Ye Olde Costuming Journal

I just listed some new items in my etsy store!

I will be selling my clothes at Camden Lock Market this Saturday! At least I hope so - if you´re not a regular trader you cannot pre-book a stall, so there´s still the chance to get turned down. I´m quite confident though because no other stall there has similar items right now. Anyway, I hope it´s gonna be a fun experience, even if I might not sell a lot, maybe nothing at all - who knows - and it is always good to be present and visible somewhere.
I will bring an assortment of corsets I made in the last two weeks (edwardian, victorian and 18th century!), silk mitts, tiny hats and full size hats, silk ruffs and jewelry, all handmade by me.
Have a glimpse at what´s to come:

Everything that does not sell goes straight to my etsy store.
Whee!!

ps: There´s more piccies at my facebook page.

Awesome new Christmas items just added to our store!
Christmas at Neheleniapatterns.com

www.regretsy.com
I laughed so hard it made me cry. Enjoy!

It is official now: from today on I hold the London branch of Neheleniapatterns.com and sell our range of sewing patterns here in the UK! I uploaded them to my etsy store today and must think of other uk-related marketing options.
I only sell our own line of patterns, that were either taken from antique patterns or hand-drafted (not computer graded!!) from extant garments by yours truly.
The line includes 18th, 19th and 20th century patterns, from underwear to accessories to dresses. If you´re curious now go take a look at
my London-based etsy store!

The little fluffer came home to us on Friday and we are having a wonderful time with him! He is so sweet and friendly to everyone, it´s amazing! He is moving around our house like he´s always been here. Our big ones are a bit upset but it´s getting better. I´m sure the boys will be buddys soon. Bella is quite the diva and still hissing and growling at him, but little G is rather unimpressed!
As you can see he is really talented & helpful in the sewing room!

I wanna be a bearded lady. With this thing I can!

The first ever gown to be completed in my new studio is up for grabs:I am quite happy with how it turned out. The inspiration to make this was a dress from Vintagetextile.com. I am asking £850, which is a fraction of the cost of a made to measure dress. Hope it finds a new loving home soon.
For more info and pictures please click here.

What an amazing cat blog:
Linus in Hats

If you like shopping for cute accessories for your cats you gotta check out the Kittycat Boutique.
I already bought a collar from her etsy store and love it, very well-made and stylish! She even does seasonal cat collars for Halloween & Christmas. Must get some more.

Finally, here are some pics of the most recent 18th c. events I attended in Germany:
Fulda 2009
more Fulda
Minden 1759
more Minden 1759

I went to see the Starstruck at the Cathedral exhibition at Worcester cathedral today! 2.5 hours train ride, but it was worth seeing. The cathedral was a gorgeous setting and I loved seeing that awesome dress from Portrait of a Lady and The Prestige. That only costume from The Duchess on display was a huge letdown by the way, it is made from cheapo looking poly-something fibre and is just hideous from up close. The other costumes they had at Chiswick house were much better. Anyhoo, I enjoyed the exhibition, bought a catalogue (which is nicely done and well worth the spending of 3 pounds) and took some pics to be uploaded soon.

Edit: and here are my pictures from the exhibition (and also some interior & exterior shots of Worcester cathedral)

Somebody put a lot of effort into collecting & uploading all these pictures of original dresses from 1800 to 1830s:
entertainment.webshots.com/album/559724070ejfUpj

If you would like to see Mr. Willoughby get what he really deserved than watch the trailer for the upcoming book Sense & Sensibility and Sea Monsters .

I just received this from a friend:

My dress for Saturday is finally done! As most of my dresses it´s half handsewn, I prefer doing long skirt seams by machine. I also made a little apron to go with it and a new cap. I´m quite satisfied with how the skirt shape turned out. I decided to go for a simple linen pad, after experimenting with different types of skirt supports. I chose sleeve cuffs instead of flounces to keep it closer to the informal milkmaid look of the Hayman portrait:


There are a few details on the dress which I would have prefered to be different, so I think I might just wear it once and then sell it on. I made the neccessary changes to the paper pattern already, so the next dress will be more what I had in mind. Overall I love the shape of this dress and look forward to wearing it.
The multisized paper pattern for this dress will be released in our shop soon.
I noticed the dress is hard to photograph, you can hardly see details of the robings, neck binding or back pleats. I´ll try to get better ones at the weekend.
Anyway, on to the pictures:
 

I have a nice piece of stiff cotton organdy here to make up a cap to go with my 1759 dress. Since I´m using organdy for the first time I´m unsure how to treat it: should I pre-wash it? I mean it´s gonna be headwear, so I might want to wash it, no? Anyone?

Did I mention I´m looking forward to moving?

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