Regency Fashions

Some of you have asked me to post the dresses I made for the JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) Convention last month…sorry for putting if off.
This dress is aqua and green in a non-descript print that looks a bit like a watercolor wash.  Gathers galore… at the neckline, waist and sleeves.  It’s so comfy, though, that I wish I could wear it all day.
Sorry for the lack of regency setting.  I took these photos in our western room.  I just had to remove the arrows  that were hanging displayed on the light fixture.
  This is my “this old thing…?” dress.  Printed deep lavender floral on a lighter lavender background.  I made it for a Jane Austen challenge I took a couple of years ago.  Earlier this year I wore it to host a Jane Austen tea party we had after reading Sense and Sensibility.
I love it because it is so cool and comfortable.  You’ve probably guessed by now that I strictly avoid all the other regency trusses, corsets and folderol.


This is the cut-away dress coat I added for the ball.  I made it out of an old skirt and blouse that had been hanging in my closet ever since my sister talked me into buying it a few years ago.  I remade this purple crushed velvet with small tucks and a thin purple satin ribbon in the back and 3 pewter buttons fastened with self-fabric loops in the front.
I’m still not fond of this coat though.  I nearly went into a swoon after a few sets of English country dancing.  Where is Darcy when you need him?
This is my favorite (except for my gothic nightgown which is clearly visible in an earlier post as part of a true gothic adventure) dress of all.
It features a small yellow flower in diamond patterns on peach cotton fabric.  The empire waist is accented by yellow grosgrain ribbon and the bodice  is fastened with dainty yellow buttons and peach satin loops.
How I wish I had worn this to the ball!   How I would have enjoyed the lively music and frolicking dance without becoming so overheated!!

Gothic Mystery of the Hilton Abbey Tower…or, Day Two of Jane Austen Society in Portland.

Listen dear bloggers and and you shall hear
Of a gothic tale so dark and drear….
Just as Catherine Morland suspected a woman to be languishing trapped in a tower of Northanger Abbey in Jane Austen’s book by the same name, we had a little suspicion about the mysterious 23rd floor of the Hilton……But more on that later………..
Today’s busy schedule included great lectures and a midnight adventure.
And if that’s not romantic enough, a lively morning with Mr. Tilney and his staunch Team Tilney defenders.
Meeting Julienne Gehrer, the maker of the Pride And Prejudice game that I'd like to get--my daughter assures me one does not have to be an Austen expert to play...or even win!
Viewing first editions of Jane Austen novels and also novels, conduct books, and satirical cartoons by her contemporaries. I was excited to see first editions also of Anne Radcliff''s Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian, both books and author I've read about in so many historical novels.

Not far from the library, we made a stop at Button and Ribbon Emporium. Just look at these cards of exquisite beaded lace!
And of course, plenty of buttons.
We went to to the Portland Art Museum to see the Rose Garland Dancers.

I took this on the walk back to the Hilton.
Laurie Viera Rigler signed my ’Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict’ and ‘Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict’ books.
And there were costumes!

Kelly Kirchner from the Jasna Portland Region.

Janet

Ellen

It seemed a very normal first half of the Jane Austen Society gathering………..But things were about to change!

It started when we entered a crowded elevator and pushed the button for the 22nd floor. Another hotel patron exclaimed that he had not thought those upper floors existed, and had not seen them in use.

We assured him we WERE on the 22nd floor, and departed to our room, but soon began to wonder about the mysterious 23rd floor.

Could this be the source of the strange noises at night, and the ghostly figure near the elevator?

Late at night my daughter and I decided to go investigate!

The thick stone walls of the tower led us up a narrow passageway, the end of which was blocked by an old iron gate. Terrified we silently made our way up the passage.

Was that a noise? I fainted………..

........ and my daughter ran mad.

Until we decided the safest course of action was to return to our room and resume novel reading.

Day One, Jane Austen Society of America Annual General Meeting

What a paradise!!  Who knew I’d find so many authors in one place?  Authors whose books I’ve loved.  Who knew?  But more about that later.  Just want to share our first day.   This is the post  my daughter put up.  Isn’t it lovely?  I have no qualms about stealing it for my own blog!

Sneak Peek at my ball gown

This morning, after staying up late to put the final touches on my dress, I picked up my Mom at the airport and off we were on our road trip to Portland.

We were able to check in to out room at the Hilton early. We went to registration tables, saw some cute T-shirts, picked up our packets and headed up to out lovely room, where we dumped out our “Jane Austen- The Abbey” tote bags to admire the contents.

 With post cards, a book light, and chocolate. You can’t go wrong!

 Mom and I in our room.

Mom and I decorate our nametags And take a quick snapshot before unpacking or dresses.

 I unpacked a portrait of Dear Jane for our room.

After this we went down to our dance workshop. We practiced four English country dances in an hour and a half. Sometimes it was exasperating, but when the dance came together it was exhilarating!  I danced across from my mom, but after the first dance they encouraged us to change partners. A nice looking and friendly woman agreed to be my partner. I saw my mom introduce herself to her new partner, and thought I should do the same, but then upon seeing her nametag I got VERY excited and almost lost it. I was dancing with Laurie Viera Rigler, the author of ‘Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict’ and ‘Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict’! Oh! (I may need a moment)…..Do you know how AWESOME that was???

OK, composure regained.

After dancing and a great dinner, we went to look at ‘Milsom Street’, the emporium full of booths, books, and other items for sale. Here is a sampling of the ‘shops’

 Rebecca Morrison Peck of ‘The Thatched Cottage’.

 Kay Demlow, Designer, Dressmaker, and Fashion Historian for Lavender’s Green Historic Clothing

There were also some lovely historic dresses on display that I photographed for your enjoyment. But first, here are links to a few more of the vendors:

Vintage Passementerie

Jean Judy- Jane Austen Charm Jewelry

Charlene Ahern- Henry Was a Railroad Man Card Company

After a brief rest in our room we attended Angela Barlow’s “Jane Austen, An Actor’s View”, with observations, readings, and delightful observations about the characters Jane Austen created. That leads us to where we are now, enjoying the view from my window, exhausted.

And now for more DRESSES………….

See you tomorrow,

-Lynnae

Wicked Costuming

These are shots I took of the witch costume I made for my daughter for her part as the wicked witch in The Wizard of OZ.



She brought me a tall velvet hat she purchased that was too tall and too wide in the brim. It was such a pain! Lots harder than the dress--mostly because of the unpicking (@#@+), cutting of wire that is clotheshanger thick, removing wires, recutting and resewing of the brim and point. It was all worth it, though. I think she looks fabulous!

Wicked Witch of the West

Something so exciting began this summer. My daughter is playing the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz in our community theater. When the director said he wanted her to model her character after Elphaba in Wicked, she asked me to design and create her costume. It’s been such a rewarding challenge that I decided to do my next 2 pieces about it.

I painted this and yes, she really is that green! I loved using these different scrapbook papers to create this piece. The lower portion of the page has my journaling about the project. You should have seen us at JoAnne’s Fabrics and Crafts! We just walked down every isle tossing bolts of fabric into the cart. Anything we thought we might like.

We ended up with 13 or 14 bolts in the cart; we wheeled all that over while we looked at patterns. Since I made up the design, of course there weren’t any exactly like the dress, but we put 2 or 3 together and changed a bit here and there until it came out the way I wanted. We used 7 different fabrics, 3 trims and 2 ribbons. Luckily we both had 50% off coupons, so we saved a few bucks.

It is just gorgeous! I’m hoping to post some photos, too. I loved sewing this. I set up a table in front of the TV and just watched HGTV while I sewed.

In the top left corner is Elphaba's costume from the email the director sent. Next to that is my own design that I reduced in size and printed on scrapbook paper. Then I chalked in the colors.

As you can see, I didn’t do the ruching from the email, and the skirt is more form-fitting with inserts that make it flare at the bottom. I wanted the lights to catch her costume while she kicks and flies across the stage (on pulleys), so I used sequin confetti overlaid with black lace in the inserts and for the bodice.

Both these pieces have streaks of green and purple paint with writing or stamps on top. I also made a spider web like design by dabbing a flexible comb in a silver stamp pad. That has to catch the light just right, and is most easily seen at the top left corner of the page above.