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peers victorian 12th night ball On Saturday I went to the PEERS Victorian 12th Night Ball, which has to have been the most fun that I’ve had at a PEERS ball to date — I think largely because I finally knew people! It was fun to see many Dickens Fair people, and even MORE fun to see some good costuming again (see previous posts about Gaskells for whining about lack-of-period-costumage). I wore my brown late 1830s dress, and finally got out some wire (and fake hair) and made a decent attempt at one of those BIG 1830s do’s (I was trying to channel Cynthia from Wives & Daughters), which had to have been the most fun of the whole evening. Peruse some pictures.

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movie reviews Cold Mountain: As a movie, it’s a mixed bag but I’d definitely say it’s worth watching — it was hard to care about the two main characters as a couple, but I did care about them, and many of the supporting characters, as individuals. The costumes (which is what we’re REALLY interested in here) were beautiful — Nicole Kidman’s early outfits especially really LOOK 1860s. Perfect bell hoops, lots of nice gauzy cotton prints, at least one dress with a fan front.

Kidman’s hats irritated me, but I don’t think it’s because they’re not period — I think it’s because I just don’t feel she is right for the period. She’s SO thin that she looks like a stick wearing a hoopskirt and she needs to lay off the plastic surgery — see Jewel (who is suprisingly NOT painful) in Ride with the Devil for an actress who just looks right in 1860s. Renee Zellweger was convincing in her “I don’t give a hoot what I look like” loose-fitting outfits, but BOTH actresses drove me ABSOLUTELY CRAZY with their hair. Okay, yes, Zellweger’s character didn’t seem to care much what she looked like, but given that, wouldn’t it be more functional to have all of your hair back in a tight braid or a bun so that it’s out of the way while you’re mucking around in the dirt? And yes, Kidman’s character increasingly cared less what SHE looked like, but if her extensions waved around in the breeze one more time, I was really going to have to hurt her. Functional = out of the face. Irritating = carefully dishevelled, lots of loose hair hanging in your face.

Mona Lisa Smile: Another mixed bag as a movie, but also worth watching imho — again, I cared a whole lot more about the supporting characters than I did for annoying Julia Roberts. Roberts is supposed to be a bohemian, which I guess her costumes portrayed well enough given the constraints of the period (ooo look! she’s wearing turquoise!) — but Roberts is SUCH a modern actress and really doesn’t do well in period films. Her hair was particularly modern looking to me (“oh no! can’t mess with the Julia Roberts mane!”). OTOH, many of the college women (especially Julia Stiles and Ginnifer Goodwin as Constance) looked just fabulous — Goodwin’s and Stiles’s hairstyles especially! I loved the poofy blue bridesmaid dresses, the pencil skirts, and Roberts’s brown taffeta party dress.

Next up — Girl with a Pearl Earring!

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What did you get for Christmas? Or Hanukah, or whatever…? I got: – a bunch of the Everyday Fashion books (1909-20, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s) – The Voice of Fashion and Edwardian Modiste books – a vintage 1920s (according to the store) Japanese kimono that my sister saw me lusting over two weeks ago

And with the gift money from my mother-in-law, I bought some Fugawee repro 18th century shoes (which are super cute, but are awfully tight on the toes — I think I need to exchange them for a slightly wider size) and I plan on buying some solid silk for my robe a l’anglaise plus various other odds and ends for other projects.

And you?

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dickens fair wrap up It’s over, I’m tired, it was fun, but I’ll be glad to have my weekends back. On Saturday Heather and I posed in the Dark Garden window — here’s some pictures of us in our undies (along with a few other pictures of me properly attired!).

I failed miserably in my attempts to document the great outfits wandering around the fair due to my inability to bring a camera. There was one woman at the GBACG gathering wearing a fabulous purple and white striped (STRIPES!) bustle dress, which I spotted in an evening incarnation at the Gaskell Ball — plus many many more gorgeous costumes. Hopefully GBACG will have some pictures up soon!

Now I’ve got 1 1/2 weeks off for Christmas break, so I am hoping to do some serious costuming (and some serious movie watching — Girl with a Pearl Earring! Mona Lisa Smile!), which will mean a bit more excitement around here in démodé land.

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Branching Out The Elizabethan Lady site has now become Mode Historique, and she’s branching out (quite successfully!) into Victorians. Take a look at her “Victorian dress diary” — she’s working on a bustle dress, and the underskirt is just gorgeous.