On Saturday night the GBACG went to the Gaskell Ball. It was much more successful than I thought it would be — there were at least 35, maybe 40, of us, and I think I got to say hi to most of them.
Possibly because the guild was promoting that specific ball, and probably through some freak of the space/time continuum, the costuming was MUCH better than it usually is (meaning, there was more of it and less corset/prom skirt!). I had an excellent time dancing, chatting with friends and fellow costumers, and stalking all of the lovely costumes. Some of the best gowns were on Barbara, who wore her grey striped (!!) wedding dress (more info on her website), and by Heidi’s recreation of the Madame X dress from the Sargent painting.
I wore my stripedy 1780s robe a l’anglaise, and had fun ratting my hair out. As I was leaving the house I mentioned to my husband, “You know, about half of the people there are going to say, ‘What the $!)# did she do to her hair?'” — and I was right. One person said, “It looks like you’re going for a servant look or something…” Le sigh!