The Vionnet Star Dress, Part Two

For last New Year's Eve, I decided to wear this dress again. We went to the Cicada Club, in Los Angeles, which has a very vintage vibe (beautiful Art Deco building!), so I decided to really accessorize. And it was New Years! There's no better excuse to dress up!

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.

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 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. 

Fun with Carmen Miranda!

I, yi, yi, yi, yi, I like this verrrry much! Haha ok so this was really fun to wear. Sooo completely different than what I usually do!

I actually prepared most of it for a party last year, that we didn't end up going to. So this October, I pulled it out, added a couple more details and I was good to go! I wore it to a party we go to at the lake's marina. A lot of people really go all out for it, so it's been a fun event. 

Here's Carmen in all her feathery, decked out glory! I love her!

Well, it started as a square...

For April's Historical Sew Monthly's challenge (circles, squares and rectangles), I decided a finishing up a fichu was a good (and easy) idea. And it went toward finishing with one of my current outfits. I like using the challenges as inspiration to get things finished that I have left lying around.

It all started easily enough as a nice square, but because of the body and crispness of the silk gauze,  when it was doubled and put around my neck, it was like huuuuuuuge. Way too much of a good thing. So, I cut it in half, and then kept trying on and trimming until it looked ok. It ended up resembling one of the shaped-neckline kerchiefs, like this one, from the Manchester Art Gallery.

A Bow Tie and Accessories for The Derby

I bought this horse print cotton a while ago with no real intention for it. When I started packing for the Derby I had a lightbulb moment!

It started with the bow tie, and that was so easy I went onto the pocket square and eventually did up some cufflinks for good measure. A lot of matchy matchy for everyday wear, but for the Derby, it was tame!

Like the ladies with their hats, gents at the Derby go all out! Bright colors and horsey prints were everywhere. And I have never seen so much seersucker! It was a lot of fun to see all the fun menswear. I can't imagine many of the outfits could be worn anywhere else!

Vogue 7464 Goes to Kentucky

When I'm not sewing, my other passion is horses. 

This year we were lucky enough to attend the Kentucky Derby, which has been on my list since, well, forever. The tickets we got were actually for two days, the Oaks day and the Derby day. I bought a hat for the Derby (I found a totally rad one and couldn't pass it up), but for the Oaks day I decided to make my hat.

Pink is the color of the day for the Oaks; it's the Race for the Lilies. So, pink it was!

The Gatsby Ball

This past weekend I had the good fortune to be able to attend Dardanella's Gatsby Inaugural Ball in Washington DC. But never fear, dear readers, there was nothing political about it! 

Just a lovely, non-partisan, 1920's themed ball held in the beautiful National Portrait Gallery. There was live music, dancing, cocktails and even the chance to tour the museum and see portraits of Presidents past. 

An Edwardian Robe du Soir for the Coco Gala

All of Costume College was great, and the gala was definitely the icing on the cake. So many gorgeous gowns to drool over!

You know what happens when you're having fun? You don't take enough pictures! Ah well, I was happy to at least get my dress from most angles.

And I really loved both making and wearing the gown I chose. The gown was mostly based off of this 1913 - 1914 gown. I had some serious time constraints, so the fabric had to change, as finding the perfect coral silk was difficult. Also, the silk satin I chose was much too drapey for the more structured skirt on the original, so I used the skirt pattern from Ageless Patterns #1362, which I had on hand. That worked beautifully, and gave me more time to play with the rest of the gown, but more on the construction further down.

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.

The Polonaise and Some New Accessories

On Friday I had the good fortune of finding out my local group was doing a timeline event this weekend. Super short notice, but as I have been out of town for everything since last October, I was thrilled to have an excuse to get dressed up. And the timeline events are especially fun because you can represent any era you wish to talk about. Those are WWII tents behind me!

I haven't sewn anything new in months, but I did have quite a few things that have never been worn out, so I thought this was the perfect excuse. I wore my new polonaise jacket/petticoat outfit, my Christmas-present-to-myself Sarah Juniper shoes, a black silk bonnet made from the Larkin & Smith pattern, and I also brought out my linen/chintz mitts to protect from the sun. It was hot!

I mostly finished this Polonaise last year. I still want to trim it. That'll happen someday! It's very lightweight cotton with a woven stripe. The bodice is cut so the lining and front section are fitted to the body, but the fashion fabric layer comes away from the body, in the polonaise style, where the back seams let out into pleats.  

I also accessorized with a voile apron, a breast knot, my trusty sun-battling umbrella and a kerchief and cap I bought on my last trip to Virginia.

I always think the pile left from undressing is so pretty! 

And the shoes!! I have wanted to order a pair of Sarah Juniper shoes for years. I always thought it would be so complex and tedious, since Ms. Juniper is in England, but actually it was very easy. I just traced my feet, filled out her paperwork and sent the paper and fabric to her.

In no time at all, they came in the mail and they are beautiful! These are dark green glazed wool. Super comfy! And they look great with my American Duchess buckles.

The 101 Ranch Hat

Back around Christmas, in our shopping travels, my husband and I happened upon Colorado Mountain Hats, a custom hat maker. I probably would have never considered having a hat made (they did mostly cowboy hats), but my husband has wanted a hat like Wyatt Earp wears in Tombstone for ages, so we stopped.

Well, once I saw how the hat maker fitted you, I had to join in on the fun!

They start out with this fantastic machine that looks like something out of Jules Verne. It's a 19th century head measuring device. They still use the original because, like with so many things, the old way is just best!

A paper gets placed on the top of the device, then the top is closed (the cork piece) to hold it in place. The device gets placed on your head and the shape of your head displaces moving pieces inside the "hat," pushing corresponding pins through the paper into the cork.

Et voilà! The paper becomes your head pattern, which the hat maker then uses to recreate your head in his shop, to fit your hat to. I think he said they use a second antique machine to "read" the paper.

So what did I pick? Well, he had a lovely assortment of historical styles to chose from. I ended up picking a style copied from photos of the 101 Ranch Girls, who, in short, were performing cowgirls, from the 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. The 101 Ranch was a working ranch that did a show, much like Buffalo Bill's, around 1905. What with Edwardian cowgirls being a bit of a passion of mine, I thought this style was perfect!

And so we waited and waited for our fabulous hats to come, and they arrived this week! And, of course, it fits like a glove!

I can't wait to have an excuse to don my split riding skirt, some big Gibson girl hair, maybe a horse or two, and take some awesome pictures! :)

For a look at the 101 Ranch girls, and other inspiration for the hat, take a peek at my dedicated Pinterest board. 

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!