I just got a vintage chemise off eBay to wear with my gown. It’s perfect! Fits great and the neckline is the right shape for the low neck of the bodice (at least in a quick try-on last night). My old Victorian chemise is black and I was worried about it showing and about the
Katherine and Kendra, thanks for both of your opinions! I do like the shape of the petticoat — hard to tell in the fabrics picture, but when I floofed it all around, the skirt looked like it will have a really good shape, well-domed, true enough to the period, imo. Which was the whole point
Didn’t someone suggest that the shorties (like, ehem, Sarah and me) wear a little bit of a heel? If so, I have simple black pumps with louie heels that would work. I’ll also keep trolling my thriftstore for white that I can dye to match my gown, but there’s enough black lace on mine that
I hath trekked all about south San Jose, and I hath procured many fyne stuffs for mine gowne of 1580s indeed forsooth perdee certize. Ehem. I took light rail to a bus down to Blossom Hill to the World’s Lamest Jo-Ann Fabrics. I thought the Jo-Ann on Stevens Creek was kinda weak, but omg, this
Jeebuz, but I keep buying stuff for this Elizabethan gown! I just can’t stop. Oh I need casings for my farthingale. Oh I need some really fine cotton stuff for a chemise. Oh I need some twill for interlining. Oh I need aglets for the sleeves. Oh I need eye pins for the hat trimming.
I’ve never scaled up a pattern from a book. This year, I made a point of acquiring all the biggies of the historical costuming library like Janet Arnold and Jean Hunnisett. They’re chock filled with patterns on teeny grids that you’re supposedly able to use. But how? Nobody would fill me in on that part.
Shortly after Gatsby 2005, I bought this dress off eBay. It was listed as 1920s, but I think the style is more ’30s. It’s a somewhat transitional shape — neither fully straight nor fully fitted in the bust or waist. The waist is dropped, and the handkerchief hem is just around the knees. The dress
Well, that last idea went in a totally different direction! But in the Garment District after Costume College, I picked up a few yards of a brilliant blue-green silk taffeta that coordinates beautifully with the black embroidered linen. So I *will* make a caraco jacket out of that and a petticoat out of the silk!
Gah. Making underwear is one of the most boring things ever. It’s simple, but tedious. Guess I need to hit the thrift Saturday for some cheap white sheets. If I can’t find any/enough, I do have a coupon for Hancocks. Budget Costuming Tip #20: Joann and Hancock might not be good for many things, but
Right before I left for Europe, I had finally settled on a caraco jacket made out of this black linen embroidered with blue vines — the seller offered 4 yards literally minutes before the shuttle picked us up for the airport! But I bought it via PayPal in Berlin — ah, the wonders of modern