2019: In Review

A review of (almost) all my favorite looks from last year. Mostly vintage looks, and mostly chronological by month. Some historical. Some new makes, and a lot of re-wears. The vintage was a mix of me made and true. And most true vintage only made this post if I made something for the outfit (like my giant Christmas corsage toward the end), or was just plain proud of my hair, haha! 

I hope to get around to posting about some of the more interesting outfits, but till then, I'm plopping these pics down for blog posterity. Cheers!

A Day Dress for Tombstone

My favorite photo from the whole weekend.
My husband spent the whole event dressed, as well.
He looked awesome!

The second dress I made for Tombstone actually turned out to be my favorite! At some point (while pleating miles of silk), I panicked and decided there was no way I could wear a silk dress in the heat of the day, and I simply needed a cool, day dress. Good thing I did, because it was HOT! And we're from hot. We know hot. Good thing I thought ahead!

A Silk Dress for Tombstone

Back in May, my husband and I finally got to Tombstone, Arizona for the first time. We went for Wyatt Earp days, and it was such a blast! A long drive from Las Vegas, but we road tripped with our Airstream and made a two week trip out of it. It was absolutely fantastic, getting to explore Arizona.

When we first decided to go to Wyatt Earp days, we had many, many months before the event. There was no way we were going without dressing up! I could have worn the 1885 dress I wore to Calico, California, last year, but I had so much time before the event, I decided a new dress was totally doable. I settled on 1880 because Wyatt Earp went to Tombstone in 1879, and the famous OK Corral gunfight was in 1881. Also, I wanted to do a silk dress, because I didn't have one.

In planning the silk dress, I looked at sooooooo many extant dresses and sooooo many paintings and photographs and fashion plates. I saved them on a Pinterest Board called "1880ish Inspo", if anyone wants to browse. I settled on what is often referred to as a "dinner dress". It's not a "ball" gown, but is often of silk with ornate trimming, but with longer sleeves and a low neckline.

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.

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. 

A Black Sateen 1880's Corset

What does every good outfit need? Good undies! And while I didn't have time to make 1880's white frillies, I did prioritize time to make a more era appropriate corset. For a long time, all I had for anything Victorian was my not-quite-1860's corset. And oh boy, looking back, the off silhouette really does show. My goal for this corset was a better shape. A rounder, lower bust. Also, better fabric.

The 1885 V&A Dress: Construction

This was a very fun, relatively quick dress to put together. I challenged myself to complete it as quickly as possible, without sacrificing trying to be as period correct as possible, to my current knowledge of the period. This meant not overthinking, over-measuring, over-pinning, over-seam-finishing... And guess what? It looked just fine!

It was actually quite difficult trying to remember how 1880's gown construction went, since I've spent the last couple years in the early 1900's. Inadvertently, I think the inside might be kind of a Victorian/Edwardian mashup, so if something looks weird in there, sorry! I wasn't double checking every technique.

The skirt started as Truly Victorian's Four Gore underskirt, and the bodice as Truly Victorian's Cuirass Bodice. I draped and altered from there to match the original as close as I could, with the amount of yardage I had. I didn't have quite enough fabric, so I had to get crafty. One great way to conserve fabric was using plain muslin for parts of the underskirt that wouldn't show. Another way was to make very shallow pleats in the ruffles.

An 1880's Dress for a Halloween Outing

Last month, my husband and I were driving home from California and stopped for lunch at Calico Ghost Town. Turns out it was Calico Days. We were so bummed we missed out on the opportunity to dress for it.

Well, we heard they were having a Halloween event so we decided to go up for it. We wanted to go 1880's, which is when the original town was from. Never mind that it was just a Halloween thing. Any excuse to play dress up! So I was like, oh this will be easy, I already have a couple 1880's dresses. Cool. 

Not cool. 

Nothing fit. Like, at all. Like how was I ever that small?! 

But it was ok, because it gave me the perfect opportunity to create something that's been on my to-do list for a while: this 1885 printed cotton dress that's been on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum for years. I took the below pics on one of my last trips, but click here for the Museum's link to the dress's page.

A bit more from Costume College

Off to the Thursday night pool party! I wore some new Wearing History pants I made out of very lightweight wool. I love this pattern! They are just the best pants.

We had an absolute blast staying in our Airstream by the beach. It was kind of a bummer to drive back and forth to the Marriot every day, but I think the view was worth it! It was only about a 20 minute drive through the canyon. And we were able to have our pups with us!

I didn't dress up fro Friday, but Saturday morning I got up and into the 1770's early so I could make it to my limited class, which required one to come dressed in stays and petticoat. For fun, I went the extra mile and dressed completely in 18th Century undies. I wore my new stays and shift, a Marseilles cloth petticoat, striped linen bedgown (which I love love love!), dimity kerchief and Sarah Juniper shoes. I also dressed my hair. I had brought a wig, to make it easy, but I decided I hated it at the last minute. Surprisingly, my hair only took about fifteen minutes. I teased the crown, smoothed hair over it, and strategically arranged my shoulder length hair into buckles with a curling iron. I'm shocked, but I have had better luck making historical styles out of shoulder length hair than I ever did with hair down my back! I didn't bring any period hair dressing supplies with me, so I used hairspray and brushed on some face powder.

After the class, I changed into my yellow silk gown for the afternoon. I attended a very full class, so I got a bit wrinkly smooshed into the seat. I'll have to get better pictures of it one day, because I really like the dress, and it fits well.

Sunday morning I was totally exhausted, but wanted to make it to one of the 9am classes. Laying in bed, hitting snooze, I decided it was just as easy to put on early 1900's as it was to put on jeans, and it was the last day anyway, so I put on the Robe de Madras for the class. I like this dress, but hated it on me that morning. I should have taken the time to accessorize properly and do my hair, but I was just too tired. I had a cap with me, but was holding it when someone snapped my picture in the Starbucks line. 

When I packed, I wasn't sure how much I would get to actually wear. I am pleased to say, I made the effort, and wore everything I brought, except my teens evening coat. When I left for the gala, I totally forgot to bring it! But it was fine, because I would have been hot anyway and then had to carry it around. I'll try to remember to post about it soon.

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2015 In Review

Oh, and it started off so strong! Unfortunately, only a few things were actually completed last year, but here they are!

Haha first was a tea cozy. It's very handy!

Then, the only complete outfit of the year: my costume de ball for the Jane Austen Evening, in Pasadena. I made a sleeveless shift, a bodiced petticoat and a gown. I also repaired an antique tiara for the outfit.

Visiting the Roman Baths and the Pump Room

One thing I was very excited to do, while we were in Bath, was to visit the Roman Baths. Now, they have been there since Roman times (hence the name, of course!), and have been enjoyed throughout history, but, as I have more of an interest in Georgian history, I know of the baths as the place that Georgians would go to, to "take the waters" for their health. Very fashionable!

 

A Visit to the Bath Fashion Museum

Happy New Year!!

For a moment, let's ignore that I have been seriously slacking when it comes to sewing, and let's take a little trip to Bath, England and visit the Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms.

My husband and I recently got back from a seriously awesome trip to Europe, and I thought sharing some of the wonderful, historic locations we visited would get me back blogging. And hopefully sewing... Which has been hard, since 90% of my sewing room is packed up in storage. Sigh.

Anyway, off to Bath!

The fashion museum had a special Georgian exhibit on. Yay! 

Costume de Bal

I was lucky enough to get tickets again this year for Pasadena's Jane Austen Evening. It really is a lovely event. A nice mix of people. Dancers and costumers and those that do both. I was lucky enough to finally meet some ladies I have only met online, and also see some fantastic costumes. I must say, I think the most gorgeous outfit was an 1820's ensemble. Perfect hair, perfect dress. I wish I had thought to take a picture!

But isn't that just what happens when you're having fun? I totally forget about the camera. I wish I had gotten some better pictures of myself, too, but here is what I have. 

Repairing a 19th Century Hair Comb

I found this Georgian beauty last year and loved it, despite it's toothless grin. I thought there had to be some way to fix it.

Well, this afternoon, I finally took it to the jeweler, and they said no go. The comb is an alloy, probably pinchbeck or ormolu, and they didn't have the ability to repair such a material. Ah well. But not to be defeated, I ran straight up the street to the craft store.

They did clean it for me, though, which really shined it up. It was kind of crusty before. 

The seller had kindly included a spare coral bead, which was faceted like the rest of the beads on the comb, but just a bit bigger. But two were missing, so I picked up some similar beads and some thin jewelry wire.

Ta da! 

Pretty darn close, all things considered. 

And the wire is just wrapped around the comb, so I didn't resort to glue or anything permanent that could damage the comb.

So yay! Now she has a new life. I think I will wear her to the Jane Austen Evening at the end of the month. Just think, two hundred years later, this lovely diadem gets to attend another ball. And hopefully many more after that!

A bit more on the sontag and dotted sheer.

Front, flat.

Just a few more close up's of the dress and accessories from my last post.

The sontag is done up in navy blue wool yarn, in a garter stitch. As I had mentioned, a knitting instructor cobbled me up a pattern, I believe from Ravelry patterns. I added the loops and ties and tassels. The loops and ties were done by knitting two stitches over and over again, slipping to the opposite needle before each pass, so instead of knitting two stitches back and forth, they create a little square cable. Very handy to learn.

From the back.

I added a yarn-covered button to the center back, to anchor the loops. I can't remember if I had seen this on originals, or if it was in the pattern, or if it just made sense.

I'd really like to add some trim to this piece. Maybe soon!

And a close up of my jewelry accessories. I didn't add a picture of the belt, as I have worn it plenty before. The brooch is micro mosaic. I could't get a close enough picture to be clear, but it is amazing to see all the little bits of material that make up the flower motif.

And some pictures of details on the dress. Nothing terribly exciting. I used the same Truly Victorian pattern as my last sheer dress. The bodice is basically the same, except I substituted pagoda sleeves for the bishop style in the pattern, to match the original dress, which lives at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht.

For the trim on the sleeves, I gathered strips onto cord, stitched them down and then removed the cord. I did the same for the ruffles on the skirt.

To finish off the hems of the sleeves, I faced them with self-fabric. I think the extra layer added a bit of stability to the otherwise floppy sleeves.

Inside the sleeve hem.

The waistband was done the same as the pattern, with gathering at the center back and finished off with piping along the waist. The skirt was gauged to a separate skirt waistband.

A bit of piping at the armscye.

The neckline is piped and finished to the inside. The shoulder seams are pressed toward the back, which I have seen on an original.

The inner lining is done to the pattern specifications. I fastened the waist with hooks and eyes and left the rest of the front free. The neckline closes with a brooch.

The skirt has a large ruffle at the hem, that covers the foundation skirt and hem tape. Two smaller ruffles overlap it. Third to come!

The under sleeves are two large tubes of spotted cotton organdy, gathered to a wristband, and fastened with little china buttons.

And to add to the fun of the weekend, the reenactment was in the Sunday paper and my dress made an appearance! How fun! 

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend. Cheers to a great November ahead!

Accommodating the weather, 1860's style.

Well today was fun. It's the first chance I've gotten, in months, to cinch up the corset and engage in a little time traveling.

It's usually sunny and hot for the reenactment here in town, so I planned a new sheer dress, based on this pretty thing at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. Do forgive the hem. The grass is quite high and messy, but on level ground, it hangs nicely all around. 

I used a white semi-sheer cotton, dotted with lilac. I'm usually not a huge fan of purple, but this fabric, I just had such a thing for.

Eventually it will have three ruffles on the skirt, but I ran out of time. The last one is still on my sewing table waiting to be applied. One of my favorite details of the dress is the ruching on the sleeves, that match the skirt, which can be seen on the top photo. Another detail I like, is that the hem that one sees is actually a large ruffle. This is nice, because the skirt remains frothy and light after the hem tape is added to the foundation skirt. I noticed this with special thanks to the zoom feature on the website.

Little did I know, when I laid out my summery sheer, the night before, that the weather was going to go crazy. Apparently it poured rain through the night. By the time I went to park, it was windy like crazy, mixed with bouts of blazing sun. The sontag and shawl went on and off and on and off. Thank you, easy layers.

Actually I was very comfortable all day. I'm always so surprised how accommodating to the weather historical clothing is. Even the under sleeves help with wind and sun and cold. I was never too cold, and the only part of me that was bothered was my face, which got nicely wind-burned. By the time I got home I was pink!

I made the sontag last year, from a mix of patterns on Ravelry. I'm not sure which ones. I asked for help on it at a knitting class and the teacher wrote me up something easy to follow. It's all garter stitch, so it was super beginner friendly.

It was so nice to have with me today. Very, very warm and cozy, and such a nice accessory, as well.

Ooo ominous clouds...

I love this one! Some guests asked for us to pose for a photo, so my mom (who was lovely and surprised me with much needed coffee), snapped one, too. Can I be a little jazzed I got to take a picture with Mr. Lincoln? His hat. So awesome!

This little nugget was an eBay find. I think it's 1850's. The wind took a little bite out of my hair, but I was pretty proud of it, just the same. No hairpieces! Woot!

And a very special guest came to visit me today! My darling little puppy surprised me, bringing my husband along, too ;)

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween yesterday, too!