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.