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
After Carnevale 2024, I was randomly hankering to make something! And I had this gorgeous burgundy liquid metallic velvet in my stash that somehow said “princess gown” like Sleeping Beauty style. Which technically is a mid-15th-century Burgundian style like this Pinterest board and these: Complete with the pointy hennin, of course. But I wasn’t interested
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
This was not the Edwardian black-and-white stripe suit I planned for Carnevale 2022, but this was the one that turned out pretty damn good in the end. A year before, our group decided to take a walk in Edwardian costumes, preferably in black and white, during Carnevale. So I thought this would finally be the
I missed a few Carnevale parties in 2022 because my luggage was delayed by four days. But I wore most everything around at some time, like this mishmasy-y fantastical outfit that’s kind of 1920s with an exotic flair. I just wanted an excuse to wear this gorgeous purple velvet cocoon coat with a fur collar
I’ve had this fabric earmarked for Leonard’s 16th-century suit for ages, and I finally bit the bullet and commissioned Jenn to make it for me. After all, she’s the pro, having made countless gorgeous such suits for fellas in the Court of St. George. We had a great time planning the design and during the
Despite my oft-stated distaste for Regency / Empire / 1790s-1820s costume, that’s what I’ve made and worn for all of 2021. I guess that’s what global pandemic does to you? Weird. Really freakin’ weird. Well, as easy as it was to sew that pelisse and evening gown, that was all I wanted to have to
One of the events I planned to attend at Venetian Carnevale 2020 was the “red party” held by friends — it was a dinner where guests had to wear a little bit or a lot of red. I went through quite a few costume concepts for this one because I thought I’d wear something from
This is a custom-made French hood commission for Lady Elizabeth de Belcaire to go with a late 16th-century English outfit made by Mistress Elena Edgar and embroidered sleeves made by Elizabeth herself. It was first worn at the SCA West Kingdom’s 12th Night in January 2015. Since the fitted gown and kirtle were inspired by
Research and Theories: Linen caps and coifs are a well-known part of the Elizabethan wardrobe for women and even men. In their simplest form, plain linen caps were worn at all levels of society, often as a protective layer between the hair and a hat or even as a nightcap. Many women’s embroidered coifs survive
One of my favorite styles of 16th-century headgear is the tall crowned hat. It was first worn by men starting around the 1570s mostly in England, the Low Countries, & Spain. Women soon adopted the style, particularly when worn with high-necked doublet-style bodices. This fashion was hugely popular, which lead to criticism by the early
12th Night inches closer, & so do my various projects. I think my crazy wheel farthingale gown will be a go. I got the bodice & skirt attached, so it’s a real dress now. Still needs that weird tuck at the farthingale edge, plus hemming, & all the multitudes of accessories (ruff! wig! shoe rosettes!
Looking through all of your blogs, I found a plenthora of pretty hats finished in September! And at least one of you started a purse! Yay! I’ll admit, I’m still working on hats myself (mostly modern stuff because I’m totally bald now, due to chemo, tho’ I also made a new 16th-century coif & re-trimmed
The first month of Accessorizing Head to Toe has kicked off with some lovely results from you creative costumers! Here’s what I’ve found on your blogs & the Flickr pool so far — feel free to add more in the comments below.
While the goal of these challenges is to make accessories for costumes — historical, science-fiction, fantasy, whatever — this first challenge of “hats” hits close to home for me. See, I’m starting chemotherapy at the end of August to treat breast cancer. As most people know, a major side effect of chemo is hair loss.