The theme for Costume College 2026’s Friday Night Social was My Villain Era Party, and it took me a while to figure out what to wear. C’mon, villains, that’s right up my alley! There were too many cool villains to choose from. Finally, I settled onĀ ErzsĆ©bet BĆ”thory, the so-called blood countess who bathed in the
The theme for Costume College’s Thursday night welcome party was “Camp! Cinema” in 2026, and part of the description included: “Think What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? meets Pink Flamingos, with a dash of Rocky Horror and a full face of glitter.” And for the first time in a long while, I was inspired to
For some reason, I fixated on this one Edward Gorey illustration and wanted to make the outfit. It’s big and shapeless and not directly connected to a specific historical period (unlike some Gorey drawings). It seems this drawing wasn’t part of a book or story, and according to one website, this drawing is part of
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 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
Two things you need to know about this dress: 1) Marguerite du Royon‘s heraldry is purple and gold with three fleur de lys, 2) Marguerite started her reign as Princess of the Mists wearing 1490s and has proceeded to wear later and later garb until this, the end of her reign, where she wanted to
This is a custom-made Venetian courtesan gown commission for Lady LĆ©a de Villaverde, first worn at the SCA West Kingdom 12th Night, January 2015. Materials were provided by my client. She wanted a late 16th-century Venetian gown in the classic “courtesan” style with the ladder-laced front, made of a rich damask from her fabric stash.
For a change, I’m not making anything for myself, and instead, I’m sewing a bunch of stuff for other people. In time for the SCA’s 12th Night, I took on a bunch of commissions to sock away a little money. It’s both stressful because I’m doing this after I work 40+ hours at my office
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!
You’d think I would have made one of these by now, given that “Elizabethan” is my One True Costuming Love & late 16th-century lowland Scots is my SCA persona. But no, I’ve yet to make the ever-practical English fitted gown. So it’s about time. You’ve seen all the period images before, but I’ve added a
Making lemonade out of lemons — since my hair fell out from chemo, this seems like a good time to go for one of those freaky-cool shaved-forehead styles that has popped up in various points of history. Go big or go home! At first, I though of Burgundian 1470s. It’s a period I don’t know
And then, on the last weekend before the con, I finally made it. Just the wire rebato, not a new outfit (perhaps another day). I decided I could wear it with some 16th-century things in my wardrobe, in particular, the rebato could hold up the 1590s ruff quite well. First, I sketched a design of
This idea is brought to you courtesy of strange dreams about CC27. Kevin and Radar were each trying to get me into their own masquerade entries, both very complicated and strange. Kevin’s had s’thing to do with machinery he was testing for work and demonstrating it on stage with lights and costumes. Radar’s featured interpretive
Closeup of the finished ruff, worn at SCA 12th Night 2009 — complete photos from the event (and full outfit images) on Flickr.
Beading — Hard to tell but the red dots are faux garnet beads between each curl. About a quarter done. Man, iPhone camera blows for macro pix! Looks better in person, promise. But I’m sick of sewing tonight. Gonna finish off this bottle of wine and call it a night š *sigh* Wish I had