I Am Highly Distractible

January.
There is a reason Janus has two faces, the common wisdom is he looks to the past and the future. I think it's so he can talk about you when you're not in the room.
I'm partial to the 'ember months, but they must all be gotten through. I could burrow into the sofa so deep it becomes an intaglio of my ass.....mustn't give in.  Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you and sometimes you curl up beside him until Springtime.
BUT-
Why be gloomy when the sun is out, it's not like I have to shovel snow. And since I am highly distractible, I'll use that minor power to get some things done.
Hunting on the interwebs I found a page for the Mechanics Institute in San Francisco. On their calendar is a celebration of Emperor Norton's 200th birthday. Champagne and dress-up, I'm in.
https://www.milibrary.org/events/emperor-nortons-200th-birthday-bash-feb-07-2018

I have wanted to make a swiss waist from the 1870's/80's for a while, I've collected images and set up a Pinterest board. Maybe it's time I make one. I have scraps from a black satin underskirt and scraps are all you need.

This illustration is from 1890 and shows the pattern pieces. 

Not a corset, a "swiss waist" worn over a blouse or bodice.

Seen mostly with crinoline dresses this fashion lasted well into the 1890s and turned into those sweet shaped belts of the Edwardian era. No need to reinvent the wheel, I used Truly Victorian 416, 1875 evening bodice cut down.

Pinned together, it will button up the front.

It looks smoother IRL

Flirty tails

The underbodice will be the black stripe of the overskirt. Are you keeping score? 

 (Parenthetical aside- you know how I love them. None of my cutting tools have an edge, I might as well have gnawed on the fabric, I keep missing the scissor sharpener man. Why can't he go up and down the street like an ice cream truck, but more sinister?)
January and I started a thing, I call that progress.
Ever Your Thimble Servant,
Miss Brilliantine