Tea Time

A couple of Sundays ago, I attended a Regency High Tea at Franklin Villia (located in one of the inner city suburbs of Brisbane). It was not long ago that I attended a Lolita tea there, and the lady that runs the teas was again there, and again rather odd. Buzzing around, gushing excessively over everyone's outfits. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to have a compliment but she takes it to embarrassing levels and you end up feeling awkward. At any rate, it was lovely to be out again in costume and spending time with a different group of fellow costumers. I also enjoyed the shortness of the event. I was home in time in the afternoon for a lovely nap, while normally the events I attend completely drain you out with an all day attendance. It was nice for a change, and kind of inspires me to do more simply picnics or tea outings.

On this particular occasion, I decided to wear my "new" blue muslin regency gown. Remember the white muslin gown that I wore at History Alive this year? Well, it got so filthy on the hems that I just couldn't get the gown white again. As a fix, I decided to dye the dress. Blue was my choice. It has come up such a lovely and bright colour and I am exceedingly pleased with it. The day turned out to be a bit warmer than I was anticipating, so I didn't wear my pelisse again, and instead opted for the blue silk spencer. I was inordinately pleased with the mesh of blues in my outfit. From the blue of my gown, to the blue ribbon at the waist and the blue silk spencer and bonnet. I contrasted it all with some red ribbon in my hair. It was a lovely day, and I managed to harass my cousin into taking some beautiful shots of my outfit.

Days of Abbeystowe

For the fourth year, I attended the Abbey Medieval Fair at Abbeystowe a couple of weekends ago. The Festival runs for the Saturday and Sunday - lots to see, lots to do and very exhausting. This year, I managed to sit in on one of the jousts, which was very interested and quite well run. There was an amazing multitude of lovely yummy food.

It was so lovely to attend this year just rewearing my costumes. It's not often that I attend an event that I don't sew something for. The only addition I made this year were some boots and a new wig for my Saturday outfit. Instead of wearing plait extensions, I plaited a super long wig to get the effect that I wanted. And let's be honest, I love wearing wigs.

Dining the Regency way

I will admit it now, I completely forgot about posting pictures on this one. On the 1st of July, Donna and I hosted a Regency dinner party. There were only six of us in total, but it was a lovely excuse to get dressed up in our pretty regency gowns and sit down to a meal. It was held at my house, where I set up the table with a lace tablecloth, my parents Queen Anne dinner set, candles, linen napkins and some pretty little glasses. We each brought something along to the mix to make up dinner. My contribution was dessert - a lime/syrup steamed pudding and profiteroles. And just as it happens, we toasted the birth of a new little girl birthed just that afternoon to a couple in our re-enactment group. (Yes, they heavily pregnant lady that attended JAFA with us).

It was a lovely opportunity to be dressed up in regency and spend some time over a scrumptious dinner and catching up with each other. I took the opportunity to re-wear my printed pink and silk afternoon gown - nothing too formal but still an evening suitable gown. After all, we were holding a country dinner. And I must make a note to do this sort of thing again some time... (apologies for the lack of photo quantity).

Feasting Medieval Style

And that brings us to last night. I attended the Medieval Feast at Abbeystowe. It marks the launch of the Abbey Medieval Festival week with the Tournament next weekend. I have to say that the feast was amazing. There was so much food and it was of such an amazing variety.

In terms of costume, I pulled together something new for the occasion. It is loosely based on a gown from Lord of the Rings but in more of a medieval style. I am only mildly pleased with how the ensemble turned out. It looked pretty great on my mannequin but not as much on me. I am thinking of a few changes for the next time I wear it, but medieval is one era of costuming that I am rather good at failing. And as they say, you learn from your mistakes.