House Cleaning

I think that I'm a typical costumer, in that, over time, I've accumulated a lot of costuming "stuff." I managed to clear out a few things at the GBACG Costumers Bazaar last weekend, but still have many extra bits that need to go. So, I've set up shop at Bonanza, and listed many costuming accessories, including some of the things you see below. A link to my Bonanza shop also appears in the pane on your right.

Here's a preview of some of the things I've listed. Funnily enough, they're pretty much all left from workshops I've taken or taught.

Edwardian-style parasol.

18th century embroidered neckerchief.

18th century fancy pocket.

18th century fancy pocket.

18th century linen pocket.

18th century linen pocket.

18th century linen pocket.

What is Bonanza:
Bonanza advertises itself as an alternative to eBay. I find that it's a bit more of a cross between eBay and Etsy. It's a marketplace for folks like you and me to buy and sell stuff. Like Etsy, sellers set up a shop.

Why am I using Bonanza:
Frankly, Bonanza has a much simpler and affordable fee structure than eBay or Bonanza. I'm not a very active seller, and it can take me a long time to sell things. So I chose to use Bonanza because listing and maintaining listings for a long time is easy and affordable.

Costume College 2015

Time for a brief Costume College recap.

I didn't make any new costumes for Costume College this year, and I didn't want to go without costumes, so I brought the three most recent things I've made or acquired.

At the Friday Night Social, I wore a 1950s-inspired cocktail dress. I made this for a special occasion in March, and will do a separate post on it later.

1950s-inspired silk cocktail dress, with my best attempt at a '60s bouffant.

For part of Saturday I wore the 1920s ensemble Lynn McMasters made for her new turban pattern. I'm really lucky that Lynn likes to use me as one of her models. I'm not super fond of having my photo taken, but frankly I'll do anything Lynn asks.

1920s party dress designed and constructed by Lynn McMasters. Photo courtesy of Val Labore. She blogs over at Time Traveling in Costume. Val is funny and creative, go check her out!

And finally, for the red carpet walk prior to the Gala, I wore the gown I made for the Bustle Tea last year. It has some updates, and deserves a full blog post (which I'll get to sometime soon).

Photo courtesy of Noelle Paduan. See more at her Flickr.

Other highlights from Costume College include: seeing the ladies from The Tudor Tailor again, for the first time since I attended a workshop with them back in 2007; the always fabulous Cathy Hay; seeing some of the Web's most beautiful and talented costumers in person; lectures with fantastic folks like Jennifer at Historical Sewing, Ithylwyn, Amanda Irwin, Rory Cunningham, Heath Hammond, who I think said he was affiliated with the English Warbow Society, and many others; the goodies I had not meant to buy but that came home with me anyway; and, of course, catching up with everyone in my costuming "family," I love you guys, your talent, and your endless creativity.

Jane Malcom-Davies of The Tudor Tailor with your author.

Jennifer of Festive Attyre (as the Grey Lady from Harry Potter) with Merja of Before the Automobile (which has got to be one of the best blog names ever).

Goodies from The Tudor Tailor! An autographed copy of "The Tudor Child," a copy of "The King's Servants," a pamphlet titled "'And her black satin gown must be new-bodied': The Twenty-First Century Body in Pursuit of the Holbein Look," and an updated edition of their "gable hood" pattern. All of these, except the pamphlet, can be had from their website.

More from The Tudor Tailor! My understanding is that this fan was used by the interpreters at Hampton Court Palace, and before that this was a prop in the movie "Shakespeare in Love." For real. Ray Fiennes may have touched it.

And yet more from The Tudor Tailor! I believe the necklace an earrings were used by the interpreters at Hampton Court. The necklace needed a minor repair, so I got it for a steal. The lace is just-to-die-for reproduction Reticella that can also be had from their website.

From Dawn Sklar, the trims and buttons vendor. I normally reject ribbon trims because they look too machine made and modern, but this one is pretty darn passable. Stay tuned, this may some day soon appear on an 18th century dress....

Antique rhinestone parure that I picked up in an antiques shop in Santa Barbara. I don't have a date for this set, and I'd wager a guess that it's no older than the 1950s, but it could pass for Edwardian. Besides, it's blue, it's pretty, and so it's MINE.

Turbans! Turbans! Turbans! (Photo Shoot)

I'm back for another quick, catch-up post. Back in April I spent a day hanging out with Lynn McMasters to model for her. She was (or still is) working on a pattern for turbans for various time periods. She has lots of friends who model for her millinery, including, on occasion, me.

If you follow Lynn on Facebook at her page, "Out of a Portrait" you've seen this photos before, as well as pics of her other fabulous models and hats. If you're a member of Facebook and don't follow Lynn, scoot on over there and follow here to get the scoop on her up-and-coming hat patterns.

Turban No. 1:

This one is based on a late 18th century headdress. I can't recall the name or artist of the portrait that Lynn used as a model. The outfit was provided by me.

Turban No. 2:

Jumping forward over a century, I don't recall what time period Lynn attaches to this turban, but given the hairstyle she probably means

Turban No. 3:

Still in the Jazz Age. This one features a fun sash and crazy feathers. Lynn made the dress.

Turban No. 4:

1920s or '30s. This one came in two pieces. The "dress" is one of my favorite sari's, creatively wrapped.

Lastly: this is not a turban, but Lynn needed photos of this really cool, lace-brim hat.

MakeFashion at Maker Faire

Hello! I'm here! Yes, I'm still alive. Just popping in for a quick post (hopefully the first of many).

Last weekend I went to Maker Faire for the first time, to model a dress made by my good friends at Amped Atelier (that's a link to their Twitter feed), Sahrye and Hal. This was for the MakeFashion fashion show. MakeFashion is one of the groups that regularly participate in things like Maker Faire.

Frankly, I was a little terrified. I'd never walked on a runway before. But the MakeFashion folks were very cool, organized, and prepared, the models and designers were fun, and in the end I just relaxed and had a good time. And besides, anything for a friend.

Photos and video should eventually be uploaded at the MakeFashion website. As of today, I believe you can see a video that includes the dress, worn by the lady who modeled it in Calgary.

You can find Sahrye and Hal on Twitter @ampedatelier, and also on Instagram.

Sahrye also blogs over at It Came from the Stash.

On the runway, during the closing.

The dress came in two pieces, the turquoise and black sheath dress underneath and the hoopskirt that went over. Multi-color LEDs lit up the deep vee neckline, and also went down the back. The hem of the hoopskirt featured a scrolling marquee.

Amazingly, the dress fit just about right, even with my odd dimensions.

I also want to point out the two ladies in the background of the photo above. The one in yellow had two prosthetic lower legs, and the one on the right had one. The prosthetic were  beautifully carved, and lit up from the inside. Not only was that just NEAT, these two women just worked the crowed like you wouldn't believe. They were AWESOME.

Outside, in daylight.

My makeup and hair were by Sahrye and our good buddy Mia. It featured a LOT of glue-on rhinestones, and glitter, yes glitter, painted on my lips. Looked great under the runway lights.

The dress was quite a hit. After the second show, two different people came up to me and asked where they could get one.

Wish I had more pics, but unfortunately I wasn't behind the camera this time. Hopefully soon we'll see some official pics from the MakeFashion folks.