Ah well I think everything in the Victorian era was rather formal :D The ripple bodice is definitely more formal than the riding top in the pattern, yeah. I was a bit worried they wouldn't go together well until I saw the picture there, but I think they will work okay. Ha, I am unfamiliar with Anne of Green Gables--I suppose puffy sleeves is some kind of status symbol?

I wonder if I could do the bodice as a vest in the zig-zag pattern, with a lighter solid pattern for the big lapels, and then do the three button clasp things somehow as red question mark buttons.