A Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Tardy post again! It's a rewear so I didn't bother getting my own pictures, just concentrated on enjoying myself! Saturday I attended Madame Modiste 's Victorian party; we had absolutely perfect weather - not too hot, partly cloudy, with a breeze. Eating snackies and chatting with well-dressed friends all afternoon, what's not to love? (Besides the closing of lanes on the bridge I take to get there, so it took almost twice as long to get there!) Plus Kat and her husband were celebrating their ten-year anniversary by renewing their vows, and they decided to share the ceremony with all of us! I originally planned to finish the long-neglected natural form cotton dress, but after the last-minute spencer sewing two weeks ago, I decided I didn't want to be doing any of that this time, and that I have a perfectly garden-party-appropriate 1860s dress in my closet anyway. I did still have to put fastenings on, so I took it out on Thursday to do so - and was glad I did,...

Not having a looming deadline has allowed me to indulge myself this past week; I have a tendency to jump around from project to project, and that's been in full swing! I'm making good progress on J's Regency bonnet (well, alright, that could count as a looming deadline - this coming Saturday), I started Katherine Parr's smock, and I dragged out an ancient UFO. Said UFO is a 1798-1800 neoclassical gown that I started in...um...2010? Before the Automobile 's robe a l'Athenienne from this spring inspired me to want to finish it, but I've just had time to think about it this week. Thankfully it only had the bodice sewn together, because I want to go in a slightly different direction than originally intended...which means the bodice has to come apart again. Well, the bodice is pretty small, so that's not much of a problem! I mocked up, cut out, and started sewing the petticoat bodice yesterday - like Merja, I'll forgo shift and stays for this gown, s...

(Yet again I'm shamefully late at post-event updating! I completely forgot my camera this time, so I didn't have any photos of my own. Excuses...) On Sunday I joined a group of friends at the Riversdale House museum in Maryland for a picnic, house tour, and general lounging on the lawns! We had beautiful weather for it, and a nice turn-out. I wore my "Lizzie Bennet" dress, and made a new bonnet and lightweight spencer to go with it. The bonnet came out nicely (except that my hair's poking the back out in the weirdest manner in pictures. I suspect an errant bobby pin), and the spencer's fine except for the completely unacceptable woobly collar. I put it on during the car ride down, and, well, it looks like it! Oh well. (Pictures from In the Long Run and Isabella) Picnic!