ACG Ball 2015

Back in August, I made the annual pilgrimage down to Adelaide for the 19th Australian Costumers Guild ball. This was my sixth year attending. And this time, not only did my mum come along with me, but so did my dad. Which meant that I have had quite the busy month leading up to the event trying to get everything ready. I had already decided that I would rewear a costume myself, so I just had to make my decision. I chose to wear my Santa version of Vocaloid Hatsune Miku as it seemed to be one of my most weather appropriate costumes (rather than November in Brisbane when I wore it the first time). And it just needed some repairs on the gloves.

But what I did have to do, was whip up something for each of my parents to wear. I promised my mum that I would finish her 1850s ballgown. It’s one that I had started back in November last year for an event that was later cancelled. Without a deadline, I put it aside. But the ACG ball just seemed the perfect opportunity to finish it for her to wear. And she loves it. It’s made from a purple/black shot silk taffeta that I gifted to her for her Birthday last year. I kept the design quite simple with a straight skirt (with massive hem) and a bodice featuring black silk piping, handsewn lacing eyelets and lace trimmed pleated sleeves. We learnt quite a while ago that anything too fussy made her look top heavy and bulked out her shoulders too much, so simple is better. I also quickly whipped up a simple reticule with the leftover taffeta and lace to complete her outfit.

As for my father, we decided to add to his pirate costume. I had previously made him black linen pants, a Georigan vest and sash. And paired with his Regency shirt, this was great for New Year a few years back. But the ball is in Adelaide where it is freezing this time of year. So, I decided to add a few accessories, a wig and a frock coat. The accessories were easy – purchased boot covers, baldric, leather pouch, plastic sword, gun (mine), hat (mine again), and telescope. For the wig, I picked up a long grey lace front from ebay. I would have liked a curly one to start with, but alas, there was only straight in the correct colour. So, I took to it with perm rollers, foam rollers and hot water. What I got in the end was a very messy curl that works rather well for his pirate character. Then there was the jacket. I picked up a beautiful green linen. It’s made from a commercial pirate costume pattern, but I wasn’t really going for period accuracy here. I trimmed the edges with brown braid that I found in my stash and gold metal buttons. All put together, I love how it looks. And best of all, I know there are opportunities for this to be worn again soon.

But, the ball itself was a blast. We arrived early to claim a table as our base, and were soon joined by the remaining Queensland and New South Wales contingent. This year, the ball was run a little different with two competitions – an informal cosplay comp and the master of the guild competition. I entered the masters competition which included pre-judging on workmanship. There is nothing more nerve-wracking than explaining your costuming decisions to a panel of judges, except maybe the 45seconds of performance that we must do. There were only three of us entered, and Teri in her amazing bustle gown took out the prize. But I am planning to enter next year!

The evening rounded out with the usual dancing and socialising. I didn’t realise how much dancing I did until I tried to stand up the next day. But again, I had a blast of a time and cannot wait until next year.

18th ACG Ball

Last weekend, I made the trip down for the Annual ACG Costume Ball in Adelaide. This year, it was more than just me who travelled interstate. There was 1 from Canberra, 1 from Melbourne, 5 from Sydney and 4 from Brisbane. One, of them being my mum. It was her first time coming down to the ball.

The ball is held on Saturday night. I spent Saturday at fabric shops and visiting with family before heading down to the afternoon preparations - judging of the workmanship competition and rehearsal for the parade. It all ran very smoothly and we were done with our practice in no time, so I headed back to the hotel and did up mum's hair before heading back to the venue to get ready myself. The parade entrants are kept out of sight until the reveal.

For the event, I had finally made my next steampunk ensemble - The Black Widow. I've had this costume planned for a number of years and finally decided to get it done in time to enter the ACG ball competitions. The premise of my character is that she is a widow assassin for hire who uses her pet mechanical spider to take out her marks. As for the costume, I had made the skirts a couple of years ago when I made my Steampunk Geisha, but the idea had always been to be able to do the Black Widow - giving me multi-use skirts. All I needed to make in time to take to the ball was a bodice, hat, wig and spider.

And this is where I aimed to get the spider element coming through in my costume. I was being quite literal with the Black Widow theme and going with the class of venomous spiders as my influence. In particular that my outfit is black but with a red stripe running down the back of my bodice. The bodice is designed with a pointed neckline and hem to reflect the angles that you see in spider webs. I also added silver embroidery floss done as spiderwebs over the outfit and tiny beaded spiders.

In the end, I brought home the Master Parade award, the Master Workmanship award and The People's Choice award. It was quite a surprise and a huge confidence boost. In the past I was competing in the Journeymen category, but after a couple of wins in previous years, I was boosted up into the Master category. I was quite nervous.

And I had a brilliant time there. I'm hoping that I am able to go back again next year. I didn't get many shots of my outfit on my own camera, however, I will share a few that friends have shared with me.

Back at the Ball

Back from an exhausting weekend away at the annual Australian Costumers Guild Ball. This year, was my fourth trip, the only difference being that I was making it by myself this year.

Each year the ACG hosts its annual ball in Adelaide (where the guild is originally based), and each year, I make the trip down to attend. I left work early and jumped on an afternoon flight to make it into town by 6pm. The unfortunate side effect of seeing the PINK concert the night before had left me so tired that I don’t even remember the plane taking off – I had crashed.

I spent Saturday, doing the fabric shopping thing. In Adelaide, there are a couple of really good fabric stores within the city space. The first that I went to was DK Fabrics at 105 Port Road, Hindmarsh. I considered taking a bus, but was looking at a 30 minute trip. Instead a taxi took about 7 minutes from where I was staying. The store opens at 9am, and I was there shortly after. The main different with DK Fabrics over other stores is that you don’t collect the fabric that you want, but instead it is cut on spot. If you are planning to shop for a lot of fabric, I suggest taking a pen and paper to jot down some notes on what you are after, so you know what you are going back to. I picked up a number of lovely pieces of fabric for future projects. As you can see from my photos, there is an amazing selection of fabrics available, and all at good prices.

I then made my way to Eastern Silk. A quick tram trip down the line (only two stops, and within the free travel zone) saw me arrive. The address, for those looking to travel to it is 7 James Congdon Drive, Mile End. I shop online at Eastern Silk as they offer free standard postage within Australia. And while their fabrics are standard prices, the quality is much higher than the silk available at Spotlight or Lincraft, and they offer a wider range of colours. Their website if you are looking at shopping there. But shopping at Eastern Silk is another thing entirely. The shop is a converted old house and it encompasses not only the fabric side of the business but the home furnishings and accessories as well. This time, I didn’t actually buy any fabric for myself, but did grab a couple of beautiful scarves on sale.

I then made my way back to North Adelaide to pick up some food before heading off to rehearsal for the Ball. I had decided to enter into both the Parade and Workmanship competitions this year. For the Parade, I wore my Charlotte La Bouff costume and performed a simple display with lip synching to a 45second snippet of sound taken from the film. In workmanship, I entered my I Dream of Jeannie costume. Workmanship, is where your seams and construction are examined and judged. Trust me, it is rather daunting.

Later that night, came the ball itself. It was great to catch up with so many of my fellow costume friends from Adelaide. Most, it is the only time of year that I see them in person. I unfortunately didn’t get as many photos as I wold have liked, I was too busy having a good time.

Below, however are some shots of the winners accepting their trophies in the various categories and the hall awards. I myself, won the workmanship in my class for my Jeannie costume.

It wasn't until well after midnight that I shuffled the couple of minutes’ walk back to my room, where I proceeded to fall into bed. It had been a long day.

I woke up Sunday morning, to pack my suitcase and check out of my hotel before meeting up with a couple of the ACG members for brunch. Unfortunately there were many who couldn’t make it (Father’s Day falling in the way). Afterwards, I spent the day catching up with a close friend of mine before heading to airport to make the trip home. I had a wonderful weekend, and am already trying to decide what I will wear next year.