Thanks to the GBACG list for the heads up — LACMA has put up some scaled patterns for some men’s 18th century garments that you can download for free. The banyan in particular is really cool. Loren/bauhausfrau mentioned on LJ that the curators said they may be doing the woman’s 18th c. redingote (which I hope is the stripey one with big buttons that I can’t find a picture of online but that made me swoon when I saw it in the catalogue) – cross your fingers!
Colonial Williamsburg Accessories Conference
So, I normally don’t make New Year’s resolutions — I mean, ever. But last night I couldn’t sleep, and one of the many resolutions I out-of-nowhere settled on was to try to post at least five times a week on this here blog. Because it’s languishing, and that’s silly! And I have lots of stuff to post about, so I just need to get my butt in gear. I might do a bit more “general costume history” in addition to what I’m up to…
First thing to post about: I’m going to the Colonial Williamsburg Costume Accessories symposium in March! I am super excited, because as you know I have been all about the 18th century for the last few years… not just in my costuming, but also in my research. So I’m excited about getting to hear new research and hopefully meet some interesting people! I’ll be going a few days early so as to have time to run around in costume and have fun. The last (and only) time I went to CW, we had literally one day, so there’s so much left to see and do. Also, it’ll be fab because lots of costumers I know are going, so it should be a real party! If you’ll be around, let me know and we’ll hook up!
Of course, this adds new wrinkles to my costuming to-d0 list… the short version is that I want to finish the Brunswick and make a 1770s riding habit. Of course, I NEED to finish my stays before I can start on the habit, and given that it’s hand sewing, there’s only so much I can do to make things go faster. I’ve spent a good deal of my winter break sewing, and will continue to do so, but I think I’m letting go of the need to hand sew the habit — I think it’s going to have to involve some machine sewinBut g to get it done in time. But more on that in another post!
Marie Antoinette costume/colors blog posting
A nice post from ColourLovers about Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. I like the color palettes they drew from the film!
Stays Channel Progress Update
So I would make all these grand proclamations about “I’m really back now!” — but life has just been incredibly hectic this fall, and I’m hoping it will start calming down, but I can make no assurances. I am here, and I am actually sewing! But work, in particular, has been butt-kicking-ly busy this semester, which just doesn’t leave me a lot of mental energy.
That being said, hand sewing stays has been the perfect project, because it’s eminently portable, so I’ve been doing a lot of sewing on the train (and a little in meetings or on the couch at home). Of course I’ve gotten distracted a few times by other projects… but more on that in another post!
For now, I can report that I’ve finished sewing the channels on the side backs and sides, and am almost done with one of the backs. So that leaves one more back, and then the fronts (which are, of course, the biggest/most complicated).
I’m SO glad I started with the least-likely-to-be-seen piece — the side back — as my stitching has definitely improved over time. It’s not perfect by a long shot, but I’m relatively pleased with how the sides turned out. The stays advice at Diary of a Mantua Maker has been super helpful, most especially the bits about “use an unbent needle” (I know, DUH, right? But I am here to tell you that it’s a very possible mistake to make, and when you switch to a straight needle, things will work much better), move around the piece, and pin the bejeezus out of it (seriously, do it at right angles to the line you’re stitching, and do about 5 pins every 1″ — move the pins up as you work). Also, I found it’s better to pull out wonky stitches right away than to hope they won’t show, because when you’re done, it’s way more annoying to pull out a whole section of stitches and resew them.
So, here’s one of the finished side backs with a macro image of the stitching — it doesn’t look as bad in the picture as it does IRL — and ditto, one of the sides with somewhat improved stitching.
Digital Collections of Extant Costumes: New Additions
I’ve been adding new resources as I find them to the Digital Collections of Extant Costumes directory (ah! it’s so easy! it’s just one link! yay!)… unfortunately I’m not sure if I remember all of the new ones, but here’s an attempt!
- Göteborgs Museum’s collection database
- Brighton Museum & Art Gallery’s collection database
- Leeds Museums & Galleries’s collection database
- National Museums of Scotland’s collection database
- Historic New England’s collection highlights
- Museovirasto – thanks to Hana, more collection higlights in two exhibitions
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa – thanks to the Dreamstress, here’s their collection database
There might be others in there that I added relatively recently but have forgotten about, so it might be worth skimming through to see if anything catches your eye. As always, let me know if you find anything new out there!