Tag Archives: costume

Costume College Recap (Part 1)

Posted on August 4, 2017 by freshfrippery

I am back and mostly unpacked from Costume College. It was so much fun and so much happened I will have to break everything up into multiple posts: Thursday/Friday recap, Saturday/Sunday recap, final details and summary about my Napoleonic ensemble, final post about my Cavalier dress, and a “loot” post about the goodies and antiques I managed to snag from the dealer’s hall and bargain basement. You have been warned!

I traveled down on Thursday with Natalie (frolicking_frocks) and Kelsey (irreverentvintagegirl).

After checking in and unpacking we ran over to the exhibit hall, where I was invited to display my Lady Tremaine costume. There were other really talented costumers in the room so please see my Flickr account for more photos!

My travel companions helped me dress and pad the mannequin, plus make boob-arms.

Later that night at the pool party my 1940s Star Trek group had a revival, with a new addition of a galaxy by Christina of The Laced Angel.

We passed out custom badge ribbons.

I didn’t take many photos at the pool party because of the lighting, but look at these great Reys!

Friday started out with fun. (I wore a traditional embroidered German dirndl with a vintage 1930s apron) and Stratford shoes from American Duchess (affiliate link).

Maybe too much fun (with Elizabeth/peachassassin’s codpiece).

Kim had a really cute 60s coverup and Tab soda. (The overall theme for CoCo was the 60s). It’s hard to see in the picture but underneath there is an adorable gingham bikini top and shorts beach set.

I took two great classes during the day: “Beyond the Fringe: Unravelling the Myth of the 1920s Flapper” by Leimomi Oakes and “Finishing Your 18th Century Look” by Abby Cox. I would highly recommend any classes taught by these ladies.

That evening I finally wore my completed Napoleonic court gown and train. (I’ll post more photos and a final summary later, but you can see my other construction notes along the way).

My pearl necklace and earrings were made by Gloria of Inthelongrun.

There were so many incredible costumes at the Friday Night Social I can’t post them all so here’s a selection.

Natalie as Dolores from Westworld and Kelsey as Annie Oakley.

The awesome Adria Renee in her take on Star War’s Orson Krennic.

This great Outlander gown.

Some awesome Barbarellas by diystopia, Elizabeth, and Cynthia of Redthreaded.

Look at this amazing cord and soutache ensemble by Kelsey!

And we ended the evening with kigurumi shenanigans at the Pink Drink party!

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1660s Cavalier Gown

Posted on July 24, 2017 by freshfrippery

I’m still recovering from eye surgery so this post will be brief. I’ll post more pictures and construction details when I get back from Costume College.

Here is a quick look at the bodice! I can’t see well enough to make a lot of tiny hand-sewn eyelets in the back, so someone will have to sew me into my dress before the Gala.

I already packed my petticoats and bum roll so I don’t have a mounted picture of the skirt. I cartridge-pleated it, left the front part that goes under the center bodice tab flat, and hid closures in the pleats. (I have side openings for pocket access).

My hair in its hat box looks like braaaains!

See you at Costume College!

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Posted in 1660s Cavalier and tagged 1660s, Cavalier, costume, sewing, silk. Bookmark the permalink.

Regency/Napoleonic Court Train (Part 2) 98% Done!

Posted on June 12, 2017 by freshfrippery

My Regency/Napoleonic court train is nearly done! (I am just missing a proper brooch closure for the front; right now the straps are pinned into place).

I apologize for the weird lighting. I recently changed some of the lighting in my house to LED bulbs, which is great for my energy bill but not for the color of my pictures.

Don’t you just loooove the way silk velvet drapes?

Here is a shot with my court dress previously described here.

A reminder of what the gown alone looks like:

I hope to get proper photos of the whole ensemble at Costume College.

Here is another mmm silk photo since I love the back so much.

I used Butterick B4890 to get the teardrop shape, but did not use the bodice portion of the pattern. I opted for the shoulder and underbust straps I saw in extant examples of court trains. I also decided to have a more “modest” length train since I will be using this at Costume College and it will be easier to navigate the crowds.

I can’t wait to wear this!

I still have to make a matching regency diadem and I have a pearl jewelry set on the way. Once that’s taken care of I can finally start on my gala gown!

(I will do my usual final tally of project costs once the whole ensemble is actually complete, but it is nearly there).

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Posted in Regency and tagged costume, court, court dress, Napoleonic, regency, silk, velvet. Bookmark the permalink.

Outlander Dinner Party

Posted on May 14, 2017 by freshfrippery

Last night I went to a lovely Outlander-themed dinner party at the Sequoia Lodge in Oakland. The wooden building surrounded by trees definitely contributed to the mood! We were greeted by a bagpiper as we entered. Later, as part of the dinner entertainment there were also musicians signing and playing instruments, and some dance demonstrations.

I wore a gown I made for the occasion out of cotton plaid. I am also wearing a wool petticoat, 2 under petticoats, a double-bum pad, a pair of stays, a chemise, a fichu, and a pair of beautiful black 18th century Dunmore shoes from American Duchess.

It was my first time using pins to close an outfit instead of hooks and eyes. I bought some reproduction 18th century gown pins from Larkin and Smith. (I am using a combination of the medium and fine pins). I am still figuring out how to do it without stabbing myself or putting weird wrinkles into my dress, but I am getting better! (Hint: the stays are for safety as much as they are for support). You can read about construction details in my previous post.

My hair is rather short at the moment (even too short to braid properly) so I put it into a tiny bun on the back of my head and covered it with a large fake braided bun.

My fichu is actually a small vintage cotton organza tablecloth. It has lovely floral whitework, scalloped edges, and best of all, zero effort on my part! (For those that are curious, it is about 35×35 inches wide. If you are tall or broad-shouldered I’d recommend a larger square).

As usual, I was too busy chatting and stuffing my face with the delicious meal (puff pastry wrapped asparagus with prosciutto, roasted fowl with buttered leeks, roasted blue and gold potatoes, haggis, and sweetmeat cake with marzipan) to take as many pictures as I should have, but here are a few more!

You’d never realize that Christina of The Laced Angel and Natalie both finished their jackets that afternoon. Christina started the same day!

The tables were set up in large U in the lodge. This was the side I was sitting on.

There was a range of social classes and decades at the dinner.

I especially loved the variety in jackets! (You can catch a glimpse of the bagpiper to the right of the photo).

I had a delightful time, and I think everyone else did too. (There was even a couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, and they were married 25 years ago in the same location!)

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Posted in 18th Century and tagged 18th century, costume, cotton, gbacg, Outlander, plaid, sewing. Bookmark the permalink.

Outlander 18th Century Plaid Dress

Posted on April 30, 2017 by freshfrippery

In a few weeks I am going to an Outlander-themed dinner party hosted by my local costuming guild. I don’t subscribe to premium cable so I have never actually seen the show, just lots of pictures, but I am always a fan of dressing up and eating!

I’m aware that there are some fabulous silk dresses in the second season of the show, but I wanted something relatively quick and inexpensive, so I decided to go with a plaid 18th century dress using a pattern I’ve worked with before. (I used the Period Impressions 1770 Polonaise Pattern when I made my Ljusoga dress).

I found a decent plaid cotton from the “Wales plaid” Fabric.com collection. (I ended up purchasing it through Amazon due to a 20% off promotion and free shipping!) It was cheap enough I used the same fabric for lining the bodice and skirt. I dithered for a long time as to whether I should make the fabric out of the same fabric or make a fancy quilted one. In the end I could not find a suitable pre-quilted fabric or bedspread to repurpose, and some well-priced wool appeared on a destash group I am part of, so my decision was made.

In real life the bodice fit is rather different (and much better!) because I would be wearing stays to provide a smooth front. My mannequin is not wearing stays because it does not have a compressible torso and the boobs would be in the wrong place. Right now the front is pinned with regular straight pins while I await some proper 18th century reproduction pins in the mail.

See how the middle point of the back of the bodice rides up a little? I’ve got to adjust my underpinnings a bit to fix that, but what prevents it from flipping up all the way is a split bum pad.

My old half-moon bum pad was too small and not up to the task of the much larger faux butt I wanted for this outfit, so I made a new double bum pad. The split down the back is what gives it this particular shape. I should have curved the top edges but this was a rather quick project. It is just twin trapezoid pillows bound with a single twill tape at the top.

The front comes forward enough to increase my hips too. The way I constructed these bum pads is not period correct, but works for my particular body shape.

See how gloriously wide it makes the petticoat compared to my real figure?

Final project costs:

8 yards (45 inch wide) cotton plaid fabric: $45.31 from Amazon (affiliate link) including tax and discounts; I still have leftover fabric.
2.5 yards (60 inch wide) brown wool fabric: $20 plus $6.50 shipping from Facebook; Normally I use 3 yards for a petticoat but this was wide enough to do piecing in the back.
Pattern: $0 (already used for another project)
Bum pad fabric, stuffing, and twill tape: $0 (left overs from other projects)

Total (without notions): $71.81 (Not bad! I was originally planning $50 just for the main dress and I can reuse the petticoat for other outfits).

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Posted in 18th Century and tagged 18th century, costume, Outlander, plaid, sewing, wool. Bookmark the permalink.

1940s Star Trek Ladies at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2017

Posted on April 23, 2017 by freshfrippery

Yesterday I went to Silicon Valley Comic Con with two other members of my vintage-style 1940s Star Trek mashup crew. We got a few “Star Trek pin-up girls” comments, but were pleasantly surprised at how many people called us the Andrews Sisters! That wasn’t our intention but still neat how many people got the vintage reference.

The highlight of our day was meeting Jonathan Frakes aka Commander Riker!

He was super nice! It was really exciting to meet and take a photo of him, but the experience was even better than we expected because he seemed excited to see us too! When he spotted us his jaw dropped and he said, “Look at you guys!” He complimented our outfits and style. We would have liked to talk more but after a quick photo the staff herded us away and we were left with some really great memories!

The other fun part of the day was geeking out with other fans. We took literally hundreds of photos for and with other people that were excited to see our handmade Star Trek costumes. We took so many photos our cheeks hurt at the end of the day and we quickly settled into our “standard” pose for the day.

I wish I hadn’t forgotten my shoulder pads though! My dress is made of rayon (which is so wrinkle-prone). The front is supposed to be blousy and fall into soft gathers, but without the pads it looks too wrinkly.

We also ran into some storm troopers! At first one pointed to his or her chest to indicate our comm badges and then made disapproving gestures, but eventually we achieved detente.

We also had an encounter with the Borg when we went outside to the food truck area.

And I got to meet Dark Helmet!

These two Mr. Jones were great. They portrayed the characters well, teasing each other with lines from the Indiana Jones movies. The elder Dr. Jones was really convincing with an impeccable costume and props, and passed out tickets to his upcoming lecture. We had fun with these guys.

There were a lot of really fantastic costumes that I weren’t able to photograph, either because they walked past too fast, or I was busy taking photos with someone else.

By the way, I am on Instagram now. I just opened my account so there is much yet but you can follow me as @freshfrippery.

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Posted in 1940s, Geekery, Other Clothes and tagged Commander Riker, costume, geek, Jonathan Frakes, nerd, Silicon Valley Comic Con, Star Trek, Star Wars, SVCC. Bookmark the permalink.

Regency Diadems

Posted on March 11, 2017 by freshfrippery

The Napoleonic era is filled with gorgeous golden diadems, studded with coral, pearls, gemstones, or lovely cameos. What court outfit is complete without a tiara?

This garnet diadem was sold on Ruby Lane. Screen Shot 2017-03-10 at 7.28.31 PM.png This coral diadem made from gilded brass from A. Brandt is very elegant. Screen Shot 2017-03-10 at 7.23.31 PM

Here is a beautiful cameo tiara sold by Sotheby’s that inspired me to want my own. Regency2

This parure (matching set) that belonged to Caroline Bonaparte is stunning! Regency

Last month, I hosted a group of friends and we decided to try our hand at making our own, using this great tutorial from the Mistress of Disguise, for a Regency Tiara Making Day! Behold, crafting chaos.

We bought materials from a variety of places, including Michael’s, Joann’s, and eBay for beads and wire; Hobby Lobby or Amazon for brass sheets and metal combs; and Whittemore-Durgin, Etsy, and Ebay for our brass lamp banding. It’s hard to say how much it cost to make each one, since some things were bought in bulk and we did a lot of sharing. Here are our tiaras!

There was some trial and error, and things we learned during the process:

Soldering looks better but hot glue is much faster than soldering, especially when you have a group.
High-temp hot glue is required; the mini glue guns used for crafting don’t stick as well.
Big tin snips instead of small jewelry snips are better for cutting through the brass banding. (Regular scissors can cut through the brass sheets).
If you have tarnish on your brass, use Simichrome polish.
Wiring metal combs to the diadem is more sturdy than gluing metal or plastic combs.

Here are my “practice tiaras.” They are not perfectly straight and there are some little issues I’d like to work on (such as the thickness of the brass, the overall proportions, and remembering to push the head pins down before the glue set!) but they were really fun to make and I want to make more! I’d like a thinner, more delicate pearl one, and a pink coral one to go with my court gown.

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Posted in Regency and tagged costume, crafts, diadem, diy, regency, tiara. Bookmark the permalink.

Beaded Regency Court Dress (Part 3)

Posted on February 26, 2017 by freshfrippery

I’m still working on the rest of the court ensemble but at least my dress is complete!

I didn’t have all my accessories yet at the time so I wore a pearl tiara I had instead of a Regency diadem and did a quick updo. (My next post will be about Regency diadems; I got together with a group of friends for a tiara-making day).

You can read Parts 1 and 2 for more information, but to summarize a few details, my dress is made up of one layer of beaded and sequined mesh, an interlining of seam foam chiffon, and a lining of cotton voile. It is made from Butterick B6074 View B, with some modifications:

I combined some pattern pieces to minimize seams in the beaded fabric.
I skipped the gathered overlay on the bodice which is recommended for solid fabrics.
I raised the back neckline about 1 inch.
I extended the bottom front bodice about 1 inch since I was not trying to achieve the tiny bodice/pushup bra look.

Note: Butterick B6074 runs large! It has a lot of ease built in for the modern wearer. I recommend going down 2 sizes.

For undergarments I am wearing a shift, short stays, a corded petticoat and a ruffled petticoat. I normally would not wear a corded petticoat with Regency but this dress is heavy.

I have decided to go with a rose velvet for the train, and I have been spending far too much time searching for pink velvets, getting swatches, and looking for trim. However, I think we have a winner.

I still need to order the rest of the fabric and find the trim, but I’ve purchased lining and have the pattern ready. I’m mulling over whether I should use my leftover beads and sequins to decorate the trim, but that may be madness speaking.

By the way, in case you think my life is glamorous, here’s a peek at real life (bad posture, clutter, and photobombing) vs. the cropped version of a selected few pictures for the blog!

UPDATE:

I wrote a tutorial for this dress, which Fabric Wholesale Direct spiffed and made into this post on their website!

All the fabric I used for this project is from Fabric Wholesale Direct. Thank you!

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Posted in Regency and tagged beaded, costume, court, dress, historical, regency, sewing. Bookmark the permalink.

Beaded Regency Court Dress (Part 2)

Posted on February 11, 2017 by freshfrippery

The dress is nearly done!

I’m excited that this is nearly complete, with just a few minor things to do. It’s taken a little longer than I thought! Sewing is about learning from your mistakes, and I’ve been doing some learning.

Lesson 1: It’ll stretch more than you think

I accounted for a bit of the stretch of the mesh fabric when cutting out the skirt, but underestimated how much more it would stretch afterwards. I was afraid I was being too careful and the skirt would be a little too short, but after I attached it to the bodice and let it hang for a bit, the heavy beads dragged the skirt down to a length that would have required stripper heels instead of dainty Regency slippers to manage.

Due to the scalloped border I couldn’t hem the fabric at the bottom of the skirt, so as much as it pained me to undo all the hand-stitching I removed the skirt, cut off some excess at the top, removed even more beads, and reattached it.

Lesson 2: What looks good on the dress form doesn’t always look good on you

Redoing the skirt gave me the chance to also redistribute the gathering. Originally I had made the front flat to avoid the dreaded pregnant Regency look, and focused most of the fabric on the sides and back. However, once I put the dress on I realized the extra beading on the sides made me look a little wide and boxy. Here are some quick shots with my phone showing before (left) and after (right) without petticoats.

Because of the peculiarities of my figure (mainly the shape and size of my ribs and chest), the version on the left looked better on the mannequin, but not particularly well on me. Normally, to reduce bulk at the waistline I would have cut tapered panels, but could not do that with the beaded fabric. I also wanted it to be fuller than the lining underneath. Since the beaded layer is essentially a gathered rectangle there’s a bit more bulk around the empire waist than I would like, but the new version with redistributed fabric is still a little more flattering on me than looking like a sugary green rectangle.

Although most of the examples of Napoleonic dresses I’ve seen have a flat, columnar front, I did find this extant dress worn by Empress Josephine that is gathered all around. regency1

Lesson 3: Working with sheer, beaded fabrics will double your sewing time.

This bag represents only a portion of what I had to carefully unpicked from the seams, darts, and placket panel. There are plenty more that ended up on the floor or hiding in the corners of my house. My next dress will definitely be made of solid fabric!

To minimize snagging on the mesh, instead of hooks and eyes I made covered buttons and loops for the back closure, and added a placket. (Yes, I had to remove all the beading on the fabric used to make these buttons too).

I think smaller buttons might have been a better choice, but that size of button-covering kit was what I had on hand, and I do like having them large enough to have a different pattern on each.

Lesson 4: If you hoard it long enough it will come in handy

Years ago, when I started sewing, I bought a spool of “invisible thread.” It was actually beige nylon and not as invisible as clear fishing line, so I never knew what to do with it until I obtained beige netting fabric! (I’m not kidding when I say I think I’ve had the spool for nearly 15 years).

The beaded motifs are staggered in a way that I had to cut through a few of them to make the center back seam, and the beige nylon thread came in rather handy for putting the two sides together. (I hand-sewed two rows of stitching for extra security).

I would have loved to do a slight train on the dress, but the fabric I had was not wide enough. I will have to make up for it with the velvet court train for the rest of this ensemble!

I still need to bind the raw edges inside, do a little bit of final fit adjustments, snip loose threads, etc. to clean the dress up before I wear it to take photos.

My to-do list:

Buy materials for the court train: I’m looking for a rose cotton or silk velvet
Make matching shoe clips for my American Duchess Pemberly slippers (affiliate link)
Make a Regency diadem; I already have the materials ready!
Make a reticule out of leftover pieces of the beading. (I have no more of the green chiffon except some small scraps, so I may make the base fabric match the velvet train).

Read part 1 here.

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Posted in Uncategorized and tagged beaded, costume, court dress, Napoleonic, regency, sewing. Bookmark the permalink.

Beaded Regency Court Dress (Part 1)

Posted on February 3, 2017 by freshfrippery

My current project is a beaded Regency court dress using Butterick B6074 as a starting point. Here is a sneak peek of the bodice; I took this picture before closures were added.

The dress consists of 3 layers: a sheer netting with beads, sequins, and faux pearls; a seafoam green chiffon interlining, and a cotton voile lining. I don’t know if the seafoam green is historically correct. Most of the extant Napoleonic court gowns I’ve seen are white or ivory, with most of the color in the embroidery and the sumptuous court trains. However, I love that particular shade, and the way it looks against the bronze sequins in the netting. (The fabric is from Fabric Wholesale Direct and has gold embroidery, with round and cylindrical seed beads, round and leaf-shaped sequins, and round and oval faux pearls).

I did find this portrait of the Empress Marie Louise in what appears to be a light blue gown. lefevre_maria_luigia

Because the fabric I’m using for the outer layer of the gown is sheer and beaded I am trying to minimize seams. It keeps me from cutting through too many motifs, and saves me some time since I have to remove all the beads and sequins from each seam to reduce bulk. I altered the pattern by combining the two should strap pieces into one (eliminating the shoulder seam), and redrafting the back bodice and side bodice pieces to be one. The placement of the seams are no longer quite correct, but it did make sewing easier. I also raised the back because it is very low cut and my stays would have shown.

Because of all the beading, and because the foot pedal of my sewing machine is having electrical problems, this gown is mostly hand-sewn. Thus, it is taking a while, especially since I am super paranoid every time I have to cut into this precious fabric!