Lady Sybil Harem Pant Outfit: Complete!

     A bit of catch-up here. I was "cast" as Lady Sybil Crawley for the PEERS Downton Abbey Ball this past weekend. The ball was being set from about 1916-1920ish. I LOVE Downton Abbey and was so excited to get to play my favorite character. Some people have told me I look very much like her. Hope so!

     I decided to make her iconic Turkish/Harem pant outfit. 19-teens is an era I am not familiar with and there are very little resources on this particular style. I had to figure out a lot by myself. The patterning and construction involved A LOT of fudging and futzing. It wasn't easy trying to reproduce this costume!

 Working on bodice:

     Materials were silk dupioni, silk chiffon, cotton, metallic gold stuff, beaded trim, sequined appliques, metalic-y ribbon, and gold tassels.
     For patterns, I used the Laughing Moon 104 (1909-1913 dress) for the bodice and sleeves. I made a mock-up of the boned underbodice and started slicing it up and altering it until I had what I was aiming for. I did the same thing with the sleeves. The bodice is boned with zip ties (historical accuracy snobs: don't judge me). The back fastens with those wide skirt closure hooks and bars so that I can actually dress myself. The appliques are all hand-stitched on.
     The sleeves and neckline are made from this textured metallic fabric and the sleeves are lined in chiffon.
The pants are a lengthened version of super basic Victorian split-crotch bloomers with the crotch seam closed. I just extended the light pant leg to make the overlap in front. Both legs are lined with light blue cotton. Cuffs fasten with the same hooks as the bodice. The sash ties in a bow in the back with tassels on the ends.
     I also made Sybil's headband. It's not screen-accurate, but it's intended to give a similar look. It's olive stretch velvet with little sequined patch that I beaded over with glass and silver beads. The center blue piece was done by my grandmother years and years ago.

Progress:

     Now, a couple shots from the ball...

Kaila and I did a Sybil-twinning! It was great to coordinate
 with someone and get their ideas. I wish I'd made my
bodice shorter to match hers, though!
photo copyright Kathy L.

      I wore my American Duchess "23 Skidoo" Spectator shoes to the ball! Love them.
Also, check out our Pinterest research board: http://www.pinterest.com/ladyfungi/sybil-twinning/
And here's Kaila's blog: http://teacupsandfrocks.blogspot.com/

The Crawley sisters! And cousin Rose!
photo copyright Christopher K.

     If more photos come out, I will post them! It was a good night. Lots of great Ragtime/Deco music and lots of great costumes.
     As for my outfit, I have a few things I'd like to fix, but I'm still pretty happy with it. I had fun. And that's the point.

Cheers.

New Regency Boots from American Duchess!

     I always get so excited when American Duchess comes out with new shoes. It's almost impossible to find any other reproductions of this quality out there. I especially love it when they are customize-able. These newbies are dyeable fabric with yummy leather soles. They're on SALE right now for the Pre-Order.

I'd love to get a pair and dye them purple some day... 

"Gettysburg" Boots by American Duchess

     American Duchess just came out with some new pretties! "Gettysburg" booties. They work from 1822ish through 1860's. One of my favorite periods! I've been hoping for this shoe for a while. I just ordered some in the pre-order (which means 20% off). Check them out!

(photos by American Duchess)

The Gatsby Picnic 2013

     What a good time it was! Hotter than it ever should be, though!! Boiling... But such a good time. I was working the Auto Team in the morning (directing the vintage cars), so my shift was luckily over by the time the heat got legit. My home base picnicking group was so lovely. They set up such a wonderful picnic and were so kind to have me with them. Just lovely, lovely folks. You'll see a bit of their set up later in the post.
     I knew MANY more people this year than I did last year. Which was a bit of a shocker. And I met many more just from wandering around.
     There was this awesome French picnic that I ended up spending a lot of time around. Paul, Francis, Tullia, and Tara (the brains behind their set up). They had a big French flag flying high above vintage French board games, saucy French postcards, and a perfect French lunch (with Ratatouille! Yummy!) I think most of them knew a fair amount of French, even though they were all American. They were jabbering away in it, sounding very elegant and classy. I think I heard a few lines of La Marseillaise! That was fabulous...
Paul was dressed in his own reproduction of a 1920's French police officer's uniform, with original buttons and badges! SO COOL. He and Tara won Best Dressed Couple in the Costume Contest! They totally deserved it. Hands down. 
      Not to be vain as heck, but my outfit was great. It pulled together so nice. Looking at the photos now, I realize that my dress looks a lot more early 40's. I think the picnic was supposed to be 20's/30's, but I don't really care. My dress was Deco-era and that's what matters. I wore Boyfriend's vintage boater, pearl tear drop earrings, "Repeal the 18th Amendment" pin, and an original Air Core sweetheart pin (WWII era). Another gift from the boy. 

With Kathy and Tasia- ladies in blue!
photo credit Kim Y.

With Yuri at her perfect picnic.
photo credit Alan D.

We went climbing around the broken down swimming pool.

American Duchess shoe pic!!!
 I ran into three local costumers: green is Vivian, brown is Natalie, ivory is Elizabeth, and spectator is me.
photo credit Natalie W.

Natalie and Elizabeth looked just smashing! Both dresses sewn by their wearer.
Natalie said she made hers from an original pattern and Elizabeth said she took an old 60's dress to
pieces to make hers. I love both of them!
photo credit Natalie W.

     Natalie's blog: http://frolickingfrocks.blogspot.com/ (I hope to see her details soon. I want that dress!!)
     Vivian's blog: http://freshfrippery.com/ (she's got a great post up of her outfit)

The Gatsby Picnic: What to Wear...

     Every early September, the Art Deco Society of California holds its Gatsby Summer Afternoon picnic. It's basically a re-creation of an afternoon party that Jay Gatsby would have thrown. It's happening this Sunday. Tomorrow. Check out the deets and the site: http://www.artdecosociety.org/index.htm
     I will be volunteering with the AutoTeam. We direct the vintage cars and such. I realized I would be running about a bit. It got me started on thoughts of what I should wear. I need something stable, simple, relatively comfortable, and....Deco. It should fit into the 20's, 30's, or VERY early 40's.
     I was originally going to borrow some clothes from Boyfriend (he's a Deco-era fiend). But I found I liked most of the clothes on him better. I just can't top that sexiness. Still, I stole his straw Boater. I love it!!!
     Not long ago, he gifted me a dark blue, white-polka dotted dress with a little matching belt. It's beautiful. It's vintage and we're thinking early 40's. The silhouette looks kind of late 30's, though, so I figured it would work just fine.
     I searched for some images to help me date the style:

Shows the basic silhouette of my dress.
via erasoffashion

It's similar to those two navy polka dot dresses, but with a shorter skirt. This image is from '32.

This one is from '39. Similar skirt style to mine, but the sleeves on mine are more relaxed.

     So, I  guess I'll say my dress is late 1930's. Seems roughly accurate.
The PLAN!:

     -polka dot dress

     -Boyfriend's boater

     -American Duchess "23 Skidoo" spectator shoes 

     -waved hair pulled into simple Deco-ish style

     -red lipstick

     -pearl earrings

                                                

New American Duchess Shoes Ordered!

     Recent news: I ordered my own pair of American Duchess "Hartfield" Regency boots!!!! So cute!
I got the brown leather pair. (The ivory ones are dyeable, by the way). Part of the Pre-order (reduced price of $148 instead of $168). They should arrive in November-ish. Yay! I'll be able to wear them for at least a portion of Dickens Fair.
     As well as wearing them for Regency costume, I can imagine the style working for plenty of other eras...later Victorian, Edwardian, some places in the 20th century...not to mention for contemporary wear! Really excited Own your pair today at American Duchess.

Now for the pretty...

Hartfield promo banner copyright American Duchess

Hartfields in brown leather copyright American Duchess

     I loved Am-Duch's photo shoot for the boots. Very classy and well-styled. Really reminds me of an Austen heroine (Lizzie Bennet for sure). 

That's all for now, folks!

Well, I'm Back...

     Yeah, I've been lame and have hardly touched my blog for a couple months now. Life gets crazy, especially with senior year of high school. Here I am now, filling you in on what I've been up to these past couple of months....

     The finished 1830's Periwinkle:

(Yeah, the back is messed up at the top eyelets, but I'll fix that later.)

 

 

Cartridge pleats! My favorite kind!

 

 

     The very rough concept sketch for my Prom Pretty Woods dress:

     I bought the silk for it! It's this brilliant turquoise dupioni. I really like the texture the slubs give it.

     The vintage shoes I found online didn't work out, so I decided on some repros! American Duchess does some of the finest historical shoe reproductions I've ever seen. I order the 1920's Spectators, "23Skidoo" and absolutely love them! Great work.

American Duchess Shoe Shop

 

     That's the damage for now, but here's sneak peak for my next dress:

 

I call her "Moon Lady"

 

 



Concentration Musings

     I've been having so much fun just thinking up the other dresses for my Concentration! Haven't decided them all yet, but here are some brainstorming bits:

This sorta is a good visual...I had this dream of a violet velvet 1930s dress with some fun sleeves.

 

 

I ordered some vintage 20s shoes on eBay that look a bit like these with the side details, except in ivory leather and a bit more elegantly shaped (maybe to wear with my Pretty Woods dress!)

 

And then I got really inspired by these gloves Amanda Seyfried wears in In Time.

They loose the hand part of them when she's on the run, to still cover her "timer".

I think they're leather or some kind of fabric, but I plan to make some ivory silk ones to go with my Pretty Woods. I love the way they bunch up at the wrists!