Category Archives: Costume College 2018

Crimson Peak Picnic Outfit Costume

Posted on October 22, 2018 by freshfrippery

Last year I made a Crimson-Peak inspired costume to wear to a spooky tea party. I skipped a cost tally at the time because there were some fixes and upgrades I wanted to make so the outfit wasn’t done. You can see this older post to view the original version and inspiration images from the Guillermo del Toro movie. I wore it again at Costume College this year in its final form.

Photo by Gloria of In the Long Run

My Crimson Peak group was rounded out by Adrienne as evil sister-in-law Lucille and Elizabeth as another Edith. (After CoCo Adrienne added more details to her costume to make it more screen accurate, and Elizabeth has some really gorgeous textures in her flowers, so be sure to see their IG accounts for more photos).

My blouse is made of a finely-pleated silk chiffon, with a cotton gauze base. I put crinkled silk in hot tea then cold vinegar, which caused everything to shrivel up into tiny little pleats. The silk, cotton, and lace was all dyed with black tea. The collar is interfaced with cotton organdy.

The back closed with silk-covered buttons and loops.

The skirt was made with a bronze silk and I swapped out the heavier glass buttons I had before to these faux tortoise shell ones. Underneath I wore this lace petticoat and bum pad. JMQB6829

The belt was made by pleating silk scraps and sewing down box braids to the top.

I bought the buckle on Etsy, but I’m afraid the shop appears to be closed now.

You can see how I made my hat (by cutting down a taller straw hat) and why I chose this particular design in my previous post about this costume.

I am proud to say that our group was Kate Hawley approved! The costume designer for Crimson Peak left us a comment on Instagram! IMG_E1265 copy.JPG

Photo by Gloria of In the Long Run

Project materials:

Skirt:

5 yards bronze silk taffeta from friend’s garage sale: $43.50
Fan tail skirt e-pattern from Black Snail Patterns on Etsy: $6.19
10 faux tortoise-shell buttons from eBay: $5.98 including shipping

Belt:

Hand clasp belt buckle by Anneliese van Overbeek (Etsy): $66.48 including shipping
24 pack of box braids from Aliexpress: $5.90 including shipping
Black silk taffeta (scraps left over from other project): $0

Blouse:

2 meters crinkled silk chiffon from Halo Silk Shop (Aliexpress): $22
4 yards cotton gauze from Amazon (affiliate link): $17 (I have plenty left over)
1 yard beige lace from Britex Fabrics in SF: $17.55
2 meters black floral lace from Aliexpress: $4.22
More miscellaneous beige lace, thread, tea, organdy, buttons, etc. from stash or leftovers from other projects: ~$5

Hat:

Straw boater hat from Amazon (affiliate link): $13.98 (You can find cheaper boaters on eBay but I was in a hurry so Prime to the rescue!)
Painted feather butterflies from Amazon (affiliate link): $10.99
“Ribbon” was scrap of silk from my skirt fabric
Hot glue

Miscellaneous costs from stash (thread, hooks and eyes, hot glue, etc.): $5

TOTAL COST: $223.79

For footwear I wore Tavistock boots and silk stockings from American Duchess.

I enjoyed wearing this costume and I’d like to make a dark version! I have the hand belt in black, so Goth Edith is on my to-do list!

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Posted in Costume College 2018, Crimson Peak, Victorian and tagged costume, Costume College 2018, Crimson Peak, Victorian. Bookmark the permalink.

Costume College 2018 – The Big Post!

Posted on September 11, 2018 by freshfrippery

I shared pictures of my own costume line-up in my previous post, so here are some of the many clever, beautiful, and wonderful costumes I saw at Costume College this year! (For those of you that don’t know, CoCo is a 4-day costuming conference filled with classes of all types for various skill levels, with social events in the evening. It takes place in a hotel in Woodland Hills, California). There were 650 attendees, so this is only a small fraction of what I saw.

THURSDAY

The first day (evening) of CoCo kicks of with picking up our registration packets, then heading to the pool party. I’m afraid the lighting around the pool is not conducive to photos, but the quality of my pictures does improve over the weekend. =) This year’s theme was “In the Realm of the Goblin King.” Here I am with Gloria as the DC Bombshells Catwoman.

I was amazed by the details in these Prince Nuada and Princess Nuala costumes from “Hellboy: The Golden Army.”

I loved this rendition of the Paper Bag Princess by Carolyn.

Terri as a mouse from Cinderella was absolutely adorable!

Tanya wore a lovely monarch butterfly ensemble.

This Medusa with the light-up eyes was amazing!

The rest of my Thursday night photos are on this Flickr album.

FRIDAY DAYTIME

The ever-lovely Merja in her 18th century!

Amanda was sporting a pretty ensemble, complete with a Burnley and Trowbridge handkerchief.

Rebecca was perfect in 1890s.

I spotted Mena in vintage and Gina in sailor!

Nicole, Lauren, and Natalie were having a great time! (I have a series of not-so-serious photos of these ladies).

Sherry looked so relaxed in her tropical outfit. I adored her necklace.

And our brave adventurers! (Photo by Gloria of In the Long Run). 29122203937_6343cbca72_o

FRIDAY EVENING

The Friday night social brought out a lot of fancy outfits!

Here’s Abby looking sassy.

Vanessa looked so regal.

Jez did an amazing Gamagori cosplay!

Ginger had a beautiful Regency ensemble with a diadem.

Jennifer did one of those crazy English regency court gowns!

A showstopper from Emily.

Breanna hand-painted this gown to recreate the famous Schiaparelli lobster dress!

I finally got to see Adria’s Her Universe fashion show entry “Rebellion Reborn” as well! Definitely check out her Instagram for better pictures of this amazing beaded and feathered ensemble!

Kelsey is always a vision in pastels.

Elizabeth’s Crimson Peak dress had so many beautiful details!

And Adrienne was appropriately creepy as well, with her hand-formed leaf details.

I have a detailed breakdown of my Crimson Peak costume for a future post.

The rest of my Friday photos are in this Flickr album.

SATURDAY DAYTIME

I didn’t take a lot of Saturday daytime photos because I was busy with classes and my Maid Brigade meet up (photos by Gloria of In the Long Run). 29171653207_38c272ae40_o

Since we have been called each other’s names repeatedly throughout the years at CoCo and other costume events on both the West and East coasts, for your reference from left to right, with links to our Instagram and blog names: Vivien of Fresh Frippery, Christine of Sewstine, A.J. of Confused Kitty, Ashley of Evil Sewing, Adrienne of Wax Sealed Costumes, and Gloria of In the Long Run. 29171655517_4eebc81c1e_o 43390886044_c2d000176a_o 43390881224_8bc0636c97_o

SATURDAY EVENING

The theme was “Royals” so there were plenty of people pulling out all the stops! (Please keep in mind not everyone attends the gala, and plenty of people dress casually and watch the red carpet as paparazzi, and the royals theme encouraged over-the-top costumes. These outfits are not representative of everyone or every year, so don’t think you have to “costume at a certain level” to attend Costume College!)

First up, my friend Kelsey in her amazing Queen Amidala! She spent so much time on all these details, hand-beading her gown!

Natalie’s court presentation gown was absolutely gorgeous.

Lauren and Emily had fun with the bourdaloue.

Karen’s Alien Queen was so creative and wonderful.

Katherine’s 1920s Cersei was lovely!

Aimee’s Grandmaster was a hoot.

There were some amazing queens.

Stephanie, Jessie, and Kim made a beautiful trio.

I loved Maria’s Mayan wedding ensemble and her detailed explanation of it!

Check out all the details of Twila’s 1924 Viola Dana costume!

Beth looked gorgeous!

Behold some impressive royalty from Atlantis!

The Homemade Historian and Seamingly Vintage were 1950s beauties!

Ashley’s dress reminded me of candy!

The rest of my Saturday photos are in this Flickr album.

SUNDAY

The last day of CoCo started out with a line to get into the bargain basement! It’s a can’t-miss for me each year; I always find something interesting to take home and the proceeds from the donated items go to the Costume College scholarship fund.

I skipped the tea this year but there were many delightfully dressed attendees. I thought Val’s chess costume was very clever.

Tanya’s dragonfly suit and clever lilypad fascinator made up a chic ensemble.

There were some ladies who decided to do a “Dress of Wrong” theme, using non-historically correct fabrics to make a historically correct silhouette. These 18th century outfits by Gretchen (Strawberry Shortcake) and by Taylor (Beauty and the Beast) were part of this group.

Some people opted for stylish comfort during Sunday. Kelsey sported a glamorous vintage PJ ensemble.

Natalie’s robe volante was a big fluffy pink sack of silk!

The rest of my Sunday photos are in this Flickr album.

Thanks for reading; that was a lot of photos! I’m looking forward to the fabulous fun of next year!

If you are interested in attending Costume College next year, take a look at their website. You can also ask questions on the Facebook forum. The classes change every year and will be announced later. Don’t worry about being “good enough.” Many people do not dress up for the classes and not everyone attends the evening costume socials. There are attendees of every skill level and interests vary from cosplay to historical costume to vintage to steampunk! Come join us and have a wonderful time!

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Posted in Costume College 2018, Uncategorized and tagged costume, Costume College, Costume College 2018, sewing. Bookmark the permalink.

Costume College 2018 Outfit Recap

Posted on August 10, 2018 by freshfrippery

I went a little overboard at Costume College this year and brought 8 costumes. Originally I thought I’d just dress up for the evening events and then bring some vintage dresses for casual daywear. Then I got recruited into various group costumes and things snowballed from there . . . I’ll be following up this post with more featuring the costumes worn by the other talented individuals at Costume College, but for now, here is my parade!

At the Thursday Night Pool Party the theme was “In the Realm of the Goblin King,” so of course I had to dress as Jareth! Elizabeth was my baby Toby.

The boots are American Duchess Tavistocks and the blouse is a vintage Gunne Sax. Everything else was cobbled together from modern clothes.

On Friday I wore my Victorian bicycling outfit with the “Adventurer’s” group of sporting ladies.

Friday night I wore my Crimson Peak Edith picnic outfit, along with my Elizabeth as another version of Edith, and Adrienne as our “sister-in-law” Lucille. I’ve worn this outfit before but it wasn’t fully finished then. I’ve made a number of upgrades and will be making a more detailed construction post on the blog.

It was a delightful surprise to even get some kudos on Instagram from Kate Hawley, costume designer for Crimson Peak!

On Saturday I was a member of a surprise group of Downton Abbey maids. It was decided I was the “head maid” since I had the most lace, and our pregnant friend Christine played the part of “the fallen maid” that got a little too friendly with the young master of the house.

We passed out buttons as prizes to people who could identify us correctly. (As Asian costumers we’ve experienced people calling us by each others names at conventions for years, so we thought it’d be fun to dress alike this year). Christine also made embroidered patches for us to wear with this same design.

Saturday night was the grand gala! I have so many wonderful pictures for a future post, but here I am in my Vice Admiral Holdo, along with my brilliant friend Kelsey in her Queen Amidala.

On Sunday I wore a vintage peignoir with feather trim over a black nightgown, and joined other ladies wearing their glamorous “Sunday undies.”

For the rest of the day on Sunday I rewore my vintage-style Star Wars First Order uniform, with a new purse and re-tailored collar. I had the privilege of a photoshoot with Gloria of In the Long Run, and here is a preview image I received. I can’t wait to see the final photos!

Adrienne also took this slow-motion villain cape action video. (Click on the link, not the photo). https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl2G7-vDvse/?taken-by=freshfrippery

For those of you keeping track, outfit #8 was a fuzzy Totoro kigurumi (which I forgot to photograph). It was very useful during the evenings when I wanted to feel cozy. (FYI, for anyone feeling a little unease, I am an outlier that brings more costumes than average. You are absolutely not required to dress all day, every day for CoCo. Many people attend classes in jeans, and not every attends the evening social events).

I had an incredible time at Costume College! Stay tuned for more posts featuring other costumers.

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