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.

Brief Costume College Recap

Yes, I know, Costume College was TWO weeks ago. What can I say, I'm not a very diligent blogger.

I was thrilled to be back at Costume College this year. I missed last year, due to other commitments. I didn't have much to contribute to the neverending parade of GORGEOUS costumes though. As you can see from the quietness of this blog, I haven't been sewing much. So, the weekend included a minimum of costumes for me, but also plenty of socializing and oggling.

For the Friday Ice Cream Social I wore a vintage dress I recently acquired.

Vintage dress from the 1950s. Photo courtesy of Amy O.

I got this dress from Etsy seller youthstep, and I just love the use of lace. Inside there's a label that says "Rappi," anyone know anything about this designer? I do not have a figure for vintage dresses, and this one proves it (the bust is quite a bit too big).

For the Gala I wore my 1950s-style ballgown.

Been there, done that.

I also put my red french gown in the exhibit room. CGW lent me a very jaunty mannikin, which was no fun to dress.

Attitude, 18th century style.

As for classes, I popped in and out of quite a few, and soaked up as much as I could. I took the limited glove making class, and made a glove.

My first (ever) glove.

I stopped at one. The fit wasn't quite right (some of the fingers are too short) and my construction technique could really use some work. I'll fiddle with the pattern and try again in the future, but in the meantime I found a pair of leather gloves in the Marketplace.

Very dirty leather (possibly kidskin) gloves.

They fit nearly perfectly, which is a surprise, since commercial gloves never fit me so well. They are filthy (hence, they were cheap), and they need a good conditioning. So cleaning and restoring these gloves is a future project.

And lastly: I spent a loads of time catching up with so many fantastic costumers and meeting new folks. I deeply, truly, LOVE the costuming community, and every day am thankful that I get to play with ya'll. :)

Costume Collge Recap

Costume College ended nearly a week ago, and I've been so abominably busy that I haven't had time to write about it! Of course, it was a BLAST. There is nothing quite equal to a full weekend spent among fellow costumers. I always come away overwhelmed by the creative energy, and with sore cheeks from continually grinning at the fabulousness I see everywhere.

Classes: I managed to land FOUR limited attended classes, but while I learned some new and nifty things, I've decided that trying to get as many limited classes as possible is not the best Costume college strategy. I missed some really great unlimited classes, and also missed circulating and socializing (my favorite Costume College activity). I also taught a class this year, which made me too anxious to enjoy a class or two beforehand (but I'm not dissuaded from teaching again next year).

But anyway, here's what I created over the weekend.

Friday I spent the whole deal making a pair of Medieval turnshoes with instructor Kathryn Wolters.

Medieval Turnshoes.

The uppers are microsuede, I believe, the soles are leather, and the interior is cotton or a cotton blend. The tiny buckle is hand-cast pewter. They're built over three-quarter insoles, because my feet would hate me if I ran around in these with no support.

I would have finished these in class, but was stymied by the silly little straps. The last bit only took a few more minutes after class.

Saturday mid-day I took Boutis Provençal with Natalie Meyer. This is a technique similar to trapunto, but it leaves no holes in the back of the fabric. It was new to me, and I picture interesting possibilities with it.

Boutis Provençal sampler.

This I did not finish until several days after Costume College, and it took a very long time, despite that it's only about five inches square. I'll probably work this sampler into a thrown pillow or hand bag in the future.

Saturday afternoon I taught my class, Basic Lucet Weaving. It went...ok, I suppose. It could have gone better, and I got some ideas about how to do it better next time.

Sunday morning...early...I took Medieval and Renaissance Thread-Covered Buttons with Christine Megowan.

From left to right: vertical wrap, horizontal wrap with half-exposed spines, basket woven,outside loop, inside loop (names made up by me).

Sunday afternoon I took Make a Calash Bonnet with Janea Whitacker.

Pieces of a calash bonnet.

Unfortunately, this is exactly as far as I got. With only about three hours of class time, and doing all stitching by hand (and running in and out to collect my display from the exhibit room and visit the dealer room), I only managed to finish two channels and to attached the lining (pink) to the exterior (green). Oh well, onto the "to-do" pile it goes.