A Dedicated Follower of Fashion

A quickie post, as this was a re-wear and I took four pictures, though I'll come back with more if some flattering ones of me pop up later. ;) Attended the Fort Fred Market Fair in Maryland on Saturday with a bunch of friends; this is generally an annual event for us and I think it's a lot of fun, though I never buy much, myself. This year it was a pair of black silk stockings and two cakes of beeswax. Big spender. But I love seeing so many people in 18thc dress, and petting all the fabric that the sutlers have! I didn't finish my Brunswick (big surprise, eh), but I think it's all for the best, as that cotton wouldn't really have been substantial enough for me to keep warm. It was a bit chilly and I'm always cold...wool all the way! So the cream jacket got to come out and play again. Wore my Ugly Cloak over it all day, but did make it a point to get pics without it in the parking lot before we left... 1/ Yes, that is a fabulously unevenly-pinned stomac...

Well, first off, I've now got a second job in the mornings (and the J in the evenings and weekends), so I can't make any promises about sewing output for the near future. Which is blah. I doubt I'll have time to finish my Brunswick for Fort Fred next weekend, so, like most events for now, you'll be seeing repeat offenders. Good thing I have a not-inconsiderable costume wardrobe already. ;) Anyway, Allaire Historic Village in NJ had an 18thc encampment this weekend - they're usually set in 1836 (which I don't have clothes for!) but they do other events occasionally, so Robin and I decided to gate-crash, as we do. The girl at the gate insisted we didn't have to pay admission since we were reenactors; we had to force her to take our money. "We want to support your SITE, please just TAKE OUR $3!" And we met up with Tessa, who wasn't volunteering at the site this weekend, but who just happened to be there for Sunday. Very glad we didn't go ...

Or none of the things! Which is what it's generally worked out to. Trying to plan for and/or sew a Brunswick, an entire yet paired-down Remembrance Day 1860s wardrobe, new stays, and a Game of Thrones dress (all the Cool People are doing it, and I am nothing if not a huge copycat) at the same time is somehow not really coming together. *short-circuits and falls over*

Or, Yet Another Event in Which I Took No Pictures! Indoor event with low lighting, y'know. Poor old sad camera. So I'll just leave you with a link to one of the organizers' posts and group picture!), on In the Long Run . Aren't we a fabulous group?? It was a great event, though I felt maybe a little underdressed with all the silks about! That's me seated towards the center, with the tiara and lower-cut-than-I-remembered-aieee(!) dress-in-a-day. And fluffy hair. Very fluffy hair. Also, here's my real Almost-A-Winner icon from YWU...it was in my spam folder the whole time! OOPS. I'm a weeener ! Next on the docket is an 18th century hoodie! Okay, a Brunswick...for Fort Fred Market Fair at the end of April. More on that next time.

First off, I neglected to post about it, but I was a runner up in the Your Wardrobe Unlock'd costume contest this year, which was pretty cool! (Anybody who voted for my dress, thank you. I am surprised and flattered.) I never did get the icon proclaiming me a runner-up that was listed as a prize, though, so I made one for myself. (With apologies to Hyperbole and a Half ...) Besides serious Paint creativity, what have I been up to? Um. The striped 1780s dress and I had a falling-out. I didn't want a weird butt-bubble in the skirt, but it did. I put it in the naughty pile and then proceeded to get sick. The current plan is to wear the Dress-in-a-Day for the Francaise Dinner. Not too horrible as I've never actually worn it to an event! "Styled" a new-old wig to wear with said dress, as a friend's borrowing my usual 1780s wig. I say "styled" because it was really more manhandling. I had an old ratty wig I tried and failed to style into a pouf ...

Verreh, verreh slowly. But it is all put together, so now I need to work out those sleeves. Those terrible, terrible sleeves. There will definitely be piecing involved. Sigh . But I tried the bodice and waistcoat on so I could make sure the back shoulder fit properly, so I got some pictures for le blog (because nobody cares about a pictureless post, amirite). My t-shirt and pajama pants really made the look, I think.

You may (or may not) remember that I was waffling about what to do with the fraying trim on my 1770s striped dress, as I wanted to wear it to the Francaise Dinner . I solved that problem by ignoring it completely, and deciding to wear something totally different! A majority of attendees wear a sacque/robe a la francaise to the dinner (unsurprisingly), as I always have, but it is open to anything 1750-1800, so I thought I'd go a bit later this year. (Watching The Duchess as I cut out pieces for something else had no influence on my decision, I'm totally sure.) I have a striped silk gown that I made for Costume Con in 2011, and while it's great fabric, it was never one of my better efforts. It never made it onto my 18thc page for a reason, haha. I meant to have a matching petticoat but ran out of time, and the sleeves were always bad. So last week I decided to drag it out and see what I could do with it! It was very wrinkly.