Sewing! Right! That’s something I do! read more about my 1839 Le Follett day dress project
In the Spirit of “We All Started Somewhere”…
I present to you the Gallery of Scary Early Attempts. Have fun!
Costume College Teaching – Thinking Ahead
I’m starting to think about what I’ll teach at Costume College next year, as they are putting together a preliminar list of classes. Right now it’s looking like I’ll be repeating my 18th Century Overview, plus doing a lecture/demo on 18th Century Hair & Makeup (models needed!! Ideally I’d like to have three different models who come to class with their hair set in rollers, so I can style one of each into a 1760s, 1770s, and 1780s look, plus do makeup on one). Less likely is that I’d do a class on library research for costumers. Next year (2008) I’d like to do a demo on How to Drape a 1760s-70s Robe a la Francaise, but I need to make at least one more so I’m sure I have the technique down (don’t want to go claiming I’m an expert yet). Hmm!
Threads Happiness
There are a couple of interesting things in this month’s issue of Threads: the Indianapolis Museum of Art has an exhibit on wedding costume from the 19th & 20th centuries (see the exhibit website for details and some nice images), an article on choosing an iron that includes a nice timeline of the history of irons, a great suggestion about storing fabric (using plastic crates from office supply stores, which avoids the problem of trapping gases [plastic tubs] or transferring acids [cardboard boxes]), and a feature on the back cover on a new line of repro fabrics based on textiles owned by Harriet Beecher Stowe (including a beautiful 1880s painted gown that’s nicely pictured).
For My Bay Area Peeps
The V&A exhibit on Vivienne Westwood is coming to the de Young museum in 2007! Here’s the info on the exhibit from the V&A site. Woot!
Also, GBACG has been busy planning our events and workshops for next year. Something to mark your calendar for is Elizabeth & the Pirate on Feb. 24 in Oakland. This is going to be an amazing event: join Queen Elizabeth I and the Irish pirate Grace O’Malley for a banquet at Sequoia Lodge (where we held the Lord of the Rings dinner). Break out your fanciest Renaissance costumes, or your dressy 16th century pirate gear — or come as a cleaned up peasant. It should be magical — I can’t wait!