Somewhat at the last minute, I decided to attend the annual Art Deco Preservation Ball, mostly because in 2023 it was held at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. I’d long wanted to go to something in this gorgeous local landmark, and since I seem to know a bunch of folks in the Art Deco Society,
When I went to Fete Galante in 2023, I also had the chance to attend a costumed dinner at the château de Vaux le Vicomte outside of Paris. In summers, this baroque palace not only allows guests to come in costume but they light up the grounds with candles at night and end the evening
Since the Rubens masquerade gown didn’t work out, I had to pull something from my closet for Fete Galante in 2023 with just two weeks before the event. I couldn’t sew anything new at that late date (though I briefly considered making a new wig). So I wore the same black silk francaise I wore
I’ve wanted to make a repro of this gown since seeing the painting of Lady Frances Courtenay by Thomas Hudson at the Huntington in 2011. I love seeing how one era interprets another era, and this style is so romantic and pretty! Apparently, this was a whole genre of painting, a trend for upper-class women
At some point during the summer of 2022, I was cleaning out my costume closet and decided I could revamp my old 1570s French Valois Gown into something … my friend Loren of The Costumer’s Closet had made some very pretty gowns inspired by The Borgias (2011-13) TV show, and that gave me an idea.
One party at Carnevale 2023 had the theme of “Once Upon a Time” and invited guests to come in any sort of fairy-tale costumes (but no Disney cosplay!). I looked through my closet and decided on something vaguely wicked stepmother-y using my black gothic fitted dress (which I wore twice that year at Carnevale, making
For a Carnevale afternoon tea with a mystical tarot theme, I dressed as the Queen of Swords, who symbolizes woman as widow, crone, and divorcée. Obviously, this card speaks to me, and I was excited to create all the layers of meaning. In the classic Rider-Waite tarot, the Queen of Swords is wearing a cloak
In an ongoing quest to figure out 18th-century men’s pants for me / Leonard, I started a new pair of breeches that were just going to be to test out the pattern but have developed into a whole new suit. I made umpteen mockups of the fall-front breeches from the original pattern by Eagle’s View
I got this length of fabric from Sarah ages ago and had dreamed of making something long, elegant, and flowy with it. Like a tea gown. So finally, in summer 2022, I went ahead and used the Laughing Moon Mercantile princess-line tea gown pattern with this fabric. There was just barely enough of the velvet,
Carnevale 2023 overlapped with Valentine’s Day, so one party combined both for a red / black / white and commedia dell’arte mashup. I did a broken-hearted twist mostly using things I already had in my costume closet, with some small additions. I used the big red coat from my Nadja costume, plus the dress from
The first event of Carnevale 2023 was a brunch, which called for fancy pajamas. I went for deshabille because I had these fun things to wear that hadn’t seen the light of day yet! Starting with a custom Victorian corset by Redthreaded, using a cotton stripe fabric I provided, then a ruffly black cotton robe and
Lockdown was a drag, and I didn’t feel like sewing anything but I had the idea to commission stuff. At some point in 2021, I requested a custom version of this Spanish 16th-century gown from Fiorentina Costuming on Etsy. The fit and workmanship is great, and the style is exactly what I wanted. Highly recommended and
When Nadja opens a nightclub in season 3 of What We Do in the Shadows, I immediately wanted the red outfit she wears! It’s just so flashy and fun. Also, it’s a little less “typical vampire” than a lot of what she wears, and thus a bit less like my own everyday clothes or things
This costume idea had been brewing in my head, but it wasn’t until a combo of pandemic lockdown and an excellent cosplayer opening up for commissions that it came to fruition. I’d been dreaming of David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane image (which I have a huge poster of) and his Ziggy Stardust persona, but done as
This spring, I was planning on a sabbatical in London, and near the same time, Kendra was going to be in Paris. She found out about a historical ball with an 1870s theme and asked if I wanted to go. Sure! But I didn’t have anything appropriate to wear. Well, I did have an 1870s