Tag Archives: costume

Easy 1830s Hair! (Plus Instructions)

Posted on March 10, 2015 by freshfrippery

Last week I went to a PEERS ball set in the 1830s/1840s: the Dances of Mystery and Imagination, hosted by Edgar Allen Poe.

The Hopeless Romantics had a mini-reunion there. Last time I wore my 1830s gown I had a full wig, which looked nice, but was very warm.

This time, I decided to make a new hairpiece and incorporate a raven, in honor of Mr. Poe. I built everything on a headband, so it was very easy to put on and take off. (I also got a lot of amused cackling when I took my hair off at the ball to show everyone what looked like fancy earmuffs!) The headband made it much easier to get dressed, and to get in and out of a car.

As you can see, the raven has the stylish 1830s Apollo knots!

I did not take any photos of the construction process, but I hope it’s easy to visualize.

1. I wrapped a headband with black velvet ribbon, and sewed the ends in place.

2. I wired the feet of a dollar store Halloween decoration raven to the middle of the headband.

3. I made 2 fake hair buns. Each one consisted of a long braid that was coiled into a cinnamon bun shape, sewn into place, then covered with a chignon hairnet for security. (I used “Sassy Collection” brand fake braid hair from Sally Beauty Supply because it is cheap and decently realistic for the price).

4. I hotglued (yes glued) the buns onto each side of the hairband.

5. I hotglued some flowers to cover the rest of the hairband.

6. I did some more squiggles of hot glue on the inside of the hairband and buns. Once dry, the rubbery texture provides a little more grip.

7. I gave the raven a little hairstyle by pinning 2 loops of velvet ribbon and a fake flower into his foam head.

Fast, easy, and pretty.

I think Mr. Poe approves, sort of.

Plus it’s shareable hair! Here is Sam, from Overattired.com, looking like a pretty pretty princess.

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Posted in 1830s Romantic and tagged 1830s, costume, hair. Bookmark the permalink.

More Game of Thrones Photos at the Castello di Amorosa

Posted on March 9, 2015 by freshfrippery

Last week I posted photos of my Kings Landing Dress, but here are some more pictures from the GBACG Game of Thrones wine-tasting event at the Castello di Amorosa.

The castle is gorgeous! Here is an interior courtyard. I wish I remembered to take more exterior shots, but I focused on the costumes since this is my second time to the castle.

This is looking down from the entrance to the castle.

We turned around to take a photo near the gate.

Kim and David had very nice matching outfits.

Aimee had a beautiful dress with unicorn embroidery!

These ladies had amazing hair!

Jean and Christopher are such a cute couple. Gunther posed in the dungeons.And ran into an Ellaria Sand in one of the cask rooms.

Ann as Brienne was marvelous. We felt a chill from the White Walker.

There were lovely frescoes in the castle.The doorways varied in size.

I loved the architectural details.

And there were lots of nice long corridors.

Game of Thrones Kings Landing Dress at the Castello di Amorosa

Posted on March 1, 2015 by freshfrippery

This weekend I went to a wine tasting event at the Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga, CA. The theme was Game of Thrones, and there were many lovely costumes!

I finished putting the embroidery on my King’s Landing dress and wore it to the event. My husband wore an Oberyn Martell-inspired costume I made for him. The venue was really beautiful, and it was a great place to take pictures and have fun.

I loved this door.

Here is the completed dress, which was made using McCall’s M6940 pattern. Due to the large amount of yardage in the dress I used faux silk dupioni (teal) and faux silk taffeta (gold). The sleeves are lined in the same gold fabric as the side gores, which were flatlined with random mystery fabric from my stash to give it some body.

As discussed in my previous post, I raised the hip gores, added a contrast band around the neckline, and eliminated the ties in the front, but did not modify the pattern much.

Oops, my back tie has come undone.

The belt and embroidery on the shoulders and back are pieced from an old sari fragment I bought on eBay. The sari had a repeating motif that was not mirrored, so I could not get a perfectly symmetrical design. Instead, I cut up the pieces and rearranged them to get the shape I wanted.The belt was done in a bit of a hurry, freehand, without any measuring or marking prior to cutting or sewing. It’s slightly uneven, so I might go back to it some day.

Underneath I wore a lighter gold silk dupioni petticoat that I borrowed from a previous project. The petticoat was mean to accommodate 18th century panniers, so I had to use some safety pins to get it to be the right length. When I have time, I’d like to make a petticoat specifically for this dress. I think the light gold provided a nice contrast when the skirt opened when I walked.

I did not have time to make a wig or hairpiece, so I wore peacock feathers in my hair. Here I am on a tower with my husband, and I will discuss how I put together his outfit in a future post. My next post will be some more pictures of the castle, and the other guests!

Project costs

6 yards of teal faux dupioni + 5 yards of gold faux taffeta: $46.64, including tax and shipping from Fabric.com (Hooray for coupons and sales! I still have 2 yards of the teal left over).
4 yards of sari trim: $31.96 including shipping from India through eBay. (I bought much more than I used because at one point I thought I would trim the sleeves as well).
Pattern: $6.50
Thread and lining for the gores: from the stash

Total: $85.10

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Posted in Game of Thrones and tagged costume, Game of Thrones. Bookmark the permalink.

Game of Thrones Kings Landing Dress

Posted on February 10, 2015 by freshfrippery

A few days ago I attended the Game of Thrones-themed Dance of Ice and Fire hosted by PEERS.

I made a dress using the McCall’s 6940 pattern, which is inspired by the wrap dresses that Cersei wears. I am not quite finished, because I want to add more embroidery to it for when I wear it to the Game of Thrones wine-tasting hosted by the GBACG at Castello di Amorosa.

The lighting is not the best at PEERS, so forgive the darkness of the photos. I plan to use a nicer camera in a few weeks to take some more detailed pictures of the fully finished dress.

The sleeves are quite generous! Some other guests at the party used the same pattern, and we had a lot of fun flapping them around.

The party was at an Elks Lodge, so the decor was quite appropriate.

I made a few alterations to the pattern:

The hip gores were very low (around my thighs) so I raised them to be more like the costumes on the TV show. I think I raised mine a little high; an inch lower would have been better.
I added a contrast band around the neckline.
I found the 3 ties used to close the wrap front a little distracting, so I used hidden ties and a belt to hold the dress shut.

Overall, it was a good pattern and I recommend it.

In a few weeks I hope to post more details about construction and close-ups! First, I need to make an Oberyn Martell costume for my husband.

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Posted in Game of Thrones and tagged costume, Game of Thrones, sewing. Bookmark the permalink.

1850s Plaid Silk Dress for Dickens Fair

Posted on November 30, 2014 by freshfrippery

My next big project was supposed to be a gown for the PEERS Game of Thrones ball in February, but I’ve been distracted by my 18th century stays and now, a new 1850s plaid silk dress for the Dickens Fair.

I wasn’t planning to make a new dress for the fair, but then I ran across some lovely plaid silk for a bargain price of $60 for 6 yards of 54 inch fabric! It is a dupioni and not a taffeta but it’s not too slubby, and the busy pattern and dim light of Dickens will make it look nice.

Here are a couple sneak peeks.

Cartridge pleats! The skirt has its waistband, placket, hooks and eyes, and pockets. It still needs to be hemmed and trimmed. This was my first time doing cartridge pleats. I was originally planning to knife-pleat the skirt for speed, but then was home sick for 2 days with a cold, so what else can one do when Netflix is playing?

The pagoda sleeves are trimmed with satin ribbon.

The bodice is in progress. I still need to iron flat the seams, put in darts and closures, and do a lot of finishing. Matching curved plaid that isn’t symmetrical is driving me nuts! One part of a seam will match, and another not.

I had to pretty much redraft the pattern I’m using (Past Patterns 702), which was not designed for someone with my shape, but I will make a more detailed review in another post.

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Posted in Victorian and tagged 1850s, costume, sewing, Victorian. Bookmark the permalink.

Jareth the Goblin King and Toby Labyrinth Costumes

Posted on October 26, 2014 by freshfrippery

If you are a child of the 80s I’m sure you loved the Labyrinth movie and have been secretly wanting an excuse to wear a David Bowie wig. Well, when you are a parent you have the perfect opportunity to dress up in a Jareth the Goblin King costume, and have your baby “dance magic dance.” This is what happened today:

I think my son looks a little worried that I might be the real Goblin King.

Jareth has a pretty snazzy bedazzled blue coat he wears during the ballroom scene, but I didn’t have the time to make it (this year).

However, I thought, “Hey I have gray leggings! And black leather gloves! And countless frilly shirts!”

The best part about this costume is that it can be put together by something I call “closet diving,” except for the hair, which is a newly purchased “blonde rocker” wig from Amazon. (My son’s red and white striped romper is also from Amazon). The boots are Tavistocks from American Duchess. The blouse is vintage Gunne Sax. The vest is a cheapy Chinese corset with straps and a high back (links below).

Overall, I think the combination of lacy shirt, corset and heeled boots makes for a more femme Goblin King, but I don’t think Bowie would mind some genderbending. =)

You remind me of the Babe. What Babe? The Babe with the power.

I found this cool photo of me by Gaskell Ball. There are no special effects; I’m just standing in front of a purple light and the wig glowed!
Update:

Wow, it’s been nearly a year already, and people are still finding this post! I realized I didn’t link to the items I purchased so to make it easier for anyone who stumbles on to my blog, here are items I purchased on Amazon (affiliate links below) [links updated again on 10/3/24]:

This is the blonde “rocker” wig. I used it right out of the bag; it didn’t need styling: Long Rocker Wig – Mixed Blonde

I bought the red/white version of the Leveret velour striped romper which is sold out now but there’s a similar red/white set made by the same company as “Christmas PJs.“)

This is the corset-vest I used, but it runs small, so buy up 2 sizes: QinYing Women Black Classic Patterns Underbust Corset Top L The corset vest seems to be sold out as of 10/3/24 so here’s one exactly like it: Alivila.Y Fashion Corset Womens Faux Leather Steampunk Corsets Victorian Bustier Top

I bought my original leggings at a local store but bought these when I reword the costume in 2018: Satina High Waisted Leggings in Gray

My black leather gloves came from Ross but black leather gloves are easy to find on Amazon:
Women’s genuine leather gloves Glamtron Medieval Renaissance Gloves Pure Lambskin Leather Cosplay Gauntlet Gloves Long

My boots are Victorian button boots called Tavistocks by American Duchess: Tavistock Victorian Button Boots

And finally, a crystal contact juggling ball! Clear Acrylic Contact Juggling Ball

Here’s a photo taken of me at a Halloween ball by Christopher Mobley. Happy Halloween!

AAGPBL Kenosha Comets Uniform (A League of Their Own Baseball Costume!)

Posted on September 1, 2014 by freshfrippery

“There’s no crying in baseball!” -A League of Their Own

The most comfortable thing I wore at Costume College was my reproduction AAGPBL (All American Girls Professional Baseball League) WII-era uniform. There was no corsetry or special undies other than a pair of shorts, plus it was easy to pack (and wash afterwards!)

A group of us decided to do some DIY uniforms and dress up as the Kenosha Comets! (I am on the far left).

(Photo by Andrew Schmidt).

We decided to do their white home game uniforms instead of their light green ones because we had trouble finding the right color twill. We modified a basic shirtdress pattern by extending the front so that the dress buttoned off-center, like the ones in the movie, and added belt loops. I modified Simplicity 1880.

Our team and arm patches were made by Emily, a team member, and Barbara of Of Corset.

I was number 8, which was Pauline Pirok on the 1943 team. Sorry, my mannequin does not have scoliosis, I just put the uniform on funny.

I added a pocket to the side, which wasn’t part of the original design.

My hat was a custom order from The Turnip Seed, an Etsy seller who does monogrammed hats. I sent her a picture and she was able to do exactly what I wanted. Some of the other girls on the team got plain wool baseball hats from eBay and made their own patches. Some other people bought the officially licensed hat from K&P Weaver.

Underneath the costume we all wore green satin shorts. I drafted my own, but a pair of men’s silk boxers would probably work as well. From beginning to end the shorts took about an hour, and I think you can tell! I was rushing to get these finished, and was afraid my sewing machine was dying, since the tension started doing some weird things.

For “cleats” I got a cheap pair of black sneakers at Target because I don’t like wearing very casual shoes, and didn’t see myself getting any use out of them the rest of the year.

We had a blast at Costume College, and plan to do it again next year! (The rest of the team photos are by Andrew Schmidt, official CoCo photographer).

Did you spot the lonely Rockford Peach?

Improvements for the next wearing:

I need to hem the dress shorter. I tend to make my skirts a little longer for modesty, but it’s pretty clear in the team photos it’s much longer than everyone else’s dress.
New socks. I need to get some darker green ones.
New belt. I made mine with D rings based on an example picture, then looked at some more old photographs, and found that most of the belts had buckles. I didn’t have time to make a new one.
I had to order my materials online because I was home sick for a while with the flu. The “twill” that arrived in the mail was a lot thinner than what I was expecting. Part of me wants to remake the costume more properly with the right materials, but realistically, I’d rather use the time for something else!

Project costs: Although having to pay for online shipping for a lot of things upped my cost, overall this was not too bad. My general goal is to stay below $100 for each project, unless I am doing something extravagant, and I got to stick to my budget, even with shoes included!

Pattern: $4.99
Cotton “twill”: $22.39
Spruce Green Kona cotton: $4.62
Hat: $12 + $5 shipping
Buttons: $6.36
D rings: $1.09
Green satin: $5.89
Patches: $12
Socks: $5.99
Shoes: $14.99 + tax

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Posted in Costume College 2014, Other Clothes and tagged A League of Their Own, AAGPBL, baseball, costume, Costume College 2014, uniform. Bookmark the permalink.

Costume College: 1920s Tea Party Dress

Posted on August 22, 2014 by freshfrippery

The dress I wore to the Ladies Ascot Day tea party at Costume College is one I made a few years ago, but it’s taken several wearings to accumulate all the accessories.

It was my first 1920s dress, and I didn’t have a pattern. If I was making it all over again I would make some small changes in the construction, such as to the hipline. Overall, it is a very simple tube-like shape. The dress is made of a semi-sheer green fabric. The bodice is 2 layers of the sheer, and the slip underneath is made of the same fabric, with 2 layers as well.

The neckbow, hem and waist are trimmed with a pink lace.

The waist has a bow, accented by a rhinestone brooch.

The back of the bodice is plain, but the pleats and trimming on the skirt extends all around.

I made the cloche out of the same mint green fabric, lined with a very light canvas. It is decorated with flower appliques and pink ribbon.

The cloche is a little small. One day I’d like to make another slightly larger one.

The purse was a last-minute, hasty project the morning of a Gatsby picnic, so it’s a little crooked. (Shh!) The handle is made of several silver metal necklace cords twisted together.

I think I may have obtained the pink satin gloves at a swap party, and the shoes are an eBay find.

The ivory necklace is vintage, and features a cool climbing monkey clasp!

Project cost: I don’t know. I made the dress a while back, and didn’t keep any receipts. I did get all the materials from Fabric Depo in El Sobrante, and everything is synthetic, so it was probably quite a bargain. I remember the brooch was $1. Aside from accessories, I wouldn’t be surprised if this cost around $50 or less.

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Posted in 1920s, Costume College 2014, Gatsby and tagged 1920s, costume, Costume College 2014, Gatsby. Bookmark the permalink.

Costume College: Costume Highlights

Posted on August 12, 2014 by freshfrippery

There are too many wonderful costumes to post here, but my Flickr albums for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday contains the rest. Some of my favorites from the weekend follow!

Elizabeth’s French court gown is a showstopper.

We had a lot of fun with our outfits.

Here is Natalie in her fantastic embroidered Game of Thrones dress.Check out those sleeves!The colors on these bustle dresses by DodiRose and Rebecca are wonderful.

Kim’s yellow Regency dress and hat are so charming. Sahrye’s makeup was impressive.Merja’s work is always so expertly tailored.Chrissy’s 1830s gown and hair were lovely. I loved this beautiful 1920s dress.This lady in white, and Gina in black were so beautiful!I liked Samantha’s ensemble . . .. . . especially the blackwork!This lady’s hat was by far the largest at the tea, and all weekend. This gentleman was having a great time, and all the ladies whooping at him were too!

The Hopeless Romantics Invade Gaskell Ball, 1830s Style!

Posted on April 28, 2014 by freshfrippery

There were so many beautifully made gowns at Gaskell Ball. Most of us used the same pattern, but I loved all the variations in fabric choice and trimming.

We made a lovely rainbow!