Spreading the shopping luv

I've had a wonderful run of luck with costume-related bargain shopping lately, so I thought I would share the luv with you all in case you any of you were looking for similar items.

Yesterday I stumbled across a wonderful pair of pointed toe fabric flats at my local Famous Footwear for $25.  They are made by Rocket Dog and are the Chamay watered silk style.  You can find better prices at other online shoe stores, but they don't always have all the colors available.  I especially love the rose and grey colored ones on the Rocket Dog website, but they only had black where I was today (is it wrong that I now want to make a Regency mourning dress just to match my new shoes?  LOL!).  I think they will work perfectly for Regency costuming, and I plan on adding crisscross ribbon ties to dress them up some more.  Just FYI, they are very soft and slipper-like, so I bought a smaller size than I often wear because they seemed to stay on my feet better when they were a little snug.  My shoe size ranges from 9-10 depending on the brand, but I thought the 9 was the most comfortable fit in this particular style.

Next, my favorite local vintage store, Vintage Martini, is clearing out all of their vintage patterns.  Although their stock is mostly gone at this point, they still have some gems that need to find a good home.  My favorites are the classic 1910's skirt patterns in the Edwardian section, and the adorable 1920's children's patterns in the kids section - all for under $10.  There are also a handful of 30's-50's patterns left, plus some fun vintage costume and apron patterns that caught my eye.  And don't overlook the wedding section, which has some gorgeous styles that would make up great as evening or daywear just by changing the fabric or shortening a hem.  I snatched up a couple of wonderful patterns a few weeks ago, including these 1910's beauties.  I can't wait to make them up!  Working with a 100 year old pattern is such a cool experience.  It always makes me feel more connected with history as I daydream about who used it in the past and what the original owner's dress looked like when she was finished (*ahem* and I also wonder if she was any better than I am at deciphering the vague instructions!)

Okay.  So now we have something that all women need more of in their lives - TIARAS!  Just check out Amy Farrah Fowler's reaction to her first tiara if you have any doubt about that statement.  I have to admit that I was a non-believer about the joys of a good tiara for many years, but I am finally a convert now that that I have discovered an ebay seller called Venus Jewelry which carries the most wonderful period-appropriate styles using cast metal frames that don't look at all "pagenty".  I picked one of the more simple styles, and OMG I love it so much!  I also really love this one and this one and this one... oh yeah, and this one.  So many gorgeous styles to choose from, and all under $30 with free shipping.  C'mon... you know you need one!

For Costume College this year I'm going to make a natural form ball gown, and I wanted to add some flowers here and there to dress it up.  So I was thrilled when my friend Taylor started selling paper millinery flowers at her online etsy shop, Dames a la Mode.  She doesn't have a lot of her stock posted yet, but she showed me some more options when I told her what I needed, and all of her flowers are gorgeous!  I definitely know where I'll be buying my millinery and dress flowers for now on, and I can't wait for her to add more options to her shop.  You just can't find flowers of this quality at your local craft store, and they are actually much cheaper than most silk flowers too.

And last but not least, I've been hunting for an affordable copy of The Cut of Women's Clothes for years now, so I try to poke around on Amazon and Alibris from time to time looking for a used copy.  Last month, I found a seller in the UK that was offering new editions for only $59.  Anyway, I told some of my friends about this incredible deal when I bought my book earlier this month, and the shop I bought my book from seems to be sold out now.  But keep an eye out on Alibris beacuse I keep hearing about people finding this book at bargain prices lately.  If you are fast, there are 3 copies listed at $65 right now, which is still SO much better than the $100+ it usually sells for.  I'm wondering if they did a reprint or released some old stock, but whatever the cause, I'm thrilled to be seeing these occasional dips in price.  I've had to rely on library copies all these years (I've had this book checked out non-stop for the 14 months - bad Jen!), so I'm estatic to finally have one of my very own.  It might be the most helpful costume history book that I've worked with due to all the fabulous patterns, detailed research, and wide range of eras covered. 

 

So what wonderful costume deals have you found lately?  Anybody else want to share their bargain shopping secrets?  :)

Lace and lacing - 1876 corset

So last month my dear friend from the Before the Automobile made the most beautiful corset that I have ever seen, and I instantly decided that I must have one too!  I was pretty unsatisfied with the natural form corset that I made at the beginning of the year because it wasn't curvy enough and it hurt my ribcage if I laced it tightly.  So instead of altering that old corset, I decided to try this whole new pattern instead.  Plus, it would work for the HSF "Lace and Lacing" challenge, so I couldn't resist giving it a try.

But I also didn't want to spend any more money on corset supplies, so I cobbled this together with supplies that I had in my stash by recycling two failed corsets and a ratty old girdle (which explains the oddly wide boning in some places).  Unfortunately, I think some of the compromises that I had to make ended up hurting the final results.  I moved the boning pattern around and omitted some of the boning channels because I was short on boning, and as a result, my version of this corset wrinkles like crazy. But the corset does seem to be a little bit curvier and it is a lot more comfortable, so you win some, you lose some, right?  I'm just crossing my fingers that the wrinkles won't show when I'm fully dressed.

Anyway, if you would like to try this pattern too, maybe you can learn from some of my rookie mistakes.  Here are my thoughts about it:

• The side panel of this corset wraps around the body from the upper back to the lower belly, which pushes in your sides and makes your waist look smaller from the front.  Cool, right?  But those wrapping pieces also makes it prone to wrinkles, and I never could figure out a way to make them go away.  I think part of the problem is because of the way I cut the grain on the side piece. I followed the grain markings on the pattern (or at least, what I thought were the grain markings), and it resulted in a side piece that is somewhat on the bias when assembled.  If I was making it again, I would ignore the grain markings and make that piece so that the waist was on the true straight of grain when assembled.  
• The wrinkling on the side might also have been fixed if it was boned more heavily.  If I ever make this pattern again, I'll put in as many boning channels as will fit in the front and side body pieces.  
• This pattern is INCREDIBLY short waisted.  I added two inches to the torso, and I could have easily added another inch or two.  The bust gores are quite low on my corset, which is causing even more problems with wrinkles since the gores hit below the breasts and there is nothing there to fill them out.  I ended up having to reduce the size of the bust gores to compensate for this, but that also reduces the hourglass effect.  If the bust had hit me in the right spot, the pattern still would have been too big, but at least I could have padded the cups out and made it work.  If I padded them at this level, I would have ended up with saggy granny boobs.  Not pretty.
• I raised the top edge of the corset by half an inch for the busk panel and first bust gore.  When my friend made up this pattern, she discovered that the top dipped in a good bit at the center-front, and I wanted mine to be more straight across.  I was worried that the dip would make it not as supportive, but I think hers is a prettier shape.  I'm not sure if I would keep my alteration if I made it up again.  Maybe if I got the but gores to hit me in the right spot, it wouldn't have been necessary to raise the top edge.   
• The gores on this corset are very easy to set in and adjust, which makes it a wonderful choice for somebody who is nervous about gores (like me!).  I ended up merging the back hip gore with one of the side panels and added a seam there because I thought it would be easier to construct that way, but the gores really weren't hard to set in at all, and I don't think I would bother with that alteration again.  
• I added some extra width to the hip gores, which helped exaggerate the hip-spring at the top of the hips, but I ended up with too much room at the bottom.  I could have curved the hip seams in at the bottom and it would have made the bottom of the corset smoother and made the lacing gap more even.
• I had to cut off an inch from the bottom front of the corset to make it possible to sit in it.  It's not uncomfortable now, but it still buckles a little when I sit, so I probably could have raised the bottom even more.  
• This pattern does create a really nice rounded belly effect that was so popular at the time.  I also bent my busk quite a bit to make it have a spoon-like shape over the belly.  

I definitaly like this corset more than my last one, but it still needs some tweaks to make it perfect.  I don't have time to mess with it any more right now, but I think I'll invest in more boning and prettier fabric and give it another stab at some point in the future.  For more info about the pattern and PROPER construction techniques (vs. my hack-job), check out the amazing Before the Automobile blog.   

Curtain dress meetup time

"Women in matching dresses" from Retronat

Thank-you so much to those of you who voted in my Curtain-Along at Costume College poll!  There was only one person who had a conflict with 11 on Saturday, and I apologize to whoever that person was, but we are going to go with that time.  So I hope to see some of you at the outside lounge area at 11:00 on Saturday morning!

Honestly, the main purpose of the meetup time is just so we can get some pictures of a group of us in our Curtain-Along dresses.  I am totally addicted to crazy photos ops (see exhibit A and exhibit B for starters), and the thought of taking pics of a bunch of ladies in semi-matching curtain dresses in one place at one time makes me a little giddy with joy.  But it is also totally cool if:
A. You can't make it to the 11 meetup, but you still wear your dress on Saturday so we can geek out with other Curtain-Alongers as we run into each other between classes.
B. You come say hi at the Saturday photo-op meetup even if you are not wearing a Curtain-Along outfit.
C. Choose to wear your Curtain-Along dress at some other point in the weekend.

I think Lauren from American Duchess was wanting to wear her Curtain-Along dress to the Ice Cream Social, so if that works better for you, then that might be another time to get a little group together in curtain dresses.  So no worries, and feel free to do whatever works best for you.  :)

I can't wait to see all of your Curtain-Along masterpieces at Costume College!

Curtain-Along Meetup at Costume College

Now that the limited classes have been announced for Costume College, I thought I'd create a poll and figure out when the most people could come to a little Curtain-Along meetup.  This is going to be totally informal - I thought we could just meet by the sitting area close to the pool for some fun pictures and socializing sometime during the day on Saturday.  And of course if Saturday doesn't work for you, then no big deal.  We can still come *squee!* over you anytime during weekend whenever we spot those Felicite-print costumes in the crowd.

So if you are interested in joining us, please take a minute to take this survey and help us pick a time.   And just FYI - there is only one class on Saturday that I am not willing to miss, and that's the English Country Dance class at 3:00... but that could be a meet-up opportunity too.  I think it would be really fun to see a group of us dancing together in our matching curtain dresses!   :)

A fairy from Lost Hope

Although I haven't been posting much lately, I've been hard at work behind the scenes working on a new outfit that combines history with a bit of fantasy.  This new Regency fairy outfit was a welcome diversion from more serious sewing, and it also happens to kill 3 birds with one stone for the Historical Sew Fortnightly challenges.  The leaf overbodice was made for the "flora and fauna" challenge, the turban was made for the "squares, rectangles, and triangles" challenge, and the gown, and really the overall look, was made for the "literature" challenge.

The inspiration for this costume comes from the book Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which is a bit of a cross between Jane Austen and Harry Potter.  The story is set in Regency period England, and it intertwines real historical figures and events with a hearty dose of magic and fairies.  The antagonist of the tale is a fairy known only as "the gentleman with the thistle-down hair".  He is quite mad and somewhat sinister, and he has a nasty habit of enchanting humans and forcing them to attend nightly balls at his kingdom called "Lost Hope".  The balls are filled with elegant, but melancholy and slightly unhinged characters.  One fairy woman at the enchanted ball is described like this: "She was dressed in a gown the color of a winter sunset and carried a delicate, glittering fan strung with something which might have been crystal beads - but which more resembled frost upon leaves and the fragile pendants of ice that hang from twigs."

For my costume, I did not try to copy a specific character, but I wanted to create my own idea of what a fairy guest might have looked like at the kingdom of Lost Hope.  The dress is based on actual Regency-period attire, but the materials are more rustic and inspired by nature.  I also wanted to stay away from a pretty, flowery fairy look, and I tried to style the outfit and photos to look slightly dark and wild.

The dress for this costume is made with the Past Patterns Lewis and Clark pattern.  Everything went together great, but if you make this pattern yourself, I'll warn you to check the size carefully before you begin.  I had to go down 2 sizes from what the measurement chart said I should use.  I also raised the waistline in back by two inches to make it look more like the high-backed styles of the 1790's, and I changed up the pleating and tucks on the skirt a little.  The dress is made with cotton lawn and it is lined with linen, and this is the first time all year that I've bought fabric for a costume project.  But luckily, the fabric for this dress was under $20, so I don't feel too guilty about it.  I hand-sewed most of the dress and made it without any fantasy modifications because I wanted it to work for both this fairy outfit and for other more authentic historical styles as well.

The little vest was inspired by a variety of Regency fashion plates showing sleevelesss bodices (I have a Pinterest collection of them here).  I loved the way these little bodices can dress up and change the look of a simple dress.  The bodice is made from some really unique fabric that was originally a table runner.  My husband gave it to me as a gift a few years ago to use for costuming - he knows me so well! It has velvety preserved leaves glued onto a fabric backing, and it is surprisingly durable. It handles sort of like thin leather, and best of all - it smells like fresh cut grass.  :)  I bound the edges with burlap ribbon, and I made cord out of the burlap threads to accent the seamlines.

The turban is just a long rectangular piece of undyed raw silk that has a lovely striated pattern to it.  I wrapped it in a method similar to the video tutorial that I posted here.  The only change is that I covered the crown of my head with the tail of the fabric first so I wouldn't have to worry about fixing my hair.  The turban is decorated with a few turkey feathers and a sprig of pine needles.

I was always intrigued by my mental image of "the gentleman with the thistle-down hair", so I decided to do something similar with my costume.  The "lady with the Spanish moss hair" doesn't have quite the same poetic ring to it, but I think it is still a fun little finishing touch for the outfit.  I tried using real moss first, but it was too delicate to hold up to very much handling, so I found some artificial moss and stitched it to a headband to create an easy mossy 'do.

Although the fairies in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are not described as having wings, the book does mention that they can change their appearance at will to appear more human or more animalistic.  My old paper moth wings matched the colors of the outfit so well that I decided to go ahead and wear them to finish off the fairy look.

Here are a few of my favorite photos, and you can see the rest on flickr.

Spring Curtain-along check in

I've been lazy about blogging this spring, so I am well overdue for another Curtian-along post.  If you are scratching your head in confusion about what this whole "curtain-along" thing is about, you can read all of my posts about the topic here.  And now that we are all caught up, here are the latest developments in the online world of curtain costuming.

If you are going to Costume College this summer, I'd love to have your input on when we should have our Curtain-along meetup.  After looking over the class schedule, several of us curtain-costumers have decided that Saturday during the day might be the best time for us to wear our dresses and have a little gathering and photo op.  I'll wait until after the limited classes are assigned to set a time, but let me know if you are interested in participating and when would be the best time for you.

I've seen more and more AMAZING curtain projects popping up around the blogosphere lately.  I am trying to pin all of the curtain projects that I find on my Pinterest board, but I'm sure I've missed a ton.  If you see any others, or if you are working on your own project with the Felicite fabric, please let me know - I'd love to add it!  If you don't have a blog of your own, I'd also be thrilled to feature your work here.

\

I wanted to give a quick shout-out to two amazing bloggers who have posted curtain-along projects this spring.  I have always had a special weakness for printed Françhaise gowns, so I was absolutely blown away when I saw Learning to Costume's Robe à la Française.  O.M.G.  Is that not the most drool-worthy thing ever?  

I was also ridiculously enamored with this "dress in a day" created by A Dedicated Follower of Fashion.  Yes, you read that correctly - three ladies made this gorgeous gown in ONE DAY!  I'm not sure which part impresses me the most - how quickly it was made or how beautiful it looks on Amanda.

There are also several other wonderful Curtain-along projects that I've seen on the Historical Sew Fortnightly Facebook page.  Unfortunately I can't link to those, but you might want to take a peek at the photo albums for the UFO challenge and the Flora and Fauna challenge to see a few more beautiful gowns, jackets, and cloaks.

And finally, here's a little fabric shopping tip thanks to Joni.  Have you seen the Hazelnut colorway of the Waverly Felicite fabric?  It has more neutral color palate than the curtain versions, and fabric.com has it on sale for $6.98 a yard.  You can't beat that!

shoe upcycle

Once again, I am horribly behind on posting this, but here is what I made for the Historical Sew Fortnightly "accessorize" challenge earlier in the month.  I took a pair of ugly suede pumps and repainted and trimmed them to look like some of the stenciled leather shoes from the late 18th c.

I started by looking for design inspiration.  Most of the stenciled shoes during this period are flat or have tiny little heels, but I did find some earlier examples with slightly taller heels that looked more like my shoes.  I also liked that a few of these shoes used gold metallic paint, so I decided to do something similar with mine.

Source: metmuseum.org via Jennifer on Pinterest

For the painted pattern, I based my design on these shoes with decorative stripes.

Source: arts.brighton.ac.uk via Jennifer on Pinterest

My shoes are painted with acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium. When you paint suede with acrylic paint, the surface gets smoother and looks more like regular leather, which is a nice bonus. After painting the base color, I used painter's tape to help me space the stripes and draw in the little sun shapes.  I used an oil-based paint pen to draw the designs on the shoes.  It took a while to cover the entire surface, but it wasn't very difficult work - just tedious.  I also painted the heels with the gold paint just to add a bit more contrast.

After the painting was finished, I sewed strips of gold colored silk around the edges and added false seams to the sides.  I tried gluing this binding on first, but the glue kept bleeding through my fabric and staining the outside, so I gave up and sewed it all on by hand.  I finished the shoes with a strip of pinked and pleated trim over the vamp.

Here is the "before"

And here is the "after"

I won't lie - this project was a LOT of work, but I'd definitely try these techniques again to make cheap, customized shoes for the 1780's or 90's.  But unfortunately, these particular shoes are too big and refuse to stay on my feet, even with thick insoles and a ton of stuffing in the toes.  I'm not sure if I'll ever wear them to an actual event or not, but at least it was a good learning experience.  

Oh well.  You win some, you lose some!

Striped mob cap

Last month, I made a late 18th c. mob cap for the Historical Sew Fortnightly Stripes challenge.  It goes along with a pair of painted shoes that I decorated for the HSF Accessories challenge.   I haven't posted anything about either one of these projects because I was waiting for a chance to get dressed up in my blue redingote with my new cap and shoes and take pictures of it all together... but... my brilliant plan isn't working out so well.  My life is so hectic right now that I haven't had the time for a decent photoshoot, so I've finally given up and decided to just do some quick posts about the construction of these projects and save the dress-up posts for the later.

This project was inspired by a beautiful striped cap in an 1787 portrait by Adélaïde Labille-Guiar.  My version is a 28" circle that I gathered around the edges and then bound into a narrow band of gold silk taffeta that is 30" around.  The sheer striped silk fabric was pretty limp at first, so I starched it heavily and lined it with a layer of tulle to give it a little more body.  The opening of the cap is so large that it only works with a hedgehog wig, but after experimenting with a variety of sizes, this is what seemed to work best for me.

I noticed that many of these caps that are illustrated in period artwork also have a falling veil in the back.  I didn't have much fabric left for the veil, so mine is less full that many of the examples that I have seen, but I thought that a little extra decoration in back would still be better than nothing.

I finished off the cap with a pair of blue bows to match my redingote and a spray of yellow feathers to add a bit of contrast.

This was a very fast and easy project.  It was hand-sewn and entirely made from materials in my stash.  I can't wait to wear it - it's huge and silly and fun, and I'm hoping it will give my redingote a very different look for the summer.

For more wonderfully over-the-top mob cap inspiration, check out the Ministry of Silly Hats page by Mode Historique or the Big Cap of DOOM by The Costumer's Closet.  Both of these ladies and their fabulous caps were a huge inspiration for me wanting to make one of my own.

first voyage of the pirate costume

Although I'm moving at a snail's pace on this costume, I finished one more piece of my new pirate outfit - the waistcoat - and was able to wear it to Scarborough Faire this past weekend.

My ultimate goal is to also make a jacket to wear over the this under-bodice.  My plan for the waistcoat and jacket is inspired by these two amazing waistcoat/jacket combos from around 1790.


Although most 18th c. women's waistcoats like this one would probably have a plain linen back and lacing to make it adjustable, I decided to use the wool fabric for the back so it would look more complete on its own.  While the long-sleeved jacket will make quite a dandy pirate look, it might not be the most comfortable thing to wear at blazing hot Texas faires.  It'll be nice to have the option of wearing this outfit either way depending on the weather.

The wool is a very fine grey and black stripe, and the bodice is lined with soft cotton canvas.  I used hook and eyes up the center front, and the cording and silver metal buttons on the front are mostly just decorative.  I used a combination of modern and period sewing techniques while making this bodice, but I made sure to include some visible topstitching with unbleached linen thread to give it a little more of a rustic look.

Like the hat and the petticoat, I made this project as a Historical Sew Fortnightly entry.  This one is for the "By the Sea" challenge, and I had so much fun posing by the pirate ship at the Renaissance festival to fit the nautical theme.  At some point, I still need to do some more distressing on the waistcoat and my under-petticoat.  Compared to the hat and the floral petticoat, these other garments look a little too perfect and new.  But other than that, I'm really happy with the way this outfit is coming along, and I can't wait to start working on the jacket so I can call it 100% finished!  

blogging va-cay

Sorry for disappearing on you all lately.  This is my insanely busy time of year at work, and sewing/blogging deadlines were adding too much stress to my already hectic life, so I decided to take a little internet hiatus until things calm down for me again.  But I think the worst of it is over now, so I have 3 new Historical Sew Fortnightly projects and a Curtain-Along post to share with you over the next week or two.  Yay!  :)

And in the meantime, I'm going to once again play the American Duchess shoe lottery.  Will I ever win?  Ha!  Not likely.  But I think her new Regency shoes are so pretty, so a girl can dream...