I've started a new blog to host all my chatter about beauty and cosmetology! So far it's mostly re-posts from my Costuming blog but there are a couple of beefed up articles about my RED hair adventures and my thoughts about Paul Mitchell School. If you have tutorial or article suggestions I'd love to hear them too!
{photo courtesy of Kat}
I just realized I never posted about this event - bad Jenny-Rose! I had an uber FABULOUS time partying with my Fabulousity Club peeps last month. Kat hosted a lovely tea on her lawn, with shopping provided by The Bohemian Belle & Dames a la Mode, much silliness and an endless supply of champagne!
The next day Robin hosted my Mary Kay "Cosmetics for 18th Century Costuming" party (lovingly now referred to as "Whore Make-up") at which we all rouge-ed up, drank more tea and wore tiaras. *sigh* It was such fun - I didn't want to come home!
Photo Listing:
{JennylaFleur's Photos}
my photos & my favorites from others
{photo courtesy of Julia} {photo courtesy of Kat}
{photo courtesy of Kat} {photo courtesy of Kat}
Videos:
I only took one stealth video but it captures the "after-party" and some of the trying on of Julia's lovely hats...
A Week of Williamsburg
{Jenny-Rose Photos} - my photos plus my favorites from others
Aubry | photos | (flicker
Katherine | photos | (flickr)
Sara | photos | (flickr)
Nicole | photos | (photobucket)
Let me esplain. No it is too much, let me sum up...
I won't say the week didn't have it's challenges (which for me included a nasty migraine day, monthly cramps, an extra trip to Fredericksburg to exchange vehicles, the series of unfortunate decisions, money stress and the disappointment of sewing goal failures) but the low times are already fading away in the bright haze of the awesome times. One thing I can say about this group of ladies is that for our low-lows we balance them with very high-highs.
{photos courtesy of Sara & Niccole}
Highs include beautiful gifts given and received, a wonderful dinner at the Blue Talon, a raucous card party (complete with tispy late night dancing and lawn marathons), the All-Hands sewing marathon to finish my Française Noir (the Committee-Made-Dress!), the carriage ride and the following stroll around town with Nicole (the weather was glorious and we all looked so GOOD!), being granted access to the behind the scenes workshop at the Milliners, the conspiracy of the Rumtoptf label, our evening of great sparkle & merriment at the Tavern and a lovely drive home the back way.
I also learned some important things:
1. Katherine cheats at cards. Don't let that innocent demeanor fool you! Guard your chips and cards at all times!
2. Staying in one of the Historic Houses is pricey but worth it. It was so nice to walk out one's door and already be in the Historic Area. It was equally wonderful to be able to pop in and out throughout the day to relax or grab a bite to eat or just get off ones feet and away from the crowds. It was also great to be able to walk just about everywhere we wanted to go. Having our own sitting room was also pretty awesome. We are so spoiled now!
3. The larger the group of costumed friends around you the more you get stopped by tourists for photos. We learned to split up, go a back way or to simply not be in a hurry to get anywhere.
{photos courtesy of Aubry, Jennylafleur, Sara}
The pictures tell only part of the story of course, the parts that make me so glad we went on this crazy adventure were really the quiet ones, the moments we enjoyed quiet companionship, our lunches of PB&J sandwiches in our little house, the turns doing dishes (paper plates are for peasants!), lively conversations, little sewing sessions, the teasing and the free borrowing of feathers, bling, caps and everything else. The company of good friends that knew when to let me do my own thing and when I needed company or to be pulled out of myself by force.
{photo courtesy of Sara}
It sucks when your friends are so far-flung but it makes it even more special when you are all together! It was a crazy week, it was a wonderful week. It’s certainly a week I will never forget and one I will cherish for a very long time.
Starting with the most important thing – the photos! I didn’t take many, partly due to not being in the mood at first and then lack of maneuverability in my frock. Damn train! Also as we are wont to do in costuming there was much standing in circles - something I never noticed until my frustrated photographer at the Epic Titanic Dinner pointed it out to me. The practise is good for conversation sucky for photo taking!. So end my feeble excuses, on to the photos:
{Jenny-Rose Photos} - my photos of the event & my favorites from others
Gloria | photos | (flicker)
Judy | photos | (LJ - locked post)
Kat | photos | (flickr)
Stephanie | photos | (flickr)
Isabella | photos | (flickr)
Videos:
The Card Trick
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The American Duchess Shoe Shot
The Tale of the Impossible & the Party:
To tell the tale of the event I have to start from the day before - Friday, the Day of the Impossible Task. Thanks to real life, unfriendly projects and the evil combination of my perfectionism and my procrastination I was way behind. The day started with the making of a hideously scary do-to list to get my Française Noir in wearable condition, not finished just wearable. I debated with myself as I worked all day did I really want to attempt the crazy and I kept saying yes to myself so I kept going. It's been a while since I've had a new frock and something I was really happy with, I just wasn’t ready to give up on my visions of grandeur this time. So I went for it.
When I stopped work in the wee hours of Friday morning (went to bed at 5am I think) I had just finished the fittings on the bodice/stomacher, robings (I did faux robings to make my life easier) and sleeves. So my day started with marking the changes and tracing a master pattern (so I don't have to do it again!) and cutting out those pieces. I also had to draft a pattern for the sleeve flounces and choose the lace for them which took some time. I used the flounce pattern from the Period Impressions Polonaise as my base, tweaking and almost re-drafting it to better match what I wanted. I then cut those out, cutting the silk with scalloped scissors and prepping the lace with French seams.
By dinner time I was starting on the bodice construction, and spent my evening on that (plus pin-curling my own hair). I did a false stomacher with a button front so self-covered buttons and machine buttonholes were in order – so time consuming! I machined everything, I just didn't have time to hand sew anything or to construct in the proper period way. I'll go back and redo a few things better later but day this was all about getting it done. Thread Nazis, bite me!
By 3am I was starting to fade, despite not being as far along as I needed to be. But I had to get some sleep so I re-figured my time table taking out my plans to be way early, most of my wiggle room and leisurely time to dress once I got there. Then I set my alarm and went to bed. I woke up at 7:30 and after getting dressed (I left my hair in curlers until Philly) I packed my costume bits and my overnight bag and got back to sewing.
I worked super-fast, getting a bit of trim on the front (it really need something - the black was is plain), the sleeves set and stitched, the bodice stitched together and the sleeve flounces attached. Mom was nice and stitched up my petticoat for me. The pleats I'd pinned in two nights before weren't quite right (I need more fullness on the side rather in the front/back) but I didn't have time to re-pin them so she sewed as it. No waistband and no hem - I pinned it on me when I got dressed! I quickly stitched the skirt fronts to the dress, zig-zagged along the hems of the dress and petticoat in lieu of hems and quickly formed some stacked pleats to sit between the side seam of the bodice and the back. I safety pinned them in place grabbed my bags and feather box and ran out the door.
According to my timetable I was going to have 1/2 hour to dress at Kat’s house but texting with Kat and using Bridget as my smart phone I figured out that I would save at least 40 minutes by going straight to the Inn to dress instead. Yay! So I changed my GPS settings and thought I was in good shape again. Then I ran into horrible traffic in Virginia, Maryland AND Pennsylvania. When it rains it pours! I finally got to the General Warren Inn 15 minutes before the Salon was to start. Ahh!
Robin was an absolute angel and stayed with me to help me fluff hair rats, tie petticoat strings, pin me into my dress and generally be a calming influence on a very flustered Jenny-Rose. I hate being late! Since I didn't have time to attach the skirt front to the bodice at home Robin pleated and safety pinned the skirt to my lining, the silk of the bodice front covering the pins. Totally Ghetto Fabulous but it worked! Luckily for me I had a perfect hair day (so happy with my new hair pieces!) but even so it took me nearly an hour to get ready. I was finished just in time to walk down stairs and have a grand entrance (look it's that crazy late girl!) right as dinner was announced.
By the time I got down those stairs though all the craziness, stress, lack of sleep and angst of the last few days had melted away and I simply felt like a pretty, pretty princess. Good company, epic, if self-willed, feathers (I really must come up with a way to make them behave!) and 11yds of silk taffeta will do that for a girl.
I don't want to do the impossible again for a long time but I don't regret it. Clearly I have some work to do on this frock before it's actually finished but overall I'm really pleased with it. It has the elegant and luxurious feel I wanted and thanks to the extra fittings I think it's gratifyingly flattering as well. Sometimes you just have to make it work, sleep is over rated anyway.
{photo courtesy of Judy}
The dinner itself was a great event - Robin and Judy did a great job organizing it! My only real complaint is that it went way too fast - the time flew by so quickly!
{photos courtesy of Gloria & Kat}
I also got horribly nervous when I sang my little song, it's wasn’t my best effort at all. Oh well, hopefully it was entertaining. I didn't chicken out like I seriously thought about doing though so I do feel good about that.
I had a lovely time though and really enjoyed the conversations I had although there were so many people I didn't get a chance to talk to. Next time!
I had to leave the party before I really wanted to but I had to clean up Robin's room, where I had spread out embarrassingly in my haste to get dressed and get undressed for the drive to Kat's house where I was spending the night. It was pretty late by the time I arrived there but everyone was still up so we sipped some pink champagne and decided that as much fun as breakfast at the Inn sounded, sleeping in sounded even better. So that is what we did. I slept really soundly and woke up feeling refreshed. After a lovely breakfast of tea and danish Stephanie, Kat and I headed to Jomar for a shopping trip. I was very good and stayed under my self-imposed $20 budget, scoring a couple of yds of cream cotton velvet, gold trim for my Roman Bitch dress and a boat load of narrow lace for my Purple Doom - Jomar was very good to me this time!
Sadly my trip home was a nightmare, filled with lots of traffic and delays. The normally 4 hour trip took well over 5 - I had to pull over at one point for a 10 minute power nap because I was so tired. Blah! But I made it home in once piece and happy I went. I can't wait for next year! I'll be in my Française Noir again but it's okay because it will be a whole new dress - I have ridiculous trimming plans for Phase 2... *wink*
Source: 18thcenturylove.tumblr.com via Jennylafleur on Pinterest
The demon pannier are finished!! These have been the bane of my existence for over 2 weeks now, oy I’m so glad they are done!
I don’t really like pannier. That is to say I love them on other people and in movies but I don’t love wearing that side hoop silhouette. It just doesn’t make me feel amazing the way layers of petticoats, a 18th century bum roll or a Victorian bustle do. However, with the exception of a few late century American sacques just brought to my attention, all my research says some form of side hoop was ALWAYS worn with the robe a la Française. Annoying but true.
So after inspiring myself with a watch through of Slipper &the Rose and Dangerous Liaisons I decided to suck it up and just go with it. My previous experiments with pocket hoops were frustrating thanks to my waist to hip ratio (Kendra had the same issue, which made me feel SO much better about it!) so rather than mess with making it work I decided to make a full hoop version. 'Cause I lost my mind and thought that would be easier and faster. Riiigghhtt!
I used Simplicity 3635 (now sadly out of print) for the pannier of my Queen of the Night as the pattern is practically the same as the ones in Corsets & Crinolines. As nicely as they worked for a dramatic costume they are a little big for restaurants and crowded rooms so I decided to make a smaller pair for my Française Noir. When Megan visited a few years ago I tried on her adorable ruffled pannier and really liked the scale on me. So I measured them and tucked the notes away in case I ever needed them. I be smart!
Only problem with the Simplicity pattern is that it is a one size fits all affair. I had been hoping that it would be an easy cutting it down to the smallest size but no luck. So I debated whether I should size down the Simplicity pattern or re-size one of the scaled patterns in Period Costume for Stage & Screen or Corsets and Crinolines, - there are very few differences between the three patterns. Eventually I decided to use the Simplicity pattern with the books as reference. Looking back I think it would have all been about the same amount of work. Sizing pannier is a pain no matter what you do!
Then the endless math began as I tried to figure out then reconcile the ratios of the Simplicity pattern vs Megan’s measurements. Finally I had some reasonable numbers and started work sizing the pattern down.
The real problem with pannier is that they are like stays – you don’t know if they work until they are practically finished. So after hours of patterning, cutting, sewing (felled seams - we hates them Precious!) and stuffing in reluctant boning, I finally was able to try them on.
They were a hideous tragedy. *sigh* I suppose I was overly optimistic that I could change the pattern so much and have it right on the first go but really it was a mess that I knew will take me days to re-do and fix. To say I was discouraged is an understatement.
The continuous piece was something Hunnisett did in her book and I found several examples of the method so it wasn’t a crazy idea, but it didn’t work for my boning – too stiff perhaps? It was too bad as the separate pieces required a lot more work. I learned on my QotN pannier than simply running a row of stitching at the bottom of the boning. There is too much strain there and mine ripped out. So this time I reinforced it with a piece of bias tape, which had to be finished by hand. Secure but time consuming - blah!
Good thing I'm very accomplished with a seam ripper!
The finished result if far from perfect (that top yoke is still really funky) but it’s wearable and functional – yay!
I spent another day (that I don’t have *sigh*) creating a deep pleated frill at the bottom, This was a suggestion from Jean Hunnisett, she recommended it to weight down the hoop and make it less likely to swing about wildly. It was so much work (starching, pleating, pining and sewing) but I do love pleating striped fabric and it came out looking spectacular. It also does all the practical things Hunnisett mentioned too which is awesome.
Up next was trying it on with some petticoats on top. I tried my standard ruffled under petticoat hoping I could use that (no go!) then my fullest 18th century petticoat – the Diva petticoat. That gave me a good idea of how many panels of fabric I needed for the Petite Pannier under petticoat and the Noir so that was good. I’m a bit concerned that it’s too small at the very top, maybe I went too conservative with it. But I’m going to wear it to the dinner and see how I feel. I can always adjust it before the next time I wear it if I need to.
And so it begins - a crazy couple of months filled with an overly ambitious list of dream garments. If you hear hysterical screams or despairing whimpering from the wilds of Virginia between now and April you will know why...
First up the Française Noir. I posted about this a few months ago but haven't done more than dream about it since. I did find a few more images of black gowns from the period, including a spectacularly fashionable one quite close to the vague notions of what I wanted in my head. Yay!
My new hero Aubry stayed on after the Regency Card Party to help me drape the front and back of the Française.
It was my first sewing day in my new sewing room and we had such fun, despite a very late start. Draping to Mozart while drinking pink champagne and eating chocolates is totally the way to go!
Aubry left me with a beautifully fitted pile of silk taffeta and pins, which on the dressform looked rather un-impressive and intimidating. It took a week to work up the courage to work on it again (yep I'll admit it I'm scared of this dress!).
So I found an interesting podcast about the book "Queen of Fashion" to listen to and got to work.
The first thing I worked on was sewing down the robings on the front. The pins were wanting to come out most there so I figured that was a good place to start. Interestingly Aubry didn't do a full pleat all the way to the edge so I came up with a way of creasing the taffeta with my fingers so I could see where to sew. Silk taffeta is great for this sort of thing!
There was also a little tuck taken under the robing, from about the bust to the waist. This adds just a bit of fullness to the front skirt, allowing the front to fall nicely. Clever!
As I went along I found using a pressing ham underneath helped me smooth and crease the robbing since it was fitted to me and I'm not flat!
Once I got the fronts all sewn down I decided to take the lining apart. I found working with the everything attached very awkward (this would have been less of a problem if I'd been about to work in a more methodical way but we had to get as much fitting done as possible in on day). I also fully intend to alter/re-fit this as I lose weight and to do that more easily I wanted the lining and fashion fabric lined up perfectly at the seams rather than over lapping. Saving myself some work down the road!
Also I had a mistake to fix and I thought it would be much easier to deal with flat. The mistake - this ladies and gentlemen is why you do not cut fabric late at night and/or in a rush or bad things can happen. Aubry made the cut but really it was my fault. I was entirely to blame for the late start, along with the slow sewing and drafting of the lining. When I originally saw the cut (after Aubry realized what she had done) I thought, no problem! It's under the arm and having done the exact same thing before my plan was to patch it and keep the secret to myself.
However seeing it in all it's bare and undisguised glory last night, I don't see how I can do that. The cut is much deeper and more ragged than I realized, and the top part of the lining is also uncovered. A patch is totally going to show right there. Merh.
That realization made me come to a complete stop. I stared at it for a couple of hours and have slept on it. I think the only thing I can do that I'm going to be happy with is redo the whole panel. I can use it as my guide for the fitting and robing, then use the fabric for my sleeves and/or trim. It's a bit discouraging as I spent several hours sewing down the bodice front, robing and tuck with pretty stitches - I really wish I had looked more closely at the mistake before I did all that. But I've come to the conclusion that I would rather redo the small stitches than have some ugly patch or silly looking faux seam on my bodice. Sigh.
Since I'm going to redo half the bodice anyway I'm wondering if I should just cut the bodice front separate from the front skirts (rather than the all one piece with a waist dart I was going with). Both seem to be completely valid ways of constructing this type of dress. Any opinions?
