History Alive 2018

In the Queensland Re-Enactment World, June heralds the annual event History Alive. I have been attending for a number of years with my group RIFF (Re-enacting Independently For Fun) and this year was no different. We play part of a massive two-day timeline event. Our group is an open period group, so we can do any periods that we choose.

Our longest running period is Regency, and this year we again dug out our Regency kits to spend the Saturday of the event dressed in our 1800s finery. We pass the day with handcraft activities, card and letter games, picnic luncheon and picnic games. It’s a pretty relaxing way to spend the day and the weather was just beautiful for it. This time, I wore my Yellow Gingham Muslin transitional dress. I’ve only worn this dress once previously so it was lovely to be out and about in it again.

For the Sunday of History Alive, our group jumped forward about 90 years in time to the 1890s where we portrayed Queensland Suffragettes, marching and petitioning for the vote. Our set up is an information stand with a petition. There were a number of petitions put forward to the Queensland Government in the 1890s, so I recreated one for members of the public to sign up and help us win the vote. It was actually wonderful how many young children came up to say that they had been learning about Queensland Suffragettes in school. It’s not something that I ever learnt about in my schooling days so it’s quite marvellous that this piece of history has made it into our schooling system. But this was the last year that we plan to do Suffragettes. Thankfully the costumes were simple this year – I just had to open up my costume tubs and pull out my skirt, blouse and hat. Unfortunately I took along the wrong set of stays so it was quite a challenge to lace my waist down enough to fit the skirt. It’s amazing how a different shaped corset can make the difference in your costume fitting or not.

I am looking forward to History Alive next year, I’m planning to convince the rest of my group to try out a new time period. We have somewhat discussed it, but it is high time. It gets a bit stale doing the same thing year in and year out. I enjoy the research part of re-enactment and tackling a new period gives us the opportunity to try new things and to make our display more interesting to the attending members of public.

Disneybound June

And finally we reach June. Last month, I chose The Little Mermaid for my disneybound exploits. I had originally planned three outifts, but was too sick to wear one within the month. But two is grounds for effort.

The first, Ursula. I made this dress for my trip to Disneyland in Japan last year, so it was simple enough to pull out of the wardrobe, pair up with some flats and tights and out the door. I did top it off with my Disney shell necklace though.

The second Disneybound was Ariel. My mermaid tights are pretty much a staple in my wardrobe, so it wasn’t hard to decide what I was going to put together for Ariel. I paired up my tights with a long black sweater and purple review cardigan. It’s a simple outfit, but comfy and perfect for casual Friday in the office.

   

Disneybound May

There was no choice when it came to which movie to pick in May. Star Wars was the obvious choice given that May 4this such a recognised day around the world. I made sure that I was prepared and dressed appropriately.

Mixing Han Solo and Princess Leia was my first choice for May 4th. I dug out a pair of jeans and my black knee boots. I added a white shirt (inside out as I only have print shirts) and I pinched one of my dad’s black vest to finish the ensemble. I also wore my millennium falcon necklace and wrapped my hair into buns for the day. Gotta say, at work, not the best idea. It’s rather hard to answer the phone.

My second Star Wars outfit came together from my wardrobe. Last year I got a couple pieces from Elhoffer Designs – one being a Padme jumper. I was a simple matter of pairing it up with a blue singlet and skirt to wear to work. Simple but effective.

GC Supanova

Once again, April saw Supanova return to the Gold Coast. Due to my crazy study / work commitments, I could only attend the con for one day – so I chose to make the trip down on Saturday. Things were a bit stressful at the time, so I didn’t exactly have the motivation or timing to make a completely new cosplay to wear, but I did want something new instead of just bringing out an old costume.

Thankfully, what I did have time for was finally finishing the Steampunk Belle costume that I started making two years ago. Everything was cut out, parts had already been made, I just had to finish it. The costume is based on artwok by Amy Mebberson. And while Belle is not my most favourite of Disney Princesses, I did fall in love with this design. I had originally started the costume to wear to a Steampunk event, but when my plans to attend fell through, I just put the costume aside and moved on. With my current intention to make some dents in my fabric stash, what better thing to do than finally complete the costume?!

As a re-enactor, I already had the undergarments ready to go – chemise, drawers, socks, boots, stays and bustle frame. I had previously made the dickey, hat, underskirt and partly sewn the apron overskirt. Unfortunately some hideous weight gain meant that the apron did not fit my current measurements. I pulled off the waistband, added an extension and re-pleated the fabric to fit. Then came the Jacket. It’s cut from a small piece of silk velvet from my stash. Unfortunately there was no more left so I had to make do with what was cut. I stitched up with tiny seams and thankfully it fit! I was incredibly pleased. So it was simply a matter of completing the bodice sewing, finishing the edges with silk bias binding, adding boning and closures. It all came together in a remarkably short amount of time. And after some wig styling and last minute prop shopping, I was able to debut Steampunk Belle at Supanova.

And the wonderful Paul took some fabulous photos of my costume. I’m pretty sure that nobody recognised who I was supposed to be (the nature of artwork costumes), but I love how it turned out and I look forward to bring able to wear it again. Maybe to a steampunk event.

Disneybound April

Then came April. With a convention coming up in April, I wanted to keep my April Disneybound to one outfit and a simpler one at that. So, I chose to do Jane from Tarzan. I whipped up a yellow linen 1940s dress with a white collar and paired it off with my American Duchess Skidoo shoes in brown and white and a brown belt. The dress is made from one of my favourite original 1940s patterns – it’s been sized up to fit me, including a full bust adjustment for some extra room in the front. I have this dress in a few different colours sitting in my wardrobe, so way quite happy to add a pretty linen version. And wonderfully enough, it all come from my fabric stash.

Disneybound March

And look at that – I’m playing catch up again. Despite the lack of posting, I have indeed been continuing my Disneybound challenge for the year. For the month of March, I decided to choose Brave as my movie. It’s a fantastic movie with a great soundtrack (despite it not being a musical). This one was a simple put together – green stretch velvet maxi skirt, black t-shirt, brown belt and my celtic style necklace. I did make the maxi skirt for the occasion, but it was a great way to use up the fabric that I had sitting in my stash, and I’m pleased to say that this skirt has become a regular for my work attire.