Here's the first stage of a sketch based on a vintage photograph. Somewhere along the line, I either purchased a stack of these, or found them...don't remember. But they make great subjects for drawings.
I think that the bones are in proportion and that the start is OK. I have an awful tendency to think I'm done at this stage, but my plan is to spritz on a little fixative, and then go to town with the shading. Her skirt and jacket are actually quite dark, and that's why the lace holes read as dark. Maybe before the fixative, I ought to revisit the lace on the right side of the collar, though, it seems kind of out of proportion.
I'm not a lace advocate. One of my earliest memories is of freaking out when Mom got me into a dress with a lot of lace. That stuff's Itchy!
And...what's that scepter all about? Offspring XX Costumer can help out, but she's working at the Chapman Historical Museum today.