18th Century for a con?

It seems like I am always catching up on my blog rather than being pro-active about posting. Things have been a little bit crazy in my life of late, with work changes, some health issues, and car troubles that time just slips away. But onto it. Catchup.

Back in September, I dragged myself along to the Brisbane leg of Oz Comic Con. I say dragged because I was rather ill at the time, recovering from a headcold. I thankfully only went on the one day of the event, as I don’t think I could have handled much more. But for the occassion, I made my first costume in quite some time. I dressed as Bess from “The Duchess”, in her white chemise a la reine, which is worn a few times during the film. The main reason I chose this outfit was that Haley Atwell, the actress who played Bess would be in attendance at the con. Unfortunately, my photo with her is not the most flattering for me. Though a lovely photographer friend did take some photos of me before I got changed into comfortable sick person clothing.

I thought that this would be a quick costume to whip up for me as it’s similar to another gown that I have made previously. In that all it required was for me to cut the gown out, add in a neck ruffle and sleeve ruffle and call it a day. Of course I then realised that my Georigan stays were now too small. Granted I made them back in 2013 and my shape has changed quite significantly since then. Suddenly my project turned into making a new set of stays as well as a gown. I dug some fabric out of my stash and whipped up a new set of stays (which I still need to finish the eyelets on). And of course, I added a bit too much into the stays and they lace closed, so another new pair of stays is now in my future. Frustrating, but that’s the way it goes I guess. I blame the fact that I squish too much.

As for the event itself, it was a fun day out and I’m glad that I pushed myself to make something new. Even if I’m not sure that I want to wear the gown again. I was a little disappointed in the lack of vendors in Artist’s Alley. It’s where I do most of my shopping but there wasn’t a whole lot of creators. Maybe next year it will be better, and I will plan a little more in advance when deciding on a new costume.

Vampires out on the town

My last event of the year - New Year's Eve.

I spent another New Year's Eve with a group of friends heading to Dracula's on the Gold Coast. We hired a limo for transportation so that we would all be able to get our drink on and not worry about driving or parking.

Dracula's is a vampire theme dinner theatre that provides a very risque show. This year, the show was titled Sin and Tonic. It was fantastic. I had a blast, and ate and drank some very delicious things. For dinner we were served up an entree of mini quiche, for main, I chose Pork Belly and for dessert we were served chocolate mousse in a chocolate coffin. I tried a few different beverages, a delicious cocktail called Manga Madness, a Haemoglobin cocktail served in a blood bag and a number of jelly shots served in giant syringes.

For the evening, I decided that I would make a new outfit. A lot of people that attend Draculas just dress in quite casual clothing, however my group puts in some effort and dresses up in a bit of theme.

I chose to got with a Georgian theme this year. I used a beautiful roll of teal silk taffeta in my stash to put together a skirt and open robe, trimmed with black lace and large buttons. I also added ribbons and buttons at the back to polonaise the gown up so that it would not be dragging on the ground for the evening. I topped it all off with some inspired makeup and a lavender bouffant wig topped with big white flowers.

I love how it turned out and look forward to a new opportunity to wear it all again next year.

Cards for Christmas

The first of my Christmas Parties. On Saturday night, my re-enactment group RIFF held our Christmas party. This year, we decided upon a regency card night. We had a buffet spread of food with a pineapple taking pride of place on the table. While they were hard to come by and very expensive in regency times; in Queensland, getting a pineapple isn’t an issue. The hard part is finding one with the top still attached.

I took an easy case on the baking this time. And provided some simple turkey, camembert and cranberry sandwiches, German cookies (to go with the German Christmas tree), trifle, brandied cherry truffles and wassail (a traditional warm beverage).

My trifle, made the way my Grandma always made it – with a healthy splash of wine.

Ingredients:
     Tin peaches
     Sponge cake or jam roll (homemade or purchased)
     Green Jelly
     Custard
     Sweet Wine (I use Boronia, sherry)
Make up the jelly as directed on the packet and set in the fridge overnight. In the morning slice up your cake and line the edges of your trifle bowl. For individual servings, slice thinly. Sprinkle over a healthy splash of wine. Cut up the set Jelly and add in the middle along with the peaches. Top with custard and leave to set in the fridge for a few hours to set before serving.

And, since it was such a success, the Wassil. This is the version that I made (a half strength alcohol so that those driving could have some).

Ingredients:
     1 Litre Apple Cider
     1 Litre Apple Juice
     300ml Pineapple Juice
     Spice Bag (thin cotton tied with string)
     2 teaspoons whole cloves
     2 teaspoons whole allspice (pimento)
     1 cinnamon stick
Pour all ingredients into a crock pot or large saucepan. Bring to a simmer and leave for 4 – 6 hours. Remove the spice bag and serve up warm in a jug.

As for costumes, I’ve actually put on a little weight recently, so my 1823 ball gown, which was a touch tight to begin with is now horribly so. So, instead I decided to be the out-dated one and wear a late Georgian outfit – my Green 1780s drawstring gown with hedgehog wig. Since the weather has been so hot of late, I decided to forego one of the petticoats and the false rump didn’t last all night either. Of course, I didn't get any shots of myself. I was too busy relaxing for the evening to take many photos.

All in all though, I had a lovely evening of playing loo (not my favourite game) and whist and catching up with friends that it has been far too long since I have seen.

Historical Fashion Parade

While last weekend was a quiet one, the previous weekend saw me busy as a bee. I volunteered to be a model for the Abbey Museum Fashion Parade High Tea. The event was to raise funds to restore the heritage stained glass windows in the Museum. Two of the organisers are friends of mine and asked for me to be one of the models. I was to wear three gowns.

The first, a new 1901 gown that I have made for EDAS (European Defensive Arts School) when we do bartitsu at History Alive. I found an original piece for sale on Etsy and decided that I would try my hand at a recreation. Because I am trying to be good and use my stash as much as possible this year, I dug out a piece of blue cotton organdy. I had planned to use it for a bustle gown sometime in the future, but this seemed like a good compromise. The cream cotton for the underblouse section came from my scraps bucket, as did the silk sash. The lace was leftover from my red tartan bustle and the buttons came from stash. I was very pleased with how I managed to do it all from my stash. I had also whipped up a matching hat to go with (also from stash materials). I also styled a new wig for this ensemble. It has a very forward poof that is a little reminiscent of Elvis, but it sits wonderfully under my hat.

The second, my 1780s Green Georgian ensemble for the section ranging 1750 - 1820s.

And finally, my 1880s gold and orange Natural Form Bustle. I got a lot of comment from people afterwards, that they liked the dress but weren't so sure about the yellow gold. I love it, so not too worried about that, and let's face it, not everyone likes all colours. I was completely against green until I started using it and finding colours that flattered me.

 

At any rate, I had a great time. We were horribly exhausted afterwards - all that rushing around. My back was killing after being pulled into three different corset shapes. We did some of the quickest changes imaginable. Thankfully my mum was on hand, volunteering herself as our dresser. She managed to duck out during the final section (Victorian) to snap some quick photos.