Jazz Picnic at Old Government House

I haven’t managed to get out to many events this year, in cosplay or historical, but when I saw that Jazz Age Picnic was being held at old government house in Brisbane, I knew that I had to attend. I gathered up my re-enactment group (and my mum) and we organised a venture out in our 1920s finery. The day turned out to be beautifully sunny and warm (not strange for Brisbane winter). We all turned up and spread out our picnic rugs, laying out our sweets and savoury picnic treats and pulling out the teapot. I do somewhat regret dragging in my teapot – the next day my arms were very sore from lugging it from the car to the venue.

I had originally planned to wear something existing in my wardrobe, but as I was on two weeks of annual leave, I decided that I would whip up something new to wear. The Tuesday before the event, I was sorting through my fabric stash to find some fabric and browsing the internet for inspiration. I picked an original tartan dress to try and re-create. I drafted up the pattern, did a quick mock up and made some pattern changes before cutting out my fabrics. I thankfully had the perfect assortment of fabrics to get the look I wanted. A day at the sewing machine, and couple evenings of hand-sewing and I had my outfit ready. It’s made of a wool blend grey plaid with a red stripe, and trimmed with red linen. I added red velveteen trimmings in the form of a belt and necktie to finish off the look. I love the masculine suit influence in the design which is so typical of the era.

All in all it was a lovely event and I am glad that I made the effort to attend.

There was also a photo booth on site that we got to play with for free...

    

History Alive - Suffragettes

History Alive...

When Sunday comes around we jump forward to the 1890s were we portray Queensland Suffragettes. We’re only a group of four at this point, but we do our best to show what it was like in Australia for women trying to gain the vote. The biggest fallacy is that Suffragettes were all extremists and violent. But because Australian women had the vote so early in the piece, it was quite the peaceful movement. We run a bake sale to raise funds for the cause, hand out information sheets, organise a petition, give speeches and organise marches.

I wasn't quite so happy with the costume that I made last year (skirt was a bit short and not full enough for my happiness), add to that a bit of weight gain and I really wanted to put together something new to wear this year. I managed to put the whole thing together out of my stash. The skirt is made from a lightweight grey wool, lined with flannel and with a canvas hem facing to help hold the skirt out. I added a new vest with welt pockets and of course a new hat to match it all. I must say, I was very pleased with the ensemble. 

History Alive - Regency

History Alive. It’s the focus for so many Queensland costumers who have joined in with the fun of re-enactment. I myself am one such costumer. I’m a member of RIFF (Re-enacting Independently for Fun). So this year, I will show you around the RIFF encampment and what we do at History Alive.

History Alive is a timeline event that showcases many different periods from the re-enactment community across Queensland. As an open period group, RIFF portrays a number of different eras. This year we tackled two different times over the two days of the event. 

First off, we started with the Regency period. (1795—1825). We are set up for the day with a number of tents and a shade shelter. We start out our day with a breakfast buffet at 10am (as would be done in the period). After we’ve assuaged our hunger, we settle in for the day with some genteel pursuits—games, sewing, sketching, reading and promenading. It makes for quite the relaxing day.

And once the public head off for the afternoon, the re-enactors relax for the evening - to a lovely sunset. Stay tuned for day two when we jump forward a 100 years in time...

Party by the pool

It wasn’t long before the Christmas parties started. The first costumed one that I attended / hosted as for my re-enactment group RIFF. This year we decided to have a retro themed pool party – making use of the pool at my place. We all brought along a number of vintage dishes to share and of course had more food than you could poke a stick at. In fact, the food was so impressive, I think that’s pretty much the photos that I took of the day.

I didn’t make anything new to wear for the occasion, but simply raided my wardrobe which is mostly vintage pattern clothing and paired my green capri pants with my retro cherry swimsuit and a short cardigan. I did festive it up a bit with a lei and the grass skirt that my mum had in her wardrobe. But the real showstoppers that I put all my effort into was the food. I made empanadas, punch, a sandwich loaf (3 layers of sandwich – egg, chicken and salmon), and a strawberry cheesecake. I certainly did not need dinner that night after snacking on our delicious retro recipes all afternoon.

It was certainly a start to the festive season and it was great to have so many of our members there with us.