While many of us simply adore immersing ourselves in past times, the history, the fashions, the literature, and all the ephemera, one thing we take for granted is our modern corrective eyewear. If you’re lucky to have 20/20 vision, or still young enough that the natural degeneration of eyesight due to aging hasn’t caught up
One last-minute outfit for Costume College 2024 was very loosely inspired (pun intended) by the 1910s Austrian dress reform designs of Emilie Flöge. These styles were corset-free and intended to give women more liberty and freedom of movement. Flöge had a successful boutique with her unconventional fashion designs, but she’s also known as the muse of
After Carnevale 2024, I was randomly hankering to make something! And I had this gorgeous burgundy liquid metallic velvet in my stash that somehow said “princess gown” like Sleeping Beauty style. Which technically is a mid-15th-century Burgundian style like this Pinterest board and these: Complete with the pointy hennin, of course. But I wasn’t interested
I’ve had this fabric earmarked for Leonard’s 16th-century suit for ages, and I finally bit the bullet and commissioned Jenn to make it for me. After all, she’s the pro, having made countless gorgeous such suits for fellas in the Court of St. George. We had a great time planning the design and during the
This is the presentation to accompany the lecture I gave at Costume College 2018. The topic was a look at the documented images of Mary Queen of Scots from her lifetime and her wardrobe inventories of 1556-1569. Mary Queen of Scots Wardrobe Unlock’d – Costume College 2018 class PDF In addition to many online images
This is the presentation to accompany the lecture I gave at Costume College 2018. The topic was what a fashion accessory that we derisively call a “head necklace” over on Frock Flicks, and here I explain that there are a few times and places when this item actually was worn and isn’t snarkable. Myths, Truths,
This is the presentation to accompany the lecture I gave at Costume College 2017. The topic was what women wore during the height of the suffrage movement at the turn of the 20th century, what colors were symbolic of the movement in the U.S. and U.K., and how the symbols were used. Suffragette Fashions: Myths
This is the presentation to accompany the lecture I gave at Costume College 2016. The topic was the evolution of the gothic subculture’s fashion, rising out of punk in the 1970s and combining historical fashion elements with music, literature, art, and pop culture, plus how gothic fashion became high fashion. Punk + History = Gothic
This is the presentation to accompany the lecture I gave at Costume College 2015. The topic was how black clothing has been worn over the centuries, sometimes for mourning the dead but also for utilitarian reasons and for fashion by different classes in western Europe. Black, It’s Not Just for Mourning – Costume College 2015
I have a hankering to recreate Charlotte Brontë’s going-away dress, c. 1854. Specifically to wear at Costume College in 2015, since the theme will be “Plucked From the Pages,” aka books and literary characters. I have a pattern (really just a scaled diagram) taken from the actual dress that is at the Brontë Parsonage Museum
Or as I tend to think of it: Fancy Man Bags! Because the discerning Elizabethan gent needed a sassy little purse to carry his hankie or a few coins in. Women seemed to hide pockets & such in their voluminous skirts, while the men showed off their goods, ehem, with highly decorated purses that were
One of my favorite styles of 16th-century headgear is the tall crowned hat. It was first worn by men starting around the 1570s mostly in England, the Low Countries, & Spain. Women soon adopted the style, particularly when worn with high-necked doublet-style bodices. This fashion was hugely popular, which lead to criticism by the early
You’d think I would have made one of these by now, given that “Elizabethan” is my One True Costuming Love & late 16th-century lowland Scots is my SCA persona. But no, I’ve yet to make the ever-practical English fitted gown. So it’s about time. You’ve seen all the period images before, but I’ve added a
Making lemonade out of lemons — since my hair fell out from chemo, this seems like a good time to go for one of those freaky-cool shaved-forehead styles that has popped up in various points of history. Go big or go home! At first, I though of Burgundian 1470s. It’s a period I don’t know
You might think of the purse as a pretty modern invention. Not so! People have needed to carry their crap around for millennia, both women & men. Here are some nifty purses to inspire your next project.