2011 Year in Review

Here's what I said I wanted to do:

1) a new Robe a la Francaise
2) Something with yellow striped fabric

Both done and combined into the same project!

Sense & Sensibility vest/body

Well, it is terribly far from perfect, but I've mostly finished the little velvet vest or body from Sense & Sensibility. I had both the silk lining and the silk velvet in my stash and they are a great color and matched each other! But I'd also blocked out from my Lord of the Rings days just how hard silk velvet is to work with. Blech. I'm not really happy with the wrinkles and pulls and though I tried to place my darts where the real ones are, they're not really in the right place. Oh well. I had the lace in my stash too - I actually colored the scallops with a Sharpie to imitate the real one.

It's also bag lined, which I so hate doing, especially with velvet.

The pattern was very loosely based on the same Sensibility pattern pieces.

But it's wearable, so we'll see how it looks in pics!

The only thing I have to add is the velvet covered buttons, but I'm waiting for a button blank kit to come in the mail. 

Here's a few pics of mine and of the real one:

Another 18th century pretty...

I bought one of Nicole's (http://mantuadiary.blogspot.com/) paper cutting fashion plates. I was able to frame it today with a frame and mat I had on hand. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

Regency Pumpkin Tea painting

Look what my Mom painted!  Love it!  She did it from a sketch book she bought from the party hostess.

Love this pic!

That is all!

Montpelier Mansion Costume Exhibit

I saw this costume exhibit in 2002 at the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, MD.

Thought I would share the pictures here too!

Here's my original page on this exhibit with everything labeled.
http://www.costumersguide.com/montpelier.shtml

Here are a few of the costumes I saw there. More at the link!

Fashion Plates

I've accumulated a bunch of these from antique shows and other places, so I thought I'd share them.


June 1871

A few more holiday tea photos

These are from Isabella:


I bought my cloak from Cindy!


Shoes! I love my yellow Devonshires!

Repro paste buckles from American Duchess

I'm really excited about these! So pretty!

Closely based on antique 18th century shoe buckles, the "Fleur" silver rhinestone buckles are the perfect accessory to keep the latchets on your 18th century shoes closed. Our "Fleur" buckles are delicate, feminine, and lightweight. Add that extra sparkle to your outfit and keep your shoes fastened in the most historically accurate and beautiful way.  Read more about the Fleur buckles here.

"Fleur" buckles come in pairs, and are available to buy  here.

Here is a link to  the other style, Dauphine.

Holiday Tea in Annapolis

I had such a fun time at our holiday tea at the 18th century Reynold's Tavern in Annapolis today! organized it and also present were my mom, , who was in my chemise gown, , , and . Hopefully I typed everyone's LJ name right! Hollie/librarycat is new in the DC area and had offered to return a book she borrowed to me this weekend since she'd be in my general area, which is when it occurred to me that it would be so much more fun if she came to the tea with us instead of just stopping by! So now she knows more east coast costumers and will hopefully be coming to more events!

The foot was really good and really plentiful. It seemed like there were plenty of options for both vegetarians and those with food allergies, so I think we'll definitely go back!

Here are some pics from the tea! Feel free to grab any you like and repost. Full set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggie42/sets/72157628269086157/with/6450592653/

Celebration III

Someone posted this on Facebook - it was from a skit a bunch of us did - I think it was called "Anakin's Nightmare" and it was pretty silly. I fear there is video evidence somewhere! I'm 2nd from the right in my blue embroidered Padme outfit.

One more Open Robe pic

Thanks to Kat for this one...

I got that fan at a market in Spain - it matches nicely!

American Duchess Regency Shoes

The "Pemberley" Regency shoes are closely based on extant footwear from the 1790s through 1810.  The smooth, dyable, hand-sewn leather upper is designed to be lovely enough for formal occasions, and durable enough for walking in the countryside.  Particular attention was paid to the point of the toe, as well as the other hallmarks of Regency historical footwear, with the main goals being both historical accuracy and all-day comfort!

I've decided I want a pair to make a version of Marianne's shoes from Sense & Sensibility! (I'll use this technique: http://americanduchess.blogspot.com/2011/10/shoe-how-to-of-week-pretty-pretty-pink.html)

Nathan Drake Uncharted Costume

My husband really wanted a Nathan Drake costume from the Uncharted games, so we did our best to put one together for him!

I've moved this whole detailed write-up to my actual site since it got really long and I wanted to give it a more permanent home.

You can find info on where to source pieces for the Uncharted 1, 2, and 3 cosplay or costumes here:

http://costumersguide.com/cr_uncharted.shtml

Here are my husband's somewhat incomplete Drake 1 and 3 costumes:

Serenity Money

Ok, it's not a costume, but I bought this a few years ago from propstore.com and just found a photo of it, so I thought I'd post it. It's money from the Serenity Firefly movie!

Another Victorian Fan

I need to stay away from ebay! Thanks for pointing the auction out, Kat!

Here are the auction pics:

Turn your blog into a book!

At the recommendation of a costume friend, I gave this service, which turns your blog into a book, a try. I wasn't disappointed!

http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

You can get soft or hard cover, choose a cover (and images for the front and back), choose a layout format, choose what blog entry range add a URL, and it generates a table of contents, and your entries! You can choose chronological or reverse chronological order.  It makes the images all the same size, which is ok - they don't take up a ton of room that way, but they're still visible. 

Here are a few shots of my entries from this blog. 

I think next time I'd try the more expensive option of not shrinking the layout and see how much it adds to the price.

I signed up for their referral program, so if anyone is interested in doing this, send me your email address and I'll send you an invite!  padawansguide at gmail dot com

American Duchess leather shoes

I tried my hand at painting up some American Duchess leather shoes.  I used Lauren's directions here:
http://americanduchess.blogspot.com/2011/10/shoe-how-to-of-week-pretty-pretty-pink.html

Despite using the leather preparer, the crimson leather paint went on really streaky. I'm not 100% happy but it's better after many many coats.  They look ok in pics - and I think they'll work! 

1820s citrine ring

I saw this 1820s citrine locket ring on ebay and that it looked to be my size and since it was reasonably priced, I couldn't resist!  I got it yesterday and it fits perfectly! I'm so excited!  The dealer seemed reputable, though I know you're always taking a little bit of a chance. And I'm no expert.  Here are all the details.

From the auction:  "A citrine stone has a surround of pearls to create this ring. There is leaf and scroll decoration to each shoulder. There is a locket to the back with the original glass present. The ring is made in 18 carat yellow gold. The design and craftsmanship date this ring to the Georgian period, circa 1820. The stones and setting is 9mm by 9mm or 0.35 inches. Weight is 2.2g or 0.08oz. American size 7 3/4
. Internal circumference 56mm."

And the auction pics:

Regency Pumpkin Tea

I had a wonderful time at the pumpkin tea yesterday! It was lovely seeing everyone and Stephanie and her mom really outdid themselves with the decorations and food!

Open Robe

I didn't get many pics of myself in this that I liked, but here are a few from yesterday's pumpkin tea! I will post more pics from the tea in another post. :-)

Open Robe

Whew, well I just finished sewing like a half hour ago!   I have to redo the sleeves because I didn't set them in quite right - the gathers in the back need to be higher up.  I thought the sleeves were cooperating entirely too much - now I know why!  But it'll be fine for the picnic.  And the robe fits great - the sleeves are just a little poofy in the back.  Which is why I'm only posting pics of the front! But other than that issue, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

The color looks more red here than the pumpkin orange it is.  I'm sure the buttons aren't entirely period, but that's fine too.  So I have something new to wear tomorrow, hooray!