Case of the F*#% its! - I bought new fabric

Every once in awhile this happens and can't be helped. I'm sure there are many of you who, like me, enjoy making new historical costumes and can sympathize.

You want to make something new to add to your historical wardrobe. But you're on a budget and really shouldn't be spending money on fabric, notions, etc. This inevitably leads to the should I/can I debate about trying to justify your possible purchase. You find yourself making frequent visits to that certain online fabric store so you can drool over that perfect fabric, imaging the awesome garment you want to make.

You ask yourself:

"What makes this fabric better/different than what I already have waiting in the stash?" 

"What's the smallest amount of fabric I can order and still squeeze out that gown?" 

                                                  "Do I really need to buy more fabric?"
                      (This last question is of course silly, and can often be completely ignored. :) )

You say:
                            "Well I've been good and haven't bought new fabric in X amount of time."
                                           "I do have that special event coming up this summer."
                              "I have a birthday coming up so it could be a present to myself."
                                                           "I deserve something new!"

Finally you say "F*#% it!" And buy that new fabric.

That's just what happened to me. I've been eying this fabric from Wm Booth Draper since it was added to their website last fall. I was good and even ordered a sample of the fabric first to make sure I liked the weight and scale of the design. And that was months ago! Last week I finally ordered enough to make a new gown, which I fully admit I don't really need but really want to make. It's a nice weight and drapes beautifully. I can't wait to get started!

Wm Booth Draper

Purple floral prints show up again and again in newspaper ads of the 18th century. They are described repeatedly in runaway descriptions as well as in the Foundling Museum's Billet Books. Hallie has some nice posts about the billet book on her blog and another post here on purple linen.