I had one last-minute “stretch goal” costume for Carnevale 2025 that I managed to finish — I wanted to use the 2 yards of bisexual stripe silk from Silk Baron to make a jacket from the tried-and-true JP Ryan 1750-1780s jackets pattern. I also had some purple taffeta in the stash that coordinated well to
For a Noah’s Ark themed party at Carnevale 2025, I looked around at what costumes I already had that I could use and found Leonard’s leopard-print silk breeches and waistcoat. Perfect base for an 18th-century-ish leopard! I found a faux-fur vest on eBay and carefully chopped it up to make a tail, mitts for front
Remember that 18th-c. Does 17th-c. Masquerade Gown that I was so excited about, but then got almost finished making and hated it? When planning for Carnevale 2025, I came upon a way to resurrect it into something more me that I could love — and get multiple uses out of. The party theme was Cabinet
When I heard there was a Pre-Raphaelite ball at Carnevale 2025, I poured through paintings for inspiration. I love this style and have several pre-raph prints hanging in my house, so there were many to chose from. But being me, I also wanted something dark and gothy, which isn’t as typical of this genre. Then
Carevale 2024 was the year of last-minute costumes for me! I normally hate last-minute sewing and try to plan things out so I’m done well before the event or trip. And I was this year! But I also got new ideas about a month before leaving for Venice so… One of the events was “A Night
Sometime around Christmas before Carnevale 2024, I heard about a new costumed meetup, a Toybox Afternoon Tea at the Hotel Danieli. The theme was enchanted childhood and toys, which didn’t interest me at first. But then I was looking through my stash and saw this pink patchwork stuff (I think it was a bedspread?) that
When I heard about a Carnevale dance party with the theme of “Viva las Versailles in Venice,” I immediately thought I needed something shiny and bright. I’d always wanted to do some costume with cute, decorative exposed panniers, so I decided on a showgirl type costume with blinged-up panniers. I looked through AliExpress at rhinestone
I was hosting a small daytime party at Carnevale 2024 — it was a gaming salon with a “fancy loungewear” costume theme. Since I’d be running around as hostess, I needed a simple, practical outfit (but still fabulous ;). Luckily, I already had a custom-made “Carlotta” Spiderweb Robe from Nicoletta Carlone in purple that I’d ordered
The Bella Donna Historical Performers were invited to perform at Carnevale in Venice for the Boticelli’s Primavera Dinner. While I don’t sing with the group, I’m a supporting member and needed to dress the part. Alas, my old black and gold gown was in sorry shape, and the bodice no longer fit. Also, I’d always
At Carnevale in 2024, there was going to be a Purple Party — a dance party where guests were asked to wear something purple. Now I have a ton of purple in my everyday and costume wardrobes, plus I’ve been getting my (naturally almost black) hair dyed purple for several years. So I could have
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
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