Holiday Tea at Gore Place

I only seem to have attended two costume events this year, the 1830s picnic, and the holiday tea, which we again "held" at Gore Place. And by "held," I mean, we just sort of show up at their tea in period dress!

The only unfortunate thing was that we got a ton of snow over night and into the morning of the tea. Of course! This meant I couldn't wear my festive red canvas boots, but I'm just happy the snow ended and was cleared in time for the tea to still carry on! I'm also happy that I've lost enough weight to fit into some of my things so I didn't need to scramble around and make something new. In fact, I had options. I laid them out and of course, a cat happened!



In fact, I had so much time to spare, not having any last-minute sewing to do, that I actually curled my hair and tried to do something with it! I never have time to bother about hair! I ended up doing a curly, glorified ponytail with the ends pinned to hide the fact that it was a pony tail, and added some vintage millinery trimmings I had in my stash. Sorry for the lousy bathroom picture, but this was apparently the only picture I got in which you can come close to seeing the back of my hair.



I still haven't managed to get my husband pumped for dressing in historic costume, but I love that he's willing to go along to this event anyhow! So off we went. . .



How beautiful is this?!? I am seriously in love with Gore Place. If you've never been, it's totally worth it.



I braved the cold for a snowy picture outside. I have yet to make period-appropriate outerwear for this era, which is a fact I only recall once per year, on the day of the Gore Place tea! I really must make it one of my 2017 costume goals. . .



My handsome fella and I!



We were among the first to arrive, and waited in what was once the Gores' laundry area, but is now a little gift shop. It faces the driveway so was a good place to watch other guests arrive!



I took no pictures of the actual tea part of the day! You'll have to take my word for it that all the food was delicious and beautiful, and the setting, perfection!



Afterwards, we snapped a few pictures in front of the Christmas tree, which, while not something the Gores would have had, does add a festive feel!



Look how big a group we had this year! A few established friends, plus a few folks I'd not yet had the chance to meet. I think this is our largest group at a tea yet. Don't forget to add one, since Glenn was too busy taking the picture to be in it!



And then it was time to go and return to modern life! I am already looking forward to next year, and maybe by then, I'll be able to convince my husband that period clothing is the best. I think it helped that he got to see a gentleman in period dress at this tea, which backed up my promise to him that this era can be done without tights or lace. I think I'm just going to make an ensemble and see if the whole "if you build it. . ." philosophy applies to period costume!

Croquet & Tea at Warner House in Portsmouth NH

I'm currently pulling together my ensemble for the holiday tea, I'm reminiscing about my last Regency-attired adventure, which was a tea and croquet event at the Warner House in Portsmouth, NH. I realized I have not yet posted pictures, so, here we go!



First off, I got it in my head that I wanted to make a sheer or semi-sheer bonnet. I saw one in a still from the movie Bright Star, and I simply adored it! After quite a bit of messing around with different sorts of glues and stiffeners, and a fair amount of patterning as well, I finally got a shape I was happy with. Just before popping in the car to head up to Portsmouth, I had my husband snap some pictures of my untrimmed bonnet. . . Here's one that I liked (except for the fact that the back of the dress is a bit unfinished, as I gained weight since the last time I wore it!)



Once in the car, I set to the task of trimming the bonnet. I had some really fabulous plaid silk ribbon that I'd been hoarding a while, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use it!



I also managed to make a quick reticule in the car. I'd cut the pieces out before I left just in case I could manage it. It's even lined. I just wouldn't be me if I weren't trying to overchieve at the last minute, ha ha ha!



I went with red because I'd recently bought some fabulous new red boots!



One of the main events of the day was the croquet game! I should mention from this point forward, all the pictures are shamelessly stolen from my friend, Sarah, who is in the pink dress. Apparently, I only took a few shots that day, but her husband was creeping us with the camera all day, and I'm really thankful for that!













We have some weird traditions, like this sort of thing. . .



But I promise, we really are good friends! ;)



And of course, there were some posed pictures as well. . .







There were actually quite a few ladies in Regency at this event! They were all so friendly, and very nicely dressed. It was nice to be in such good company!



All in all, this event was fabulous! Everybody was great, and the house is seriously amazing. If you're in the Portsmouth area, you should really check it out! The smalt-walled room is probably one of the most fantastic things I've ever seen in a period house.

I hope they'll have this event again because I would definitely attend!

Regency Intensive Dance Weekend, and the start of a new dress. . .

I've just returned home from the CVD Regency Intensive Dance Weekend, and thought I would promptly post my few pictures. Why so few? Because we were dancing almost non-stop! There were five hours of classes on Saturday, followed by a soiree in the evening. The pictures below are from that soiree. . .



Glenn looking thoughtful and dapper:



And myself looking perhaps a little tired and overwhelmed (as indeed I was):



Guys, they mean it when they call this weekend "intense." Indeed, for someone who has almost zero dancing experience, and especially someone like me who is better off learning things a small chunk at a time as opposed to ALL THE THINGS at once in one half of a day, it really is quite grueling and overwhelming. That said, the CVD people are AWESOME. They are so friendly and welcoming, and patiently guided us through each dance we messed up (which was almost all of them, unfortunately!) I did learn the basic steps so that theoretically, I can dance a dance if someone just tells me what the "moves" are and queues me as to when I'm supposed to do them vs. wait for the head couples to move to a certain point. . . But if nobody is prompting me? I get lost. Also, when they taught the basic travelling step at the start of the weekend, I apparently did it completely wrong, and didn't know that until several dances in, when another dancer kindly caught me aside on a water break and very patiently helped me re-learn it. But, since I'd missed the chance to repeatedly practice it (correctly, anyhow), it's like I couldn't get it into my muscle memory because I was so busy trying to memorize everything else. Anyhow. Really long story short is that it was a lot to absorb in a condensed amount of time, and I felt so bad about messing up all their dances, especially since we seemed to be the only ones who weren't pros! So, we decided that instead of doing the second day, we'd go off and have a tourist day in the north shore. Hence, no pictures of the grand ball. Instead, we took a little driving tour of the area had some delicious ice cream by the sea in Gloucester, and finished up the day by taking in a movie. Very relaxing, which is just what we needed after the non-stop pace of the day before!

I'd started a second ball gown (since there would be two evening events, and I thought it would be more fun to have a different dance for each!) but to be honest, by the time the classes ended, I already suspected I wouldn't be attending day two, so I didn't make an attempt to swiftly finish the second dress, and instead just wore my fancier ball gown to the soiree. Here's a sneak peek of the second ball gown that is not quite finished yet:


I really love this fabric, which is a wonderfully lightweight cotton with self-stripes as well as a thin silver metallic stripe running through it here and there (and cost me only $2.50/yard!) I finished all the seams as I went along, so I really do just need to add the skirt (panels are already seamed and ready to go), sleeve bands, and a hem. Exciting! But, I'm going to set this aside for a few weeks while I put finishing touches on my 18th century attire since there are now less than two weeks to my next costuming adventure: Fort Fred! Hooray for an exciting April full of sewing/costuming adventures!

It's a little silly in my sewing room right now. . .

Well, the long story short is that I used old measurements for Glenn and the mock ups I assembled today were not a good fit. It looked so ridiculous - especially since the shirt has no sleeves yet - and I can't recall when we last laughed so hard! So I'm not sharing pictures of that with you, but I did go ahead and have some fun modeling the pieces for you myself. Over my modern clothes. I'm very silly today, I know. . . But if you don't laugh, you cry, right? Anyhow. . .

I call this one "Proud Mr. Darcy":



Regency gents know all about poppin' their collars! BWAH HA HA HA HA!!!!!



Um. . . I don't even know. Maybe I'm showing off my waistband? Or the fact that I didn't do any of the behind-the-scenes pieces on the pants so I'd be giving you a bit of a show if I weren't fully dressed in modern clothing underneath!



Right. Enough silliness. I'm going to see if I can get the patterns all traced and new mock-ups cut before it's time to bid farewell to this weekend!

Regency Menswear!

So there is potentially a change in plans, because it seems possible that my husband may be dragged along accompanying me to the Regency Intensive Dance Weekend! That would mean that it would probably be wise of me to spend my sewing time between now and then crafting his ensemble as opposed to making nice-but-not-necessary enhancements to my own wardrobe!

I already have a shirt and top hat well under way, which is a good start. . . And, I already knew I would eventually put together an entire ensemble for him, which is also good since that means I have already hoarded a nice little collection of fabrics and patterns to start with!

I've been thinking a bit more about the details and time period to shoot for with this ensemble, and I'm calling it "1810s" for now. These two fashion plates (both from 1813) give a good idea of the feel I'm aiming for:

 

As you see, I'm definitely going the route of long pants. (I just think it's a bad plan to try to introduce my husband to the idea of historic costumes by way of breeches and stockings!) The fabric I have set aside for this is a caramel colored cotton. Probably not the most frequent fabric choice for pants of this era, but the color is good, as I've seen it in multiple paintings and at least one surviving pair of pants from this era.

As for the waistcoats, I have something ridiculous like five silk fabrics hoarded away with the intention of becoming waistcoats! Among these are a waffle-like pattern and a blue stripe that are similar to those in the plates (which is a good part of the reason I chose them to be representative of what I'm aiming for!) The great thing about waistcoats is that they don't take up a ton of fabric, and can completely alter the look of an ensemble that is otherwise using the same garments. My only problem is in choosing which fabric to use first!

So that just leaves the coat, and this one will be a bit of an under-taking, I'm sure! I've done some tailoring before, and even did a coat for Glenn before (though not vintage. . . Well, I guess "Cobra Commander" is a bit vintage, seeing as how he's a 1980s thing!) so I can draw on my experience from those projects. I'm not sure if I'm going to go with the Country Wives pattern or with one of the Laughing Moon patterns instead, or perhaps I'll be pulling bits and pieces from here and there amongst multiple books and patterns to get the right look. . . We'll see! I've got my heart set on having a blue coat, but the only blue wool fabrics I can find are either a totally wrong weave, or much darker a shade than I wanted. I do have one option in my stash, but I am not completely in love with it, so may yet do some shopping around. . .

"I shall have to be bought new clothes, for I have nothing fit to wear, and there will be balls and parties every night!"

I've decided that this year, I shall attend the "Regency Intensive Dance Weekend" hosted by the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers. This era for fashion is one of my favorites, and it's also my favorite era of dance out of those I've yet tried. However, I don't really know much about Regency dance. . . So how perfect is it for me to attend a weekend where I get to learn and practice dancing all weekend, plus, get to dress up three times?!?

So of course, I'm assessing my wardrobe and deciding what I'd like to make for this event. Luckily, I have both a wearable ball gown and day dress, so technically, I have all that I need to survive the weekend. But where's the fun in just wearing the same old things without at least adding a little something new here and there, right? Here are my current wardrobe plans:

Ball #1: New dress! Will be extremely simple style, using the pattern I used for my dotted Swiss dress with slight variation, and of a metallic striped cotton. Easy-peasy!

Ball #2: The Wicked Puffy Dress again! Because I think this might be my favorite thing I've yet made, and I want to wear it as much as possible. So I'll get the rest of the trimmings on in time for this event!

Day Event: TBD. I have my dotted Swiss dress which, if nothing else, is a great back-up option. But I'm contemplating a "something new" for this part of the weekend. Just not sure if I want to invest my time in a new ensemble (maybe finish my two-piece dress?) or maybe make some fun new accessories instead. . . If I am smart, I will instead focus my efforts on a Pelisse, since it's likely to still be chilly at this time of year and I get cold very easily. So, I'll have to mull this over and see what I'm most in the mood to make! ;)

So, stay tuned for some Regency sewing adventures! :)

The Wicked Puffy Dress, aka, that time I hand-sewed a Regency ball gown in two weeks flat. . .

I really had no intention of attending the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers Regency ball in Salem. . . But then, only a few weeks before, I found out my good friend was flying up from Virginia and attending it! Of course I had to go! But somehow, there was no Regency evening wear in my wardrobe. Shocking! With only a few weeks to the event, and knowing I wouldn't be me if I didn't hand-sew the entire thing, I did the only logical thing: Took on a big, ridiculously, very trimmed project!!!

After two weeks of hand sewing like a maniac (in between full time work, part time school, and other miscellaneous things like not neglecting time with my husband, LOL!) I produced this:



I still have a few things to do to it. Mainly, I need to add the puffings to the skirt! Also, the undersleeve should have a drawstring and bit of lace, and the oversleeve wants some bonus trimmings as well. . . But I'm pleased to say that construction-wise, it was done. As in, no safety pins holding this baby together! Hooray for that!

This is a recreation of the 1822 "Brudekjole" (aka wedding dress, but also very appropriate as ball attire) from the Danish "Nationalmuseet." You can see the original on their web site, here.

Since they provide the pattern for this dress (YAY!) I used that. I scaled the pattern up by hand using a gridded board and ruler, and stayed pretty faithful to it as is, save for a few minor changes to make it fit my particular size/shape. I had some translating adventures to try to figure out all the construction details provided, but I think I understood it fairly well! Things that didn't seem to make sense to me at first became clear as I actually reached that point in the pattern. So, it all went very well indeed!



The gorgeous parure (aka jewelry set) I'm wearing is made by the talented Taylor (my friend who flew in for the ball!) and you can purchase such lovely jewelry from her at her Etsy shop here: Dames a la Mode

All in all, the evening was perfect! I didn't actually end up dancing, but greatly enjoyed spending time with my friends, both local (including the lovely Sarah, who took these pictures for me!) and long distance, as well as meeting new folks, and of course, playing dress-up. ;) And, I had a blast stepping up to the challenge of pulling this off in such a short amount of time. It was a win-win!

Holiday Tea 2013

We returned again to the gorgeous "Gore Place" for our 2013 Holiday Tea! It was not "Jane Austen" themed this year, but the setting still made it the perfect place for our Regency attire, and as always, the staff are amazing, and seemingly appreciative of our willingness to play dress-up. ;)



I convinced my husband to tag along this year! I had thought to maybe have the start of a period ensemble together for him, but I ended up with a partially sewn shirt and the starts of a hat. So, modern attire it had to be, but I still think he looked dashing!



Gore Place has a ridiculously beautiful piano that was a very generous gift to them, and we were allowed to sit and pose with it (though not to touch it as we'd just had sticky tea deserts and this is a seriously rare and stunning instrument!)







Glenn so patiently stood by while we took lots of pictures of each of us having our turn to pose with the piano!



And then, he even stepped in as photographer so we could have a group shot of all the costumed ladies!

Dotted Swiss Regency Dress

I made a new dress!



I didn't quite finish it (as you can see by the super huge seam allowance visible through the sleeve, which still needs finishing, among other things) but it was definitely wearable, and I'm pretty happy with it! It's made of 100% cotton dotted swiss, hand sewn with cotton thread, and unlined for now, but I may add a plain cotton lining behind the waistband. I haven't decided on buttons yet either, so for now, it's being worn pinned closed. (Which is actually period correct, after all!) ;)

A bit of an update. . .

I do realize that this blog has been sorely neglected lately, though I assure you, it's not because I haven't been doing anything in the sewing room! It's just that it's been a lot of modern/everyday clothing, stuff for my house, and knitting galore. And some historic costuming, but since it's mostly a TON of patterning and mocking up, it's nothing I feel is interesting enough to share! (Except for my recent 1954 "Knights" circle skirt, if you want to count 1954 as historic! I blogged that project on my other blog, and you can see the finished skirt here). Additionally, I've had some non-sewing stuff going on, such as a new job and a new kitten, bringing the total cat population of my household up to three. Craziness! ;)

Long story short, I am over-due to get back to some historic costuming, and not just patterning and mock ups, for once! In fact, I am about to (hopefully) put the finishing touches on a Regency bodice pattern today. This pattern is of my own invention, and is intended to be an awesome, perfectly fitted "base" off of which I can draft any other Regency things I want to make. I have the tiniest bit of tweaking to do to the sleeve and the point at which it joins to the bodice, and then I think it will be ready to go, which means I can finally start on a dress to wear to the Massachusetts Costumers annual Regency picnic!

I'll be hand-sewing this dress, which will made of white dotted swiss cotton. It will close in the back, and have short puffed sleeves with detachable full length sleeves. Or, it may end up being a bib-front, and/or have plain full-length sleeves. We'll see!



I found some lovely peachy coral beads that I want to make into a three-strand necklace, using this gold-plated clasp. I've seen a few surviving necklaces from this period that use a clasp that appears to be similar to this (although I don't have any to study in person, so I'm just guessing based on photographs) and I think it will be a nice change from the single-strand necklaces I tend to make!



I was tempted to go all out and make a new bonnet and reticule, perhaps in a peach/coral silk taffeta, but I have some other projects in the works so I think I'll stick to the dress and necklace, and probably wear my Lizzy bonnet, which I've not yet had the chance to wear. The peach/coral accessories can always be made for next year's picnic!

White bodiced petticoat? Check!

I literally just finished a new Regency bodiced petticoat!



(It's actually got a perfectly even hem; not sure why it photographed like that! I guess I was just so excited to snap a pic and post about it that I didn't notice while taking the pic. . . And, I haven't washed the blue markings off either!)

Also, it's important to note that the bodiced petticoat went under a thorough inspection by Taffy:



;)