Ye Olde Costuming Journal

I just collected my fabric from the post office! I chose a handprinted silk taffeta with flower garlands on ivory ground. Look:

I did a little research on the early 18th c open robe and made a flickr album for it, including some paintings by Francis Hayman. I settled for a printed ivory silk taffeta with flower garlands now, pictures later!
I think I will need dome shaped paniers to go under it. As this dress has a big part in patternqueen´s  upcoming novel I will also draft a multisized pattern for it to be released in our shop soon.

ps: my sewing mojo came back to me.

I have a gorgeous pair of brand new high heels to give away, made by Iron Fist in a size UK 7/ US 9 /EU 40. They are super cute but don´t fit me!! Model is "Checksas Chainsaw" with purple & black checks and red splatter print, heel is c. 3.5" high.
Maybe they´ll fit one of you:
I´ll ship to anywhere in the world (from London UK) and I´m asking £23 (or the equivalent in your currency) plus shipping.

Thanks to padawansguide , I found out about Starstruck in the cathedral, that big costume exhibition in Wocester cathedral. I am so going!!!
And by the way: do you already know this book? If you like romance and zombies, this one´s for you!

I just discovered this clubnight in London. That might be an excuse to sew more 20s dresses and play dress up!!

After desperately browsing London for some decent sewing supplies (that are not ridiculously overpriced as in MacCulloch & Wallis) I discovered this little webshop and thought I´d share it with you: Vena Cava Design has a nice choice of costuming and especially corseting supplies at really good prices. Mission completed!

Not that I really expect people from overseas to buy anything from Europe, but still:
my new etsy store

Guys, I need your help. I need to explain to someone how the lining of a francaise works and I have no pics that would show it, especially the lacing under the watteau pleats. Do you know of any dress diaries etc. where I can find an inside view to refer to? Any help would be appreciated!

Another classic by the egineers and their cats:

Oh my god, I just laughed my ass off -
this is Tickle-me-Emo from Depress-a-me-Street:

There you have it! I´m bossy and ungrateful!

Folks, this is hilarious: a seriously drunk guy narrates a historical event. I laughed my ass off. Check it out!

Happy Birthday sigrdrifa! All the best to you!!

I decided to finally part with my dearly beloved Titanic boots. I bought them ages ago from Peter Fox to wear with my Jump Dress but never did. And as I have much more use for the money right now than I have for these beauties I let them go. They are now listed on ebay, with a reserve of $400. If they do not sell, I will list them for sale on my website. Please click the image to get directly to the auction.

Okay, once again we´ll give the Dickens Faire a try this year! First I couldn´t decide what to wear: my black 1879 dress or make something new. I then decided to at least start a new dress, I can still switch to the other one if it´s not going to be finished in time. I always liked Jo´s red plaid dress in Little Women but I don´t think the waistline will suit me. I have a short upper body plus I am not that skinny as Winona so I will look like a whale wearing a dress like this. That´s why I decided to go for the 1840s dropped waist. I haven´t yet decided on the exact design but I want to keep the red plaid fabric. It looks so christmas-y and festive that I think it´s perfect for Dickens faire. Please help me choose a fabric!!! I found these fabrics on ebay (I should add that some are cottons and some are wools/wool blends:
fabric one
fabric two
fabric three
fabric four
fabric five
fabric six


Edit: the poll didn´t work for some reason so please just tell me which fabric you´d prefer. Thanks for voting!

My favourite holiday is coming up veeery soon. And I am veeery late! The sis and me decided to pick "silent movies" as our theme this year (we had "pirates" last year and "evil" the year before). So we will dress up in 20s gear, all black and white and all very diva-ish. I started making a dress from Cut of women´s clothes b/c I wanted this one for ages:

Folks, I cleaned out some stuff from my closet so check it out and maybe get some interesting stuff for Halloween!
Includes this cute Pet-en-l´air, an 18th c. Caraco, a 1920s dress and my (never worn by me) "Interview with a Vampire"-dress. Click the picture to take a look.