Georgian ring

While I'm updating on jewelry acquisitions from the last 6 months - here is my birthday present, bought from nalfie.  It's English, 15k gold, tiny rose-cut diamonds, a faceted blue paste, and enamel, circa 1780.  One tiny diamond is missing, but I almost can't tell which,  and I love the little silver star settings. They thought the paste might be an early addition/replacement. And they dated it around 1780/1800. The pics are nalfie's.

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 18

I got super off-track on this, but what the hell, I'll keep going at will!

18. What is your best cosplay memory?

So many different ones. I have two favorite things - one is being in a period house in a period costume. There's a certain time-traveling thrill of tiptoeing around Gadsby's Tavern (the bathrooms are on a floor above the ballroom, so going upstairs by yourself feels like you're sneaking around) in a regency or 18th century gown.

The other quite different favorite thing is the fun a group costume can be.  Our Glee Lady Gaga group was perhaps the most intense one I did because we did a whole Masquerade dance that required intensive dance practices throughout DragonCon that made everything so much more fun.  There was also the Sgt. Pepper group costumes. And the Holyhead Harpies.  So many good times and inside jokes and being a part of something with good friends.

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 14, 15, 16, 17

 I got super distracted from this and never updated, so here are a few more days of it!

14. Your  costuming habits (eg. singing while working on a costume)

Nothing weird? I find sewing sufficiently boring that I have to have the TV on.  Lately I like marathoning old sitcoms. Currently Parks & Rec and Friends.

15. Your least favorite thing about cosplay

Drama and snobbery. First drama - this is a hobby. We are adults playing dress up. Yet I've seen a huge range of drama over my many years of this, most of it ridiculous. Interpersonal relationships are one thing - but a lot of the costume-related stuff is just silly.

And snobbery. We all have different skill-levels and budgets and reasons we do this. Some of us want to look screen-accurate, some of us are happy just to have a bathrobe and pretend to be a Jedi. That's fine. Unless you're making professional appearances, I see no reason to exclude people from playing in the same sandbox. And I will always prefer that someone come to an event in the wrong era than to stay home.


16. Do you belong to any cosplay/costuming groups? If so, what are they?

The Fabulosity Club! Which is not an official group, by any means, but we always get asked if we are a club when we have a group outing, so we made up a name.  I'm not sure I've ever been much of a official club joiner, but I did love the forums of old and I do love my many many friends that I have done costumes with be it DragonCon or a historical event!

17. What events have you cosplayed to?

Again, doing costumed for rather than "cosplayed to" - there was DragonCon for years, though it's not something I've enjoyed doing costumes for in recent years due to the extreme crowds, which can make it hard to move around and get/take pictures. And lots of historical costume events of varying sorts!

Francaise Dinner - redux

I finally went through all the lovely photos that Beth took at the Francaise dinner and pulled out the couple of me I liked!

The full set is available here:

http://bwpw.zenfolio.com/francaise2015

And photos for purchase here:

http://bwpw.zenfolio.com/francaisepurchase

Edwardian pendants

I snapped up these two little 9 ct Edwardian pendants from nalfie on ebay - got really lucky on the prices! They're really pretty!

1910s Enamel locket

I've seen lots of these pretty blue enamel lockets on Etsy and Ebay with various things on the front of them like bows and grape clusters. I found this pretty little one with a bird on it on Etsy - it was pretty deeply discounted because the enamel is damaged, but I think it's pretty anyway! The photos are by Vintage Paris on Etsy.

Regency Tiara

I bought a real antique regency era tiara on Ruby Lane from Faded French Grandeur on layaway.  I always wanted one and think I got this for a fair price! The pics are hers.  The item is described as "dating from the Charles X 1820 - 1830 period. The diadem has been adapted with the addition of the articulated comb, this is not unusual and I presume that it would have made it easier to use with the different hair styles of the period. It probably originally had a rigid metal comb. The piece is in very good condition save for some discolored coral beads and one missing larger coral bead at the top left hand side of the diadem at the extremity, please see last photo."

I wore it at the Jane Austen Ball at Gadsby's Tavern:

Jane Austen Ball

So last month we went to the Jane Austen Ball at Gadsby's Tavern! It was super fun! I wore my formerly pale pink drawstring gown, which I had dyed a darker pink. Wver since I read Tom & Lorenzo's complaint about how women who wear a color close to their own skin tone look like they are wearing a dress made of skin, I haven't really been fond of the color of this dress. It was super super cheap sale dupioni (I know, not period). So I just dunked it into a bath of red and plum dyes I had on hand and figured it'd come out ok. I really like the color it ended up!

With it I wore my new antique tiara (acquired from a Ruby Lane shop on layaway), and an antique dangle heart brooch. The fan was made for me by In the Long Run Designs (https://www.etsy.com/shop/inthelongrun).





At Gadsby's:

























Jillian in her Dames a la Mode:




















Kat's photo:



Hancock Photo took this one: