Monday, November 26, 2012

Retro Partee

Last weekend, a couple of my very good friends hosted a Retro Party. We rolled up at 3pm for afternoon tea (hats and gloves mandatory) and socialising. We then headed down to the pool area for some photos. Everyone looked wonderful in their vintage ensembles. We rolled out our evening in vintage pyjamas for pizza and Audrey Hepburn movies. It was a great weekend, and I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends to host.

For the occasion, I whipped up a new early 1960s style dress out of some black fabric with peacock print that I have had in my stash for some time. I changed the design of the skirt. Instead of cutting the fabric into panels, I added triple pleats at each dart from the bodice. It gives a fair amount of fullness while preserving the design of the fabric print. I also used some blue dupion silk as a bias around the neck and sleeves. I was so happy to finally use the fabric, and I am incredibly pleased with how it turned out. So much so that I have cut out a couple more dresses in the same design. But onto the photos...
 

Friday, November 16, 2012

And coming up...

So, again it comes to planning time of year. It looks set to be a pretty big year next year, but I will go on! The only difference this time is that I am planning to mainly use my stash fabrics. The main reason is that my job has been made redundant (nasty Premier in Queensland at the moment) and I could be out of work for sometime. I'm looking for something else and working a bit more in makeup, but it could be a while until I get something a bit more permanent. At any rate, it is a good excuse to use up some of my stash. There's quite a bit there and it would be nice to have some more storage room in the cupboard.

As for what is coming up, let's look ahead.

November 17th - Vintage Soiree
I have a vintage event that I have been invited to this weekend, so I am hoping to get a new frock made up. I have actually started this, so it should not really be a big problem. I'm excited about using the fabric since it has been sitting in my cupboard for some time now. It really needs to be made up!

December 8th - ACG Christmas Party - Ice Skating and Pot Luck dinner
Since it gets so nastily hot here at Christmas, we try and do something with full aircon. Well, this takes the cake. I'm planning to wear my American McGee Alice costume - probably with the addition of some gloves and maybe some long sleeves.

December 10th - Proclamation Day
This is the anniversary of the day that Queensland became its own state (in 1859). We provide atmosphere to the event by showing up in historical crinoline evening gowns. I'm planning to put together a new ensemble out of roll of white tartan silk that I bought last year.

December 15th - RIFF Wine Dine and Recline - Ancients
I have always been fascinated with the ancient Minoan culture, so I thought it was high time to make an outfit. I've done my research and started putting together my patterns. I have all my linen fabric and am really looking forward to this as an event. I just need to get cracking on it a bit more.

December 16th - Vintage Fair
As part of my makeup artistry business, I will be running a stall at a local vintage fair doing vintage hair and makeup as well as selling a few bits and pieces. I'm getting a little nervous about it all but I am slowly working on getting everything ready for the big day. I just need to decide what vintage dress to wear.

December 31st - New Year
I have yet to decide what I will be doing for the upcoming New Year. I'm not planning to host anything, but I do want to do something. And costumes are always something that I love. Will have to think on this a little more.

And then there is next year:
January - Vintage
February - Ancients
March - Steampunk
April - Supanova
June - Regency, Edwardian
July - Medieval, Supanova
August - Steampunk, ACG Ball, Alice In Wonderland
September - Regency, Georgian, Pirates, Victorian
October - Historical, Georgian
November - Supanova
December - Christmas Parties, Victorian, Croquet

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Supanova Brisbane 2012

And yet another Supanova has come and gone. In case I have not mentioned it before, Supanova is a pop culture convention held in Australia. We get television and anime personalities out and the costumers and cosplayers come out in droves. Naturally, I am there the entire weekend, and in costume.

It starts on Friday. I knocked off work early and got all done up in my Saber Lion suit for the afternoon. By far, this has to be my cutest costume of all. It's quite comfy in that I don't have to worry about corsets, however the sports bra that flattens my chest out underneath can get a little uncomfortable. It's also quite a warm costume - being made entirely of polar fleece (not the best thing to wear in spring in Brisbane), but luckily the weather had turned to wet and breezy, so I wasn't too overly hot. The costume was received well and I was actually recognised. Something does not usually happen with this costume in Brisbane. My brother and I took the opportunity to shop to our hearts content as there is a much smaller turn out on Friday, the crowds around the stalls aren't quite so bad. We made it to the opening ceremony where they announced that they are planning to have Eliza Dushku come for Gold Coast Supanova in April next year. Afterwards, we headed out for some Thai food before calling it a night.



Saturday morning, I rose bright and early ready for a full day out and about. I decided to wear my K-ON! uniform as the character Yui. The wig was a new addition to change the costume up from when I last wore it. It was a rainy and wet day, so I thankfully didn't get too hot in the full tights, skirt, skirt and blazer ensemble. Again, my costume was a success with many people recognising me. A couple of girls even said that my Yui was perfect. A huge compliment in my eyes. My brother and I spent most of the day in and out of talks. We saw James Masters, Felicia Day, Billy West and John Di Maggio. Best of all, James Masters let slip that he will have a reoccurring role on Warehouse 13 next season. We shopped some more and rounded out our evening by attending a small James Masters concert. He is a great singer and I really like his style.



Again, I was up early and ready to go on Sunday morning for the final day of Supanova. My brand new costume had been sitting on my mannequin ready for me to wear. I started to get ready with my mum helping me to get dressed. Then the zipper jammed. We soaped it up, got it done up all the way and then it decided to split open. From there, we had to cut the zip to get it off me. My wonderful mum then took the dress from me and unpicked the zip (I was by far too stressed and freaking out). I replaced the zip (not using an invisible one this time) and got all dressed again. Thankfully I was only a half hour behind my original schedule. I tell you though, that is the very last time I use and invisible zip - evil things really. But in the end I was determined that I was going to wear my dress - especially after all the work I had put into it.

It was for Lottie from Disney's The Princess and The Frog. For those who haven't seen it, Lottie is Tiana (the princess)'s best friend. It was a real chore putting this costume together. Underneath I had made an underbust corset to support all my undergarments and was wearing my mum's oversized crinoline and my full ruffled petticoat. The dress itself took about 4 mock ups to get the pattern right. The bodice has a sweetheart neckline in front but a full back panel with a sewn in collar and huge puffy sleeves. It's made of taffeta and georgette with a faille sash. I stuffed the sleeves with toy fill so that I would not be constantly puffing them up, and the collar has a piece of buckram lining it as well as a bone that goes from the top of the collar to the bottom of the bodice to help hold the collar up. I didn't want that thing to flop or go anywhere. It was so stiff and in shape I almost took out an eye. :D It does up with a zip and some hooks and eyes under my left arm. All in all, aside from the zip issue, I was very pleased with how the dress turned out. The wig itself was another drama that I will cover in a tutorial - but it did take me three goes to get it right. I knew that I had gotten the dress right when I got out of the car and before I had my wig on - someone pointed to me and said "hey look, it's Charlotte from The Princess and The Frog"




We eventually got to the event where I promptly lined up for my photo with James Masters. Afterwards I met up with my fellow big skirt and Disney crew. We had a Tiana (my cousin), Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, a Steampunker and Kaylee in her Shindig dress from Firefly. We were held up with photos for quite some time. I then spent most of my day wandering around the stores and catching up with my friends, two of which were visiting from Sydney.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. I spent way too much money, but I had a blast. I am looking forward to the Gold Coast on April next year now. The costume plans start now!