Costumiere

Venturing back into the light

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:13:32 GMT

Oh look, I fell off the map again. It's been a challenging few months of work and personal issues, including RSI problems that have meant trying to limit my time on the computer, along with a bit of an existential fog that significantly demotivated me. This is a step in trying to come back from all of that.

There's a backlog of personal projects that I'm working up to posting, but I figure I'll start small just to get back in the habit of posting. And so, here's an interview with costume designer Colleen Atwood, probably best known for her work with Tim Burton (without her, I couldn't have done this, as the gown is based on the one in Sleepy Hollow), but highly sought after in Hollywood in general. The interview does focus primarily on her work with Burton and in particular the upcoming Alice in Wonderland, but also talks about some of her other projects and how she works in general. I particularly like this quote:

Actually when I do period work, I really like to read about the period as much as I like to look at pictures, because sometimes the written word is much better at conveying what their lives were really like and how much they had, and where their clothes came from.

I get where she's coming from with this, as I tend to think in a combination of images and words as well--while images are incredibly valuable in costume, sometimes, the words are more helpful in conveying details and specifics about how things are made and the context they existed in. That has a lot to do with why I often write out my ideas as I'm working through them. This is not to claim that I am in any way in the same class of ability as Ms. Atwood, but more to express that it's reassuring to see that the creative process sometimes works the same no matter the level.

That said, hopefully I will be back here documenting my own creative process in less than four months this time.

The wages of indolence

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:15:30 GMT

My biggest problem--in costuming and in many other areas of my life--is that I'm a pretty high-grade procrastinator. All in all, I'm a rather lazy person, and getting stuff started in a timely manner has long been a difficulty for me. Aside from the general issue of not giving myself enough time for things, procrastinating leaves pretty much no room to account for the unexpected. In the case of the plans I'd made about my outfits for C15, I waited even longer than usual, and the result of that bit me in the butt, hard.

I will not be taking either of the outfits that I talked about making in my last post. I started working on the linen jacket far too late, and then this past Saturday--which was supposed to be a heavy-production day--we had an unexpected adventure involving a dead car while we were out running last-minute errands, and lost the entire afternoon, which pushed everything else back. That completely cut out the Victorianesque bathing costume (which was always a "maybe if I have time" idea anyway, but still, it was a nifty idea). And then, after I'd finished putting the trim on the linen jacket and tried it on, I realized that the jacket was not acceptable. Because it's from the 1980s, it has that long, boxy 1980s style, and it just isn't right. What I really need to do is, at the least, put a vent in the back so it lies well over the hips, and possibly even cut the length of the jacket down. Doing this would mean removing the trim I already applied, which would then have to be put back on after the other changes are made, and these changes are on top of the back lacing that I'd already planned to put in. There is no way at all I could do all of this in under a week, let alone also add the trim to the skirt and the parasol.

I admit I'm extremely disappointed and annoyed with myself about this. I've had this jacket for four years, and I've known what I wanted to do with the trim for a year. Had I started far sooner, I'd have discovered the additional problems far sooner, and maybe had a chance to get them fixed and have the outfit ready. Further, this outfit was the only one that has been part of my C15 plans all along--everything else has been up in the air, but this one was solid, and indeed C15 was meant to be the impetus to get it done. Obviously, it wasn't enough impetus to overcome my intense laziness. The end result of this is not merely that I don't have this particular outfit, but I don't have any outfit that really demonstrates that I'm capable of craft and creativity, rather than just a knack for shopping. That was kind of a hard hit to my self-esteem, and the fact that it's my own damn fault makes it sting all the more. The real question is, will I learn anything from this and change my laziness and tendency to procrastinate? The answer to that is probably no (it certainly has been to date), and so I'm left with a pretty large sense of failure--I might have great ideas, but my inability to effectively act on them means they don't amount to anything at all.

At any rate, I still need to wear things at C15, so a mad run through my wardrobe on Sunday night ensued to see what I could come up with. And I will definitely have nice things to wear; my wardrobe is so large and so well-chosen that I don't lack for options. They're just not as extravagant and reflective of what I'm (supposedly) capable of as I wanted to achieve.

For Friday, it turns out that we get to the hotel, check in, and then immediately need to start prepping for the fashion show, so there's no point in wearing anything fancy during the day. I'll likely wear something comfortable, attractive, and black for the flight down. I have the Original Sin dress I'll be wearing in the fashion show in my possession, and it's utterly gorgeous--I hope the audience thinks so too. I'm going to be taking that and most of the accessories for it in my carry-on bag, because I have developed rather large anxiety that the airline will lose my checked bag, and I don't want to risk not having that outfit with me. Of course, if that does happen, it will be the ultimate absurdist answer to all the clothing angst I've had about this event--ending up with nothing to wear all weekend other than this one dress and my travel outfit would be quite the irony, wouldn't it?

I did decide to take the burgundy georgette cocktail dress with vintage velvet hat and gloves for post-fashion show. There are too many things I don't get much chance to wear, and this is a pretty nifty outfit.

For Saturday during the day, I need to coordinate with the magnificent white linen suit (with black accents) my husband is wearing--this was where the striped linen outfit was really supposed to come in. After some dithering about other white linen pieces I have (which are nice but not quite what I'm going for), I finally decided to go with the polka-dotted outfit for this--the colors are right and the style is vintage enough to suit the venue. I'm still debating whipping up some jewelry quickly to go with this, and it will have some vintage gloves and the vintage linen hat I found a couple of weeks ago:

I'm adding trim to this to coordinate with the outfit, flat bows of polka-dotted ribbon and some veiling. Here's a glimpse of the work in progress:

I was originally planning to go with white veiling (as shown in the above photo), but after fiddling with the ribbon bows, I think black might work better. Since I need to stitch everything to the belting and then put the belting back around the crown, I need to be happy with the decision, because I'll have to live with it.

For the beach party, since the bathing costume isn't going to happen, I'm just going to go with something black, flowy, and in a warm-weather fabric, most likely either a black textured linen sundress with a full skirt, or a black voile embroidered tunic and full gored lace-trimmed skirt. I'm still debating whether I'll take my black braid-trimmed parasol--it'll fit in the suitcase, but it is unwieldy, especially if the suitcase is full. The most interesting accessory for this part, actually, will be a pair of sunglasses: The frames are shaped like a stylized bat (yes, with a head and everything) and the lenses are red. Goth cliches in the extreme, and yet still totally appropriate for a beach party!

Sunday daytime is still kind of up in the air. My husband is wearing dark gray, another lovely new suit he found for a steal, so it would be nice if I complemented that, but it's not quite as necessary as with the linen suit. This outfit is a possibility, possibly with a short fitted jacket in cotton poplin with narrow charcoal stripes; however, this one seems to call for a small hat, and I only have wider-brimmed ones. Another possibility is the skirt from that outfit paired with a qipao-style top in silver with a black and white cherry-blossom pattern and gray wingtip mary janes. This would be more dramatic, especially with a vintage mid-wide-brim black straw hat and some short black gloves (and it's pretty much my husband's choice, as he loves how the top looks on me).

On the other hand, I have a completely mad idea about a way to still achieve some level of craft and personalization here, mad because it does involve a fair amount of sewing and I don't know if I could finish in time (I'd pretty much have to work on it during our travel time, and I fear TSA would decide to confiscate my sewing needles and scissors). It's actually something that's been on my project list for awhile, but once again I just haven't gotten around to doing it and am now being prodded by an event. It's an ankle-length purple silk habotai fit and flare dress to which I would add some lovely black floral organza trim I picked up for a steal back when I was buying trim for NWC projects; also, the dress is a little too big around the waist, so I want to set some black frog closures on either side and use those to pull it in and for some textural interest. If I had this dress, I could wear it with the extravagant black and purple straw hat I decorated myself several years ago (the one in the icon on this post)--it's not precisely period for the venue, but it's period enough to work with other things. The sewing time and effort needed is the real crux of it, and I don't know if I could pull it off.

For Sunday night, an informal poll of friends indicated that a majority are in favor of the black and silver striped bustle-jacket outfit. It also has the advantage of not needing any testing or prep work, so I will probably go with that. I might try some different jewelry this time and do the makeup a little more dramatic, and I'll likely need to put my hair up this time instead of the ringlets, perhaps with some flowers for added interest. (Aside from the inconvenience of having my hair up in curlers all day, which isn't realistic if I want to wear a lovely outfit during the day, the last time I put my hair in curlers I had a gigantic, idiotic mishap with my hair getting tangled in them that resulted in me having to cut off seven inches of hair to solve the problem. I'm a little gun-shy about curlers now.) That said, my husband is wearing his tuxedo on Sunday (not the more Edwardian outfit he wore at the VMB), and I'm kind of tempted to go with the rose/berry/plum burnout velvet gown, which is more 1930s in style, to complement him. However, I'd need to do some jewelry work for that, and it's also sleeveless and I'm feeling pretty self-conscious about my upper arms right now. So, maybe not.

I also tried on the startling variety of bias-cut black (or mostly black) cocktail-type dresses I own, and I'll likely take a couple of those along for post-event partying Saturday and Sunday. One is black georgette over a blush lining with an embroidered, scalloped hem, puffed short sleeves, and a V neck; the other is a solid black bias-cut slip dress with a mesh hem ruffle that goes under an embroidered black netting overdress with cap sleeves, knot buttons, and a high collar. They're comfortable and easy to wear, but still extremely stylish.

I still haven't decided if I'll wear the pink floral garden-party dress with the big pink hat on Monday, mostly because I don't know if I want to take the hat. I might well just go with something simple and black for that day as well.

In the end, I will still look fabulous. I just won't look quite as fabulous as I was aiming for. Maybe I'll learn something from the circumstances that led to that. More likely, I won't, and that's ultimately a bigger issue with my creative endeavors than this one event. That's what I really need to work on if I truly intend to continue trying to be creative.

And in any case, right now I've got some hat-decorating to finish up, which I should go and do.

Standard pre-event wibbling

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:45:10 GMT

Less than two weeks away is Convergence 15. This Convergence (not to be confused with any of the various other events with the same name) is a party for gothy sorts, originally started as a sort of "reunion" for people on the alt.gothic.* hierarchy of groups on Usenet, back in the mists of Internet prehistory when Usenet was all the "social networking" anybody had. ;) Anyway, this year's edition is not far off, and I'm going this year.

Convergence isn't, strictly speaking, a "costume" event. But particularly for those of us who came up through alt.gothic.fashion, it's definitely an opportunity to wear fabulous, extravagant things. As I am all in favor of wearing fabulous, extravagant things when given opportunity, I plan to do so for C15. The problem, as usual before such an event, is that I have to decide what fabulous, extravagant things to wear.

There are several competing considerations at work:
--It's in Long Beach, which is southern California, so I expect it will be fairly warm. I don't want to take a lot of things in heavy, hot fabrics.

--We're flying and limited to one suitcase apiece, so I won't have room for dozens of outfit possibilities, nor big or fragile things requiring a lot of space. (Just as reference, we drove to the last Convergence we attended so our luggage was limited only by space in the car. We had two suitcases, two overnight bags, a garment bag, a bag full of shoes, a hatbox, and a train case--oh, and a bag full of liquor, which isn't clothing but was still necessary. ;) That level of baggage is simply not possible this time.)

--The primary venue is the Queen Mary, the Art Deco-era ocean liner that is now a hotel and event space. Due to its Art Deco glory, we'd like to have some 1930s-style outfits to do it justice.

--However, my 1930s-style clothes are not necessarily the most extravagant of the things I own and other fashionable folk I know who are going will have fabulous and extravagant outfits from other eras that I might want to live up to with my outfits.

Within all these issues, I've come up with the following for possibilities.

For the 1930s styles, I have a few options. This polka-dot outfit is a very strong contender for my Friday travel and daytime outfit, quite possibly with a coordinating hat and gloves (and different shoes). Another daytime option (probably for Monday) is a sort of garden-party dress in bias-cut pink rayon with a multicolor floral print, to go with gloves and a big pink hat. This outfit is, of course, not in any way "goth," but I don't think I care. ;) I also have a gorgeous two-piece dress in dark burgundy, bias-cut slipdress under a bias-cut georgette overdress with fluttery sleeves and cascading ruffles at the back; this is really more of a cocktail getup than a daytime outfit, though, and would be awesome with some vintage rhinestones, black gloves, and a little black velvet vintage hat that I own. I don't have an obvious slot for this one right now, though it could potentially be my Friday post-event outfit if I feel like taking it.

I say "post-event" because my original plans for Friday night wear abruptly went out the window when I was drafted to be in the fashion show on Friday evening. Some of what I'll be modeling will be vintage stuff fitting the venue's theme, but I will also be wearing a custom-made item for Original Sin Design (who created my magnificent wedding dress as well). I've been asked to keep details under wraps until the show, so I'll just say that it was a collaborative effort (it actually sprang from a project that we already had underway when she was suddenly asked to join the show) that is reflective of me and my style and interests, but will probably also be a little unexpected to the crowd at large. In any case, the fashion show will take up a good chunk of Friday evening for me, and I don't know what I'll feel like doing and wearing afterwards.

For Saturday during the day, I'm pretty set on my outfit, with the caveat that I have to get it finished! A few years ago, I found a ridiculous jacket at a thrift store, a very 1980s-shaped long boxy thing in linen with gigantic black and white vertical stripes. Of course I had to have it. My plans are to add ruffled black silk habotai trim around the neckline and cuffs, and add some form of lacing in the back. I only figured out that I wanted to do this specific thing with this jacket about a year ago, and I have yet to get started on doing any of it. It isn't difficult work or a huge amount of it, but I have to make sure I settle down and do it. I have two options for skirts to pair with this: One is ankle-length A-line in white linen with a cascade of horizontal ruffles down the back; I would ideally like to add some striped trim to the edges of the ruffles, but that could well be far more ambitious than I can handle. The other option is a full, ankle-length black silk habotai skirt--again, ideally, it would have some striped trim, but with this one there's also a possibility of putting it over the striped poplin skirt I used with my Friday outfit at NWC this year. I will have to test all these ideas to see what I like best (along with figuring out what blouse will work best). For this one there's also a white parasol to be trimmed up in black & white, and some sort of hat. I really need to get this one completed if I can manage it at all; this is the only outfit I've been pretty much set on since we decided to go to C15, plus this past weekend my husband came into possession of a gorgeous white linen suit that he'll wear with black accents, and this outfit would coordinate beautifully with that. So I'm going to be doing some frantic sewing the next few evenings.

Saturday late afternoon/evening is a beach party, and beach means nothing fancy that might get harmed by the elements. I confess I'm not all that thrilled about this part; I hate losing an opportunity for an extravagant outfit, and I can go to beach parties in casual clothes at home. But, part of my clothing philosophy is to find the fabulous wherever I can. And thus, just within the past week, I have started toying with the completely insane idea of jury-rigging a Victorianesque bathing costume out of stuff I already own. There's a blouse and a skirt--again in vertical B&W stripes!--that I think could work, and I could figure out a belt and some kind of headwear, and I could use the parasol from the previous outfit; I'd probably skip the stockings and slippers and just go bare-legged with sandals as a compromise to the setting. The only real hitch in the idea was bloomers/pantalettes, so over the weekend I went looking for something cheap that might work. At Target I found a pair of knit pants with tiny horizontal B&W stripes, which would make the outfit that much more silly. However, if I'm going to do this, I will need to crop these and add trim to them, which might be more sewing than I can handle in the available time. And I still need to test the outfit and see if it'll even work. If it doesn't, for whatever reason, then I have numerous options of black sundresses or floaty black tops and skirts that would be suitable to the setting but still oh so gothy and reasonably stylish--that's not my ideal, but I can make it work.

Sunday is what's most up in the air right now, mostly because I have too many options. The big fancy dress-up event is Sunday night, and during the day is pretty open and what we decide to do might influence what I end up wearing. I could go 1930s for this again; I could do Edwardian whites; or I could wear my new Striped Isabella coatdress, with the matching skirt I got from Kambriel last spring or with my new black taffeta skirt (yes, I know they call it a petticoat, but it's perfectly fine as a skirt too), or with something purple. The coatdress is a top contender at this point as a friend also has one and we've been batting around ideas about doing a "twins" sort of thing, though we haven't worked out the details and are kind of wavering about it at this stage. Also, I could always wear my striped silk bustle jacket with one of the previously mentioned skirts.

And then there's the evening event, where my options are really exploding. At this stage I'm trying to choose among all these possibilities:
--The above-mentioned coatdress ensemble, though it's a little bit...buttoned up for my usual uberformal style.
--The above-mentioned outfit with the striped bustle jacket, although that has been worn to an event already this year.
--The black taffeta rococo ensemble, with those accessories but with better hair and somewhat different makeup.
--A Victorian-influenced ensemble using the plum satin bustled skirt shown in this photo with either an overbust corset and off-shoulder blouse, or a sleeveless black satin princess-seamed embroidered bodice. I've only worn that plum skirt once and would love to give it another outing with a more formal outfit. There are a variety of accessory options for this idea as well, ranging from vintage paste jewelry (including tiara) to ubergoth black or purple drippy things to Art Nouveau gemstones.
--Or, a slight variation on the above idea that's more late Victorian or Edwardian with the black taffeta skirt and sleeveless black bodice.
--A 1930s-influenced burnout velvet sleeveless gown with full skirt in shades of rose, berry, and plum. I would have to do a little jewelry making (or at least modifying) for this one.
--A black beaded bias-cut gown that is (follow me here) a modern interpretation of a 1930s Edwardian revival style. It's very glamorous, goth, and Art Deco, but is not as full-on extravagant as most of these other ideas.

So all of that is what I'm trying to choose from at this point, and it's a bit overwhelming.

I'll probably also take some simple knits or some '30s-influenced tops and skirts for wearing when I don't want to be in the very fancy outfits or just want to pop out for breakfast or something. That part is no big deal.

Don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled to have all these ideas and all these options for things to wear. It's just that such a bounty of riches makes choosing difficult, because I like them all. We should all have problems of this magnitude. ;)

A one-off

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:34:02 GMT

Okay, so I haven't gotten around to any of the other NWC stuff I said I'd be posting about. I shouldn't really be surprised at that, and honestly, neither should you. Follow-through is not my strongest skill. ;) I do have a few new things to write about and I'm trying to get to those over the next day or two.

This is the first of those: a one-off outfit I put together for a friend's birthday garden party last week. Her theme was "anything fitting any period between 1750 and 1950," which certainly left a lot of leeway. I fussed over what I was going to wear for several days, having to deal with issues of weather and temperature, logistics of outfits, and just plain "what do I feel up to wearing?" What I finally ended up with, completed and decided on just that morning, surprised even me with how well it worked out.

I'm calling this "Champagne and Roses," a latter-Belle-Epoque-influenced outfit in rose pink and shades of ivory and champagne. The photo is not great, none of them were--we took them too late in the day, at the wrong angle for the light, and I'd had rather a lot of wine (ahem). Still, you can get the idea of it, and I'm quite pleased with the outfit overall. Note that none of the items in this are strictly speaking "costume" items--they're all things I might wear or use in my regular wardrobe.

The breakdown first:
--Ivory silk/cotton high-necked blouse with rows of pintucking and baby ruffles at neck and deep cuffs.
--Rose pink silk charmeuse "lingerie"-style pullover tunic (reminiscent of the underthing-influenced styles that showed up in the late Edwardian era), hip length, with deep V neckline, high waistband, 3/4 pointed sleeves, trimmed in champagne-colored floral lace.
--Layered champagne-colored skirt in cotton voile and embroidered nylon tulle. The underlayer is ankle-length, flounced at the hem and rises up at two points in the front. The overlayer is about knee-length and has ties at the same point where the underlayer rises up so that it can be tied up in swags.
--Champagne/bone-colored calf-high leather granny boots with louis heels.
--Wide-brimmed straw hat with champagne fabric rose.
--Hair in a late-Edwardian chignon, pulled up at the sides and low at the back of the neck, with silver and faux pearl combs.
--Vintage ivory cotton gloves with embroidery at wrists.
--Art Nouveau-styled silver medallion necklace in a classic "woman's head with flowing hair" motif with a large freshwater pearl drop, suspended from multiple silver chains spaced with freshwater pearls.
--Art Nouveau-influenced earrings of openwork silver swirls set with pearls and rainbow moonstones.
--Ivory Edwardian-style "pagoda" parasol trimmed with gathered ivory tulle at edge and around the spike, and ivory satin bow and faux pearl ornaments along the ribs.

Makeup:
--Face: Aromaleigh "Glissade" foundation 1CL topped with Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder "Clear"; Illuminating Perle Powder "Spectre" (shimmery rosy pink with plummy undertone) as rouge.
--On eyes: Aromaleigh Pure Hue "Moire" (bright rose pink with gold interference) on inner half of lids; Opulent Lustre "Fig" (soft pale brown with pink and silver undertones) on outer half of lids; Spring Solstice '09 "Viburnum" (medium-dark brown/pewter) as liner; and a parchment-colored satin-finish shade from a company that's out of business on browbones. Plus my standard black waterproof mascara.
--On lips: Combination of WetnWild Wild Shine "Rapture" (warm deep rose pink) and Aromaleigh Elemental Lustres Color Creme "Smitten" (rosy gold).

(And yes, I'm wearing my glasses with a costume. Allergy season means eyes that don't like contact lenses. Sometimes ya gotta make concessions to reality. Although I could have taken them off for the photo and just forget--like I said earlier, a lot of wine.)

The process:
I've had that skirt for over a year and have never worn it, and the silk top for several years and have only worn it a handful of times. I've been certain for awhile that I could put them together into an outfit, but making it pull together was difficult. The silk top is very low-cut on me, and that didn't seem appropriate for an afternoon party. Camisoles didn't quite work. I was also somewhat hampered by not having appropriate footwear: most of my footwear is black, my one pair of non-black granny boots are too bright a white to work with the skirt, and my bone-colored court shoes aren't quite the right style for that skirt. So even though using the skirt and top was the idea I started from when the party invitation first came, I was stuck on how to make it work.

In the meantime, I mulled several other thoughts. Most of my 18thC. outfits were considered briefly but discarded for being too formal, too warm, and too much effort to wear. Various Victorian concepts were considered; some were too warm (involving lots of velvet and satin), some didn't have quite the right pieces on hand. Edwardian whites were a strong possibility. So was a 1930s-style bias-cut pink floral dress with a big pink hat. Neither of these ideas were really grabbing me, however. But I held onto them as possibilities if other things didn't work.

One of the logistical issues with the original idea was resolved two days before the party when I got the granny boots. Having the right shoes helps a lot. And the night before, we went to see Cheri, which is set in the late Belle Epoque and is gorgeous and period-perfect (and one of the other things I'd like to write about), but more importantly in this circumstance reminded me of things about clothing from the period that I sometimes forget when I'm not looking right at the styles. So that morning, I pulled things out and started trying pieces on, and realized that putting a high-necked blouse under the silk top would work. The ivory one wasn't ideal in color, but the tones coordinated well enough with the champagne shades to make it work (particularly once the gloves and parasol were added to the mix), and the style was perfect. I'd managed to rescue the concept I wanted in the first place, and the final effect was even better than I expected.

As it turned out, only a handful of us at the party even bothered with the theme, but that was ultimately okay, because it just meant I stood out that much more. ;) I got a lot of compliments, and people were surprised to learn that I hadn't made the outfit myself but had pulled it together from existing items. This is another great example of how to make "closet costuming" work, although it's also a great lesson in having some key pieces if you want certain things to work, and why period-costume knowledge can be very helpful even if you're not creating pieces from scratch.

NWC32: Saturday evening

Wed, 06 May 2009 06:33:26 GMT

So, as part of the general theme-o-stripes, I planned to wear my black and white striped Georgian gown from Azrael's Accomplice (the one in this userpic, in fact). I've had this gown for several years and worn it at several conventions, so I felt it would be a good idea to do something different with it if I was going to wear it again. I do have some plans to modify the trim, but (as with everything else this year) I didn't give myself time to do that, and I was initially feeling rather uninspired about what to do. Then, as I posted a few weeks before NWC, I found myself drawing inspiration from a photo of a Galliano show: a sort of "Incroyable," punk-tinged notion of how to make something dramatically different and yet still in the period spirit with an outfit I'd had for quite awhile.

This costume was the last one to be conceptualized and put together, and it was due to sheer laziness. I had to scramble to get all the pieces I wanted, and some of my ideas failed and had to be changed. I was still sewing pieces of it together the night before the convention, and the wig wasn't even finished until Saturday afternoon at the convention. The potential for failure was very high, but I think in a way that was part of the appeal--if you're gonna break rules, might as well break a lot of them, eh? I literally had no idea how it was going to look, and to some extent no idea how it was even going to logistically work, until I put it on.

Well, it worked pretty damn well. At least, I thought it did--and the large number of people who literally exclaimed with delight at sight of me, requested photos, and asked me endless questions and paid me numerous compliments would seem to indicate that other people thought it worked pretty damn well too.

Since this is such a huge production of an outfit, with multiple detailed steps, I'm going to break the description into segments with their own cuts, so you can choose to read it in pieces if you wish.

Since I didn't have a lot of time to change anything about the gown itself, I just made a few small cosmetic additions: the vine-print bows and the black chain. I really like the combo of black and white stripes with swirling baroque-feel patterns, so adding some bows in a contrasting pattern was a good quick embellishment. The bows are made from wired white satin ribbon with a black flocked vine pattern, which I found at Display & Costume last Halloween season; they're "cheat's bows," pinched into shape and wired around the middle. Most of them are sewn on, but I confess I cheated even further in a few places when I ran short on time and safety-pinned them into place. There should have been more of them.

The chain is lightweight aluminum with a black finish. I snipped off lengths and stitched them into draping loops at various places. Ideally, there should have been a lot more of it (such as at the sleeves, down the sides of the overgown, and on the jupe [underskirt]), but this was something else that got sacrificed due to time.

The gown is cut with most of the width at the sides, to be worn with traditional side-set pocket hoops; as part of the effort to change things up and break rules, I made a deliberate decision to push the hoops all the way to the back, which gave a huge and split back-bustle effect. I'm still undecided about whether I should have used just one of the pocket hoops for this, due to the split effect, but the size and pushed-out skirts was still just fine. However, I really should have polonaised the overgown (yet another time issue). Also, I brought a very full plain black skirt with a dust ruffle, but decided not to use it; I think now that I should have, just to give some added contrast and interest to the whole outfit--it could have gone under the jupe, sort of as a petticoat, or else over it and swagged up to let the jupe show. Not a major thing, but it would have given the outfit a little more punch.

Oh, and an interesting note about this thing: all the previous times I'd worn this gown, I never corseted under it. The bodice is lightly boned anyway so I didn't think it especially needed stays, and the corset that came with the gown originally doesn't fit me. However, the black rococo gown from last year has a separate corset, and that one does fit me. So this year, I went ahead and wore that corset under the striped gown, and whaddaya know--the shape of the bodice and the way the overgown hangs is completely different, and much better. Funny how things like that work.

Since the gown didn't (couldn't) get modified very much, the accessories were the point this outfit had to get much of its impact from. And despite my intense slackitude, they did the trick.

I knew that this was going to require a wig--my own hair would have needed far too much work to get the appropriate effect, and it's a strange plum/burgundy color that wouldn't have provided the right contrast. However, finding the right wig was something of a challenge. I had a good idea of what I wanted: something voluminous, rather wild, kind of off-kilter. But most of the 18th-century style wigs I found in my searches were just too...polite. They were all neatly curled and compact, made for modern sensibilities, and just not outlandish enough for what I wanted. Finally, after a rather ridiculous amount of time spent looking, I found the "Fantasy Madame Wig" in white, which was pretty darn close to what I had in mind; the best price I found was from Wilshire Wigs (who I've linked to), and I was very pleased with it when it arrived.

Of course, even being the kind of style I had in mind, it couldn't be left alone; it needed a bunch of ridiculous crap shoved in it as well. This part was pretty easy. I already had a number of little black and white bows on bobby pins, made way back when for one of the first wearings of the striped gown (you can see them in the userpic), as well as several black silk roses. I also used several of the vine-print bows, and a length of the black chain. Everything was attached to bobby pins and shoved into the wig all over.

The bicorne was really the linchpin of the outfit; it was part of what had drawn me to the Galliano photo in the first place, and I considered it vital to making the idea work. A bicorne is a simple shape--take a broad-brimmed "cartwheel" hat and pin the brim up on each side--and so my initial idea was to get an inexpensive blank and just pin it up myself. In fact, I bought three--black wool, black straw, and red wool--with the intent of seeing which one worked best; but all of these were unblocked and unfinished, and my thrift on this score turned out to be foolish because I just couldn't get the shape to hold on any of them. Chastened and with less than a week to go till the con, I took the economic hit, ran to Display & Costume, and bought a "Gov'nah" hat, which is black faux suede with a wired brim. And yes, in the photo, it's a tricorn, and it's loaded down with braid and marabou. I stripped all the trim off, and the wired brim allowed me to reshape it into a bicorne (though I did put a few stitches in on each side to make it hold the shape).

Trim was vital to this too. I glued black and white horizontal-stripe grosgrain ribbon around the edge before reshaping it, and then added the other embellishments after the reshaping. I did a lot of image research on bicorne and tricorn decorations, and then adapted several ideas to my color scheme and materials. There's a hackle pad of white feathers with black edges, sitting under a cockade of black and white vertical-stripe grosgrain and a resin 18thC.-style cameo. Opposite that is a length of the vine-print ribbon, accordion pleated and slightly gathered in the middle. A length of the black chain stretches between the two area of embellishments. I'm not entirely crazy about the quality of all the embellishments (or, for that matter, the overall shape of the bicorne), but I think when it was all put together it became greater than its individual parts.

Of course, now I had these two monstrosities to go on my head, and not a particularly clear idea of how I was going to wear it. The wig is very tall, and the underlying structure of it is basically rectangular--it's not set up for holding a hat that's shaped to go on a rounded human skull. Plus, wearing the hat "straight" would have hidden much of the wig's shape. After fussing with it a bit, I figured out that the bicorne could work if it was perched at an angle on one "corner" of the wig, but it was precarious. I didn't have this problem solved before we left for the con, and my one and only purchase in the dealers room ended up being for this outfit: I bought a very long hatpin with black and white lampwork beads (from the delightful Kathy and her crew at Realm of Regalia). I placed the bicorne on the wig at the angle I wanted, put the hatpin in at the upper side and "wove" it a couple of times through wig and hat, and then brought it out and capped it at the lower side. This made the bicorne very secure, and I didn't need to worry about it coming off the wig.

I did, however, have to worry about the wig coming off of me. The wig is so tall that it's actually too big for my head--there's an elastic band that's meant to stop the wig at the correct spot when it's on the head, but I guess I have a short skull or something. I actually pinned the mass of my own hair on the top of my head with an octopus clip, so that the height of that would catch the band, but it wasn't as secure as the band sitting across the top of my head would have been, and it was still a little bit short; I spent more time than I should have pushing the wig off my eyebrows. Plus, the bicorne made the wig unbalanced, and it went lopsided several times. I should have pinned the edges of the wig to my own hair to give it more security, but I didn't think about this till I was already out and about and had discovered the problem.

Despite these issues, though, the moment I actually put the wig on and saw how it worked, I was thrilled. The whole thing came out even better than I'd been anticipating.

Although the stuff on my head was certainly the focal point of the thing, I didn't neglect my other accessories. Indeed, some of the embellishment and detailing of the entire outfit was based on the jewelry choices. I had a pair of black-enameled chandelier earrings with white and smoke crystals (found last year on the clearance rack at Fred Meyer) that hadn't gotten worn yet, and a gorgeous draping necklace that my in-laws gave me for Xmas last year, in black metal with white crystals and black beads. As it turned out, the earrings weren't terribly visible under the wig, and the necklace was a little too long for the neckline of the gown, but I was still glad I wore them.

In this photo you can also see a diamond-shaped brooch in black and clear crystals; it's a cheap little thing I got on clearance from Coldwater Creek a while back, and I threw it in the bag at the last minute, thinking it might be a nice addition. I also had simple bracelets on each wrist--one of rectangular black glass beads, one of alternating black and white faux pearls. I might well make some better bracelets for future wearings of this gown.

I had the old-standby horizontally-striped tights on underneath the skirts, and a pair of black brocade court shoes with bows and braid trim--period-appropriate, not particularly exciting, although the folks in the photo pool did insist on me raising my skirts and curtseying for them, so those did get seen.

The makeup was really the most exciting part of this idea for me--it was the aspect of the Galliano photo that most said "punk" to me and caused my ideas to really get stirring. I love makeup (and I have a seriously embarassing amount of it), but far too often, even with costumes, I get stuck in a rut of color-matching and "correct" techniques. With this, not only could I throw a lot of the rules out the window, it was imperative that I do so.

(This photo doesn't really fully get the details, and I should have insisted on a few more specific closeups to make sure it was adequately shown. Also, note that the weird white splotch on my cheek isn't a makeup issue--it's a reflection from the piece of the wig that kept falling over my cheek. That bugged me all night and I never got it adequately pushed back.)

A couple of things were still period-appropriate. I definitely wanted to do a white face with dots of bright red on the cheeks and bright red lips. The base under the foundation, as it were, was the same techniques of rose and lilac powders that I've described with earlier costumes. For the white itself, I used Aromaleigh Glissade "Ghost", which is a pure white mineral foundation, but still somewhat sheer so that it didn't look like a "mask" of white. On the cheeks was Rocks! Sonic Rouge "firewoman", bright true clear red--this was deliberately applied in central "dots" on the apples of the cheeks, not drawn up along the cheekbones; it looked bright enough when I put it on, but when I saw the photos later I realized I could have gone even heavier with it. The lips were Nyx Lips "Hebe", deep true red with a slight shimmer and phenomenal coverage, topped with Cover Girl Lipslicks "Daring", a sheer bright red, just to give a little shine and moistness to the lip color.

The eyes...well, I went a little crazy there. The Galliano image that originally inspired me had some pale blue and lavender shades, so I wanted to bring those in, and I thought I'd like to have some bright red as well to go with the red on cheek and lip. But when it came down to it, I just opened up my eye shadow sample folders, flipped through, and started pulling out colors that appealed to me. All shades are from Aromaleigh.

--Rocks! Sonic Eyes "helterskelter" (bright true red with red shimmer) on the inner third of lids, around inner corners, and inner half of lower lashline.

--Gothic Lolita "Satin Laces" (deep gold with a smoky undertone) on middle third of lids.

--Bete Noire "Mireille" (deep true purple with pink shimmer) on outer third of lids.

--Pure Hue "Lavande" (pale cool lavender) on inner third of browbone, drawn at an angle.

--Pure Eyes Frost "Cosmos" (medium periwinkle blue) on middle third of browbone, drawn at an angle.

--(limited edition) Spring Solstice "May Lily" (very pale metallic yellow-toned green) on outer third of browbone, around the outer edge of the lid and out into the temple, and under outer half of lower lashline.

--Rocks! Sonic Eyes "blackcelebration" (iridescent black) used with Indelible Eyeliner Sealant as liner.

--Plus the usual Cover Girl Marathon mascara in black.

On the whole, and at risk of coming off insufferably smug, the eyeshadow was beyond awesome. The strong contrasts of shades worked beautifully, and the red really served to bring things together with the other reds and to make the eyes really startling. I especially loved the ghostly effect of the "May Lily" put against all the stronger colors--it really provided an amazing contrast. The only drawback, and it was minor, was that the blue and the lavender on the browbone were too close in tone and it wasn't obvious that they were different shades; a more true blue would have been a better choice. But it was still all quite ridiculous and completely the effect I'd wanted.

This costume made me giddy. For something that had started out blah and come together so late, the final effect was just astonishing, and it apparently had a similar effect on other people. Even with the assorted logistical issues of wearing it, I absolutely loved being in it, and that was reflected in how I behaved. You'll note that all the photos are in outlandish poses with exaggerated or coquettish expressions; I really felt I needed to express the outlandishness of this outfit, not merely wear it. When I initially put it on (finishing up and getting out the door of the room around 7 p.m.), I thought I might last an hour or two before changing into something much less cumbersome. The reaction it got and the way I felt in it led to me not getting out of it until we turned in for the night at around 2 a.m. I've never worn a "showpiece" costume for that long at a con, and that was a reflection of what a great experience it was to wear it and know that it was something I'd created. And that, ultimately, is why I costume.

And just for the hell of it, because they're so much a representation of how things went for this costume, two last photos that don't have much to do with showing off the details but are completely for effect.

This delightful fop has appeared at NWC for the past few years. Upon spotting me, he exclaimed, "Oh, aren't you just the most darling thing!" I absolutely had to get a photograph of us together.

There really is no point whatsoever to this one, and that's why I love it.

Whew! If you read all the way through that ordeal, you deserve a medal.

I do have a Sunday outfit, but I'm not sure if I'll detail that one--it's mostly just a toned-down version of the Vampires Ball outfit. However, I think I will highlight a few costumes from other people that I enjoyed at NWC this year. And I would like to give my husband a sort of "guest post" about his showpiece costume, which required electronics and was every bit as successful in its way as was the one I just described. (For that, though, we'll need to take a couple of additional photos of the finished project, and find the time for him to write, or describe to me so I can write, the process of making it, so no promises about when it'll happen.)

NWC 32: Saturday daytime

Sat, 02 May 2009 04:49:49 GMT

Because I was planning to get very extravagant for Saturday evening, I went with a (relatively) simple getup for the daytime outfit: an 18th-century influenced sorta-piratey thing that carried through the stripey theme.

I've worn various versions of this over the years. The salient features are the frock coat and "Spanish Harlot" corset, which were my birthday gift to myself several years ago from Gallery Serpentine. They are in a matching black-on-black vine-pattern brocade. I am still happy with them, all these years later, and love wearing them but don't get many chances to do so these days. This outfit was pretty much an excuse to do that.

The skirt with this outfit is vintage-ish; I believe it's from the 1970s. I got it at the Capitol Hill branch of Red Light, a vintage/consignment store in Seattle that has a "costume" section in the basement. I found it on the "pirate" rack (yes, they have an entire rack of pirate-themed items). It's A-line in cotton voile, stripes pieced with bands of solid black, with an elastic waist, very simple. When I bought it, it had a variety of trim along that vertical segment down the front and edging the horizontal black segments--black floral lace, white crochet, and that lace that has oval openings with satin ribbon backing it in white and black. All of that made the skirt look very central-European-peasant, which wasn't the look I was after, so I painstakingly picked it all off--which turned out to involve half-reconstructing the skirt, due to how the trim had been applied to the center segment down the front. That was fun. :P Ideally I'd have liked to have a tea-length petticoat to jazz the skirt up a little more, but it wasn't in the budget and the outfit was fine without it.

The shirt was something of a happy accident. I found it on clearance from Roamans, which is a plus-size catalog with rather, shall we say, flashy and generous styles--I certainly wouldn't have expected to find a perfect striped pirate shirt there. It is also in striped cotton voile, and the stripes are almost exactly the same width as those in the skirt. It has a ruffle down the placket, which is a feature I don't normally care for but which works great for the feel of this outfit, and slightly full sleeves with narrow cuffs. It's pretty much a perfect match for what I was going for in the feel of this outfit.

The by-now standard black and white striped tights went underneath the skirt, and then came the Pleaser "Maiden" boots. These are, somewhat amazingly, modern bucket boots in styling appropriate for a woman, and they fit my rather imposing calves--the lacing at the back makes it possible for me to adjust them enough to pull on. They're also astonishingly comfortable for what they are, and all in all, they make me feel very dashing. Unfortunately, due to the length of the skirt, it's not terribly obvious that they're bucket boots, but at least I knew they were there.

The tricorn was obtained from Display & Costume in Seattle several years ago. It's a nice heavy felt, not quite haute millinery quality but certainly better than the simple "costume" tricorns that we see around these days. I added the black and white ostrich plumes, and made the cockade out of a strip of narrow-striped black and white poplin and a patterned white button; the poplin is folded into loops and secured to the back of the button.

The jewelry for this is fairly simple and almost an afterthought; I originally made it on the spur of the moment to go with an outfit I wore at a black/white/red Burton-influenced tea party last year. The earrings are oblong beads in white glass with black stripes, perched on top of black pressed glass beads with spiral patterns, and finished with red glass seed beads. The necklace started with the pendant, which is a cloisonne heart in black and white with red crystals; it's strung on a length of narrow black satin ribbon with some small black and white striped barrel beads, a pair of clear coin beads with black centers and white surface swirls, and more of the red seed beads.

Hair and makeup for this were both very simple. The hair is pulled up on the sides with flat clips, then put in a single long braid down the back. I covered the elastic that fastened the braid with a length of horizontally-striped black and white grosgrain ribbon, tied in a bow. Makeup is the usual powders and foundations for the face overall (see previous entries for details); Rocks! Sonic Rouge "sinisterrouge" (a deep, bright, clear berry) on eyelids and as blush; Pure Eyes Matte "Cupid" (pale matte mauve) on browbones and "Ebony" (matte black) as liner; Cover Girl Marathon mascara in black; and Rimmel "Hype" lipstick (deep blue-leaning red). This outfit didn't call for anything particularly extravagant in the makeup department, and I was going to be doing a massive, lengthy makeup job for the evening outfit, so I didn't want to put on a lot of stuff that I would have to spend time removing later.

All in all, an easy, comfortable outfit that still made me feel costumed. That was a blessing when I found myself even harder hit than usual by con exhaustion Saturday morning, and was quick to get out of when it was time to start putting on the rather mind-boggling wonder that was Saturday evening's costume. But that tale is still to come.

Oh, and if you're wondering what that thing pinned to the coat pocket is...that's my hall costume award. The Beyond Reality Costumers Guild handles hall costume awards at NWC; they make extravagant buttons and badges out of scraps of trim and fabric, and those who receive awards can choose a button they like for their award. I generally try to choose one that will either coordinate with my costumes or not clash too much if I have a variety of colors; but they happened to not have any that were plain black/white this year. So I chose a little "demon" badge made of red velvet, black cording for eyes and brows, gold fringe for a mouth, and a little Sculpey tail. I found this really quite charming, and it's now pinned to the rail of my desk above my computer.

NWC 32: Friday evening

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:57:55 GMT

Because I'd done a Victorian-styled outfit for daytime, I decided to stick with the theme and do something Victorian for evening as well.

This outfit was born when I had the polonaise and made the decision to go all-stripes, and realized I could use the polonaise to make another stripes-based Victorian outfit. It was the only one that was pretty much completely envisioned from the start. And it was the one I was least happy with, primarily because I did not leave myself enough time to do everything that was necessary to achieve what I wanted.

First, the polonaise. I bought a black velvet column-style coatdress at Value Village in Victoria, BC on our honeymoon, four years ago. I wore it a few weeks later over a long vaguely victorian skirt, and didn't entirely like how it looked, but realized that it would actually work much better if it were turned into a polonaise. So into the mending basket it went...and there it sat, until earlier this year, when I finally got motivated to do the conversion for a project for someone else (which I ended up not using it for after all).

These photos show what it looked like before the conversion. (The pins in the back in the second photo were to mark the starting points for the gathers.)

The conversion process wasn't complicated. Basically, I just gathered it at points along the back and side seams. I tried the ribbon method (sewing ribbons on the inside that could be tied together to gather it up), but I didn't like the way the gathers fell with that, so I ended up stitching the gathers in place. These photos show what it looked like after the gathers were done.

You'll notice that the back is kind of lopsided. I initially thought that this was simply an issue of how it was hanging and didn't worry about it. When I got around to doing the trim later on, however, I discovered that I had in fact done the gathers unevenly, and had to do some quick-n-dirty emergency surgery to fix it. The inside of this garment is very ugly now.

You'll also notice--if you compare this to the photo of the finished costume above--that this originally had satin cuffs and no trim. I removed the cuffs and added black and white cordedge trim to the hem, cuffs, and neckline. However, I did the trim after the gathering was done, because I had not originally intended this polonaise to be part of a specific outfit. And yes, that was a bass-ackwards way to do it, and rather a pain in the neck.

In addition, I added black and white satin ribbon roses to the gathers, the points of the hem in front, and along the neckline. These would be the "tying together" element for this outfit, but there really should have been more of them on the polonaise, and more trim on it in general. (A number of people asked if I'd made the roses. I know that ribbon roses aren't complicated to make, but considering how much trim work I put into this in not enough time anyway, the thought of making all of those myself made my eyes cross.)

Next, the overskirt. It's a simple striped cotton four-panel skirt with a drawstring waist; I bought it from someone on eBay. I added trim around the hem, gathered white organza on black velveteen ribbon, then gathered the skirt up in back (sewing the gathers into place) and adding more of the ribbon roses. You will notice there is no photo provided of the back of this outfit. That's because I did as ugly a job on the gathers for this as I did on the polonaise, and then couldn't get everything to line up properly.

The overskirt went over a two-panel black upholstery velvet skirt, which has no trim at all because I didn't give myself enough time to do it.

The underpinnings for this are the same as for the previous outfit: bustle pad under two-bone hoopskirt. Since the underskirt for this outfit was far more narrow, the two-bone hoop worked much better. I did corset under this outfit (because dear lord, what Victorian lady would go out in an evening gown without being corseted?!?), but that turned out to be a mistake. The polonaise fits me with ease, and corseting actually made it too loose; it hung uncomfortably and bunched at the shoulders, and the bust was pushed up too far. It really should be taken in at the waist to fit properly.

Under all the skirts were standard horizontal-striped black and white tights, and a pair of vintage cuban-heeled black court shoes with big suede bows on the vamps.

The accessories for this all came out okay, and I was reasonably pleased with them. The gloves are vintage-ish (though not terribly old), with flared cuffs. I sewed more of the ribbon roses across the wrist seam where the flare starts, to tie them in with the rest of the outfit.

I posted a quickie about the jewelry a couple of weeks ago. The cameo is a resin reproduction, matte black on white, which I put in a silvertone pendant frame. It's suspended from a strand of faceted round glass beads in opaque white (which I cannibalized from a horrid necklace I got very cheap on clearance from Spiegel) and round true jet beads--most of the jet is plain, but there are a few alternating carved ones for interest. This was largely a decision of economy; by the time I got to making the jewelry, I just didn't have the funds to spare for all carved jet, even though that would have been more interesting. The necklace ties at the back of the neck with black and white horizontally striped satin ribbon. The earrings are just one each of the glass and jet beads with tiny silver accent beads.

For the hair, I left the combs and chignon in place from the earlier outfit, but I did adjust the position of the combs to raise the hair up slightly and give it some height. The earlier French twists came down; a couple of strands at the bottom were left out and curled into ringlets, while the rest was coiled into another chignon under the first one. Then everything was decorated with combs onto which I'd glued yet more of the ribbon roses, and some pins with bows of the striped satin. Here's a back view of the hair:

The hair was the aspect of this outfit I'd been most worried about, and it ended up coming out just about perfectly. That was a pleasant surprise, especially when the rest of it didn't really work the way I'd intended.

And I made a horrible faux pas: I forgot to bring a fan. I'd gotten it out, and it just never got packed. I felt naked the entire evening without a fan in my hands.

Makeup for this was subtle. Since it was intended to be a fairly straightforward Victorian look, I didn't want to go overboard on the cosmetics. (As usual, Aromaleigh unless otherwise specified.)

--Usual combo of lilac and pink powders underneath my usual foundation.
--Valentine 2009 "Sweet Nothings" (soft mauve with a brown undertone) on lids.
--Combination of Eye Lustres "Edie" (shimmery medium pink) and Pure Eyes Matte "Kiss" (matter medium mauve) on browbones.
--Spring Solstice 2009 "Ondberry" (deep plum with gold sheen) as liner.
--Cover Girl Marathon mascara in black.
--Perle Powder "Tickle" (soft lilac-leaning mauve) as rouge.
--Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder "Clear" over entire face.
--On lips, combination of Rimmel "Dizzy" (soft candy pink creme), agnes b. "Cassis Irise" (dark but sheerish shimmery mauve), and Rocks! Sonic Lips "Falling from Grace" (sheer dark wine).

Overall, I was uncomfortable in this outfit. Things didn't fit right or sit right (I spent way too much time adjusting my neckline and pulling at my sleeves, and the inability to line up everything in the back gnawed at me), and I was acutely aware that I had not done particularly good work in putting things together. I will very likely take everything apart on this, and if I decide I want to wear it again in future, things will need to be put together much more carefully. I really need a dress form to do an outfit like this properly; otherwise it's just too difficult to line everything up and make sure it hangs correctly. I also think the polonaise needs additional work: I should cut the sleeves down to 3/4 length, fill in that open back panel (probably with striped calico), and replace the black satin buttons with striped buttons. (I bought button-making kits to do this, but I didn't leave myself enough time to do them, just like everything else.) And the entire outfit needs way, way, way more trim, far more trim than any modern person would consider reasonable, because it just isn't Victorian enough without it.

I don't hate this outfit, and I think it looked okay if not particularly outstanding. But it was a very good reminder that I have to give myself plenty of time and the right tools to do ambitious things.

NWC 32: Friday daytime

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:50:01 GMT

Our next entrant: The striped Victorian nightmare that I wore on Friday during the day.

This outfit is a textbook example of taking something that already exists and making it one's own, and as such is a great representation of how my costuming and sense of style tend to operate.

The jacket and both skirts came from Recollections, which makes Victorian and Edwardian-style reproduction clothing. The jacket and bustled overskirt were one outfit, which came with a solid black skirt--an outfit that was a little whimsical but still relatively low-key. The full underskirt was a separate item, and on their site is shown as part of an outfit with a solid black jacket--again, a little whimsical, but fairly low-key. Me being me, however, I saw all the striped pieces being put together, and as soon as I decided on that, everything else started falling into place. (A note: they no longer offer that ecru-on-black stripe as an option for any outfit. It appears they sold out of it shortly after putting these designs on sale. This makes me particularly glad that I chose to buy it.)

I did make a couple of small modifications to the jacket: I cut the lace cuffs out, and as it turned out to be too big for me, I added some striped grosgrain at the waist in the back to tie it in. (I would like to have it properly taken in, but didn't have time to do that before the con.) While I had idly thought about adding even more striped trim to things and didn't because I didn't have time, I decided once the outfit was all put together that it was okay that I hadn't--while I think Victorian outfits can really never be *too* ridiculous, I also felt that this worked as-is just because all that stripeyness was pretty overwhelming regardless.

The blouse under the jacket came from Chadwicks. It's a fitted princess-seamed button-front shirt with slightly gathered shoulders (giving the sleeves a subtle puffed effect at the top), very long cuffs, and a separate tie in the same fabric; it looks rather Victorianesque, and was originally a black-on-white stripe. I bought one in the black-on-white to be worn as-is, and liked it so much that I bought several more to by dyed in other colors I wear. This one, obviously, went ecru to match the stripe in the outfit, but it was harder than it should have been--I ended up having to put it through three dyebaths due to my own incompetence before the color took and was even throughout the garment. The tie is simply wrapped twice around the neck, under the collar, and then knotted, for a very basic early-ascot look; I did try it as a bow, but it didn't feel quite right with the overall outfit.

I decorated the hat myself, as detailed in this post a couple of weeks ago. The gloves were found cheap at Value Village, and are actually a bit brighter than I'd intended; they had rust stains so I ran them through a quick color/stain-remover bath, which took out the stains but left them a little closer to true white than I'd meant for, and I might well give them a quick soak in an ecru bath (or a teastain) before using them with this outfit again. I'd also intended to stripe them by sewing on narrow black ribbon, but that was another thing that got sacrificed to time. It's one thing I would definitely like to change before I wear this again.

I had to decide on jewelry at the very last minute; I didn't have any striped components in the right colors and not much time to make anything anyway (and I couldn't find my white-on-black cameo brooch, which I've had for more than two decades), so I just went with plain black cabochons in filigree settings. I think this was ultimately a good decision; I like that the simple black pendant serves as a focal point at the neck without adding yet more busyness.

Here's a side view so you can better see the bustle and foundations:

I did not corset under this because the jacket was so big on me, but ideally, yes, I should have been laced. The skirt underpinnings are a two-bone hoopskirt worn over a bustle pad; doing that pulls the skirts backwards slightly and flattens the front, and better emphasizes the bustle. As it turned out, the underskirt is so long and full that I might have been better off with my four-bone hoopskirt, but the basic silhouette still worked.

This photo also shows a glimpse of the black and white spectator-style granny boots, which I'm inordinately tickled over. These are from a company called Funtasma and are relatively easy to find from retailers that sell "fun" fashion shoes or Western/re-enactment clothing. They're not intended for heavy-duty wear, but as fashion boots or costume pieces they're just fine.

The photo does not show my cream and black horizontally-striped tights (yes, I took the theme to that level), although there is at least one photo of them from the con floating around somewhere (because I know someone took some). These were custom-dyed as well (I just took a standard pair of Leg Avenue striped tights and dyed them ecru), and in this case they came out a little too dark and brown-toned, which is why I didn't go out of my way to show them off.

And for completeness, a close-up shot showing the hat and my makeup:

My hair was pulled up on the sides to the top of my head with wire combs and then coiled into a flat chignon at the crown, and the rest of the hair was folded into french twists that met in the middle at the back. This provided enough height and mass to seat the hat on and get it at the correct angle, as well as being reasonably period-suitable.

For the makeup, since this outfit is in many ways a turn-left extension of last year's Burtonesque outfit, I decided I'd do the makeup similar to that--doing anything that looked more "natural" would have been kind of weird anyway. (Products are Aromaleigh unless otherwise specified.)
--Coquille Lilas to even out and slightly pale skintone, followed by my usual Glissade foundation.
--"Elfin" (light brown with green interference; discontinued) on browbones.
--Valentine 2009 "Lovelorn" (rosy medium brown with blue/green interference; limited edition) on inner half of lids.
--Pure Hue "Cocoa Mauve" (deep cool brown with intense green interference) on outer half of lids.
--Spring Solstice 2009 "Viburnum" (dark brown with pewter undertone; limited edition) as liner.
--Cover Girl Marathon mascara in black.
--Nyx Cosmetics Nyx Lips "Luster" lipstick (a fantastic brown-lavender frost with green iridescence).
No blush for this one, since the intent was to look a little sickly.

This outfit had exactly the effect I'd intended. People were utterly charmed by the intense stripeyness of it all; I had at least one person tell me I was hurting her eyes when I moved, which I'd hoped for. (Why yes, I am just a tiny bit evil about such things...) And the hat was a huge hit, with people amazed by the detail and coming up and asking if they could touch the onion grass. While I do think I could make it even more insane and painful by adding trim to the jacket and skirts (and fixing the gloves, as noted earlier), it went over great as it is, and I was very pleased with it.

Next up: More Victorian stripes.

Norwescon 32: aftermath and Thursday's outfits

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:52:27 GMT

Well, due to my extreme procrastination, I didn't have time to document (in photo *or* text) the work I ended up doing over the last week of preparation. So no in-progress accounts of anything else. However, all in all, my costumes for this year were successful--it's just that they almost all would have been *more* successful if I hadn't half-assed it all and made more time to do the work. Most everything could have used more detail, more attention to detail, and definitely more refined work; sometimes my hacking was a little too obvious, at least to me. I can do better work. Too often I don't bother, and I feel like I should take more pride in what I do on this front.

In any case, the photos are all processed and it's time to start the agonizing detailing. So, let's jump on in with Thursday's outfits.

I don't generally wear an actual costume on Thursday during the day, but do like to do something that's kind of fun and distinctive. I came into possession of this marvelous vest about a month ago, and decided it would be a good candidate for Thursday, particularly if I made it work with the general stripey theme. Thus, this resulted: definitely stripey, a little steampunky, and overall kind of whimsical.

--Bias-cut silk georgette blouse in narrow black-on-white stripes with big balloon sleeves (purchased from Spiegel).

--Wool military-styled vest in red and black with multitudes of brass buttons; it's originally by Donna Karan and I bought it from a friend, who had bought it second-hand herself. The vest inspired much open coveting from others and I almost felt bad telling people I had no idea where it originally came from.

--Black wool-blend flannel just-below-knee skirt with assymetric hem and flounced, layered vertical inserts. This came from La Redoute, a modestly-priced trendy French catalog that no longer sells in the U.S.; I watched this skirt for nearly a year, uncertain if I was willing to pay for it, but when they had their closing-up-shop clearance sale, I was able to snag it for something like seven bucks.

--Black cotton over-knee socks with vertical pointelle stripes and decorative buttons at the top. Got these from Sock Dreams, a wonderful small business specializing in socks, tights, gloves and related items. (I wore these over beige tights; in retrospect, I think I should have put them over striped tights for even more stripe impact.)

--Jump brand "Secret" boots, over-ankle, side zip, 3-inch wedge heels, with decorative brass buckles.

--Hair in low twisted knots at the back of the head with rag ties in black and white lace and B&W striped cotton.

--Simple rectangular black onyx drop earrings.

--My standard Aromaleigh mineral foundation; Eye Plush shadow in "Well-Suited" (a soft gray-leaning taupe) all over the lid; Pure Eyes Matte "Ebony" (matte black) as liner; black mascara (Cover Girl Marathon is my standard and should be assumed as the default); Rimmel lipstick in "Hype" (a deep creme blue-based red; it appears they've discontinued this).

The intent of this photo was to highlight the stockings and boots, since they don't show well in the full-length photo. Honest.

Thursday evening went more dramatic, though it sort of walked the line between costume and evening wear.

--Velvet camisole in narrow cream and black stripes with black lace trim. This was made by Dollflesh Clothing; I bought it second-hand from a friend. (And yes, I do get a lot of clothes that way.)

--Black stretch velvet cocoon shrug, bought on clearance from Spiegel.

--Black stretch velvet straight skirt, above-ankle length, with layered handkerchief hem. Found this in the JC Penney web clearance section a couple of years ago.

--Black-on-beige pinstriped stockings, once again from Sock Dreams.

--Black satin character shoes with instep straps and 2.5 inch louis heels. I found these at a thrift store a few years ago; I think they cost about five bucks and had almost no wear on them.

--Black stretch lace wrist-length gloves. Sock Dreams yet again.

--Choker of black velvet and cording, black seed beads, and black crystal drop. Handmade by Raven Eve Jewelry.

--Dramatic chandelier earrings of black beads and silvertone chains. My husband gave these to me for Xmas a year or two ago.

--Hair twisted up and back on the sides with a headband of black satin and velvet and a big spray of coque feathers. This was a pretty major hack job--the headband already had a knot on it and I just tucked the feathers into the knot--and I think I could have done it more elegantly.

--Makeup (Aromaleigh unless otherwise noted):
Coquille Lilas powder under my usual mineral foundation.
"Swoon" shadow on lids (charcoal gray with rose and gold interference; this has been discontinued).
Twisted Faye (out of business) "About the Girl" on browbone (neutral ecru with pink tones).
Opulent Lustre "Tapestry" (black with silver-gold luster) in outer corners, partway into crease, and used as liner.
Black mascara.
Pure Rouge "Persimmon" (plum-toned red) on cheeks.
A mix of Rimmel "Hype," Bete Noire "Juliette" (frosted medium wine), and some pink shade I now can't remember.
Entire face dusted with Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder in "Clear."

I was pretty happy with this all in all. I'd been a bit a leery about how it would look on me, but in the end I felt it worked pretty well. The makeup actually came out less intense than I initially thought; the eyes should have been smokier and the lipstick more intense, but I still liked it. The only thing I'd really change is the headband.

So that's one day down. Three more to come.

Showing some progress

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:57:34 GMT

I finished the hat for the daytime Victorian outfit a couple of days ago, and I'm so tickled at how ridiculous it is that I decided to show off some photos and details.

Here's what I started with, a small oval 1950s/1960s straw hat I found at a thrift store.

I took all the old trim off; the base itself is in fine shape.

After testing the hat with the outfit and the desired trims, we determined that it would look better black than if left natural. A couple of quick coats of paint later and voila.

Once I got going on the trimming, I pretty much worked straight through without thinking to stop for progress photos, so there are no interim steps to show. But...

...here's the finished product. This came out looking just completely ridiculous and charming, much better than I'd intended, and I'm rather smitten with it. The angle is not quite right here, as it kept sliding off the glass head; when I wear it, it will sit perched on top of my head with the front brim over my forehead. There's a small comb in it already that will help anchor it to my hair, so I don't think I need to put an under-hair band on it.

The details: Black and off-white vertically striped ribbon surrounds the base of the crown and trails in streamers off the back. Black, white, and ivory tulle are twisted together, woven up and down around the ribbon, and coiled into a pouf in the back. A vintage ornament of black crinoline with off-white decorative stitching and silk flowers and a black quill sits atop the tulle pouf. (I got this off a hat I bought on eBay years ago; it didn't go with that hat and I've had it sitting in a box for years waiting for something else it would work with.) Sprigs of black onion grass jut off the sides--I'd actually intended to have them going the other direction and only realized I'd done it wrong after I'd attached them, but when I tried it on, I loved the way it looks with them going forward, and so I'm going to leave it just like this. To finish, there two small striped dragonflies, one on the ornament, one at an angle in the front, because I always have to have at least one costume at a con that has dragonflies involved.

A view of the back.

Detail of the back ornamentation.

One side view.

And the view from the other side.

This hat gives a good indication of just how ridiculous this outfit is intended to be. I'm looking forward to wearing this one and making people's eyes bleed. ;)

Bonus photo while I'm here: the jewelry for the black velvet and stripes polonaise outfit.

Reproduction black-on-white cameo which I set in a silver pendant frame, suspended from a strand of faceted opaque white glass beads and true jet beads (most of the jet is round but a few carved ones are included for interest). It ties at the back of the neck with black and white striped satin ribbon. The earrings are simple drops with one each of the white and jet beads and tiny silver accent beads. This was fairly simple to do, but came out nicely, and I think it will complement the outfit well.

I'm not doing so well on my other headgear issues. I've really struggled with the bicorne for the "Incroyable" outfit; the hat blank I bought is not really what would have worked best (I stupidly tried to save some money--pennywise, pound foolish), and the striped grosgrain I sewed around the brim looks, well, not really up to my standards. I don't have time to start over, so I will either need to make do with this somehow or give up on it entirely. I could still make the outfit work without it, just by trimming the wig really extravagantly, but the bicorne *was* part of the inspiration so it wouldn't be quite the same. (I am, however, thinking about including some black puffy heart Xmas tree ornaments in the outfit. Just as there always has to be at least one dragonfly, there apparently also has to be at least one Xmas tree ornament.)

And I haven't started on the Edwardian-ish hat I was thinking of wearing with the striped silk jacket. There was a woman at the Vampires Ball who was wearing exactly the kind of hat I want, and hers looked so perfect--and so much better than what I'm likely to be able to come up with--that I kind of don't want to try now. I'm pushing this down the priority list, at any rate, and we'll see what happens.

I have only a week to go at this point, and while I think I can get the most important things done, it's going to be close. Every year I tell myself I won't procrastinate so much...and every year I do. I suspect that aspect of myself isn't ever going to change.

Anatomy of an outfit; creations; status check

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:43:16 GMT

This past Saturday, we attended the Vampires Maquerade Ball in Portland, OR. The Ball is intended to be a celebration of dark culture; while it's not strictly speaking a costume event, dressing to the nines is highly encouraged. I'd not attended the Ball in previous years, for various reasons, but decided this year it was finally time, and that meant coming up with a heck of an outfit to do the event justice. Here's what I ended up with, and how I got to it.

(Click to see these larger.)

I've talked about this striped Thai silk jacket from Kambriel in discussing my Norwescon plans this year; I wasn't certain it would be finished in time for the Ball and so hadn't planned on wearing it to that, but Kambriel actually got it to me one day before my "soft" deadline (and well before my "hard" deadline). She also surprised me by including the gift of a skirt in shadow-striped black bengaline with the same trim I'd chosen for the jacket. This gift actually completely solves one of my dilemmas for NWC (where I'll be wearing the outfit for daytime), but didn't feel quite extravagant enough for a formal evening event. Some experimenting followed with other items in my wardrobe and various foundations, and when that was sorted out, I chose makeup, jewelry, and accessories. Those photos show the result of those choices.

From the inside out:
Under the jacket was a black silk/cotton camisole with an underbust seam and ruffled neckline. While this was mostly for practical reasons, I did think there might be possibility I'd remove the jacket over the course of the evening, so something pretty and presentable was warranted.

Over the camisole was a black satin peaked waist cincher. I did this primarily to get a more pleasing line under the jacket--it is made to my exact measurements, and so is not very, shall we say, forgiving without a little foundation. However, the cincher also helped with posture and thus back support for the skirts.

I went with opaque black tights (my standard) and put my boots on at this point, Jump "Stark" boots in the black/charcoal colorway. (And yes, it should been boots first, then corset, but I managed--it definitely needed to be boots before skirts, in this case.) These boots are marvelous; they have a retro-yet-modern look to them, and they're remarkably comfortable. Since I expected to walk quite a bit and be on my feet all night, these were a much better choice than more "pretty" but not as comfortable footwear.

Now it was time for the skirt supports. First was a bustle pad, which ties around the waist. (I got this from a seller on eBay; it's nothing fancy, just cotton and batting with some lace trim.) I then put a two-bone hoopskirt on over the bustle pad. This was the solution I came up with when fussing around with skirts for both this and my NWC Victorian outfits; I needed to get some fullness in the back and a somewhat flattened front without having to go all the way to a cage bustle or an elliptical hoopskirt (neither of which is in the budget, either time- or finances-wise). This isn't an ideal solution, but it works well enough for the look I was aiming for.

Next came the underskirt. This was my solution to the concern about the outfit not being extravagant enough. It's actually the underskirt of my Georgian-styled wedding gown, made of silver silk dupioni. The color is extremely close to the silver in the jacket and it has a similar iridescent quality, and it's relatively flat in front so that it worked with the bustle effect. Using this gave the outfit fullness and sweep that made it appropriately extravagant.

The black skirt went on over this, and then I had my husband help me pull it back and gather it slightly just below the bustle pad, and pin it in place with a decorative brooch. This didn't work the way I wanted, but I didn't do it correctly; it needs to be gathered more extravagantly and pinned with something that can handle the volume of fabric. It still looked fine, so I didn't sweat it.

Finally, the jacket, which just needed to be buttoned up and have the bustle drape settled in place.

The hair was a bit of a departure for me. In our culture nowadays, formal events usually call for an "updo" (a word I hate). The thing is, I put my hair up all the time--it's very long and putting it up is how I keep it from getting in the way, as well as making it fit my somewhat-retro fashion aesthetic. Chignons, braids, rolls and twists--all pretty common for me. So to truly do something extravagant, I had to go the other direction: Curls, left to flow down my back. My hair is exceedingly fussy about holding curl, so to get it to stay, I had to set it while it was clean and slightly damp. I did that in the morning, before we left to go to Portland, and left the curlers in until shortly before I dressed. Not all of them came out and I did have to employ the curling iron on some strands, but ultimately it largely worked. I made a deliberate decision not to comb them smooth, but let the individual curls fall where they would. I did pull the sides up, just to give a little structure to the look, and pinned them with an arched Victorianesque barette with black/clear/smoked crystals. I also added a little dragonly clip with clear crystals on one side, to get my signature symbol in there.

The makeup was a little different from what I often do with formal outfits, but not hugely. The silver of the silk isn't a dyed silver, but is instead achieved by cross-weaving black and white threads. This gives that lovely iridescent character to the silk, but also results in a slight blue/lavender undertone to the shade--when it's seen in sunlight or very direct incandescent light, it's almost an ultraviolet blue. It actually doesn't match too well with grays or silvers that are directly on the black/white shade spectrum. So for the makeup, I chose silvers with a blue or lavender cast to them and cool blue-based purples--mostly light colors, instead of deep smokey ones as I've often done in the past. As usual, most (though not all) of my cosmetics were from Aromaleigh. (And for the record, no, I'm not a paid shill--I've just found I really like using their products and love their prices and sample policy.)

The face started with Coquille Lilas, to bring some paleness and consistency of color, and tone down redness. (I've tried using green correctors for this, and it always ends up leaving me sickly-looking. Green is now reserved solely for glaring red spots, and then very sparingly.) Coquille Rose was used to tone down and brighten my undereye circles. (Once again, I've tried yellow for this, and it doesn't work on me. This, with my regular foundation over the top of it, works so well that I no longer bother with regular conceal.) Then over this went my usual foundation, "Glissade" in 1CL.

Eyes were next:
--Opulent Lustre "Butterfly", a pale blue-toned metallic silver, on the inner part of the entire eye area and just around the inner corner.
--Opulent Lustre "Imperial", a light cool blue-leaning metallic purple, on the center part of the lid.
--Eye Lustre "Lillith", a medium heathered gray with blue/green tones, on the outer part of the lid.
--"Le Mystere" #78, a medium blue with lilac interference and silver shimmer, on the outer part of the lid and up into the crease. (There's no link for this one because the Le Mystere shadows are one-offs; they're what Aromaleigh's proprietor comes up with using the leftover pigments from making the catalog shades. They used to be included as freebies with orders; she's recently started selling these experiments as limited editions, but only the most recent ones--you can't buy any of the past experiments.)
--Bete Noire "Chantal", dark metallic gray with violet shimmer, used as liner and drawn slightly into the outer corner.
--Black Cover Girl "Marathon" mascara (my standard).
I felt in the end that all the shadows were a little too similar in intensity; I should have chosen something a bit darker and/or more directly purple for the outer lid and crease. Even so, I liked the subtle shadings of these colors into each other, and it wasn't overbearing.

On the cheeks went a very, very light dusting of Rocks! Sonic Rouge "Wildflower", which is a bright pink-toned purple (hence the reason for doing it very, very lightly), topped with Pure Rouge "Chimera", a subtly shimmery mauve.

Once eyes and cheeks were done, the whole face got Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder "Clear". This is basically super-fine silica powder, and it does an outstanding job of "setting" all the other makeup and giving a smooth, unshiny finish. I had intended to top it all off with "Metamorphosis" finishing powder (a shimmery sheer gray-green, which is meant to give a somewhat ehtereal effect), but after looking at the entire face, I felt I didn't really need it--it would have been too much shine and shimmer with the metallic shadows and the iridescent silk.

Lipstick was a blend of colors that have actually been discontinued: a deep true purple creme from Club Monaco called "Orchid Smoke," and a shimmery pale iridescent blue-lavender from Bourjois called "Blue Ice." I wasn't totally happy with this combo; I was trying to keep the cool purple tones, but didn't want to go either too dark or too pale. The colors didn't really blend, though, and I felt like the iridescence just "sat" on top of the purple instead of blending with it. I think I'd have done better with a brighter, more pink-toned plum combined with the Blue Ice. This was ultimately minor, though.

I even painted my fingernails, because I have this notion that a formal outfit isn't "complete" without nail polish: one coat of a bright metallic silver topped with one coat of sheer creme lavender. This ultimately didn't really matter, as I wore black gloves almost the entire night, but I felt better for having done it.

Jewelry was the final touch. I couldn't make up my mind between my vintage 'Teens paste jewelry or a draping necklace and earrings in black metal with clear and smoked crystals. I decided to wait until I was fully dressed and then test each option. And while the black was lovely colorwise, the shape of the necklace didn't work with the neckline of the jacket. Thus, vintage paste it was, and it looked lovely, though I nearly lost one of the earrings on the way into the venue (they're screwback) and had to fasten them uncomfortably tightly to prevent any more accidents. I also brought my rhinestone tiara to go with the paste jewels, but once I tried it on I didn't like it--it made the outfit look overdone. So, off with the tiara, and the entire ensemble was finalized with shiny black wrist-length gloves, and a black fan with silver and purple stamped dragonflies on it.

And that's the entirely too long account of how the pieces of an outfit come together.

On a different topic, I wanted to briefly show off a little jewelry project.

This is a necklace and earring set I made as a birthday gift for a friend.

(Click to see it larger. I apologize for the not-great photo; I'm still learning how to properly take jewelry shots and searching for the best light in the house to do it with.)

I call this the "Running With Scissors" necklace, after the tag line on my friend's journal. This necklace started with the pendant, which is by Blue Moon Beads. I spotted it on the rack at Jo-Ann, and it immediately called my friend's name. I added the black satin ribbon in the frame, looped and knotted through and around the holes. The beads are all out of my general crafting stores; I didn't buy anything special for it--indeed, part of the challenge of it was seeing what I could do with supplies I already had on hand. I was going for a sort of Victorian crazy-quilt feel, but trying to keep with a black/purple/silver color scheme. So it's a combination of black velour-covered beads, black faceted Czech glass, assorted silver filigree, purple and pale lilac glass pearls, carved purple glass, and pressed matte purple glass. (I know some of it looks amber, but that's just the way the light hit it--it's definitely purple.)

I actually started working on this in early February; my friend's birthday is in mid-February, and she was leaving on an overseas trip a few days before that, and I'd hoped to have it to her in time to take along on the trip. Unfortunately, I messed it up a couple of times and then wasn't happy with it, so it didn't get done before she left. It also didn't get done before she returned, which was my second deadline. I did finally get it done a couple of days after she got back, but then comically screwed up the address on the package and had to wait for USPS to return it to me. I finally sent it out, properly addressed, last week, and she received it over the weekend, which is why I can show it off now.

Finally, a quick status check for NWC (mostly for my own sanity):

Not nearly close enough to done. The only thing I've really made progress on is the trim on the velvet polonaise. It will be acceptable if I don't do anything more on it, but I would like to add more.

I also made the necklace and earrings for the polonaise outfit, which came out pretty well.

Every other crafting thing mentioned in my last post is still waiting to be finished. I have a week and a half, and I have no idea how much of it will get done. In theory, as long as I work at least a couple of hours each night and as much as possible this upcoming weekend, I can squeak by, but it'll be close.

I have at least sorted out the clothing pieces for the two outfits I was still trying to figure out. There's still an awful lot to get done, however. And since I've spent plenty of time writing all of this entry, it's time for me to wrap up here and get crackin'.

NWC project status list

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:04:33 GMT

All-stripes Victorian
--Decorate hat.
I found a small oval straw hat (proably late 1950s/early 1960s) at a thrift store and decided it would work well for this outfit. (I tried a 1980s low-crowned riding hat as well, and the fit wasn't right.) It's natural-color straw and after comparing it to the fabric decided it would look better black, so it's in process of drying after a couple of paint coats. It will get trimmed with some vertically-striped ribbon, tulle, black onion grass, possibly some black flowers or else a vintage horsehair and flower ornament (taken off a vintage hat I bought hears ago), and a couple of striped faux dragonflies. It might also need a strap to go under the hair (to hold it in place) and/or a hatpin (which I have none of right now, so that might be another project).

--Sew ribbon ties on back of jacket.
Even though I ordered the size that Recollections' size chart said I shoud be, the jacket is too large. I don't have the resources right now to have it taken in, so I'm going to fix it the cheap way and just attach some grosgrain ribbon to the back and tie it in make it fit a little better. A side effect of this is that it will get a slight peplum at the very back, which will add to the bustle effect.

--Figure out shirt, jewelry, and makeup.
The color of the stripe in the fabric of this turned out to be off-white--it's not yellow or brown enough to be cream/ecru, but it's not a pure bright white either. The blouse I was planning to wear is either true white or ecru. (Yes, the same blouse. The style is so perfect that I bought multiples and dye them into the shades I want.) So this might be an issue. I also need to decide what to do about jewelry, as the striped items I have are true white. I could always just wear cameos, I suppose--I have several of them and turning them into earrings and brooches would be a quick project. And I also need to decide if I'm going to play this "straight" with the makeup (and the hair, when it comes down to it), or do it more like the Burtonesque makeup I did last year.

--Trim parasol?
I have a parasol to use for this, but it's a time issue at this point. It would be nice to have, but I can't make it vital since I left things so late.

I also had plans to make striped gloves (by sewing black ribbon onto a pair of off-white gloves), but again, time. My own fault and I'm not going to get hung up on it.

Black & striped polonaise outfit
--Trim polonaise: B&W cord on hem, neckline, cuffs; possibly beaded fringe on hem; B&W ribbon roses at gathers, waist, maybe on neckline and cuffs; striped bows?; replace buttons (which might also mean covering them myself).
Pretty much all of this is going to have to be hand sewing due to the shapes of the places the trim goes, which makes it the single biggest project. The bows and buttons are optional depending on time.

--Trim skirt: Velvet/organza trim around hem, swag up and trim with ribbon roses and bows.
I've begged help from friends with sewing machines to get the trim sewn around the hem--otherwise this would be out of the question. The remaining trim will be hand-sewn but can't be done until the hem is done.

--Make jewelry.
I have a black-on-white cameo on the way. It will be suspended from a strand of alternating B&W beads: round faceted opaque white glass and round true jet (most of the jet beads are smooth but I have six with carved designs to intersperse for interest). I'll also make simple drop earrings. This is a relatively stress-free project, for once, since the design is simple.

Stripes & brocade 18th century
This one is pretty much ready unless I decide to change the trim on the tricorne a bit. And it would be nice to have a tea-length petticoat to go under the skirt (and I need one for other purposes anyway), but it's not vital. Maybe some different jewelry, but not required, I can manage with things I already have.

Striped "Incroyable" outfit
--Add black chain trim to gown, including deciding if I'm going to polonaise the overgown up using the chains. I've also been considering adding some pinned-on bows made of a black-on-white flocked vine-print ribbon.

--Make and trim bicorne and decide how to keep it on wig.
I've ordered a a couple of sizes of plain black round hats from Hats by Leko; I hope they'll be here late next week, and I'll see which size looks best for what I have in mind. Making the hat won't be a big deal but deciding how I want to the trim to look might take a while, as it's usually a trial-and-error process. And I also have to determine how it's going to stay on the wig, as the wig is ENORMOUS and essentially rectangular--once again, a hatpin is probably in my future. I imagine I'll probably also want to decorate the wig outside of the bicorne.

--Makeup.
Because I want to do something kind of outlandish with the makeup for this, I'll need to go through my eye shadows (of which I have a VERY LARGE NUMBER) and decide what I like and what combinations and techniques to use. I'll definitely do a white face with red lips and bright red rouge, though.

Striped silk jacket outfit
--Decide on skirt and shoes.
The jacket is on the way, scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so I can finally see how it looks with various pieces.

--Decide on hat, and trim if needed.
Even though this jacket is a bustle jacket, I keep seeing the outfit as sort of vaguely late Edwardian/early Teens. I have an adorable gray bowler/oversize cloche with satin roses and veiling that might look cute with this; I also have a black velvet 1960s "roller" hat with a very high brim that is such a shape that I could tweak it to look vaguely early Teens. If I go with that hat, it will be decorated with some gray/silver braid or cord, a couple of striped pheasant feathers, and some kind of ornament.

Evening outfit with striped camisole
--Make final decision about which outfit it will be.
This is the one that was going to be either a late-Victorian "saloon girl" outfit, or a fin de siecle "absinthe cabaret" sort of thing. I am leaning strongly towards the latter now, mostly because I'm dissatisfied with the skirt options for the former and would need a short petticoat, which I'm unlikely to ever use again. And the cabaret outfit just feels more like me. If I do go with the cabaret concept, I will need to determine all the final pieces, and I will need to order some vertically-textured stockings.

--Make head ornament.
This is just going to be a black satin headband with a spray of feathers and a little ornament, regardless of which idea I go with. Not a big project.

The other thing to determine, which is bigger than it sounds, is what I'm going to wear when. My usual order of things is to wear the newest outfits on Saturday (if I don't have an entire crop of new things, which has sometimes been the case), but also to wear the most striking/fanciest outfit so that it will be on display for at least part of Saturday evening (why yes, I *do* like getting shot in the "official" photo area on Saturday evenings, I am vain and this shouldn't surprise anyone), and I tend to want to group outfits that have some sort of historical reference point on the same day.

The two Victorians are the most new, but I'm still feeling a little like the velvet & striped polonaise isn't quite fancy enough to be the Saturday evening "showcase" outfit (and the other one is definitely a daytime outfit).

The "Incroyable" outfit is definitely going to be the most visually striking, but it's not *entirely* "new," and the stripes-and-brocade isn't new at all.

The striped silk jacket outfit is definite for Sunday, and the striped camisole outfit is about 90% certain for Thursday evening, when I'm doing a panel on "The Art of the Salon"--if I go with the "cabaret" version, that outfit feels right for that.

Right now I'm sort of leaning towards doing the two Victorians on Friday, even though they're both brand new, and the two 18thC. on Saturday, even though they're not totally new. (Part of the impetus behind this is that I have three goth-themed panels to do on Friday, and these are probably the most overtly "goth" and relatable to the topics.) Another option is to do stripes-and-brocade Friday daytime and polonaise Friday evening, and then the striped Victorian Saturday daytime and "Incroyable" on Saturday evening, although this mixes time periods (OH THE HORROR, yes I am silly about this sort of thing, chalk it up to my OCD tendencies and special brand of neurosis). Or I could keep the time periods together and swap the days, but the feeling that the polonaise isn't quite dramatic enough is nagging at me about that.

And let me stress that yes, I am fully aware that nobody else is going to care what I wear when and they're probably all going to look great. But I do have these weird mental tics about things, and I have to be satisfied with my reasons for choosing what to do when or I'll be unhappy about the whole thing.

In any case, that's a whole lot of stuff to do, and now that I've written it down I know exactly how much. So I should probably stop blathering here and get going on it.

Finding inspiration

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:35:59 GMT

I've been enthralled with this image for several days now:

It's apparently from Galliano's Spring 2009 collection; I found it in a post on Aromaleigh's blog about spring colors (amusingly, this post was talking about lavender, which is of course one of my "signature" shades).

Last night I finally worked out why I'm so enthralled with it: The feeling I get from this image is the feeling I want to capture with my striped Georgian gown this year. It's mad, ridiculous, overwrought, out of proportion. It is, indeed, very much in the spirit of the original Incroyables (and the English version, called "sports"). And I also find it quite...punk, which is appropriate as the Incroyables were in many ways the original punks.

The striped gown had really been frustrating me, as I don't have time to make the changes to the trim I originally came up with and I couldn't seem to make it different enough compared to my previous wearings of it. I did order a rather outlandish wig, but continued to fuss over what I was going to do with this outfit to make it really work for the feel I wanted.

I am wondering no longer. That image, and the light-bulb moments I got from it, have given me what I needed.

So now I'm investigating options for a bicorne that won't cost me much (I have everything I need to trim it as I'd like, I just need a base that won't cost much), and this morning I ordered a big length of black aluminum chain that will be added to the gown in various places as trim (which is going to be pretty quick to do the way I'm thinking of it). I'm also going to experiment with the arrangement of my skirts a bit. And I'll use the makeup in that image as inspiration--it won't be a copy of that, but I love the way the colors are "outside the lines," so to speak.

I've actually been quite unmotivated about most of my costuming this year, despite the grand plans I wrote up a couple of weeks ago. And I'm significantly behind schedule and some things are probably going to suffer. However, this burst of inspiration seems to have finally kick-started me, and I'm now getting excited about what I can come up with and to see it take form. That's what this whole process is supposed to be about.

This is what the inside of my head looks like right now

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:54:19 GMT

Tell me that a 2-bone hoopskirt and a bustle pad will be enough for a couple of vaguely late 1860s/early 1870s-influenced gowns that nobody is going to believe are "authentic."

Because my brain is trying to convince me that I need two new petticoats, a new hoopskirt, and a cage bustle, and that's just ridiculous.

(I do need a tea-length petticoat, but that will get used beyond anything planned for NWC.)

Where did I put my Dover costume-history books? I need to obsessively look at fashion plates another two dozen times before I'm comfortable with what I'm doing.

NWC32 planning overview

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:36:20 GMT

Here's what's on my mind for this year's Norwescon costuming.

I am leaning very strongly towards doing an all-stripes thing this year. I kept coming up with outfits that involved stripes, and eventually decided I could just run with it.

Of course, as soon as I decided this, part of me started chafing at it. Most of my striped things are black and white. This idea could potentially prevent me from using a lot of great jewelry I don't often get to wear, as well as limiting my use of my gigantic makeup collection, because of the odd ideas I get about what goes with what and my weird OCD-ish tendencies about color and pattern matching. Plus, none of these ideas are all that fantasy-based.

I've had to tell myself that the only thing stopping me from doing any particular thing is me, and that I don't have to be committed to this idea, or any idea for that matter--I can always change my mind and throw in other types of outfits (as long as they don't require a lot of prep work), I can do whatever I like with my makeup, I don't have to limit myself to black and white. The point of this ridiculous exercise is that it be fun, and sometimes I stress myself right out of enjoying it with arbitrary restrictions that don't matter to anyone else.

But in any case, if I am going to do it, I need to write down the ideas so I can decide between them, and make sure I have them at least outlined so I know what I'm doing. Thus, this entry.

The candidates as of now:

--Pinstriped Victorian. Bolero and draped kirtle skirt over long straight skirt in B&W pinstripes. It would probably be a daytime outfit in this case, so I'd wear it with a high-necked black blouse and perhaps a hat; not certain about the corset in that case. I've only worn this outfit a couple of times and it would be nice to give it another outing.

--The latest version of the 18th C. stripes-and-brocade outfit. Basically, this is a B&W striped shirt and skirt with a black brocade frock coat and corset, along with a tricorn and bucket boots. I did a version of this a few years ago, but felt the skirt was too short and too foofy, while the shirt was too plain. I've since gotten a longer, plainer skirt, and a fancier blouse. I did wear this version very briefly on Sunday last year, but it was only out and about for an hour or so. It could use another chance. I've been contemplating getting a wig for this, which would give opportunity to tart things up a bit with the makeup.

--Striped Georgian gown. It's been a few years since this was last out. I've been considering changing some of the trim a bit (although at this point, only a month out, I probably don't have the time to do it), and the original plan was to do a version of the outfit worn by the lady in Adam and the Ants' Stand and Deliver video, just to give it a twist from earlier versions I've worn. However, I've had a devil of a time finding a hat of the right shape and size, and here it is a month out. I could do this one with a wig, though, and even a tricorn (or get a new one). I could also come up some really extravagant jewelry and accessories to try and make this an evening-appropriate gown. I have done this dress in the past with a white face and black makeup; I might well do smudgy smokey eyes, but I think I'd prefer bright red cheeks and lips if I go through route.

--Super-striped Victorian twill. I have stuff on the way from Recollections, which sells reproduction Victorian and Edwardian clothing. They introduced some new designs and fabrics in February, and I ordered this ensemble with a square-necked jacket and bustled overskirt (plus a solid black underskirt, though that's not relevant here), and this full skirt; everything is in twill and the stripe pieces are all in the white/cream-on-black pattern shown in the skirt listing. (They are no longer offering that particular fabric; they must have sold out fast.) The idea in this one is to put the striped skirt together with the jacket and overskirt, along with a black-on-white/cream striped blouse and a hate (and probably gloves, which might be striped as well), and probably a striped parasol. It is intended to be over the top and slightly painful. I might do the makeup I did for the "Burtonesque" outfit last year...

--If, that is, I don't reprise that outfit again this year. I'm not hugely inclined to do so at this point, since I have other Victorian day outfits, and the skirt required for that one is an issue (more later on that). But I have it in the list just to give myself some options.

--Nearly four years ago, at a Value Village in Victoria BC while on my honeymoon, I found a ridiculously 1980s black velvet coatdress in pretty good shape. I wore it once as-is over a long skirt, and wasn't crazy about it, but that made me realize that it would make a lovely Victorian polonaise. So into the mending bin it went...and there it stayed until a few weeks ago, when under impetus of a photoshoot (which I ended up not using it for), I finally gathered it up in proper polonaise style. I have a full-length striped four-gore skirt that could pair it with, probably swagged up over a full black velvet skirt, and I could trim everything up with bows and flowers. This would be my most craft-heavy outfit if I go for it, and most likely for evening.

--When I was in Bangkok 13 years ago, I bought lengths of gorgeous black and black/silver striped Thai silk, with the intent of somday having them made into something beautiful. Someday finally came this year, and they are being turned into a Cabaret Bustle Jacket (trimmed with black butterfly-pleated satin) by Kambriel. It should arrive just in time for NWC. The tricky part with this outfit is the skirt. I don't have a full, full-length skirt that I feel is suitable to go with it, although it *might* coordinate with the skirt from my wedding gown (which is silver silk dupioni), and that is a bit of a hangup for me in having this be an evening outfit; so far I haven't had much luck in finding a skirt of the right style *and* material (I'd like silk, satin, or taffeta) that is a price I'm willing to pay. I could definitely do a daytime outfit with the jacket, but the most appropriate skirt for that purpose is the black satin high-low skirt shown with the Burtonesque outfit (part of the reason that outfit is low on the list for this year). If I do go daytime, I have a couple of different hats that could work with this, and it would be dandy with a parasol as well.

--I'm flirting with a rather mad idea for another outfit. It came about due to a confluence of a book I've been reading about prostitues and dance-hall girls in gold-rush era Alaska, and a piece of clothing I've never really shown off: It's a velvet camisole in narrow cream and black stripes with extravagant black lace trim, and it has a sort of decadent Belle Epoque feel to it. So now I have these ideas about either a saloon outfit, or a sort of absinthe-cabaret sort of thing. The main reason I consider this a made idea is that it would show off more of me than I typically go for, and I'm still coming to terms with that idea. For the saloon outfit, I'd pair the camisole (possibly with arm-swags of lace or velvet and beaded trim) with this satin and lace gathered skirt over a petticoat, and possibly swagged up over a second striped skirt (the second skirt has wider stripes and would need to be dyed cream), striped stockings of some sort, and short Victorian boots. For the cabaret idea, the camisole would go with a longish skirt with an interesting hem; I have a black velvet calf-length with a handkerchief hem, a silk georgette ankle-length with a handkerchief hem, and--the ideal--the same satin high-low skirt mentioned earlier (another reason this is kind of a mad idea), along with a black velvet cocoon jacket (which I would need to add some lace to), vertical ribbed or striped stockings, and vintage-look shoes. Both outfits would get feathers in the hair and beaded black chokers, and dramatic makeup, and quite possibly a black waist cincher. This one serves the purpose of giving me another evening-appropriate option, but I'm still uncertain about it; I need to get all the pieces and try things on to see how I feel about the whole idea.

And then, of course, I could decide at any point to throw most of these ideas out and wear something completely different. But if I start thinking about that, I'll just confuse myself even further. So here's what I start from.

Return to the fold

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:59:59 GMT

Well, it's about that time again; I have events coming up and costumes (or at least extravagant outfits) to do for them, so I might as well revive this.

In pursuit of posting here more frequently, I'm also going to branch out a bit, and start writing more generally on the topic of clothing and "costume" as it relates to how we dress (or at least how I dress). Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into "here's what I bought" or "this is what I'm wearing today"; it'll be more along the lines of what's attracting my eye, what sorts of trends I'm noticing in my own wardrobe and how I'm implementing them, costuming in media, perhaps even sociological BSing. As a goth, I can't deny a certain...theatricality even in my everyday sense of style, and while I'm firmly opposed to a person's daily wardrobe being considered a "costume" in the Halloweenish sense (something that happens to many goths), the concept does apply in a broader cultural sense, so I figure I can justify it.

I also want to do more documenting of the projects I do, most of which are related to wardrobe, and committing to writing about them will help spur me to do them (and vice versa). I have a large number of things in my creative pipeline (many of which can be seen in the post that's foredated at the top of this journal, done to help me keep track of them) that I've been dawdling on, and it's past time to keep going.

However, for tonight, I'm just stating my intentions (which will hopefully help me fulfill them). And while I'm here and to make this not a total waste of others' time, sharing a couple of on-topic blogs that I've been enjoying.

Haute Macabre is a great idea that I wish I'd been smart enough to think up myself. It takes a look at things in the world of fashion and culture that have a dark bent. The tone slots well with my sensibilities, and they find some really stunning images. (My husband and I spent some time this evening drooling over the post highlighting Alexander McQueen's Fall '09 collection.)

labricoleuse is the blog of professional crafts artisan and instructor Rachel E. Pollock. She has extensive experience in the field of theatrical costuming, and this blog covers the projects she is currently working on, the classes she teaches, and various aspects of the crafting field. She's incredibly knowledgeable, a great teacher, and an engaging writer. If you're interested in how things work in professional crafting and costuming, you'll find a lot to enjoy here. (Full disclosure: she is also, I'm pleased and humbled to say, an acquaintance of long standing; I've learned a great deal from her and am very glad to know her.)

So, that's that, and I will hopefully stick to my own resolve and return shortly with real content.

The lure of potential

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:27:11 GMT

Today, I got three versions of this skirt (in different colors) in the mail:

Not a very good photo, but it's a full-length three-tiered skirt in velveteen, with a slight crinkled texture. I got it in burgundy, bright deep blue, and silver, primarily because it was stupidly cheap (like seven bucks apiece).

Unfortunately, the top tier hits at exactly the wrong spot on me, at the widest point of the thigh, and thus the style isn't terribly flattering. So, reasonably, I should return all three versions, since I'm unlikely to wear them knowing they don't flatter me.

Except...I realized that I could easily turn these into polonaise or panier-style overskirts. Split 'em up the front, hem the raw edges, tack them up in the back and along the sides, add some trim. Not difficult to do in terms of technique, and moderate in terms of time. I even have thoughts already on how I'd trim them; there are a lot of possibilities for style crossovers and interesting concepts. I could do it quite easily.

The question is, would I do it? Would I wear polonaise overskirts for anything other than costumes, and do I go to enough costume events to make it worth doing? Would I even get motivated enough to do the work? (There are items that have been sitting in my sewing bin for years, because I have no specific impetus to get them done.)

The answer to those questions is more likely than not to be "no," and therefore I should just package them up and send them back.

And yet the potentiality is seductive. Potential always is, which is how I end up with a thousand unfinished (sometimes un-started) ideas.

Norwescon 31: Black Rococo

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:00:42 GMT

Whoops! Life got in the way and I had to pause in my writeups. Time to restart.

This is the outfit worn on Saturday evening.

I'm not sure why I was so stiff and serious in this shot; it came out looking like an El Greco portrait. It's also not a complete shot. This photo (taken by Ambrose M, linked rather than embedded because I don't own it) is more engaging, and shows the full gown.

The details:

--18th-century styled gown made by Azrael's Accomplice Designs. This is a custom piece, but not custom for me; the designer originally made it as her own Halloween costume, and I bought it from her in a studio sale. It's made of black taffeta with an embroidered floral design. It's two pieces, a full-length overgown and a full underskirt, with a black silk 18th-century-style (flat-front) corset and a set of full pocket or side hoops underneath. The overgown is trimmed with gathered black lace and sequins; the boned bodice closes down the front with hooks and eyes, while the back is grommeted and laces to customize the fit with black satin ribbon.

While it sounds relatively simple in describing it, putting this entire thing on and moving around in it is no simple feat!

--Also under the gown are plain black tights, and black brocade louis-heeled court shoes trimmed with self-fabric bows and black braid. The shoes, which are perfectly 18th century in style, were originally found at a thrift store. A friend picked them up and passed them on to me; I originally wore them with my wedding gown.

The accessories are a story in themselves. One evening, I was perusing the clearance-jewelry racks at Fred Meyer, and I spotted a pendant, a big loop of swirls set with clear crystals and with clear acrylic teardrops dangling from it. It was on a loooooong cheap chain, and screamed "BLING," in a bad way. And yet I kept looking at the pendant and seeing something rococo in it. Since it was only six dollars, I decided to get it, with the intention of figuring out a way to put it together with this gown. I took the pendant off the chain and removed the teardrops, and set it aside to let ideas percolate.

On a different Fred Meyer visit, I found a pair of earrings. I thought these might go well with the gown too, and from there I ended up working out the entire color scheme for the outfit, and making a new necklace (using the pendant) and the crown. So:

--Leverback drop earrings, starbursts set with central black crystals, surrounded by gray faux pearls and a "halo" of clear crystals at the points of the "rays." These are most visible in the second photo above.

--Rococo-look pendant of swirling loops set with clear crystals, with gray Swarovski pearl drops on the outside and a central black Swarovski crystal teardrop; the pendant is strung on a double strand of round 6mm gray Swarovski pearls, 6mm black crystal rondelle beads, and 5mm and 6mm silvertone rondelles set with clear Swarovski crystals. It closes with an oval toggle closure with a rope pattern. The materials for this, aside from the pendant, came from Fire Mountain Gems.

--The crown is a silvertone headband/tiara I picked up at a craft store. The shape is meant to echo that of the earrings, and the materials are the same as the necklace. The "rays" are 3.5 inch headpins that I strung the beads on and then wrapped around the central band.

I had hoped to make at least one bracelet for this outfit as well, and possibly a headchain for the crown with a central black crystal teardrop, but I ran out of time. Perhaps for a future wearing.

--The hair for this outfit was an aggravation. Initially, I planned to wear a long, wavy/curly black wig, with the sides pulled up into a knot. The reason for this is that my hair is currently particolored--black on the bottom, some flavor of plum/burgundy on top--and I felt the contrast and the red tones wouldn't go with the cool black/gray/shiny effect I was going for. However, once it came time to dress, I felt like the wig was going to be too unwieldy and uncomfortable, and I was worried about the crown snagging in it. I tried doing my own hair the way I'd intended to do the wig, but it didn't want to hold curls. Finally I gave up on anything complicated, and simply twisted the sides up and back and fastened them with clips, then did the rest in a single English braid down the back, with the bottom of the braid wrapped in black satin ribbon tied in a bow. Ultimately I think the simplicity of this worked out well; my hair didn't compete with everything else about the outfit.

Makeup:

--Silk powder primer, lavender powder to even and pale, and my usual powder foundation. (Links to all of these can be found in previous posts.)

--Aromaleigh Pure Hue powders in a combination of "Moon" (pure shimmery white) and "Blue Haze" (white with cool blue interference) on the inner half of the eyelid, drawn around the inner corner and under the inner half of the lower lashline.

--Aromaleigh Pure Eyes Frost shadow in "Longing" (a mauve-toned shimmery gray) on outer half of browbone.

--From the Hard Candy "Techno" quartet, deep shimmery black with silver glitter on the outer half of the lid area and in the crease.

--Aromaleigh Drama Queen Eyeliner in Silver (dark smoke silver with silver glitter), used with their liner sealant fluid.

--Black mascara.

--Pure Luxe Flash Cube glitters (scroll down) in "Black Ice" (pure black) over the black shadow, and "Ice Princess" (clear aurora borealis glitter) over the rest of the eye area, again used with the Aromaleigh sealant.

--Clear rhinestones at the outer corners of the eyes and brows, attached with acrylic eyelash glue.

--Aromaleigh Perle Powder in "Tickle" (lilac-toned shimmery pink) used as blush.

--Metallic white lipstick (I don't know the brand, I got it at Hot Topic at some point) topped with Rimmel's "Dizzy" (medium candy pink, described earlier) and Pure Luxe Lippie gloss in "XOXO" (clear gloss with aurora borealis microglitter).

--Finally, entire face and chest area dusted with a combination of Aromaleigh "Metamorphosis" (shimmery white with a green cast) and "Lux" (shimmery white with a gold cast). The mix of the two was to get a balance between cool and warm; the green tones would have been too sickly-looking, but the gold would have been warmer than I wanted.

I was aiming for a sort of ethereal, night-sky kind of effect with this entire outfit, but especially with the makeup. I was not entirely pleased with the makeup results. I would have prefered a more blue-toned gray shadow on the outer browbone. I should have left off the black glitter, as using the sealant for it caused the black shadow to smear and thin out; and I just didn't like the AB glitter at all and seem to have poor results each time I use it--silver microglitter would have been a better choice. Also, the Pure Luxe gloss with the AB glitter was near-useless, dull in tone and with not nearly enough glitter to make it worthwile. (That was particularly disappointing, as I really like the other Pure Luxe glosses I've tried.) Later on I just dedicated a lip brush to be used for the loose AB glitter and put *that* on over the lipstick instead of bothering with the gloss. Next time I might also use a stronger pink lipstick and a more iridescent gloss; I decided not to do silver lips, as that tends to contrast too much with the pinkness in my face, but I think this pale pink was not as striking as it could have been.

Still, in the end, I got *tons* of compliments on this outfit, and plenty of photo ops. With some tweaking, I will gladly wear this again.

This is the last of my NWC 31 outfits that I have photos of me wearing. However, I do intend to write up the one remaining costume, and my evening outfits (which aren't strictly costumes but are influenced by my interest in vintage styles, extravagant materials, and unique looks, and are all made up of things that were already in my wardrobe). I'll include photos of all the pieces of those, so you can at least see what went into them. I'll also detail the outfits my husband wore, as he discovered the joys of "Iron Chef costuming" for himself this year.

Norwescon 31: Burtonesque

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:10:29 GMT

Worn during the day on Saturday. With this one, I was going for something that captured the general feel of Tim Burton's aesthetics: Gothy, slightly grotesque, slightly whimsical, with the bold graphical style he often uses. More specifically, I was trying to look like I might be an extra in the fantasy sequence from his Sweeney Todd. Thus, a somewhat Victorian silhouette, with black and white and stripes, and makeup inspired by the film. This succeeded beyond what I'd expected.

--Fitted, princess-seamed button-front cotton poplin blouse in white with narrow black stripes, slightly puffed shoulders, long tightly gathered cuffs, and a matching tie/sash which I wrapped around my neck, with the collar turned up, and knotted roughly like a Romantic ascot. This amazingly whimsical blouse came from Chadwicks, of all places.

--Black velveteen short jacket from Newport News with a curved asymmetrical closure, high collar, slightly gathered shoulders, and white buttons with black stripes. The top two buttons were left undone to show the collar of the blouse, and the sleeves were folded back to show the blouse cuffs.

--Black satin straight skirt with curved high/low hem, trimmed with bands of tucked ruffles, mesh insets, and mesh and organza at the hem. I've had this skirt for several years; it originally came from La Redoute.

--Bustled overskirt in white with narrow black stripes and black Venise lace trim. This just goes on around the waist with a snap closure and sits on top of the skirt. I bought this second-hand from a friend; it was custom-made for her, but I don't recall where she got it from.

--Black and white striped tights.

--Black over-ankle granny boots with pointed toes and louis heels. The foot area is shiny leather, while the area around the ankle is textured stretchy black material that gives the look of spats. I found these nearly-new at Value Village several years ago, one of my best finds ever.

--Vintage wrist-length black cotton gloves. These belonged to my grandmother.

--The hair was done by putting it in damp braids the night before and then sleeping on it; in the morning I undid the braids, but didn't brush out the crimping, and pulled it into two high, loose, half-undone knots on either side of my head, fastened with Victorian-style rag ties in B&W striped poplin, black lace, and white lace. Strands of hair were deliberately left to spill out--think of how Mrs. Lovett's hair looked in the film; that's what I was going for.

--Low-crowned "riding hat" style in black wool felt, trimmed with a big floofy puff of white sparkle organza, a band of B&W striped satin ribbon, and a spray of black coque feathers. The hat was perched off-kilter over one of the knots of hair. I've had this hat for years and years and it's undergone a lot of revision over that time; this trimming was done specifically for this outfit.

--Jewelry was minimal: Drop earrings of black onyx beads and seed pearls, and a B&W cameo pin at the throat. I'd wanted to make some jewelry using oblong white and black striped glass beads and black pressed-glass spiral beads, but time and my own poor skills got in the way of that.

The photo above also highlights the buttons on the jacket, which are replacements for the original buttons. These buttons are white, and have small channels down the middle. I colored the channels in with black fine-point marker to make stripey buttons. I couldn't find any actual striped buttons; this was my solution for that.

Makeup, again mostly (but not all) from Aromaleigh:

--Silk powder used as a primer, both to smooth the surface and to make things a little more pale. Then Coquille powder in "Vert" to tone down redness, powder foundation in 00 (their palest shade--not white, but very close to it), Coquille powder in "Lilas" for yet more paleness, and a final light dusting of "Metamorphosis" finishing powder, a shimmery green-toned white, for a slightly sickly look. I also made a point of not covering up my undereye circles.

--On most of eye area, including drawn up over the crease and smudged generously under the eye, Pure Eyes Matte shadow in "Lolita," medium matte reddish-brown. This was a limited edition and is no longer shown on their site.

--On browbone, Midsummer Night's Dream frost shadow in "Elfin," light cocoa brown with pale green interference. (As mentioned in the last post, this line has been discontinued, so it won't be available much longer.)

--In crease of eye, smudged around outer corners, and used as liner, Pure Eyes Matte shadow in "Umber," very dark brown.

--Basic black mascara.

--On lips, Rimmel's Rich Moisture Cream in "Paradise," very pale buff-toned pink, topped with Pure Eyes Matte "Fawn," basic neutral buff. The intent with the powder was not only to fix the lipstick in place, but to make it matte and give a somewhat dry, cracked appearance to the lips--once again, look at Mrs. Lovett in the film.

When the entire outfit was all put together and I finally saw the whole thing just the way I'd envisioned it (as I hadn't done a test run beforehand), I actually squealed at how successful it was. The only real flaw was that I think I really should have had a parasol; but the stripey one I have needs repair (and isn't ideal anyway), and the black one I have didn't feel right and definitely not worth making space to haul along with everything else. I shall have to investigate obtaining a B&W striped parasol if I'm going to do this outfit again.

The previous night, we'd gone to a costuming panel on the topic of costumes from Tim Burton films, and when someone in the audience asked how one would go about putting together an outfit that wasn't an actual Burton re-creation but just had the feel of one, I piped up and said, "Look for me tomorrow morning." At the first panel I attended on Saturday, I ran into all the panelists from that panel, and they all agreed that I'd achieved the look perfectly. And one of them later complimented me on my ability to pull purchased items together into fantastic costumes, saying everything she'd ever seen me wear always looked perfectly assembled; for that to come from someone who regularly constructs elaborate things from scratch, that was a very big deal, and really helped me feel good about my particular abilities.

Norwescon 31: Mucha girl

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:18:54 GMT

This was Friday evening's outfit. This outfit was originally inspired by the corset, which is made of a novelty fabric printed with images inspired by the works of Alphons Mucha. The idea was to capture the feel of the lush women in flowing outfits shown in many of his paintings (of which, yes, I am a big fan). I did the first version at Norwescon three years ago; it wasn't bad, but it was done on the spur of the moment and wasn't ideal. Last year I purchased the purple gown, and a revised version made an appearance at Convergence 13 in Portland. Since that version hadn't been to Norwescon (and it had been a few years since the first try), I decided to do it again this year.

--Kambriel "Demonia" gown in purple georgette. The gown has elasticized shoulders so it can be worn off-shoulder, and the sleeves are gathered in two places and then flare at the cuffs. The hemline is graduated and falls into a slight train in the back. The gown is unfitted, so a corset over it works well to draw it into shape.

--Overbust "Bloodrop" corset (a simplified Victorian overbust) from Blooddrop Clothing. The fabric is a print of Mucha-inspired images in charcoal and brown, shaded with plum, purple, berry, and rose; the binding and lacings are bright purple satin. This corset was a custom item, originally won in an eBay auction; the auction had been for the same print in shades of blue, gray, and gold (not my colors, but I loved the print enough to overlook that), but when Astrid found out I was the winning bidder, she insisted on giving me the version that had these colors, which all suit me beautifully. (This corset also has sentimental attachment, as I was wearing it the night my husband proposed to me.)

--Ankle-length skirt in purple bias-cut silk charmeuse under the gown. I'm not quite daring enough to wear nothing but tights under a see-through gown!

--Purple floral lace tights.

--Black leather Edwardian-reproduction shoes with low Cuban heels, long snipped toes, and cutout lace-up vamps.

Jewelry and hair:

--Silver dangling earrings with a central heart-shaped medallion featuring an Art Nouveau motif of a woman's face, set with a single round amethyst cabochon; dangling from the medallion are amethyst glass teardrops and chain drops with oval rainbow moonstones and freshwater pearls.

--Art Nouveau-styled necklace with a central openwork silver pendant of a woman's face and flowing hair, suspended from multiple chains of silver and freshwater pearls, and with a large freshwater pearl central drop.

--The two upper knots from the previous costume were left in my hair, and circled with flowing wired organza ribbon in ombred shades of pink/plum and lilac/indigo; then I inserted silk pansies in varying shades of pink and purple. The rest of the hair was unbraided, leaving it rippled, and then the ends were curled into ringlets. The idea was to have the curls be somewhat "singular" and sinuous, the way individual strands often serpentine out from the subject's head in Mucha's paintings.

I was quite happy with the makeup for this outfit as well.

--Primer first; I believe I used DHC's "Velvet Skin Coat" gel. Then Aromaleigh Coquille corrective powder in "Lilas" to even out the skin tone and give it a slightly etheral quality, and then my usual Aromaleigh powder foundation. The lilac powder was also dusted down across neck, shoulders, and chest, as my face is a little more pink than those areas and I wanted to minimize the difference in tone.

--Cheekbones highlighted with Aromaleigh Elemental Lustre Cheek Glisten in "Luminary," a warm, pale golden-pink shade, and Mineral Shimmer in "Star Bright," a pale candy pink with pink microshimmer (this shade was a special edition and is no longer shown on their site). I also used these to highlight the cleavage.

--Eyes were a mix of the following Aromaleigh shadows; I can't remember exactly which one went where, though I know the darker shades were on the lid and the lighter shades on browbone.
*From the Midsummer Night's Dream collection, "Flora," deep warm purple with lilac and pink interference; "Hermia," soft mauve; and "Blossom," very pale rose with lilac interference and a touch of gold. This collection has been discontinued, so the links might not work for much longer.
*Eye Lustre frost in "Edie," pearlescent true pink.
*Pure Hue powder in "Alexandrite," shimmery light purple with a pink cast.

--Eyes were lined with Pure Drama eyeliner in "Drama Queen Violet," a deep sparkly purple.

--Finished the eyes with a warm plum mascara from a company that doesn't exist anymore.

--Lips were a blend of deep creamy plum from some drugstore brand; Aromaleigh's discontinued "Framboise," sheer shimmery berry; and Rimmel's Lasting Finish in "Dizzy," bright candy pink.

--Finally, everything was finished off with a dusting of Aromaleigh Perle Powder in "Lux," a shimmery translucent powder with a golden cast.

I was very happy with this outfit overall; but in the previous version worn at Norwescon, I'd included garlands of silk pansies, which got left out this time primarily because I didn't know where I'd stored them and I was pressed for time. Instead I carried an oblong burnout velvet scarf with a floral pattern in shades of purple, rose, green, and blue. It wasn't really a good substitute, and I wish I'd made the time to find the garlands instead. Still, this worked well, and I'm glad I tried this new version of it.

Let's get this thing back on track: Norwescon 31, starting off

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:36:39 GMT

This thing sort of fell off the map because I hardly ever get the chance to costume (or even dress up extravagantly) anymore, while my life in general has gotten a lot busier and more tiring. But I do want to keep up with as much dressing up as I do get the chance for, so here's the latest attempt at getting some content in this thing and keeping it going.

Norwescon 31 was last weekend, and as usual I did several outfits for it, as did my husband. Rather than try to write one long, huge, overwhelming post taking in everything we did all at once, I'm going to instead write up several shorter posts focusing on one or two outfits at a time. I think that'll make it more manageable for me, as well as keeping the content ratio of this thing higher.

So, the first outfit is the one I wore on Friday at the con during the day: a hybrid that drew on the look of the TV series Firefly (which is essentially a Western set in space with Asian overtones), steampunk, and piratey elements. Originally, I'd intended to wear a Victorian-influenced outfit, using a 1980s black velvet coatdress that I keep saying I'm going to turn into a polonaise. But I kept procrastinating on doing the necessary work, and one day I realized that while the outfit might be a nice challenge from an Iron Costumer standpoint, it was really kind of...boring visually, and had absolutely nothing of the fantastic about it. So I threw that idea out, and instead went way back to the roots of my "closet costuming" days, when I was still a novice and had to be really ingenious in coming up with costumes out of things I already had (most of which were not specifically intended to be costume items). It was really pretty invigorating to go through the items I already owned and figure out what I could put together in an interesting way, and when I started finding things that showed promise together, I started seeing how it could be influenced by all those other ideas. I was really happy with the final result.

The details:
--Velveteen "Equestrian coat" (really a simplified frock coat) from Newport News, with gunmetal-toned decorative dome buttons. The color was originally more of a berry shade; I ran it through a couple of dyebaths with various combinations of purple and black RIT, and ended up with this lovely deep plum shade. The dyeing process also gave a more weathered texture to the buttons.

--Blouse in ecru cotton with a black pinstripe and textured tone-on-tone stripe; button front, band collar with Y neckline, slightly fitted, with short puffed sleeves, from La Redoute.

--Vest in black with ecru pinstripe, also from La Redoute; I replaced the original black buttons with sort of industrial-looking bright silvertone buttons, and made a couple of "devices" to go on each side (more details on those down below).

--Weathered black poplin knee-length paneled circle skirt (originally from Torrid, but came to me via a friend), to which I sewed strips of black satin grommet tape along the vertical seams. All of this was done by hand, since I don't have a sewing machine, and I'm not entirely convinced it was worth the time and effort it took (I had to finish the last two pieces late in the evening in our hotel room the night before I wore it).

--Black striped fishnet tights. Yes, those are all fishnet; the stripes have a smaller knit than the rest of the tights. I got these from Sock Dreams.

--Black patent calf-high lace-up boots with lug soles. I found these at Value Village a couple of years ago.

--Vintage Turkish bib-style mesh and coin necklace of silver-plated brass. The neckline of the blouse was not really quite right for this in the end; I had to fold the collar and the sides of the neckline under to give the necklace more display.

--Vintage Arabic dangly earrings, leaves and embossed pendants of silver-plated brass.

--Assorted cuff and bangle bracelets from India, China, and the Middle East in silver and silver-plated brass, and a bracelet of purple and gold glass beads with a pewter dragonfly charm. These don't show in the photo, but I did spend a good portion of the day with the coat sleeves pushed up so the bracelets were visible.

--My hair was split into four sections and each section was braided, and then the top two sections were coiled into knots.

I forgot a few pieces of this outfit due to being tired and behind schedule when I wrote my packing list; there was also supposed to be a silver belled hip belt, and a vintage silver Arabic necklace to be used as a hair ornament. I could have used a couple of hair sticks as well, but didn't have any on hand.

The "devices" for the vest were made mostly because I felt I needed to have a little more DIY in the outfit, so I came up with them in a couple of hours one evening with materials I had on hand.

The one on the left (in the photo) started with an antiqued silvertone filigree cross finding. I glued a pewter pendant with a Chinese character on it to the center of the finding, and then I glued loops of ribbon (bright lilac with a Chinese-influenced print in plum) to the back of the finding to echo the shape of the cross.

The one on the right (which the photo doesn't show very clearly) is a silvertone medallion with an Indian-influenced shape; I attached a silver filigree teardrop bead to the bottom of it, and then a pewter dragonfly charm to the bottom of that. (Since I wasn't taking any costumes with heavy dragonfly overtones to NWC for the first time in several years, I figured throwing a few little touches of them here was a good idea.)

I was exceptionally happy with the makeup for this, and particularly the eyes. Most of the cosmetics (though not all) came from Aromaleigh. Aromaleigh sells samples of nearly all their products, and I've been buying them like candy; they've given me a lot of ideas on how to do new things with makeup, and a lot of what I did for NWC this time involved breaking my old boundaries on how I use my cosmetics. Links below go to the page for the cosmetic line; you can get to the shade pallettes from there if you'd like a closer look at the colors.

--Glissade mineral foundation (I use 1PL as my "everyday" shade) with some Coquille Illuminating Powder in Rose over it to brighten the face.

--Rocks! Sonic Rouge in "Wildflower," a bright purpley shade; I was expecting this to go on a bit bright and shocking, but it actually came out subtle and really gorgeous with my skintone.

--Bright glossy red-toned plum lipstick; it's some inexpensive drugstore brand that I don't know the shade name of.

--On the inner brow area and drawn down around the inner corner and part of the lower lash line, Satin Petals frost shadow in "Hydrangea," a pale white-lilac shade.

--On the inner lid area, Pure Eyes frost shadow in "Desire," a deep plum with a slight brown interference.

--On the outer brow area, Elemental Lustre shadow in "Psyche," a multitone metallic with silver/gold/taupe/green tones.

--On the outer lid area and drawn under the lower lash line, Pure Hue powder in "Tarnish," a frosted blackened-copper shade.

--Along the upper lash line, Pure Hue powder in "Agate," a frosted bright apple/peridot green, applied with a wet brush, topped with Rocks! Glam Glitter in "Kerosene," bright acid yellow-green cosmetic glitter (I used their eyeliner sealant to keep the glitter in place).

--A couple of coats of black waterproof mascara.

Wow, that took even longer to write up than I expected. So I'll stop there for now (since I theoretically have work to be doing), and will come back with another outfit later.

Swallows to Capistrano

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 01:32:49 GMT

And here I am, back again after a year. I wonder sometimes if it's even worth keeping this thing since I don't seem to costume more than once a year anymore; but, it does provide a place to work through my thoughts and show off photos, if nothing else.

At any rate, Norwescon is next weekend and I have some costume plans. I didn't know for sure I'd be going until about a week ago, and there are financial concerns this year, so the costuming plans are relatively low-key this time around--at least to the degree that I am ever "low-key." I am feeling strong urges to be dark and/or ridiculous this year, so nearly all my ideas are in that vein.

Thursday
I'll pick something comfortable but fairly gothy/vintage-y out of the closet for daytime. Not much costuming goes on Thursday, and I'll have to be hauling luggage around. For the evening, I think I'll wear my repro late-Edwardian gown, but probably with darker jewelry and slightly darker makeup. I've only worn that dress once (at the event that photo is from) and I'd like another chance at it. However, the tulle at the hem is torn and needs to be repaired, so I'll have to make sure I get that done before Thursday.

Friday daytime
I'm planning a pre-Raphaelite-influenced "Persephone, Queen of Hades" costume. This does not mean I'm re-creating the Rossetti painting; rather, my idea is influenced by the general aesthetics of much pre-Raphaelite painting on mythological themes (Waterhouse in particular).

I'll be wearing the purple and black medieval-inspired gown, possibly with a long black vest/jacket over it, and a corded, tasseled girdle/belt. I'm making a headpiece out of a buckram diadem painted black and decorated with a resin pomegranate and assorted flora associated with Persephone: poppies, purple lilies, wheat stalks, and daffodils painted black (according to one version of the story of Persephone's abduction, the flower Hades had created to lure her was a "black narcisuss," which isn't the same flower as that in the Narcisuss story but a daffodil with black and purple petals and a golden center) along with some grayish-green flowers whose color, while not actually asphodel, matches the shade that the word "asphodel" calls to mind, as well as my own image of how the "shades" of Hades must look. The headpiece will also have a black veil. I might add some of the flowers to the gown or veil as well. I have some jewelry with dark red crystals and briolettes that resemble pomegranate seeds, and the makeup will be very dark, black and purple and red. I've always associated black and purple with Hades (the realm), and the red of course brings in the pomegranate. I first got this idea about a year and a half ago for another event, and bought all the flowers for it then but never got to make it. I didn't need to buy anything new for this other than the buckram headpiece.

The headpiece is about half done at this point; I've been having problems with my hands and getting the sewing done is a little difficult. I had some challenges getting the engineering correct, and it ended up being best to sew the flowers to the buckram. The big flowers are all on; I need to add the wheat stalks and fill in the open spots with smaller flowers. I'm still not sure it's coming out as what I envisioned, but it's what I've got at this point, so I sort of have to go with it.

Friday evening
Vinyl victorian: I have a black vinyl tail coat that can be pulled in on the sides to give the tails a slight polonaise effect, and a vinyl skirt with ruffled panels in the back. I'll probably wear this with my black brocade overbust corset, black vinyl ankle boots with multiple buckled straps, and black vinyl and crystal jewelry, with my hair up and gothy makeup. This one is mostly just so I can wear the skirt and coat at least once. I don't know that I'll have many more opportunities or that it makes sense to keep them.

Saturday daytime
Rococo fairy: This one uses the silver and white brocade 18th century gown, with a set of blue and silver dragonfly wings. I have a white wig that will be trimmed up with white/blue/silver bows and beads, and makeup will be all sparkly versions of those shades. The harness on the wings is black, so I'll be figuring out how to drape it with some white and blue fabric. I did buy some of the trim items for this, and some samples of uber-sparkly makeup in the correct shades, but otherwise it was all on hand already. The intent is to be silly and glaring and overdone. I haven't done any of the trim for this yet, but it should only take a couple of hours. I am trying to decide if I should have a wand, but I don't really have the time right now to make one up, so I might just go buy a cheap silly one at Display & Costume and add some of the trims to it to make it go with the rest.

Saturday evening
Vinyl Georgian. (Are there any themes here, you think?) I bought a used black vinyl Georgian gown off eBay several months ago. The overdress laces up the front and doesn't quite close on me (apparently the person it was made for has a far smaller rib cage than I do), so I'm going to wear it over a camisole. I haven't decided if I'll go with a black camisole to keep the color theme, or do a contrasting shade. I could do silver and have gunmetal accessories and makeup (although I've done that sort of thing many times), or dark red with black and burgundy eye makeup and super-dark red lipstick, or--and this is the one that's kind of tickling the absurdist urge for this year--pink with black and uber-sparkly pink makeup and pink accessories. In any case, the makeup will be "contrary," and the hair will be rather wild and trimmed with my traditional black onion grass sprigs. I don't know if I'll wear any sort of "traditional" shoes with this one, or go with vinyl mary janes (I have three pairs) to match the fabric, or even with black vinyl stompy boots.

Sunday
This one I haven't decided on yet. I was thinking I'd do B&W stripes with my brocade 18thC. corset and frock coat again, but the skirt I'd like to wear (not the one from last year) needs some revising and mending and I don't know if I have time to do that. I do have another option for a stripey outfit, more Victorianesque, that involves a B&W bustled overskirt, but it's not fully fleshed out yet and it might depend on an item I haven't received yet. I also thought about doing another version of my Edward Gorey tribute, as I haven't done one like that in awhile and it would go with the "dark" thing I have in mind for much of the weekend, but that one can get kind of warm; the expected weather will probably influence that. And I could always just go simple with a pre-made Edwardian-style tea dress and my dragonfly brocade coat. I probably won't decide until I start packing on Wednesday evening.

And of course I have to decide on post-costume clothes. For those I'll probably just pick whatever sexy evening dresses I haven't worn in awhile and throw them in the suitcase.

I do have another potential costume opportunity upcoming: Convergence 13 in Portland in May, which has a "Dark Victorian" theme. Whether I'm going for the whole weekend or just a day or at all is still very much up in the air. In any case, I have plenty of outfit ideas for that, all out of my regular closet, and I'm actually going to have whittle them down since I can't possibly wear them all. Details of that can come later, once Norwescon is out of the way.

Norwescon 29--the excruciating details

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 01:28:53 GMT

And here we go with the ridiculously detailed blow-by-blow of all my Norwescon outfits, with links to photos.

Thursday afternoon: Black late-Edwardian look (no photos, because we forgot)
--Dress from April Cornell: black slipdress of bias-cut rayon poplin with wide lace straps and a ruffle of black netting around the bottom; overdress of black netting with black vine embroidery, high mandarin collar and knot buttons, cap sleeves.
--Black velvet Edwardian-influenced coat (also from April Cornell) with gently A-line shape (the "waist" fairly high), button front, V neck, triple ruffled platter collar, straight sleeves with ruffled cuffs.
--Black tights and black Edwardian-reproduction shoes with box toes, four buckled straps, thick louis heels.
--Rope necklace, bracelet, and drop earrings of black and clear Czech crystal faceted round beads spaced with black and clear rhinestone discs. (I made the jewelry several years ago to go with a different costume.)
--Hair pulled up on the sides and fastened with a "tiara" barette in gunmetal, black and smoke crystals.
--Black wool and velvet Edwardian-style cloche (squarish shape with flat brim, not the rounded, close shape of later cloches) decorated with black velvet roses and leaves and black netting.
--Basic "normal" foundation, neutral bisque eye shadow, black matte shadow as liner, black mascara, glossy medium rose lipstick.

I don't typically do a "costume" for Thursday at the con; this is all stuff out of my "regular" wardrobe. Of course, with me, even the "regular" stuff can look costume-y to people who don't dress up. I like this outfit because it's comfortable, easy to move around in (thus making unloading our masses of stuff easy), but still pretty and elegant; and since it was all black, it served nicely for the goth-themed panel I had to do late in the afternoon.

Thursday evening: Victorian pinstripes
Front view
Back view
--Black floral brocade corset.
--Black with white pinstripe bolero with lapels and frog closure.
--Black satin long skirt with pinstriped ruffle.
--Black with white pinstripe kirtle overskirt.
--Black tights; black patent shoe-boots, over-ankle height, with pointy toes, high block heels, and multiple buckled straps.
--Hair in a black fishnet snood with textured bow.
--Black beaded choker and black bead drop earrings.
--Wrist-length black vintage gloves.
--Black fan.
--Lavender powder added over foundation, additional black eye shadow in the outer corners, and dark plum lipstick.

(The corset and all pinstripe pieces came from Gallery Serpentine.) This outfit was worn for dancing. It might not sound like a good dancing outfit, but it really was. My husband is an excellent corset lacer, and once he's done me up properly, I'm completely comfortable for several hours. As for the rest, since it's only Victorian influenced, not strict Victorian construction, it's not binding or heavy at all.

Friday daytime: Stripey wench
Front, mostly
Full-length
--Black and white striped silk georgette blouse.
--Black and white striped knee-length skirt trimmed with black lace, from Dollflesh couture by way of cupcake_goth.
--Black vine brocade 18thC.-influenced corset (the "Spanish Harlot" style from Gallery Serpentine).
--Black vine brocade 18thC-style frock coat with black braid trim and faux leather buttons (also from Gallery Serpentine).
--Black and white striped tights.
--Black leather feminized bucket boots, with pointed toes, cuban heels, and back lacing to adjust the calves (these are Pleasers; I got them from Haunted House Collectibles).
--Black tricorn trimmed with white grosgrain ribbon, black and white feathers, and black and white striped cockade.
--Necklace and earrings of white freshwater "rice" pearls and black onyx beads.
--Hair in a low ponytail with a girlgoth ragtie made of b&w striped poplin, white taffeta, and black and white lace.
--Basic foundation; sheer white mica dust on lids; matte black shadow as liner; glossy medium rose lipstick.

This looked just about as cute and silly as I expected, and very comfortable (yes, even with a corset). I decided not to use the ribbon choker; the shade of the white was wrong and the satin just didn't hold a bow well. I'd originally intended to put my hair in two low knots, each with a ragtie, but the hat didn't fit right, so I switched to just one ponytail.

Friday evening: Victorian-influenced goth ballgown
Full-length
Waist up
Three-quarter view, from the back
Hair detail
--Burnout velvet off-shoulder blouse with black ground and floral pattern in shades of purple, plum, and berry.
--Black floral brocade corset. (Yes, this got a lot of use.)
--Plum satin coffin-gathered ballgown skirt worn over four-bone hoopskirt.
--Black tights and not at all period-correct (but extremely comfortable) low-heeled mary janes. (They didn't show anyway.)
--Black satin opera gloves, pulled up to the elbow (the sleeves of the blouse with turned under and pushed up to the elbow).
--Vintage paste jewelry (originally owned by my great-grandmother).
--Modern rhinestone tiara.
--Hair rolled at the sides and into a low chignon in the back, trimmed with about a dozen black silk roses, black silk leaves, and trailing black blossoms.
--Pale powder foundation topped with lavender powder.
--Glittery plum shadow on lids.
--Mix of neutral and pale lavender shadows on browbone.
--Glittery black shadow in outer corners and as liner.
--Mixture of very dark plum and medium bright plum lipsticks, topped with a bit of the glittery plum shadow.
--Black fan and small black velveteen bag.

After all the angst this outfit caused me, the final result made me extremely happy. It was lavish and dark and fun and extravagant, and earned me a "SHINY!" from someone in Hospitality (and he didn't just mean the satin and rhinestones--yeah, "Firefly" people, you know what I mean). I was especially pleased with the hair, which took less time than the makeup. The "trimmings" didn't even need pins--the masses of hair were thick and secure enough that all I had to do was stick the stems in, and everything stayed put. This one came out even better than I'd envisioned it, and that always makes me happy.

My post-costume outfit was a simple black slipdress in nylon mesh with a tiered layered skirt and a cheap black crocheted-rayon shawl tied around my shoulders, plus round-toe black patent mary janes with high thick heels, and black-crystal Art Deco pendant and earrings; I left makeup and hair the same but took out some of the flowers. We didn't take photos because it wasn't particularly spectacular, although it did inspire the following exchange:
theda: "Ooooh, so cute and pretty!"
Me: "It's just a slipdress from Newport News and a cheap department-store shawl."
Theda (with intense earnestness in voice and expression): "...and BOOBIES."

Saturday daytime: Chinese-Georgian mashup with dragonflies
Full-length
Makeup and accessories closeup
Back view of hair
Cute side view
--Georgian-influenced (robe a l'anglaise) gown, made to order by Original Sin Design: stomacher and jupe (underskirt) of silver silk dupioni, overgown of medium purple Chinese dragonfly brocade with silver dupioni sleeve ruffles, trimmed with black braid and black decorative frogs on the stomacher, worn over side hoops.
--Purple stockings and black brocade court shoes trimmed with self-fabric bows and black braid.
--Choker of purple dragonfly brocade trimmed with black braid, frog closures, and pewter dragonfly charms.
--Drop earrings of amethyst beads and silver dragonfly charms (a birthday gift from mahariel, of Designs by Victoria).
--One bracelet of dark amethyst beads and pale amethyst chips (also by Designs by Victoria); other bracelet of purple molded glass beads with pewter dragonfly charm (a gift from dindrane).
--Bodice decorated with purple and white cloisonne dragonflies with articulated tails.
--Hair in a high, full knot, trimmed with purple silk peonies; pewter hairsticks decorated with black cloisonne and black cinnabar floral beads, black tassels, and pewter dragonfly charms; and several dragonflies: one purple cloisonne, one silver filigree with purple crystals, and one silver with varying shades of purple enamel in the wings.
--Regular powder foundation with blue and lavender powders (this mitigates redness).
--Glittery silver shadow on inner half of lids.
--Glittery lavender shadow on outer half of lids.
--Bright true purple matter shadow all around eyes.
--Black mascara.
--Dark mauve/light plum lip paint.
--Black fan stamped with silver and purple dragonflies (provided by oldhalloween), decorated with black cord and tassel, and pewter dragonfly charm.

Phew! This contained much of my wedding outfit (and the fan was a favor from the wedding), but I tarted it up significantly with much heavier Chinese influences in the accessories, plus the side hoops (I wore just a plain crinoline for the weddings). I'd specifically had it made so I could wear it again in just such a circumstance. The hair made me really happy--once again, it took me much less time to do than I'd expected, and looked better than I'd expected. The gown I wasn't entirely happy with this time as we didn't get my enormous breasts squished far enough in front into the corset and the stomacher didn't fit right, hence why the cloisonne dragonflies ended up where they did. I also realized too late that I should have lined the choker, as it was rather scratchy. This outfit got me a hall costume award (yay), and definitely plenty of compliments. In the way of how people notice the things one would never expect, though, the most frequent question I got was, "Those cloisonne dragonflies are amazing! Where did you get them?" Nah, don't ask about the incredibly complex and astonishingly-made gown, or even the original, custom-made hairsticks--ask about the Xmas ornaments I bought on eBay. :P In any case, aside from the few small problems, this was an absolute smashing success and I don't regret anything I did for it.

Saturday evening/night: Retro-futuristic
View from one side
View from the other side
Stupid photo, but it's a close-up
--Black shantung A-line dress from Azrael's Accomplice, with high Chinese-influenced collar, deep V neckline (worn over embroidered black bra, meant to show), high curved underbust seam, long straight sleeves gathered at the shoulder for a small puff, knee-length skirt with dagged assymetric black lace overskirt.
--Sheer black stockings and black patent square-toed mary janes with high block heels.
--Extravagant collar necklace of iridescent black beads with matching chandelier earrings.
--Hair twisted up in an "octopus" claw clip, the ends left to flow free, with sprigs of black faux onion grass stuck in the sides.
--Pale powder foundation with lavender powder.
--Silver and lavender shadows on lids.
--Very dark purple shadow in outer corners and as liner.
--Black mascara.
--Combination of purple, silver, and plum lipsticks.

I had a goth-themed panel to do late in the evening, so I felt I needed an evening outfit that was gothy and striking without being too constraining (so I could go party in it afterwards). This filled the bill. I'm still not absolutely certain how I feel about the dress on me, but overall this outfit did what I wanted to.

Those who have followed the sage of this year's costumes might note that the Mucha outfit that should appear here doesn't. I was already wavering about it before we even packed, and although I took everything for it, after getting into the dragonfly outfit (and out of it and back into it again, because it's the sort of outfit I have to take off in order to use the bathroom), the thought of doing another outfit that required a lot of pieces and prep and cinching just didn't appeal at all. I'll definitely try the Mucha outfit again, it just wasn't right for this year.

Sunday: Ivory neo-Edwardian
Full-length
Closeup
--Ivory lace button-front blouse with princess seams, pearl bead trim around the placket, and "funnel" neckline (high in the back, coming down in the front).
--Ivory brocade "Opiate" jacket from Kambriel, with mandarin collar, frog closures, long sleeves with handkerchief lace cuffs.
--Ivory netting tiered skirt from April Cornell, with bands of pintucked ruffles and ribbon trim, worn over ivory silk skirt.
--Ivory stockings and ivory period-look shoes with figure-eight lacing.
--Vintage ivory gloves (which don't show up in the photo due to the cuffs).
--Ivory wool picture hat with satin band and feather trim.
--Hair pulled up and rolled on the sides, then into a chignon at the nape.
--Five-strand "dog collar" of ivory glass pearls spaced with silver and crystal medallions, and ivory pearl stud earrings.
--Basic powder foundation.
--Neutral bisque eye shadow.
--Very thin line of matte black shadow as liner.
--Glossy medium rose lipstick.
--Ivory parasol trimmed at the edges and top with gathered tulle, and with spaced rows of ivory satin bows and pearl beads.

When you walk through the lobby and someone yells from the other side, "You! In the ivory! You look STUNNING!" you know you've done something right. I'd still like to put some additional tulle on the parasol, but then again, it only got opened twice, so it didn't really matter. Otherwise, I wouldn't have changed a damn thing about this. I adore it.

I mentioned that Kevin was going to be doing some costuming too. This was a new endeavor for him, so we started relatively modestly, but everything came out very well. Here's what he did:

Friday daytime: The Dread Pirate Roberts
Full-length
With the Stripey Wench
--Black cotton poet shirt.
--Black leather jeans.
--Black leather cavalier boots.
--Black leather gauntlets.
--Black tie-back mask.
--Black jersey-knit fabric for headwrap.

This outfit was a little in-joke for us, based on the significance of The Princess Bride to our relationship. It was done in part because it was really easy to get all the pieces for. And yes, he took a few liberties, but everybody who saw the outfit got the reference.

Friday evening: Goth formal
Full-length
Another full-length
Closeup showing tie
--Slim-cut black tuxedo with shawl-collar jacket.
--Black wing-collar tuxedo shirt.
--Black silk tie with unusual knot.
--Black dress shoes.

This outfit was in part "How to do goth formalwear for not a lot from your friends." The most expensive part of this outfit was the shoes (and those were bought at a discount store). The tux was obtained in a clothing swap, from hermayalaine; the shirt came from chrisrnps. There's also a little media reference in this one--the knot in his tie is the one used by the Merovingian in The Matrix Reloaded.

Saturday night: The One
Full-length
Closeup
--Black wool cassock-inspired coat with high collar, high curved waist seam, and full skirt, from Abbeyshot.
--Black dress shirt.
--Black trousers.
--Black dress shoes.
--"Matrix" sunglasses.

Okay, yes, this one was a joke. Yeah, he's Neo--but he's also truly The One, as in the one for me. I first teased him about the Neo resemblance after a photo taken on vacation; when he found the coat on eBay for a very good price, he decided to run with it. He looked marvelous. He did run around during the day on Saturday in a black mock turtleneck, black BDU pants, and tanker boots, with the sunglasses, in homage to Neo's outfit from the first film, and as with Friday's outfit, everybody got the reference. (We forgot to take photos of that.)

24 hours to go...

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 21:24:00 GMT

...do I want to be sedated? Kinda, but only because I had horrible insomnia last night and some good sleep would be welcome.

At any rate, with just about 24 hours left before we leave, the status of things based on the last few posts:

Silly Wench-y outfit
To do:
~~--Make cockade for tricorn.~~
~~--Attach cockade to tricorn.~~

I ended up using hot glue to attach the tricorn; I'd hoped to use a safety pin through the back of the button, but there isn't enough give on the tricorn for that. Hot glue can always be peeled off, or maybe I'll just leave the cockade since I don't think I've ever worn this tricorn with anything but black and white outfits.

Plum/black Victorian-inspired formal
To do:
~~--Figure out a top for this.~~
~~--Mend skirt.~~
~~--Prep and organize black roses.~~

*So* much happier about this outfit than I was a few days ago. The top I'm using now is a burnout velvet peasant blouse that's shades of purple, plum, and berry on a black ground. (This whole outfit is really a paean to the wonders of overdying; both the skirt and the blouse have undergone significant color changes.) It has a drawstring neckline, so I'll wear it off-shoulder, and turn the ruffled cuffs under for puffy elbow-length sleeves.

The skirt mostly needed a couple of seams gathered back up, but I did have to darn (very poorly) a couple of holes. They shouldn't be too terribly obvious. It's a good thing I'm happy with the final dye outcome for the skirt, as it clearly cannot take another bout of it, I've stressed the fabric too much.

Prepping the roses involved snipping them (and their leaves) off their stems so they can be pinned to things. I also went through the costume-flower box (yes, I have box just for costume flowers) and discovered that I already had a lot more black roses than I'd realized. So maybe I will end up trimming the outfit with some black roses after all. But, it won't be a big stressy thing--if I feel like doing it after we get to the hotel Thursday, cool, if not, cool.

Chinese-Georgian Dragonfly Themed
To do:
~~--Get frog for choker.~~
~~--Make choker, which includes deciding whether to include silver silk and/or black braid.~~
~~--Decide where extra cloisonne dragonflies will go and make appropriate fasteners.~~
~~--Get fan out and trim if desired.~~
~~--Prep flowers for hair.~~

As noted in a previous post, the choker was made on Sunday. The frogs I ended up using were recycled from a part of my wedding gown that didn't get used; I also used them in the hairsticks.

The fan has had a long black cord and tassel added to it, and I stitched one of the dragonfly charms onto the tassel. I'm still not totally sure where I'll put the cloisonne dragonflies, but I'll figure something out.

When I shopped for flowers, I couldn't find any peonies the right shade, so I bought some orchids instead. When I went through the flower box, what did I find? Purple peonies, bought for my wedding outfit and then decided against. They (or just one of them) will be ideal for this outfit.

Muchaesque
To do:
--Test clothing items to see what I like best.
--Decide if trimming the outfit with flowing ribbons and/or more flowers is warranted.
~~--Account for all flowers and ribbons.~~

I've been waffling on this outfit; part of me wants to skip it and just wear the dragonfly outfit most of the day. However, I don't get to wear the corset often at all, and I'd like to. I still haven't decided on the specifics of clothing pieces, but I can take everything I have in mind without it being a big deal and if I do wear the outfit I can decide what to use then. I think I'm going to leave off the flower garlands; they seem like too much trouble right now. Instead I'll concentrate on the flowing lines and the corset and flowers in the hair. I sorted out the flowers last night, and trimmed and fray-checked the ends of the ribbons.

Ivory Edwardian-influenced outfit
To do:
~~--Buy ivory tulle and ivory satin ribbon.~~
~~--Trim parasol.~~

Trimming is done. I'd still like it to have another row of tulle, but I don't have the time to do it without it causing stress, so the way it is will be fine.

So, all of the actual costume prep work is done, which is pretty impressive for this point in the process. I used my insomnia to organize my panel info, so that's done. I still have some other things to do:
~~--Update packing list.~~
~~--Sort through toiletries, make sure all are there/filled up.~~
--Go to store for food supplies, stockings for two outfits, new gel inserts, batteries, lens solution.
--Dye hair.

And of course, pack, which I'll do Thursday morning.

We had a near-disaster with one of Kevin's outfits. He ordered some cavalier boots weeks ago, and it took the manufacturer a really long time to ship them; they arrived while he was out of town, and he just got in last night, so we had no leeway for returning them if they didn't fit. And of course, they didn't fit, albeit just barely. We used shoe stretchers on them to see if he could get a little more room in the instep and heel, and that worked. For another outfit, he needed some trousers hemmed and all attempts to get that done before he went on his trip somehow fell through, but he just told me that he was able to get it done today, which works out well. We should be pretty much set on all his stuff.

And in about 24 hours, we'll be on our way, if not already there, and I can enjoy a weekend away in ridiculous clothing.

NWC, T minus three days

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 06:33:58 GMT

The Chinese/Georgian choker is done, and I'm really quite pleased with it. It's good I decided not to do the silk ruffles; it would have been too big for my short neck. It needed to be fairly wide to accommodate the frogs I used. I also added the tiny pewter dragonfly charms left over from the wedding to the end of each frog for a little extra oomph. I think I'm going to turn the remaining charms into hair ornmanets--just slide 'em onto small bobby pins and push 'em in where I feel like.

Making the choker was weirdly but wonderfully relaxing. It was simple work, just basic stitches (sewing the braid on the edges and then sewing on the frogs and charms), but being able to just sit and work on it (with Sherlock Holmes on the TV) and see the progress happening made me feel really calm and productive and in control of things.

Finally dug out a fan from the wedding (black with purple and silver dragonflies); I'm planning to add half of a frog (the loop half) to the frame and then hang a tassel from that. Maybe I'll add a dragonfly charm there as well.

I'm still not sure what I'm doing with the extra cloisonne dragonflies. Maybe just wire pins to them and place them randomly on the gown.

I made a cockade for the stripey outfit. I finally located my giant tin o' buttons, and used a white shank button with a circular pattern as the center of it, and glued the ribbon around the back in loops. That merely needs to be put on the tricorn.

Still not entirely happy with the parasol. I experimented briefly with ribbon and didn't like it. I think the best addition would be another tier of tulle, but I really don't think I have time to gather it and sew it on, so the parasol will likely stay as it is.

So now it's just the repair work on the coffin-gathered skirt, and figuring out what will get used for the Mucha outfit. I decided after all not to put black roses on the skirt; it would be nifty, but the outfit doesn't *need* them, and I need the time to do other things. And of course I need to gather everything together and do packing prep and dye my hair and get material for my panels. Tuesday night is really kind of a wash as that's when Kevin gets home from his trip, so I'm going to need to be *really* efficient the next couple of days.