Gatsby is next weekend — I was seriously thinking about not going, because I’m just so dead tired from all that’s been going on the last few months — but enough fabulous people are going that I’ve reconsidered. I was vowing that this year I’d finally have something new to wear — I’ve been wanting to do a c. 1920 blouse & skirt combo for forever, as I love the 1919/1920 natural waistline. I have a vintage blouse that had a stained sleeve (and the sleeves don’t really fit me), so I barely started reworking that (took off the sleeves and put on new ones), but I’m just too beat to really get going on this (plus the fabric I found for the skirt I’m not really thrilled with). So I thought and thought, and decided to wear my perfectly lovely 30s dress that I never wear. I finally realized that it’s mostly the high neckline that I don’t like — I really need a V or other low neckline to not look like my bust is at my knees. So I just spent about an hour redoing the neckline so that it Vs down to where the 2nd button is in those pics.
I’m hoping to pair this with a fabulous 1930s (women’s) fedora that I have. It’s a dark brown, so I’m still trying to decide if it works — I can pair it with these shoes if they get here in time and if they fit. Otherwise, I have an ivory hat and shoes that will work as well, but aren’t as exciting. I’m thinking I’ll use my wave iron to wave my hair, then put it into a chignon — now I have to drag out my Costume College notes to brush up on 30s makeup.
In other random news — finally sat down to watch the DVD version of The Aristocrats, and I wanted to mention that there’s a decent amount of costume info on the behind the scenes stuff. They interview the costumer who talks a lot about the choices he made, and you get to see lots of closeups of the costumes. Worth renting it if you own the VHS!
Also, my husband has been watching the new Ricky Gervais (creator and star of the British version of The Office) show “Extras,” and episode 2 (season 1) takes place on a (fictional) period drama set in the Regency era with some REALLY nice costumes, including a fabulous stripey redingote (if you watch it, pay attention when Maggie is in line for the bathroom!).