While I really want to be working on other projects… read more about my 1540s Florentine gown project
GBACG Guillotine Picnic
Yesterday was the GBACG event, Surviving the Guillotine: A French Revolution picnic, which as you’ll recall I organized. It took place at Mountain View Cemetery, an historic (19th-20th century) cemetery in Oakland. And it was faaaaaaaaaabulous! I had SUCH a good time — perfect weather, everyone looked beautiful and got into the spirit of things, all my preparations and last minute sewing came together, some of my favorite people were there… I just had one of those, “I love playing dress up! I love all you guys!” days. Yay!
The only hitch was that I got there early to set up, so I could be serenely prepared when everyone else showed up — only to lock my keys in my car, with my car parked RIGHT next to our picnic area (where I’d told everyone else not to park!). I totally owe Jana for driving over to my house and back to pick up my husband’s keys.
I had a lot of fun running around cockading and be-ribboning everyone (there’s a pic of me with my basket o’ revolutionary fun, which I am amused by because the ribbons look a bit like gore) — made it very easy to greet everyone and, I hope, help them to feel included. I set up my altar, with flowers, pictures of guillotined, and letters from the soon-to-be-guillotined (which I forgot to have anyone open/read!), although the wind kept blowing out the candles. The singing was a little rusty, but lots of people joined in and we had good success with La Carmagnole and La Marseillaise. The dancing went over very well (I’m hoping someone got some pictures?) – I taught Juice of Barley, Well Hall, and Childgrove (all things English being so popular in France, of course!).
And the costumes! Yay, the costumes! Mine first, of course (hey, it’s my site!): so the little thing I whipped out was, you guessed it, a chemise dress — I was cheerfully resisting the chemise dress phenomenon until Lauren posted this video of her looking SO cute in her chemise (Lauren, I blame you!). Which made me think of my favorite dress from Marie Antoinette — the Comtesse de Polignac’s chemise gown. So I thought hey, why don’t I whip that out? Again, next time I decide to whip something out, remind me not to handsew most of it! Pictures and details here. Thanks to Bridget for the fabulous suggestion of wearing cockades on our shoes!
Everyone else looked fabulous too, as you’ll see from the pictures. I particularly loved Teresa’s chemise dress (in the icon – she looked just like La Madeleine!), Bridget’s hair with the big cockade and feather, Liz and her sister’s outstanding chintz gowns with over the top hats, Trystan’s Marie Antoinette mourning brooch, Janel’s 1780s mourning gown, Katie’s fabulous green tricorn… okay, I should stop listing as it’s going to be endless, and instead link to my pictures!
Trawling the Web
While we wait with bated breath to see the outcome of all TOBG(YN) [The Other Boleyn Girl] costume brouhaha, I found this LA Times article that talks about the costumes in TOBG(YN) and The Tudors (Showtime), and interviews Sandy Powell (costume designer). I like how the author actually acts like Joan Bergin (costume designer for The Tudors) wasn’t on crack.
Also, Trystan found these podcasts from Colonial Williamsburg — near the bottom you’ll find, “Clothing Speaks,” with Linda Baumgarten (textiles and costumes curator, and author of, “What Clothes Reveal”). Haven’t listened to it yet, but I definitely will!
Where I’ve Been
It’s not that I haven’t been around, or that I haven’t been sewing… it’s that I foolishly decided, “Hey, why don’t I just whip something up for the Guillotine Picnic?” So I’ve been doing a bit of offline sewing (because I thought it was just going to be this super quick thing!). Next time I decide to “whip something out,” remind me not the handsew the entire frickin thing. I win the genius prize! The event is Saturday, so you shall see the result of my madness then. Don’t worry, it’s not terribly exciting.
In other news, I have been hugely busy trying to stay on top of my life plus plan every little detail for the Guillotine picnic. To date, I have gathered music and lyrics for the song booklets, found dance music and steps for the dancing, typed up letters from soon-to-be-guillotined personages, found engravings of more guillotined personages, bought a bazillion yards of ribbon (yay for Bastille Day being after July 4th, and for after-July-4th sales!). Thursday night is assembly night, during which I have to make 60 cockades and assemble 60 song booklets (hopefully with a few helpers). Still need to burn music to CD, figure out the stereo, frame engravings, figure out the rest of the altar (we’re going to have an altar in memory of the guillotined), make a sash, sew some organza ruffles on my sleeves… Crikey!
In yet other news, this offline sewing has put a crimp in my Costume College sewing. I am itching to get cracking on the Daniel Deronda dress – Sunday! I shall get weeks of sewing done on Sunday!
Poiret at the Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently hosting an exhibition on designer Paul Poiret (he of the fabulous Orientalist designs of the 1910s). Oh to get to NYC! In the meantime, check out the exhibition details, some photos of the exhibition on Flickr, and what appears to be a Poiret-inspired photo shoot in the May 2007 issue of Vogue. I had a chance to flip through the hefty exhibition catalog at the Museum of Costume in Bath and can report that it looks really nicely done, and shall be at the top of my Christmas list this year. If anyone makes it, take lots of pictures!