Diary of a Costumer

On Saturday, I wore my old 1903 Edwardian. Somehow, it seems to have gotten shorter since I last wore it, but despite the hem and the copious amounts of poly chiffon, I think I still love this outfit.

My limited class was on Saturday morning. I wish it was a longer class, because we had only just started cutting out the fabric by the time we had to go, but 1860s and Still Handsewn was still a good class. It was taught by Janea Whitacre and Emma Cross, who are both great teachers. We got to examine an 1860s bodice, did a handsewing sampler with all the techniques we need to complete the dress, and then we draped muslins on each other to get the right fit. I wound up starting mine on the plane home, but besides cutting out all the bodice and sleeve pieces, all I've accomplished is about 1.5 ft of a sleeve seam. I really hope to stick with the handsewing, though.

I also took another class from Janea later in the day - The Good Milliner. I had no idea that millinery encompassed so much! It was also great watching Abby do Emma's hair up with actual period methods. Certainly easier than Kendra's more modern take, but I have to admit, I like look of the modern version better.

And then it was time for the gala! This was the first time I had actually worn the full wig with the full court gown, but it went fine at first. Kendra had to help me secure the wig, because I was having so much trouble pinning it.But then I headed down to the red carpet, took some pictures, and our group of 10 headed over to Maggianos for what has become our gala-night tradition. Dinner was delicious (and cheap!), and then we went back to the gala. I didn't last for very long - I think my stays shifted up while I was seated at dinner, and between that and the giant wig on my head, I think I stayed for about 30 mins before changing. Next year, I plan to make something more comfortable. But anyway, here's some pictures!


I feel like a missed half the people at the gala since I was there such a short time, but here are a few lovely ones I did manage to catch on camera:

Amanda and Samantha's 30s gowns                   Emily's gorgeous mid-Victorian


bellamissella's amazing Elsa                 fairegoddess's awesome bustle gown                     

Sooo... I thought the court gown project was done. But then I actually put it on yesterday, and found out it wasn't. However, it is now. I wound up taking in the center back of the bodice towards the bottom (up to 3" in at the bottom) because it was totally duck-tailing. I also added hooks to make the bodice stay down with the skirt, and I moved the bar on my skirt fastening in about 1.5". But it's all set now, so here are pictures!






And then just because I could, I wore my feathers and tiara around the house for at least a half hour. I purchased a wig to use as a base today, so it should be here sometime this week.

I finished the underskirt today, which means the court gown is done. Or at least, it is if you count the engageantes as a whole separate project. Which apparently I am. I'm a little over halfway done with the last three engageante layers. They should be done tomorrow morning.

I also took in an old swimsuit (which I had never worn). I needed one for my CA trip next week, but don't want to go out and spend money when I'm unemployed. So I took the mumsy tankini top that I had from probably at least 3-4 years ago, took the side seams in about 1", moved the elastic band underneath the bust up about 1", and ruched the sides. Now it's quite a bit cuter, and fits way better. Maybe I'll actually wear it!

Here's a couple pics of the court gown. How the heck am I gonna get this to CosCol?!

Overskirt hem - done! Game of Thrones episodes watched - five. In that time, I also finished putting the lace around the embroideries, and I did some internet digging to find a wig that will work for court gown stuff that is actually in my budget.

I was bad, and went garage-saling on my way home today. I didn't buy too much, but I did get a vintage fur coat, and an antique painted silk art piece, both pictured below:



I also worked a ton on embroidery today. First, I did a little bit on the engageantes, though I didn't complete any more of them. And then I did all six of the embroidered motifs for the front of the overskirt. Four of them are pictured below:

I fixed the sleevil. Or at least mostly. I went with the whole - some pouf is normal, but all the wrinkling is weird. So I changed the shape of the sleeve cap in the back of the underarm, and I rotated part of the sleeve by changing the darts a little. I think it's better now, though I haven't tried it back on with the stays yet. I also bound and trimmed the neckline. And I made some really ugly engageants out of lace, which I will probably not be using. They look way too poly, even after I tried to get rid of the bright white look. I might order some voile, and do some whitework embroidery on it, because I really like that look.

Here's a peek of the bodice laid out on my table. The bows are just pinned on for now, and the ruched pink silk will also go around the hems of the sleeve. I may also add a little ruffle of the blue silk at the elbows, even though it's not in my inspiration image. Any opinions on the lace engageants? Am I being too picky?



Next up is embroidering the skirts. I'm thinking I might do the embroidery on leftover fabric, so I don't have to worry about something going wrong and me ruining the whole skirt. Then I can just add more trim to cover up the fact that it's a separate piece. I just wish my needle threader wasn't broken! I seriously should have taken my machine in sometime in the last two weeks when I thought I would use it, but never did. 

I gave my notice a couple weeks ago to my work, that my last day would be July 1st, but they decided that this week would be my last. We also had our last weekend of Tommy this week, which means I now have way more time on my hands than before. So I guess that means sewing. I mocked up the sleeve for my court gown today (it took 2.5 tries...) and remembered to snap a few pics of the bodice while I was trying the sleeve on. So here you are!



Also, what group costuming things are actually happening at CosCol this year? I know of one other person still planning to do a court gown for the gala. Is there still going to be a seaside bustle meetup happening at some point?

Is anyone still planning on making an 18th c court gown for the gala? Or is the group costuming just not happening this year?

Now that the Seaside Bustle is done (and the hole I put in the skirt is even patched!) it was time to think about my CosCol Gala gown. I had planned since last CosCol to make a Bustle-era evening gown, and bought the silks and trims to make it in the Fabric District. And then everyone started talking about court gowns.

Now I'm really not into those huge over the top court gowns that everyone was claiming, not to mention at some point it seemed like all the fashion plates had been claimed. But I also know that I LOVE doing group costuming projects. So today, I got out the fabrics I bought last summer (I am definitely not buying more fabric), and decided to just let the fabric speak to me and tell me what it wanted to be.

Apparently, it wants to be a court gown. However, it does not want to be one of those crazy over the top ones. It wants to be something very akin to this gown. I'm keeping with the fabrics I've already purchased, though, so it's going to be in light blue shot light pink silk taffeta, with a mauvey-pink finely striped silk taffeta (or maybe it's a shantung?) for the contrast. Oddly enough, I found a very similar gown in one of my Dover coloring books, colored it in with my fabrics, and that is serving as my main inspiration. I guess now I just have to build the paniers and figure out how one of these things goes together. And how to make do when I only have 7 yards of my main fabric...