Egypt at the con

It's been a while. But then, it feels like the world has been on hold over the last several months with COVID-19 restrictions. Before it all came into force in Australia, I attended Supanova on the Gold Coast in April - the beginning of what would normally be our convention season. My brother and I drove down to attend for the Saturday of the con weekend. The event itself was on the slow side of things, not as many attendees and quite a few of the usual sellers missing in action.

But, I took the opportunity to finally make a costume that I had planned a few years back - Evie Carnahan from The Mummy. In particular, the library outfit:

It's a relatively simple costume to break down - skirt, blouse, necktie, wig and props. I butchered a 1930s reproduction skirt pattern to come up with one similar to the movie costume, made out of a sand coloured linen. I did change the design a little, adding in a pocket and side placket opening as zips were not being used in women's clothing at the time (they were considered to "easy"). My shirt was made out of a quilting cotton in a similar print to the film version. Again, I altered a couple of patterns to create a mens style shirt. And I made a necktie out of some brown silk in my stash.

My only purchases in preparation of the costume were a belt, glasses and key prop. Though, I had purchased the fabrics for the shirt and skirt a few years back. It was a spur of the moment purchase that I made online when I was watching the movie. I thought it would be a fun one to do.

I was right. And my cousin took some fantastic photos for me at the event.

  

Vintage Fashion Time

It's been quite a while since I last went to a vintage fair, so when a discount coupon arrived in my inbox, I decided it was high time that I made the effort again. And I managed to convince a couple of my friends to make the trip with me.

So, on Friday evening, I got all frocked up in my 1930s dress and victory rolls, picked up my girls from work and made the trip over to Mount Gravatt. I was actually quite restrained and didn't buy anything for myself this time, but it was still lovely to wander around and check out all the amazing clothing (that will never fit me) and beautiful hats.

One thing that I like about this particular vintage fair is that they always put together an exhibition of some sort. This time, it was 1940s wartime fashions:

Before we headed home for the day, we made a stop off at the tearoom for a spot of tea and cake. There were also a few vintage magazines on the tables for our viewing and giggling pleasure.

California By Design

Thankfully the weather in Brisbane took for a cooler turn on the weekend as the Queensland ACG ladies made the trip into the Queensland Art Gallery to see the exhibition California By Design 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way. The exhibition showcases a collection of industrial, architectural, commercial, fashion and craft design from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

It’s a great exhibition that really shows some fantastic aspects of vintage design. My particular favourites were some of the art deco furniture from the 1930s, a floor plan of a 1950s home and of course, the fashion. One piece in particular that grabbed me was a swimsuit and skirt ensemble that when put together work in such a way that they look like one dress. The shirring on the skirt is designed to fit in perfectly with swimsuit. Best of all though, photography (non-flash) was allowed in the exhibition. Which means, I have some photos to share of the pieces on display. Of course, this isn’t everything, but I did get photos of my favourites.

On offer, was a combined lunch and exhibition ticket that we all chose to buy. At the gallery café, we used our coupons for a special themed lunch of wagyu beef burger, fries, aioli and homemade lemonade. It was a delicious lunch and definitely worth buying the package deal if you happened to be going.

 And, as usual, we dressed up for the occasion. The only stipulation I put on attending was to wear something that fit with the range of the exhibition (1930 – 1965). Vintage is actually a wise choice in the heat of the Aussie summer – anything else and we would have passed out from the heat.

Most of our ladies chose 1950s dresses, but I decided to wear a new 1930s dress that I happened to be making for work at the time. The dress is the same design as my grey 30s ballgown, however a more suitable daytime length. It’s made from a jacaranda spot poly blend fabric that I bought a number of years ago with a 1930s dress in mind. I paired it all up with one of my vintage hats and full 30s makeup. I love how the dress turned out though, it drapes so well and I am really happy with the fit. I suspect I will be making more of this pattern in the future.