150th Anniversary Parliament House

Last month I also attended the 150th Anniversary of Parliament House in Brisbane. The day was marked with a celebration and tour of the original parliament building. Still in use today, the building is a beauty from its’ era. We were invited along by the organisers to provide a bit of ambiance to the event – wearing gowns which would have been worn when the building was originally opened. It is an incredibly beautiful building and I’m glad that I got the chance to see inside. It’s not normally open to the public so it was indeed a special occasion.

For the occasion, I wore my late 1860s Early Bustle. I made this gown a while back, but didn’t have many photos of myself in it (the occasion when I debuted it, I was two days out of wisdom teeth removal surgery and a puffy little chipmunk.) It was lovely to be able to wear the dress again and actually take photos this time.

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...