This black silk robe a la francaise is about 80% hand-sewn, more than I ever intended. I've retrimmed it 4x now!
Recreating the pink portrait of Mary Queen of Scots had long been a dream, & I finally did it for my birthday.
My drag alter-ego is Leonard Autie, hairdresser to Marie Antoinette. He sometimes gets a new suit for Carnevale.
At some point during the summer of 2022, I was cleaning out my costume closet and decided I could revamp my old 1570s French Valois Gown into something … my friend Loren of The Costumer’s Closet had made some very pretty gowns inspired by The Borgias (2011-13) TV show, and that gave me an idea.
One party at Carnevale 2023 had the theme of “Once Upon a Time” and invited guests to come in any sort of fairy-tale costumes (but no Disney cosplay!). I looked through my closet and decided on something vaguely wicked stepmother-y using my black gothic fitted dress (which I wore twice that year at Carnevale, making
For a Carnevale afternoon tea with a mystical tarot theme, I dressed as the Queen of Swords, who symbolizes woman as widow, crone, and divorcée. Obviously, this card speaks to me, and I was excited to create all the layers of meaning. In the classic Rider-Waite tarot, the Queen of Swords is wearing a cloak
In an ongoing quest to figure out 18th-century men’s pants for me / Leonard, I started a new pair of breeches that were just going to be to test out the pattern but have developed into a whole new suit. I made umpteen mockups of the fall-front breeches from the original pattern by Eagle’s View
I got this length of fabric from Sarah ages ago and had dreamed of making something long, elegant, and flowy with it. Like a tea gown. So finally, in summer 2022, I went ahead and used the Laughing Moon Mercantile princess-line tea gown pattern with this fabric. There was just barely enough of the velvet,
Carnevale 2023 overlapped with Valentine’s Day, so one party combined both for a red / black / white and commedia dell’arte mashup. I did a broken-hearted twist mostly using things I already had in my costume closet, with some small additions. I used the big red coat from my Nadja costume, plus the dress from
The first event of Carnevale 2023 was a brunch, which called for fancy pajamas. I went for deshabille because I had these fun things to wear that hadn’t seen the light of day yet! Starting with a custom Victorian corset by Redthreaded, using a cotton stripe fabric I provided, then a ruffly black cotton robe and
Lockdown was a drag, and I didn’t feel like sewing anything but I had the idea to commission stuff. At some point in 2021, I requested a custom version of this Spanish 16th-century gown from Fiorentina Costuming on Etsy. The fit and workmanship is great, and the style is exactly what I wanted. Highly recommended and
When Nadja opens a nightclub in season 3 of What We Do in the Shadows, I immediately wanted the red outfit she wears! It’s just so flashy and fun. Also, it’s a little less “typical vampire” than a lot of what she wears, and thus a bit less like my own everyday clothes or things
This costume idea had been brewing in my head, but it wasn’t until a combo of pandemic lockdown and an excellent cosplayer opening up for commissions that it came to fruition. I’d been dreaming of David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane image (which I have a huge poster of) and his Ziggy Stardust persona, but done as
This spring, I was planning on a sabbatical in London, and near the same time, Kendra was going to be in Paris. She found out about a historical ball with an 1870s theme and asked if I wanted to go. Sure! But I didn’t have anything appropriate to wear. Well, I did have an 1870s
My favorite item of 18th-century women’s clothing is the jacket — there are so many varieties and styles, they’re relatively easy to make, and you don’t need much fabric! Plus, you can mix and match jackets with different petticoats to style yourself a fun, versatile wardrobe. I’ve used the J.P. Ryan 18th-century ladies’ jackets pattern
The best party of Carnevale 2022 was Tricia’s Pirates and Mermaids Party on a historical ship that sailed around the lagoon all night! It was a super fun theme in a kick-ass location with awesome people. I didn’t know it would turn out so great, of course, when I was planning my costume, I was
This was not the Edwardian black-and-white stripe suit I planned for Carnevale 2022, but this was the one that turned out pretty damn good in the end. A year before, our group decided to take a walk in Edwardian costumes, preferably in black and white, during Carnevale. So I thought this would finally be the
I missed a few Carnevale parties in 2022 because my luggage was delayed by four days. But I wore most everything around at some time, like this mishmasy-y fantastical outfit that’s kind of 1920s with an exotic flair. I just wanted an excuse to wear this gorgeous purple velvet cocoon coat with a fur collar
