1920's Beaded Shoe Buckles

My very favorite part of my New Year's outfit was making the shoe buckles. The top pic are mine, the picture below is of an original pair, on the same shoes. So why not wear the originals and call it done? Because for me, the making is 99% of the fun! It was really handy to have an original pair to reference, however.

A Robe de Style for New Year's Eve

In the fall of last year, friends of ours invited us to a 1920's themed New Year's Eve party near Disneyland. I really didn't like the last twenties dress I made, so I decided to have a bit of fun and make a robe de style. 

Unless you're pretty into fashion history, most people don't associate this silhouette with the twenties (cough cough flappers and fringe only cough), but I just fell in love with it, and decided it was much more flattering than a shift style, for my body type. 

2017 In Review

What a busy costuming year 2017 was! Compared to the past few years, I'm amazed how much I actually did. Of course, a major part of that is that most events I went to involved my husband dressing up, too. And once it was about more than just me, we got wayyy more inspired to go to things. He even won a costume contest! Woot!

January ventured into the 1920's, with a silk velvet evening gown, undies, and a black camel overcoat.

The Fastest Dress in the West!

My mom joined us up in Calico last month, and since we thought it would be fun to all go 1880's, I needed a second dress. And fast. Aside from the time constraint, I needed the dress to fit another person. Luckily, my mom is about my size, just a little shorter. 

The easiest thing that popped into my head was a tennis dress! The blouse wouldn't need close fitting, and the skirt length could be made short enough for her, but still work at that length, for me. 

I was greatly inspired by this tennis dress, at the LACMA. Because of time, I didn't try to draft anything. I just went into my pattern stash and pulled out some Truly Victorian patterns.

Inside the Navy Wool Habit

As I mentioned in my last post, the habit jacket and waistcoat are patterned from J.P. Ryan's riding habit pattern. Fitting this habit was one of the classes I took at Costume College this year. The jacket is barely changed, with only some modification to the lapels. The waistcoats use the pattern as a base, and are modified from there, for style.

A Navy Wool Riding Habit

Being that I ride horses almost every day of the week, it's amazing to me that it has taken this long for me to actually make a riding habit! 

This habit started out as one of my classes at Costume College this year. I took a riding habit fitting workshop with J.P Ryan and Feather Tippets, which was great, because I came home and had a pattern to get started with right away. The jacket is mostly unaltered from the J.P. Ryan pattern. If I remember correctly, I think I changed the lapels a little. Also, I opted not to add hooks/eyes all the way down the front. The two waistcoats are modified from the waistcoat that came in the pattern.

For years, on my to do list, was the idea of a riding habit done in the style of George Washington's uniform at the Smithsonian. Navy with buff lapels and cuffs, and buff waistcoat patterned after a man's. I started this out with that plan in mind. As I moved further along with the project, I changed my mind and decided to keep the jacket one fabric. That way, in the future, I could make and wear any waistcoat I wanted, and the outfit would be more versatile. I tried to keep the habit in the style of the 1770's.

A Little 1880's Bonnet

Oh, bonnets. So frilly, so silly. I love looking at them. I don't really love wearing them. They're just so frivolous. They don't keep your head warm, they don't shade you from the sun... But I kind of fell in love with the idea of a flowery bonnet for this outfit.