Bastille Day Picnic Inspiration

Portrait of Madame Emilie Seriziat and her Son, 1795

I've been MIA lately due to moving, yay!  But also nay! because all of my sewing stuff is in complete disarray.  Still, there's always time for pretty pictures, right?

This Bastille Day (July 14), our local costume group is having a picnic in our Nevada-does-French-countryside park, Rancho San Rafael.  The theme is mixed - 18th century and/or Alice in Wonderland, or any wacko combo thereof.

I'm planning to wear my Indienne Robe a l'Anglaise, but here are some other nommy pieces that would be perfect for the occasion too (and yes, I am fighting the urge to make a chemise a la reine):

A sunny polonaise - met, 1780-85

A cotton or linen floral Robe a l'Anglaise. Met, 1775

Met, 1785-95

KCI 1785

A jacket and skirt - matching....or not

A fancy Robe a la Francaise - KCI 1760 - though this is much earlier than the years of the French Revolution,  we're not putting any restrictions on costumes for the picnic.  Anything "18th century" goes

A cotton transitional gown, made 1790, altered 1795, LACMA

A candy-stripe zone-front Robe a l'Anglaise. Met, 1785-87

Now some gowns from the 'Petit Trianon' segment of Marie Antoinette , because...pretttty:

Via Costumer's Guide

Via Costumer's Guide

Via Costumer's Guide

Via Costumer's Guide

Via Costumer's Guide

See more 'Marie Antoinette' inspiration at Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes.

Our "Great Gatsby" Movie Meet-Up Party

So who went to see "The Great Gatsby" last night?!

Our local costume club, Great Basin Costume Society, got together to watch the movie and enjoy some dessert afterward at a local swanky hotspot, The Chocolate Bar.  I didn't take many photos, but here are a few snaps:

Just us girls - there were gentlemen there too, I swear! They looked dapper :-)

The first shoe circle photo I have ever taken.

Liz in an original beaded frock

Liza in an original beaded gown she found at a local thrift store for, like, $30!!

My mumsies and dadsies

My dad and me

"The Great Gatsby" 1920s Extravaganza (and SALE!)

Oh my goodness, Gatsby.  Our little costuming club is dressing up for tomorrow's opening night, and I can't wait to sport my Unique Vintage beaded gown and black/gold sparkly 23Skidoos.  I don't really even care if the movie is a flop, lol, it's going to be so much fun!

In the spirit of Jazz Age party madness, how about a sale?  All weekend long, get 10% off our 1920s shoes - 23Skidoo, Astoria, and Gibson - and shoe painting kits too, with coupon code JGtsB21  (clever, eh? see what I did there? haha) - Go Shop!

Click me, baby, one more time...

Now here are some snazzy images from the movie (squee!):

One of many trailers to get you excited...

Tavistock Button Boots Steampunk Photoshoot at the Sparks Museum

It's been *ages* since Chris, Angie, and I did this Victorian / Steampunk photo shoot for Tavistock, featuring the "Green Acres" gown, and, of course, our new black button boots.  I've been aching to share the pictures with you, and indeed you've probably seen banners and whatnot on Facebook and the website, but just in case you missed the festivities, here are some more...

One of two banners for the website (my favorite one) and a good view of Angie in The Dress

Thought the Green Acres dress is historical, we went with a distinctly Steampunk theme for this shoot, with some excellent accessories from couple Etsy sellers (see below), and, of course, the beautiful V&T train in Victorian Square, Sparks, NV.

My favorite shot of the day - Steampunk in the engine room of the antique locomotive

That "Watch Your Step" stenciled text was serendipity

Model: Angelica Diaz
Photography: Chris Stowell
Dress: Lauren (that's me!)
Shoes: "Tavistock" by American Duchess
Hat: MsPurdy on Etsy
Necklace: Arthlin on Etsy
Shot on Location on Victorian Square, Sparks, NV

Now for some fresh-squeezed news: "Tavistock" is now available to Pre-Order in dyeable Ivory!  This is a LIMITED PRE-ORDER - I've already ordered these boots, they'll be here at the end of May, and the stock numbers are set, so if you want to get in on these, place your order now (you also get a nice discount for being so cool).  Last time, we ran out of black Tavistocks in many sizes before they even arrived! Click Here

1959 Derby Day Dress - Simplicity 3063

Yesterday was our Great Basin Costume Society's "Fancy Fillies Derby Day Tea," where bunches of eccentric people got together, wore weird clothes, and watched some horse race...

Hehe <3

The biggest hat I have is one I snagged on sale at Nordstrom a few years back.  It's collosal, and I didn't have anything at all to match it, so I thought it a good time to put together one of my vintage patterns, Simplicity 3063, from 1959.

I attempted some new-to-me things in this project.  One was pattern matching with this giant crazy plaid.  I had to re-cut the midriff pieces a couple times, but in general it went quite smoothly.  The second was pattern grading.  All of the vintage patterns I have are, of course, at least one size smaller than I wear, but luckily most of them are simple and good practice for grading.  I used the instructions from Threads, and this diagram:

I'm pretty happy with how it came out!  I made a mistake in the grading that meant the shoulders were too wide (a note for next time), but it was easily fixed by taking up the center seam on the bodice.  Overall the dress is a tad big through the waist, but it's better to be able to take something in than have no room to let something out.

Next I need to acquire a decent petticoat to achieve the delightful shape shown on the pattern envelope. :-)

The pattern doesn't match up on the sleeve seams - that was just *too much* for me this time!

Spotlight On "Courage, New Hampshire" Episode 3

Some of you may remember my interview with Mary Johns, the costumer for indie film "Courage, New Hampshire," or my visit to Riley's Farm, the amazing Southern Californian set of this pre-Revolutionary story.  (If not, read the interview here, and see pics from my visit here).

After seeing the behind-the-scenes at Riley's Farm, I'm looking at "Courage, New Hampshire" with fresh eyes, knowing all the "movie magic" that goes into it, or just plain hard work, in Mary Johns' case.  Episode 3 is particularly impressive, because she has clothed an entire country dance worth of folks, including several rather pretty silk gowns.

What I love about the costumes in "Courage, New Hampshire" is that they seem so real and lived in.  The men's clothing (which I will showcase from Episode 4, next time) is grubby, rumpled, and worn, and the women's silk gowns fit the way you might imagine home-sewn or hand-me-down, re-fashioned gowns to fit.

Top: Pretty silk gowns from "Courage, New Hampshire" episode 3, along with three similar historical references, from left to right: Portrait of Lady Grantham by George Romney, 1780-81; Striped Gown, 1785-1895 in The Chace Catalogue, acc no. 1998.6.2; Gown, 1785-95 from Philadelphia Museum of Art, acc. no. 1955-78-2

I greatly appreciate Mary John's dedication to historical integrity while having to work within the demands of a production schedule and funding constraints.  I was impressed when she told me that all the materials they use for the costumes are natural fiber - there isn't a stitch of polyester to be seen, which is the behavior of a mega-money production like "Marie Antoinette," not the typical catch-as-catch-can mindset of a low-budget independent film.

Behind the scenes on Riley's Farm - silk, cotton, linen, wool, oh my

Don't take my word for it, though.  You should watch it!  This is a series made by members of our own historical re-enactment community, with beautiful cinematography, costuming, lighting, set design, and an intriguing story to boot. :-)

You can learn more about "Courage, New Hampshire" on the Colony Bay website here.  You can watch episodes online here, and help support this small, independent, scrappy production company.  You can even visit Riley's Farm and be astonished at how the CNH crew turns California hills into convincing New Hampshire fields.

Enjoy!

LACMA Sacque-Ma: Operation Petti-Pouf

Thank you to everyone who left incredibly helpful comments on yesterday's petticoat post.  Last night I went for it with implementing each of the changes suggested, to see what effect they had.

Pretty much all of them were/are necessary, and I'm *still* not through it with this petticoat yet, but it's getting there.  Here's where I am today:

What I've learned about mid-18th c. petticoats thus far:

• The top curves control fullness over the sides, but if there is too much, it will cause sagging in the skirt, and the hem will fall under (this is part of what was happening with mine)
• Stiffness at the hem is a good idea - taffeta, horsehair, etc.
• The panier shape for the late 1760s and 1770s is high at the hip, but with a narrow body.  Control tapes to create the kidney shape are *very* important.  A ruffle at the hem of the panier helps, too. Not all panier shapes will just "work" !!
• Pleating the front of the petticoat on the dress form helps.
• A 120" hem may be period correct, but perhaps just not full enough - I've had this experience with round silhouette petticoats too...
• A little shortness at the sides of the petticoat help draw it up into the A-line shape.
• A flat front is important for decorations - some decorations will add stiffness, others won't.

I still have work to do with my silhouette.  In the photo, I have my desiccated panier, but when I shrunk it so significantly, it lowered the hip hoops, so I actually have my small pocket hoops stacked on top, just to see what an effect it would have (and it looks good, so this tells me I need to mess with the understructures more, or just make some damned pocket hoops already).  Basically, this project is like this:


My hem also needs to be lowered, but lucky me, it's faced about 3 inches, so there's wiggle room.  It just means more work.  Yay.

All this for something that is going to be 75% covered!