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
One last project for 2024 — a new caftan to wear in Cancun! I found this pink bat-print cotton and just had to make it up into a retro ’60s caftan. Easy-peasy project and I definitely want to use the pattern again, especially since I already have several caftans in this exact style, both vintage
One last-minute outfit for Costume College 2024 was very loosely inspired (pun intended) by the 1910s Austrian dress reform designs of Emilie Flöge. These styles were corset-free and intended to give women more liberty and freedom of movement. Flöge had a successful boutique with her unconventional fashion designs, but she’s also known as the muse of
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
For Costume College 2023, I could only make a short trip and thus didn’t make or even bring a bunch of costumes. But for some reason, I had the idea to make this one, a faux Fortuny dress. I’d been looking around for that pre-pleated “plisse” fabric that mimics the style of Fortuny’s elusive silk
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
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
My favorite item of 18th-century women’s clothing is the jacket — there are so many varieties and styles, they’re relatively easy to make, and you don’t need much fabric! Plus, you can mix and match jackets with different petticoats to style yourself a fun, versatile wardrobe. I’ve used the J.P. Ryan 18th-century ladies’ jackets pattern
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
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
At least two years ago, I was inspired by the HBO series Gentleman Jack (2019) to start a jacket with the intention of recreating this outfit worn by Anne Lister: I mean, really, I already had a vintage top hat! So I started with a basic Period Impressions pattern, fitted it to me, and cut
This has been a bucket-list costume for ages, yet I finally made it as a quickie last-minute version in less than a month. The occasion came about because Bella Donna Historical Performers were singing at the PEERs Bal des Vampires right after Halloween, and they decided that their costume theme would be around the Bram
For the Northern California Pirate Festival in 2013, Bella Donna attended as “The House of the Rising Sun,” a New Orleans house of ill repute and gambling establishment. So we dressed in essentially 18th-century undress, plus lots of makeup and bling. Since I wasn’t satisfied with anything in my closet, I whipped up a new
Stayed up late sewing last night. What? On a weekday? Snowballs en l’enfer? Yeah. Added some freshwater pearls to the points in the cutout cross shape of the over-sleeves on my pink Florentine gown, plus at the corners of the collar. On Sunday, I’d sewn narrow gold trim along the collar & the cuffs of