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I went to a Hallowe’en themed wedding last Saturday and wore my 1910 evening dress. We ended up back and forth between inside and outside a lot so I ended up carrying the train a lot. I’m glad it got another wearing because I do like it quite a bit. I also got to use a fan that I bought at an estate sale a couple of months ago. I had waffled on buying it, but some of the flowers painted on it were an excellent match for this dress so that worked out quite well.

CostumeCollege July 2022

Monday the band parents did a trunk or treat for the kids after practice. It was in the 40’s out so I wanted something warm. I finally wore my 1870’s gray velvet mantle. [personal profile] marianme took pictures of it in Tombstone, but it was really too warm to wear it that day so this was really its first wearing. I also finally wore the 1890’s knit petticoat I started making back when I lived in Virginia and finished in Houston. It took eight years to wear it! I wore my 1890 barrister’s wig knit hood too. That I’ve only had for a couple of years. With all the new stuff I also wore my yellow striped linen 1881 dress again. I do like that dress. Unfortunately I completely failed to get a picture of the whole look.

1890 Barrister’s Wig Hood

Tombstone October 2021

1892 Knitted Petticoat

Tuesday it was 7:00 by the time I got home from dropping the girls at a friend’s house, which was too late to want to start donning a costume so I didn’t end up dressing on Hallowe’en itself.
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I made an early 1880's linen dress a couple of months ago, intending to wear it to Tombstone. I ended up wearing it to a tea at a museum in Phoenix, which was much more intimate and probably more fun for an introvert. While there I got pictures of my dress. Photo credit goes to Ashish Mehta for all of these.

It's based on a La Mode Illustree plate from 1882. It's got a cotton foundation skirt and bodice lining with striped and solid linen for the rest of it. It came out satisfactorily. I think I might lengthen the bone in the vest piece and add bones along the edges of it since it crumples a bit, but other than that, it came out rather nicely. The pattern is the same base from my 1886 faille dress from a few years ago, but I took a fair bit out of the back panel of the skirt to suit the smaller bustle.

It's worn over combinations, a Pretty Housemaid corset, a corset cover, a bustle pad, a crinoline bustle, and two petticoats.

c.1882 Linen Dress, photo by Ashish Mehta

More pictures behind the cut )
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I was planning to go to Tombstone last weekend, but a week before I got an invitation from someone I met at Costume College to go to a Victorian tea at a house museum in Phoenix. That sounded so much better. I wore the same dress I would have worn to Tombstone. There were plenty of pictures taken, but I don't expect to see them for a couple of weeks since the man who took them is a hobbyist photographer and will actually edit the pictures before sending them.

Anyway, the museum was a really good house museum, and the tea was nice too - tea the meal, that is, the tea itself was rather weak. I hit some traffic on the way to Phoenix so I was a bit rushed getting ready, but it was awfully nice of the woman who invited me to let me dress at her house so that I didn't have to drive the whole way in a corset. I met some nice people who were very welcoming and said they'd let me know about their next outing. I also met the woman who runs the Tucson Steampunk Society. While steampunk definitely isn't my thing, it would mean local events where Victorian clothing is welcome.

After the tea we went out to dinner (not like we needed food after that enormous tea, but whatever!) at a Thai restaurant. Then I stayed talking to my hostess about costume stuff longer than I should have, but the drive home was smooth. I was gone for just about twelve hours.

I was excited about meeting people, and I had a really good time. I don't know when next I'll go, but maybe I now have events to sew for.
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I finished up the last bits of my early 1880's dress last night so it is officially finished. I kept forgetting about the collar and cuffs, but I did them last night. I had started tatting a collar for it, but I didn't feel that it went with the dress in the end so I did a plain white one like the illustration had. I'll still finish the bit of tatting, but I don't know what I'm going to do with it at this point. Maybe it will go better with the 1890's dress I've been thinking about.
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I had to go out to California for a few days this week, which involved a ~9 hr car ride each way. I drove maybe half of it so I got a fair bit of knitting done. My second openwork stocking in particular progressed. It's a few inches long now. I've a very long way to go on it, but it's nice to see it growing.

I've also been working on an early 1880's dress. It's coming along very nicely. I'm getting close to finishing the bodice. I've got boning and a few thread eyes and setting sleeves and the waist stay left. Well, that doesn't sound quite so close, but it feels close. The foundation of the skirt is put together, and I've done the kick pleating around the hem except for sewing it on. Then there's the rest of the skirt pleating and the apron and back drapery so there's a long way to go on the skirt.

Yesterday I started cutting out the children's Hallowe'en costumes so I'm not sure how fast my dress will progress as I work through those projects. The girls' costumes are straight out of a Simplicity pattern so they'll be pretty easy, and making two just alike will also increase speed. I think the boy's is just sewing spots on a sweatshirt so his should be really fast.
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I finally found something to use my gift card on that didn't seem ridiculously expensive.

I had enough left on the card for five yards of this striped silk. It's part taffeta and part satin, and I think it will be perfect for an 1880's dress. I just don't know when I'll get to it. There are definitely things queued up waiting to be made, and this will just have to wait its turn.

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