse came about at some point in the past couple years when I found a pale green herringbone cotton on the clearance rack at Joann’s. The fabric was cheap and just screamed “TURN ME INTO AN EDWARDIAN SKIRT” - so everything that was left on the bolt (3ish yards I believe) came home with me for that purpose. (Doing research as I began actually sewing this skirt, I came to the realization that the reason this green fabric screamed at me so was probably because of this Anne outfit made by The Quintessential Clothes Pen. Her green skirt almost certainly influenced mine as I read her blog post about it shortly before finding my green fabric I believe.)

About a month ago, in preparation for our upcoming picnic, I pulled out the nightgown and green herringbone to begin the outfit. 

I decided to listen to the Anne series in audio book form while sewing to get myself in the mood for the picnic - and not an hour into listening I happened upon the perfect idea for a hat to complete the ensemble.

A hat trimmed with pink roses and yellow buttercups, reminiscent of 11 year old Anne’s first Sunday attending church in Avonlea! Fake roses and buttercups have now been obtained for just such a purpose. . .

At this point the skirt is complete, with the blouse and hat are well underway - on track to be perfectly completed before Saturday afternoon! All that’s left for me to decide on is what I’m packing in my picnic basket. . .  And I’ve got some Anne-inspired ideas for that too!

If you’re local and interested in joining us on Saturday info about the picnic can be found here!