COSTUMING IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2025

 

It’s all about recycling, reusing, and panic sewing. I started this year with plans on wearing dresses I already had so not to stress myself too much, especially since my “motivator” still doesn’t seem to be working very well. And that was my original plan 15 years ago, to have a costume from every era or decade in spring/summer and fall/winter versions for when I needed them. But as we all know, sometimes those dresses we made that long ago have shrunk in our closets.

My first costume event of 2025 was the CGW (Costumers Guild West) “Toast the New Year Tea” at the Chado Tea Room in Torrance, CA. It was originally planned for January but due to the LA fires which affected many members, it was rescheduled to March 1. The costume theme was open to any era, and boy, did we have a variety! Roughly guessing from memory, there were at least 30 attendees. We all felt like this was a much-needed break from all the chaos that had been going on. I chose to wear my 1837 purple floral dress since I knew it still fit recently and it was a front opening that I could get into by myself. I also made it easy by just wearing some pinned-on curls covered with my white lacy cap. And I got to wear my antique Belgium tape lace pelerine again.

 

The following weekend I would be presenting a Powerpoint “history of fashion” show for the San Diego branch of the Mayflower Colony at the Green Dragon Tavern & Museum in Carlsbad. I struggled through writing and gathering photos for this for almost two months, because I had been asked to include men in it. I know very little about men’s historical clothing. While trying to do some research online I really had trouble consolidating them into a chronology. Almost everything I found was vague, contradictory, and with very few photos I could use. I did find some from movies and TV series to include that looked pretty accurate to my eye but not much I could talk about. I stressed myself over this so much because I didn’t want to give out incorrect information and be embarrassed if I was called out. But in the end, the group really enjoyed it, and I got a lot of very intelligent questions that I was able to answer.

I decided again to make it easy on myself and wore my 1837 purple dress. I brought my dress form with my 1770s Colonial red, white and blue caraco and petticoat on it, and my friend, Shannon, came as my 1870s model. I also brought underpinnings from just about every decade I was covering and Shannon held those up for me as I described them. The split drawers got the most attention as usual. This group was not very costume oriented, other than the 1620s “pilgrim” time period but found a few who were really interested in the Colonial period that they wanted to try getting into, which looks slightly similar to the 1620s. We even inspired two new costumers and now they both want to come to Costume College in July.  

The San Diego Mayflower Colony President sent me a copy of their newsletter where they were introducing me as their upcoming speaker. At the meeting they also had some nicely printed flyers on the tables using more photos of me and I was happy to see they acknowledged Shannon. They were a very appreciative group of people and later I was approached by two representatives of the San Diego and Escondido branches of the DAR who asked if I would be willing to be their speaker next year. I’ve already done two for the DAR in the past eight years, so I’d like to do something different for them, like a live fashion show if they’re able to handle about 10 of us, since they include us in their meal. We shall see.

 

A week later on February 22nd I had the Riverside Dickens Festival fashion show. All I had to do was show up in my dress and write my own description. And I would wear another 1837 dress, this time in my black cotton dotted Swiss one, as I would be portraying London’s most prolific female serial killer, and who was also in mourning for the husband and child she had killed. The only problem was this dress was a back closure and I didn’t want to deal with that. So my plan was to alter it to a front closure, and I had a week to do it. I also wanted to add a little something to trim it and found a painting of an earlier dress that had a frothy little ruffle around the neckline. I found some chiffon ruffle on etsy, and that arrived within a couple days. There’s not a lot I can talk about on this dress so I added my black turban and was considering also wearing my watch.

 

But this is where the “magic costume closet” failed me. My overall size hadn’t changed too much in 5 years, except for shrinking ½” in height so I now I have to shorten all my dresses. However my upper arms had. This dress was made back in 2014 and my upper arms had gotten a lot pudgier since then. So how hard would it be to unstitch the sleeves, cut the armhole open a little more then let out some of the gathers in the sleeve to fit that. Except it also had piping and that would need adjusting. Once I had the back hook/eye tape removed, I sewed it shut and then opened the front up. Right away I could tell I needed a little bit of my fabric to add to the seam or even make a decorative placket on the front. But I couldn’t find my leftover fabric anywhere! And I only had 4 days left to do all this.

I checked my “closet” for whatever I had dating 1830-1860s to cover my characters time-period but they all probably would have the same sleeve and hem problem. On to Plan B.

Remember back in 2020 I made three 1860s dresses using Truly Victorian’s #452 work dress on my assembly line method? All they needed to be finished were buttons, buttonholes, and hems. That would be soooo much easier to finish in 4 days. The only dress I had buttons for was my royal blue one so that made my decision easy. (No one should laugh at me for my assembly-line method of cutting out and partially sewing three dresses at a time anymore).

The dresses also didn’t have collars yet and I was in no mood to make one. So I went searching online for an idea. I came across this photo that I saved and that gave me an idea. I didn’t have that exact type of collar, but I did have an antique tape lace one and decided to go with it. Then I added my jewelry. I think the brooch is Agate but I’m not sure. Surprisingly I don’t have an 1860s bonnet or hat, so I’ll just wear my black lace cap and shock everyone. Hmmm, maybe I can do some shopping while at the Dickens Festival. I had it all done on Thursday morning, and now I can relax.

 

 

These are a couple photos I came across that someone took of me in the Dickens fashion show, and a screenshot from a video that was being filmed in front of me while I was sitting on the wall of the water fountain.

 

Of course we all know what happens when you relax; your mind starts planning. I’m going to a sewing workshop the following weekend on the 28^th, and I can finally start working on a Regency day dress in hopes of going to a picnic later this year. I love the planning stage. I do way too much of that but it makes it all fun. I want to start this blue floral block printed cotton voile one that came from India on etsy and possibly cut out an all-white one (haven't decided which fabric yet) at the same time. I’ll be using the Nehelenia bodice portion since it’s already been fitted on me and came out really nice but making a much narrower skirt. I’m going to put some pleated self-fabric trim on the neckline too.

I even have two possible bonnets I can wear with it, although the green one is a bit big on my head. And maybe in the future I can make a couple Spencers to go with it, one using this blue silk dupioni that was gifted to me back in 2003, and another in hunter green linen.

  

 

And to just throw some more fun into my life, we’re in the planning stages for the Port Townsend (WA) Victorian Festival fashion show on May 3. I’m hoping to wear yet another dress from the closet and it also needs some enlarging (arms) and shrinking (hem) But I have time, and I know where that extra fabric is. Wait, now I know where that extra fat in my arms came from, my height!

My next fashion show I’m in is May 11 at the Harvey Girls Museum In Perris, CA. It was cancelled last year so I stalled on finishing my 1911 Blue Embroidered dress. The skirt needs finishing. I’m still not sure about the layout of those panels in front. I may lose the center one. Ideas are to add some covered decorative buttons down the front of the two panels, and I need to work out how to make my belt. I’ve saved a few ideas on that. So I plan/hope to do that and not have to do any altering on something else to wear. 

In the meantime, I’ve continued making my hand-sewn kerchiefs and pelerines, some using new shapes I made by tracing off some antique ones I bought. These are some of the pelerines I made, and I’ve started making some really pretty ones in black voile too. My plans are to accumulate a bunch of them as my friend & I hope to share a table and sell things at the Trunk Show at Costume College this year. 

2024 YEAR END ROUND-UP

I’m not sure what happened to this last year. Oh yeah, there was that knee replacement surgery in May that pretty much wiped out half the year for me, followed up by a few surprise illnesses. Most of my sewing was done prior to May so there wouldn’t be much needed later, like in July for Costume College. I do know a major part of the beginning of 2024 was consumed being Dean of Costume College and getting that up and running. It became almost a full-time job for me this time. So I had to decide what I could finish up in the way of costumes and what I could actually make from scratch.

My first “event” of the year wasn’t until May, the fashion show in Port Townsend, WA. I finished up two dresses for that, my 1860s rust wrapper and my 1888 Blue Plaid bustle that I copied from an antique pattern using an 1873 Truly Victorian pattern. (Note to self- don’t wear that bustle-hoop skirt under it next time).

 

One of my other dresses I had finished was my 1887 Autumn Plaid bustle dress. I added some red braided trims and buttons to it & called it done. I had planned on wearing it in Port Townsend for my street dress but in the end my suitcase was overloaded with my other two dresses and the hoops for them. So it still hasn’t had an outing. Maybe in the new year?

Another dress I was able to finish up was my 1870s version of the Disney’s Haunted Mansion Maid’s dress to wear to Costume College in July. It just needed its lace trims and buttons added to it. I was able to wear it again for Halloween, which I had originally planned on wearing it the previous year.

 

So the only “new” costume I made this year was my 1810 Regency “Bridgerton” dress I made for the Gala at Costume College. My theme for the Gala was obviously from Bridgerton, and I titled it Lady Watered-Down’s Ball because we couldn’t use the actual name because of copyright infringement. I wanted to make something floral but still could be used again as historical. Instead of making it a floral lined dress, I made an underdress separate and the overdress of the floral netting so the all-white dress could be worn again by itself. I loved the pattern I used from Nehelenia Patterns and have plans to make more from it.

In the next couple months after Costume College I got to experience having pneumonia again but fortunately not ending up in the hospital this time, and a month later came down with “positional vertigo”, which I’d never heard of and scared the crap out of me. I found out it’s a very common experience and was floored to discover that at least 13 of my friends had also experienced it. It took me just over a week for that to go away with using head adjustment exercises. (Look it up, it may save your sanity). Needless to say my energy level was zilch for quite a while.

In November, my group of Historical Dressers did our annual historical fashion show at Lantern Crest Retirement Community, and I just pulled out one of my older favorite 1860s olive green dresses to wear. Our theme was Historical Characters & Authors from Books, and I dressed as Marmee from Little Women. I’d forgotten how short-waisted my bodice was and remembered the three 1860s dresses I’d made a couple of years ago to replace it. But none of them were hemmed and I never found buttons for them. So now they’re on my list to finish. I did find some buttons recently for at least one of them. (You’d think that would be enough to light a fire under me but so far nothing. I think I need an event to wear it to before that will happen.)

 

Just in the last two weeks after having no enthusiasm to sew for months, I decided to make a reproduction kerchief for my friend to wear with her 1770s dress as a Xmas present. This sparked my enthusiasm to do more hand-sewing, and I pulled out all the patterns and tracings of antique kerchiefs, fichus, and pelerines I have and came up with one that would work for her. I had sold quite a few of my older ones on a Facebook group in November on Black Friday but have been wanting to try some other styles. The ones I had all seemed to be a bit small for our modern bodies, so I’ve been altering a couple to make them wider and longer. I still think these two new ones could be enlarged a bit more, but I have another one I’m working on now that I like even more. I just need to find some more lace that is appropriate for them. BTW, this blue bodice is the 1860s dress I just got buttons for so I can finish it.

My plans for the New Year begin in 2 weeks when I'll be joining the CGW at their New Year's Tea. I'm still trying to decide what to wear for that depending on the weather. It could be hot, warm or cold. There's no telling what the weather is doing anymore. Then on February 15 I'm doing a presentation for the San Diego Mayflower Society, similar to what I’ve done for the Daughters of the American Revolution, a PowerPoint presentation and a 3-person fashion show for them. I probably need to start on that real soon. Also on February 22 there is the Riverside Dickens fashion show. I haven’t decided what I’ll be wearing for that either. And of course I’ll start planning the Port Townsend fashion show in May and what to wear there. There's a good chance it will be the Autumn Plaid bustle. I’ve been looking more and more at what I already have in my closet, and if they fit. But that hasn’t stopped me from buying a few new fabrics (an 1810 cotton print and a sari-like sapphire blue that I fell in love with but haven’t quite decided what it will be yet.)

Once again, I end the year with at least 6 dresses waiting to be finished. They’re close and as long as the Frenzied Squirrel doesn’t decide to cut out yet another dress, I may get some of them done. Wish me luck, and Happy New Year!