This black silk robe a la francaise is about 80% hand-sewn, more than I ever intended. I've retrimmed it 4x now!
Recreating the pink portrait of Mary Queen of Scots had long been a dream, & I finally did it for my birthday.
My drag alter-ego is Leonard Autie, hairdresser to Marie Antoinette. He sometimes gets a new suit for Carnevale.
People often ask me for advice on buying a sewing machine. Because, of course, someone who sews probably knows something about the machines they use, right? Well, sadly no. It’s kind of like asking for car advice — lots of people drive, not as many people know what goes on under the hood. Or computer
The Société des Lumières held a Turkish-themed salon last night — because, of course, all things exotic & oriental (as it was called then) were quite the rage in the 18th century! So this was an excuse to wear turbans, Indian pajamas, caftans, kimonos, & other “foreign” garb to our articles of undress for a
Well, I’ve scrapped plans to make anything new for Costume College, & I’m forging ahead on future plans: for renfaire & Collegium. Which is far more practical anyway. Ok, Collegium is, since I’m running the event, thus any personal costuming should be done in advance so I can concentrate on event details. For renfaire, new
It’s a known fact that I love wacky hairstyles (also, hats). Big, weird shapes sprouting off one’s head please me inordinately. So naturally, I’ve been drawn to the horn-shaped style worn by Venetian upper-class women in the mid- to late-16th-century. I’ve given one try at making hairpieces to replicate this style, tho’ I’m not quite
At the Valhalla Renaissance Faire, I wore the completed & “proper” version of my Venetian courtesan gown, this one made in a luscious raspberry-colored silk damask that I’d hunted for months to find (& oi, it wasn’t cheap! but sooooo pretty!). Sarah made the gown, same pattern she designed for the tourney version, & I
At the start of this week, Sarah dropped off my new Venetian courtesan gown. This is the “real” version, in the expensive silk damask, as opposed to the tourney version in cotton damask. I need to hem & trim the gown & make the sleeves. The first two tasks are pretty straightforward, but the sleeves
CoCo, meaning Costume College, of course. I’ve been going back & forth about what to make for my Gala gown. I had one idea all set, with fabric bought months ago. And then … Costume Attention Deficit Disorder struck. Alas! Now I’m scrambling to see if I can find / afford new fabric in time.
This is the first version of my Venetian courtesan gown, made by Sarah. We decided to do a test-run in tourney-friendly cotton damask fabric to make sure the pattern worked before cutting into the $38/yard silk. Also, who doesn’t love having two dresses? Sarah draped the bodice based on period designs with some specific tweaks
New costumes start from the skin out, so that means new undies. Sure, I have shifts / smocks / chemises (depending on how historically accurate you want to be & which specific century you’re talking about). But for playing a Venetian courtesan at renaissance faires this year, I needed a specific type of undershirt, the
I had an amazing time at the Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild’s Last Dinner on the Titanic, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking on April 14, 2012. This costumed dinner & dance took place at the Bellevue Club in Oakland, CA. Everyone was seated at tables of 10, & our group decided
A couple months ago, my friend Rhawnie mentioned she would be playing Queen Titania at the new Fantasy Faire in San Jose. She was designing her costume but couldn’t decide if she needed wings & if so, how to make them. Oh, this conversation was happening at a meadery over pints of hard cider, which
Some time ago, my good friend Sarah collected some historical images documenting 16th-century women wearing crowns, because it often seems like a rare thing. We see queens & female nobility of earlier eras decked in towering regalia, but crowns / coronets / tiaras / diadems & the like almost go out of fashion for the
I wore the completed heuke & the Flemish gown at the SCA March Crown, & everything worked wonderfully! The weather was supposed to be rainy, but it ended up overcast yet dry until we were ready to leave that night. However, it was windy all day, giving the heuke a real workout & proving that,
Or why experimental archeology is sometimes better than pure research. I could have wracked my brain & search-fu & the library hunting down references to the heuke & this elusive duck-bill cloak. (Hell, it’d be easier for this anti-gun pacifist to learn to shoot & then track down & kill an actual duck!) But I
I’ll have to sew every night this week, but I *will* be wearing that damn duck-billed cap thingy & the Flemish gown at March Drown Crown this weekend! There’s a 50% chance of rain predicted at the site, plus chilly temps, so I’ll be glad of all the wool & cape-like layers. No time to
