Book Review: The Wish Booklet, Fashions 1806 – 1810 by Susan Sirkis

It’s no secret I LOVE making the Regency dresses…many with the train in the back. I stumbled upon this booklet by accident one time and it’s pretty much my go-to book whenever I make a new Regency dress. I just like looking at the drawings to help me figure out what direction the new dress may take and I love to be inspired for how it might look in the end.

The book is called “The Wish Booklet Fashions 1806 – 1810.” This particular volume is XV. It is a paperback book and has 49 pages.

If you click on the pictures they will enlarge.

Susan Sirkis is the author and she has many of “The Wish Booklets” covering different topics. Here are a few of her other titles…

The Wish Booklet 19th Century Children’s Fashions
The Wish Booklet Fashion 1776
The Wish Booklet Fashions in Time
The Wish Booklet Ladies Fashions 1831 – 1835
The Wish Booklet Miniature Fashions of the 1800’s
The Wish Booklet Wardrobe for a Little Girl 1900 -1910

All the booklets start with “The Wish Booklet” and then cover a certain period of time. I just checked on Ebay and there were 26 books from Susan. I also have the one of 1776 fashions…

My book has instructions for making a cloth doll in the very beginning, but that part was just incidental for me… I was only interested in the details of the clothing…

There are 10 dresses described in here and each one has at least one page describing it. These are the pages I combed over to get the details right…

There are also pages of information on petticoats, corsets, nightgowns, shoes, mitts, shawls, aprons, necklaces and earrings, muffs, parasols, recticule’s, and more!

Here are a few bonnets… #25 cracks me up every time I see it…

In the back of the book there are patterns that you can enlarge if you like. I’ve always just used them to look at the pattern and see what the pattern shape looked like, or how a curved line was actually cut. For me, this book is purely for reference…

If you are interested in Regency styles, (or any of the time periods), Susan’s books are pretty informative and I am happy to have this book in my collection. Maybe you’d like it too…

Now, I thought I’d show a few of my “lesser seen” Regency dresses… No particular reason why they don’t get shown as much, but they don’t…

The oldest ones in the archives, are the two shown on Josefina… they date back to 2008!

The next ones were from 2009…

…and this last one, with the gold shimmery fabric, was made in 2011. I’ve certainly made lots of Regency dresses…

I hope you enjoyed the book review and the slideshow!

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

23 thoughts on “Book Review: The Wish Booklet, Fashions 1806 – 1810 by Susan Sirkis”

  1. Oh, what a fun booklet!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

    Did you know that Susan has her own website? http://www.susansirkis.com All her wish booklets are listed there, and lots of other things, too. I knew her name was familiar; she was very active in UFDC for many years, so doubtless that’s where I ran across her name along the way.

    As to your regency gowns, my favorite is the first one–I just love that lilac/white fabric!! I have to say, the gold one (even though I generally prefer silver) is my second favorite. It’s so elegant!

    1. HI Charlotte,
      I found some time for comments.. No… I didn’t know Susan had a website… thanks for letting us know! I’ll have to check it out.
      That lilac dress on Josefina was my 3rd one made… the first and second ones were modeled by Josefina too! First a periwinkle blue one and then a coral one…
      Thanks Charlotte,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  2. What a wonderful resource! The book looks wonderful!
    Your regency gowns are beautiful. I would be happy with any of them. I think my favorite though is the beautiful gold dress at the end. I’m looking forward to seeing which ones people pick as their favorites.
    Hope you have a good day.
    Take care.

    1. HI Charlotte,
      When I saw that fabric, I envisioned a Regency dress from it… finally it came to life… I’m glad you liked it! It seems everyone liked a different one… The light green one was supposed to be copied to look like Emma in Pride and Predjudice…
      Thanks Charlotte,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. So interesting, Jeanne! I had to laugh at Napoleon’s take on women’s clothes! It seems these kinds of things have been going on forever!

    Oh, I love that second dress Josefina is wearing, the purple with black accents! The colors suit her so well, and look very elegant! She is the perfect doll for Regency clothes, and yours is a beauty, but didn’t you sell her ?

    We are in for a couple of hot days, so I’m thinking you may want to stay in and sew!!

    1. HI Linda,
      I always liked that purple dress on Josefina too… I think it was one of my favorites on her. I have a little bit of that fabric left and always think of her in this dress when I see it on my fabric shelf.
      She was my first Josefina… then I sold her and then bought another one… silly woman!

      I plan on sewing … as much as I can to make up for time being away from it…
      Thanks Linda,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. If this book interests you, check out the website Charlotte recommends. It looks like most of the booklets are $8.50, less than on Amazon. Shipping for Amazon (Prime doesn’t work for these) is about $7.95 for one book and a dollar more for two. There are also deals on getting 5 or more booklets or $75 or more in value.
    On the Susan Sirkis website, at least for Colorado, so I assume for inside the US, shipping is free. You can use credit cards or PayPal.

    Jeanne, I love the embroidery details you showed from the book. Of course I always love your ribbon embroidery, so the green, violet, and blue dress has to be a favorite, and Linda’s choice, the lavender and black, has a lot of dramatic appeal, especially with Josefina’s hair and skin tones. I especially like the necklace that is the finishing touch for that outfit. That narrow, slim look, combined with the full sleeves, is always lovely. Really, just duplicate the whole set and send them off to me.

    I loved the chemise or underclothes idea for your dolls — I think you mentioned that yesterday. Maybe each doll could have a unique set of underclothes. They’d look so cute standing there in ruffles and lace.

    1. Thank you Marilyn,
      Thanks for checking out Susan’s website and letting us know about the prices… She really does have some fun things to look at.
      I think that purple one truly looks like a Regency dress! Something about the shape of the dress is just idea in this fabric. It really gives the sometimes blah bodies of the AG dolls some shape.
      I might have to really consider the undies idea… then when I needed a doll for a shot like the tea party one the other day, they could at least be clothed a little bit!
      Thanks so much,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. My favorite is the dress on Josefina. I like the empire waists best. I finally gave in and bought a wonderful Josefina doll and just love her. I made a dress like that for a friend and have enough fabric and trim to make another but keep putting it off. This may inspire me to finish it.
    I was trying to resist buying books you review but did end up ordering two of the books from Susan’s site for $6.95 apiece, the least I’ve ever paid for books you’ve recommended. Hurray! Thanks for the tip, Marilyn. One is on 1900 and I chose it because my great-great-grandmother wore that style with amazing hats when she was dressed up.
    I wonder if the bonnet with the veil might be for mourning or to wear in the South where keeping the bugs away in summer would have been a priority. Don’t know how I’d look that up. Thanks for another most interesting post.

    1. Thank you Susette,
      It looks like another vote for Josefina as a model of Regency dresses! She does make a very pretty model for the Regency styles! I hope you get your Regency dress finished! Let me see it when you do! :o)
      I hope you enjoy the books you ordered. They are fun to curl up with and read.
      I was thinking it might be a mourning veil too…I think a bug screen is very good guess too!
      Thanks Susette,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  6. Very interesting booklets. Thanks Charlotte, as I checked out the website.
    Anything Elizabeth wears is perfection to me. What a wonderful model. My favorite, the gold.

    1. Thanks Joy,
      Once I discovered Elizabeth had a little bit extra long neck, she became my favorite Regency model… She does look awfully pretty in the gold dress…
      Thanks Joy,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  7. Thank you for such an elegant way to start the day, Jeanne. Trusting you have a good day yourself!

    Blessings.

    1. HI Becky,
      It was “my” pleasure to start your day “elegantly!” I’m glad you enjoyed the dresses.
      I spent the day trying to get my curtains made for my living room… I don’t know why they took me so long to make…
      Blessings, Jeanne

  8. What sweet sweet gowns. I’m partial to the purple/green outfit Elizabeth is wearing.
    I can’t imagine how difficult it would be sewing gowns back in the Regency days, like the ones in the booklet you shared with us. All that hand work! Colonial and civil war outfits were the same.
    I realize you do your share of hand work but am glad you have the modern equipment of today. Your outfits are always so stunning and sweet.

    1. HI Paula,
      I sometimes wonder about how long dresses must have taken back then too. I can sometimes spend hours working on the bodice of a Little Darling dress that has embroidery on it.. I can’t imagine the whole front of a dress… days?
      Thanks so much for your sweet compliments on my dresses, Paula…
      Blessings, Jeanne

  9. I want to add a compliment to the green dress. The fabric seems exactly right to me and this must have been more like women wore in when they were “at home” to their friends. It looks cool, simple, and elegant. The color would have flattered any of doll.

    I looked up bonnets with veils on Google — lots of images. I’m guessing, after seeing them, that bonnet veils were often worn for weddings and for mourning, and they seem to have been common throughout the 19th century. If you want to make one for yourself:
    http://romanticrecollections.com/blog/2015/08/28/a-regency-bonnet-veil/

    1. That was a nice find. I think one would have to be very experienced on many levels to do this technique. What do you think, Jeanne?
      Your find may explain a piece of lace that belonged to my great-great-grandmother that measures 2 yd x 16″. I never knew what to do with it. Do you suppose it was used on a bonnet and tied at the back or was supposed to be sewn into a bonnet? I’ll send a picture of it to Jeanne and maybe she will know.

      1. HI Susette,
        I received your picture of the lace from your great great grandmother and it’s beautiful… No one can be positive of how she may have worn it, but it’s nice and fun to imagine that she used it as a veil or just a pretty piece around her head and neck area.
        Thanks Susette,
        Blessings, Jeanne

      1. I keep forgetting, but Costco has Wellie Wishers which include an extra outfit. And Target has in the Hearts 4 Hearts dolls. Great Xmas gifts for anyone who appreciates dollies.

        1. Oh my goodness, Joy, I may never be able to make another green dress as long as I live! I never heard that before and what a shocker it was to read that awful death! I can’t imagine that actually happening, but I guess it did!

          Oh dear, no more dolls… but I just might have to “look!”
          Thanks for the info Joy!
          Blessings, Jeanne

    2. HI Marilyn,
      I think you must have felt sorry for the one lone dress that didn’t get any comments…I think you must be talking about the white and green one. It was one I made to look like one I saw on Emma in Pride and Prejudice.. It probably was the most comfy of all the dresses.

      I’m guessing the veils were for mourning and weddings too… I looked up the link and while that lace is beautifully crafted, I really don’t have time to make my own lace. I loved how she got the design to fill in every scalloped area. Very pretty!
      Thanks Marilyn,
      Blessings, Jeanne

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