Rococo High School

I don’t know about you, but I love Neo-Historical / Fantasy worlds set up somewhat like ours, with work, school, shopping malls, transport, buildings, etc. adapted to that specific world. Examples of these would be the Flinstones, the Jetsons, Trollz, Winx Club, Shrek the Third (with Worcestershire Academy – see my post on their uniforms here), Ella Enchanted, Harry Potter, and many more.

I recently wondered what an 18th Century Neo-Historical Fantasy High School would be like. And of course, what people would wear! Introducing Rococo High: a regular High School set in a Neo-Historical version of the second half of the 18th century.

Rococo High School Crest

As with every high school, you can often recognize what group kids belong to by looking at their clothes. And because I was at the bottom of the “Cool” pyramid in high school AND I finished in ’99, I may not be up to date on the proper lingo. My apologies.

Keep in mind that these are the general cut of garments for the period. Hairstyles should also reflect the fashionable styles from 1750 to 1790.

1779 Men's Fashion Plate

1770-80 Polonaise, Levite & Round Gowns, Rocking Horse Farm Patterns

The popular girls – dressed in frilly pastel dresses of the latest fashion, sporting cute little purses and fans. They look straight out of Marie-Antoinette (2006).

The cutest guys in school – also dressed in the best brands, clean cut, ready to attend court.

The jocks – they wear letter jackets of course! In my high school, the letter jackets were green wool, white leather sleeves and gold lettering. How about you?

The Cheerleaders – they wear incredibly short skirts – mid calf! – with peasant shirts and laced corselet in the school’s colours. And of course, they have pompoms!

The tough guys – Wearing leather jackets and vests and black denim pants.

The Goth Girl inspiration: Pet en L'air Back view, by Stahlrose

The Goth girl – wears extravagantly cut black dresses and dramatic make-up.

The Yoz (at least that is how we used to call them) - his clothes are baggy, he does not bother buttoning up his vest and he usually wears his Tricorn backwards.

The inspiration for the Teacher's Pet: Red Plaid Polonaise by Crookedpin

The teacher’s pet – wears a red tartan dress over a white or cream skirt, a lace partlet ruffled at the neck and tied with a black satin bow.

The Country Kids – their clothes are made of blue denim and their Tricorn could be white felt or brown leather, in lieu of a cowboy hat.

Rococo High Student Concept by Gwenyver

Regular student – just like today I see teens wear jeans and hoodies, I see Rococo High teen girls wearing hooded Caraco and denim skirt. This one is actually my Rococo High costume project (as mentioned in my 2012 Resolutions). It is what started this whole thought process.

As you can see some ideas are more developed than others. The point is, the possibilities are almost endless; the only limit is your imagination. For instance, when I was in high school, there was a craze for everything army; boys and girls wore camouflage print on t-shirts, sweaters, miniskirts, you name it. A camouflage Caraco and khaki skirt could be another interesting idea. Something inspired by sportswear could also be great. Imagine a red Adidas jacket and pants with double white lines down the sides for the track star. If Sue Sylvester can have wedding dress in that style, why could it not fit in Rococo High?

Are you feeling inspired yet? Any ideas tickling your brain? If so, come and enrol into Rococo High (on Facebook)!

Toddler Wonder Woman

My first costume of the year is complete! It is a Wonder Woman dress for my 3 1/2 years old Godsdaughter who loves that Super Hero (and Marvel Super Heroes in general). Of course, that would be a lot more impressive if it wasn't in fact a month late; you see, I meant to have it ready early in December to have it mailed to her in time to be worn for the Holidays, but no matter. I gave it to her in person tonight and she was really happy. "What is it sweetie?" "Mine!"

Wonder Woman Toddler Dress

I used pattern Simplicity 7120, but without any collar and only one layer of skirt. As for fabric, the gold star patterned blue satin was bought after Halloween specifically for this project; the bodice and sleeves are made of red glitterdot leftover from an Elvis costume my mom made my brother years ago; the gold glitterdot used for the "W" sign and the sleeves cuffs is leftover from my first Irish Dancing solo dress. The bodice is fused with black interfacing to make it a little stiffer - glitterdot fabric is so flimsy. The bodice and sleeves are lined with red polyester lining.

Wonder Woman Toddler Headband

On each of the sleeve's cuffs, I tacked an embroidered red star as a reminder of the wrist cuffs Wonder Woman wears. I used a third embroidered red star which I glued (with E-6000 glue) on a thin gold headband (bought at the dollar store). This is in lieu of her gold crown.

I did not (yet) get a picture of my Godsdaughter in her dress, but I did try it on my daughter to make sure it would fit (they are currently the same size). Besides, I couldn't not to - when she saw the dress and I said it wasn't for her, she asked in the most pitiful voice "but what about me?".

Wonder Woman Toddler - Front

Wonder Woman Toddler - Back

(I hope no one gets jealous over this.)

Now the best thing is, and I learned this after the dress was given, is that my Godsdaughter's parents had already planned to have a "Super Hero Tea Party" for her up-coming birthday, so this outfit will be perfect for her. I wish we could go. The girls get along so splendidly, but a Montréal-Toronto drive is not an easy thing. We'll see! (Should we go, I imagine I would need to make my daughter a Super Hero costume of some sort; better start thinking about it.)