Dress U wrap-up
Jun. 4th, 2012 09:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chocolatepotI actually left last night after tayloropolis and Julie's "Telling the Mistress from the Maid" presentation - got home around midnight and went straight to bed. It felt very nice to be back, after my troubles!
(I'm such a dork, on Saturday I went to Julie's presentation on period fabrics and didn't recognize her. I thought she seemed a bit familiar but figured I'd seen her costuming blog or something. After I realized that had been her I understood why I'd felt like I already knew most of what was in her first presentation - of course, we learned it from the same person!)
When everyone else was at the tea party I wandered around the dealer's room. Almost bought The Queen's Servants but decided I was really unlikely to sew any early early Tudor stuff, so I didn't. But at ... a booth (I don't think I picked up their card and now I feel a bit stupid) I did get a very plain 8" hatpin, which I REALLY needed, and a little bag of Amish hairpins, 3" long, which are fantastic. I'm using two to keep up all of my hair right now, I highly recommend them.
While I was sitting in the lobby, reading my 1902 McCall's Magazine, I couldn't help but overhear another attendee on the phone, and I felt so bad for her. I had some troubles with accommodations, but all the classes she wanted to go to had been canceled, and ugh. That must have sucked so much.
I have some pictures I'm going to put up on Blogger. Some of others, some of me. I look great in the ones of me, you should see them. Also, I am in costume! (Look under cut for mysterious details.)
- Choosing Period Fabrics: Julie's class, on dyes and fabric properties. It was very well done, though like I said, very influenced by Denyse. :D I mean that in a good way.
- Survival of the Fittest: Learned that what I really, really need to do is MAKE MOCK-UPS and DOCUMENT CHANGES WELL. Which are two things I kind of knew but it really brought home to me that I need to do them. But I did also pick up some techniques, which is good. I had to laugh when Jenny-Rose described working with her mother, as that's exactly how it is with mine - she's great at sewing, but I have to explain everything about the period aspects and where I need her to take it in.
- The Lazarus Dress: An interesting case study in alteration. I don't know how much I got out of it, but it was interesting.
- Dressing for the Titanic: Despite being fairly well-versed in the era, I think I got something out of it. I definitely enjoyed it! Despite the loud questioner. Also, I think I was bidding against Carrie for that Modern Priscilla magazine she handed around.
- 18th Century Bonnet Workshop: Julie picked me up at the end of Dressing for the Titanic and took me with her to sit in. I had a good time! (I hadn't been that interested in the Tim Burton class, tbh, but I hadn't RSVP'd and didn't think sitting in was an option. I probably could have gone to watch any of the classes, but I didn't realize how few people were going to be there.)tayloropolis is a good speaker, and now I really really want to make myself a bonnet. And a calash, because Costume Diva was working on one later and I loooooooove them.
- Late 16th/Early 17th Century Embroidered Jackets: Very solid presentation. This is the sort of thing I'd been hoping for at the con - a very specific topic with a lot of pictures of extants and explanations of what was similar across them, what one should know to make one re: construction and materials. I didn't have a problem with it being two hours because I'm used to fashion history lectures that go on for three.
- Heian-Era Japanese Clothing: THIS WAS A BLAST. I went (not realizing you were supposed to RSVP) because I'm already pretty good at finding images of garments online and because I want to be better about non-Western clothing traditions; besides, if I didn't come in for a class between the two events, what would I do all morning? As soon as I came in and sat down, Leah asked me to stand up and then said she'd like to use me as the model because I was the right size for Heian-Era Japan and my clothes were skimpy enough (compared to those in costume) that I could put things on over them. I've got about a dozen pictures of me having a million layers put on, and it was super fun. At the end we took my hair down - I say we because my hands were under several very long sleeves and I couldn't do it myself - and parted in in the middle and put it in my face to be accurate. So much fun!
- During the tea party I sat in the lobby and read antique periodicals. Leah came along and read my Home Dressmaker (1924) and we sat and read companionably.
- You Need A Little Math: This was excellent. (Kay reminded me a bit of Desirée, our textile history professor.) It was all about finding the proper proportions of flounces, skirt widths, etc. to achieve a balanced look - not overwhelming your clothes with parts that are too big or too small for your body. Kind of a couture thing, really, but at the same time not? I can't make my thoughts here make sense. But it was very, very worthwhile.
- 19th Century Parasols and Umbrellas: I actually meant to sit in on Sharon Ann Burnston's patterning class, to pick up some expert pointers, but they switched the rooms and by the time I figured it out it would have been awkward to leave. But in the end, I think I got some really good information on dating parasols that will be very helpful to me in my career, esp. if I come across any parasols in the Chapman's collection.
- Characteristics of Civil War Fashion: Again, some very very good points I might not have thought about on my own. Sort of an expansion on the things I knew about, getting into the details where I knew the big picture.
- Telling the Mistress from the Maid: Julie joked when I came in that I could teach it, and I did know a lot of the information, but I still got lots out of it! It was especially interesting to heartayloropolis's discussion of what she does to age her own garments.
Thoughts for next year - definitely stay at wherever it's being held, definitely go to at least two events, definitely make something to wear. It's not on purpose but it always felt a little bit like there was a clear curtain between the people in costume and the people not; partially, I think, because the people who were dressed up knew each other well and those of us not dressed up were newer to the field, but it's also hard to just start chatting about nothing to someone in an amazing Edwardian/Regency/medieval outfit. It's much easier to turn to someone dressed unobtrusively and be like, "hey, it's cold in here, isn't it?"
Also, definitely go to one of SAB's classes. But don't remind her I wrote that babbly email to her after she wrote one to me after that 18cLife fight.
tayloropolis and Julie's "Telling the Mistress from the Maid" presentation - got home around midnight and went straight to bed. It felt very nice to be back, after my troubles!(I'm such a dork, on Saturday I went to Julie's presentation on period fabrics and didn't recognize her. I thought she seemed a bit familiar but figured I'd seen her costuming blog or something. After I realized that had been her I understood why I'd felt like I already knew most of what was in her first presentation - of course, we learned it from the same person!)
When everyone else was at the tea party I wandered around the dealer's room. Almost bought The Queen's Servants but decided I was really unlikely to sew any early early Tudor stuff, so I didn't. But at ... a booth (I don't think I picked up their card and now I feel a bit stupid) I did get a very plain 8" hatpin, which I REALLY needed, and a little bag of Amish hairpins, 3" long, which are fantastic. I'm using two to keep up all of my hair right now, I highly recommend them.
While I was sitting in the lobby, reading my 1902 McCall's Magazine, I couldn't help but overhear another attendee on the phone, and I felt so bad for her. I had some troubles with accommodations, but all the classes she wanted to go to had been canceled, and ugh. That must have sucked so much.
I have some pictures I'm going to put up on Blogger. Some of others, some of me. I look great in the ones of me, you should see them. Also, I am in costume! (Look under cut for mysterious details.)
- Choosing Period Fabrics: Julie's class, on dyes and fabric properties. It was very well done, though like I said, very influenced by Denyse. :D I mean that in a good way.
- Survival of the Fittest: Learned that what I really, really need to do is MAKE MOCK-UPS and DOCUMENT CHANGES WELL. Which are two things I kind of knew but it really brought home to me that I need to do them. But I did also pick up some techniques, which is good. I had to laugh when Jenny-Rose described working with her mother, as that's exactly how it is with mine - she's great at sewing, but I have to explain everything about the period aspects and where I need her to take it in.
- The Lazarus Dress: An interesting case study in alteration. I don't know how much I got out of it, but it was interesting.
- Dressing for the Titanic: Despite being fairly well-versed in the era, I think I got something out of it. I definitely enjoyed it! Despite the loud questioner. Also, I think I was bidding against Carrie for that Modern Priscilla magazine she handed around.
- 18th Century Bonnet Workshop: Julie picked me up at the end of Dressing for the Titanic and took me with her to sit in. I had a good time! (I hadn't been that interested in the Tim Burton class, tbh, but I hadn't RSVP'd and didn't think sitting in was an option. I probably could have gone to watch any of the classes, but I didn't realize how few people were going to be there.)
tayloropolis is a good speaker, and now I really really want to make myself a bonnet. And a calash, because Costume Diva was working on one later and I loooooooove them.- Late 16th/Early 17th Century Embroidered Jackets: Very solid presentation. This is the sort of thing I'd been hoping for at the con - a very specific topic with a lot of pictures of extants and explanations of what was similar across them, what one should know to make one re: construction and materials. I didn't have a problem with it being two hours because I'm used to fashion history lectures that go on for three.
- Heian-Era Japanese Clothing: THIS WAS A BLAST. I went (not realizing you were supposed to RSVP) because I'm already pretty good at finding images of garments online and because I want to be better about non-Western clothing traditions; besides, if I didn't come in for a class between the two events, what would I do all morning? As soon as I came in and sat down, Leah asked me to stand up and then said she'd like to use me as the model because I was the right size for Heian-Era Japan and my clothes were skimpy enough (compared to those in costume) that I could put things on over them. I've got about a dozen pictures of me having a million layers put on, and it was super fun. At the end we took my hair down - I say we because my hands were under several very long sleeves and I couldn't do it myself - and parted in in the middle and put it in my face to be accurate. So much fun!
- During the tea party I sat in the lobby and read antique periodicals. Leah came along and read my Home Dressmaker (1924) and we sat and read companionably.
- You Need A Little Math: This was excellent. (Kay reminded me a bit of Desirée, our textile history professor.) It was all about finding the proper proportions of flounces, skirt widths, etc. to achieve a balanced look - not overwhelming your clothes with parts that are too big or too small for your body. Kind of a couture thing, really, but at the same time not? I can't make my thoughts here make sense. But it was very, very worthwhile.
- 19th Century Parasols and Umbrellas: I actually meant to sit in on Sharon Ann Burnston's patterning class, to pick up some expert pointers, but they switched the rooms and by the time I figured it out it would have been awkward to leave. But in the end, I think I got some really good information on dating parasols that will be very helpful to me in my career, esp. if I come across any parasols in the Chapman's collection.
- Characteristics of Civil War Fashion: Again, some very very good points I might not have thought about on my own. Sort of an expansion on the things I knew about, getting into the details where I knew the big picture.
- Telling the Mistress from the Maid: Julie joked when I came in that I could teach it, and I did know a lot of the information, but I still got lots out of it! It was especially interesting to hear
tayloropolis's discussion of what she does to age her own garments.Thoughts for next year - definitely stay at wherever it's being held, definitely go to at least two events, definitely make something to wear. It's not on purpose but it always felt a little bit like there was a clear curtain between the people in costume and the people not; partially, I think, because the people who were dressed up knew each other well and those of us not dressed up were newer to the field, but it's also hard to just start chatting about nothing to someone in an amazing Edwardian/Regency/medieval outfit. It's much easier to turn to someone dressed unobtrusively and be like, "hey, it's cold in here, isn't it?"
Also, definitely go to one of SAB's classes. But don't remind her I wrote that babbly email to her after she wrote one to me after that 18cLife fight.
