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
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
For Venetian Carnevale 2020, I wanted some kind of harlequin outfit because that’s so iconically “carnevale.” But it had to be in my favorite gothic colors, and I couldn’t find any fabric remotely close to that. The obvious solution was to make my own, but wow, that sounded difficult! So I talked to my mom
Also know as my goth courtesan gown. I’ve wanted something like this ever since I joined Bella Donna Historical Performers, but it took a while for the right fabric to come along. And even then, I didn’t have the time to make it myself — so I commissioned Sarah to do it. But I did
This is the ladies auxiliary of the Tactical Alcohol Consumption Squad, as formed by Kevin Roche and Andrew Trembley. They created the St. George Special Forces to consume absinthe, so, with Kevin’s blessing, we created the Pink Drink Commandos to consume Cosmopolitans. Any gal who enjoys a Pink Drink can join — just use the
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
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
I have a bee in my bonnet that I want to remake the black silk overgown of my Veronese outfit. I really love this piece, but it entirely doesn’t close anymore and likely never will. But I want to wear it, it’s so pretty! I think there’s a way to revamp the front to make
This fantastic gown was made for me by SarahBellem Designs, aka my good pal Sarah. I bought this stunning (and frighteningly expensive) embroidered silk in the LA Garment District at Costume College ’08, with the vague intention of making something 18th century. But, knowing me, the material would have languished in The Stash because I
Here’s the completed gown as I wore it to 12th Night.
I bit the bullet and commissioned the lovely and talented Sarah to make this gown for me! She took my concept, tweaked the pattern she and Bridget made for my 1580s doublet, and *ta-da*, created a fabulous ensemble for 12th Night. She rocks and a half 🙂 All I made was that beaded girdle I’d
I wanted a Nice Wool Dress for my late 16th-century lowland Scots gentlewoman character. Specifically, I needed something to wear to the SCA Beltane event, and the only thing I’ve made since re-entering Elizabethan garb was my big ol’ super-fancy court gown. That one *is not* going camping, hell noes! I also knew I wouldn’t