2014 Costumer's Picnic in pictures / Pique-Nique des costumiers 2014 en photos

(La version Française se trouve plus bas.)

Last Saturday was held the annual Quebec Society of Amateur Costumers costumer's picnic. It was a beautiful warm day and sunny day, and there were many new faces this year. Costumes were varied, just the way we like it: Steampunk, Superheroes, Medieval-Fantasy, Teen era, 1940's, India, Pirate, etc.

Samedi dernier s'est tenu le Pique-Nique Annuel des Costumiers de la Société des Costumiers Amateurs du Québec. C'était une magnifique journée chaude et ensoleillée, et plusieurs nouveaux visages se sont joints à nous cette année. Les costumes étaient variés, comme nous les aimons: Steampunk, Superhéros, Médiéval-Fantastique, Années 10, Années 40, Inde, Pirate, etc.

 

Group picture (minus Nancy-Raven & Son who left early) / 

Photo de groupe (avec Nancy-Raven et son fils absent car ils ont dû quitter plus tôt)

Nancy-Raven & Son (photo by Laurie) / Nancy-Raven et son fils (photo de Laurie)

Please note that Nancy-Raven is wearing a Shocking Pink Sari. This needs mentioning as she never used to wear any other colour than black (remember our 10 year High School Reunion, when she dressed as the Wicked Witch of the North Shore?). You have to admit, the colour looks great on her.

Veuillez noter que Nancy-Raven porte un Sari Rose Fushia, Je le mentionne parce que pendant longtemps, elle ne portait que du noir (vous vous souvenez de notre réunions de Secondaire 10e anniversaire, quand elle avait décider de s'habiller en Vilaine Sorcière de la Rive-Nord?). Il faut admettre que cette couleur lui va à merveille.

Food time!  / À la bouffe!

Mommy, who is that pretty Lady? / Maman, qui est cette jolie demoiselle?

Food fit for a Pirate (photo by Laurie) / Un Repas digne d'un Pirate (photo de Laurie)

Laurie in her Wearing History 1940's sailor dress /

Laurie dans sa robe nautique des années 40 de Wearing History

 My little Indian Princess / Ma petite princesse Indienne

I found that dress at Value Village for 5.99$. And what a find it was! If you look closely, the front of the bodice and skirt are decorated with pearls and lots of them.

J'ai trouvé cette robe au Village des Valeurs pour 5.99$. Quelle trouvaille ce fut! Si vous regardez bien, le devant du corsage et de la jupe sont décorés de perles en grande quantité.

 My little gentleman / Mon petit monsieur

I was going to dress my son with pants, a shirt and his 11th Doctor Jacket, but it was just too hot and humid, so instead, I choose a polo onesie and shorts that match his pageboy cap.

J'avais planifié d'habiller mon garçon avec un pantalon, une chemise et son veston de 11e Docteur, mais il faisait beaucoup trop chaud et humide, je l'ai donc plutôt habillé d'une combinaison polo et d'un short assortis à sa casquette de petit monsieur.

In true Me fashion, I decided to make myself a new dress, and I made it last minute, finishing at 1 AM on the day of the event. But I am happy with the result.

Étant fidèle à moi-même, j'ai décidé de me faire une nouvelle robe, et je l'ai confectionnée à la dernière minute, la complétant à 1h du matin le jour de l'évènement.
 

Teen Era Garden Party Dress / Robe de Garden-party années 10

It was inspired by Lady Mary's garden party dress from the 1st season finale of Downton Abbey, but I'll tell you all about it in another post.

That was this year's picnic. We were quite lucky to have such a lovely day (though the ground was still a bit humid from the rainstorm a few days before), and we were thrilled to see the event grow again this year. Here is to a bigger, better picnic next year!

Ma robe est inspirée par celle portée par Lady Mary pour la garden-party dans la finale de la première saison de Downton Abbey, mais je vous en parlerai plus longuement dans un autre billet.

C,était le pique-nique de cette année. Nous étions vraiment chanceux d'avoir une si belle journée (quoique le sol était encore humide suite à l'orage survenu quelques jours auparavant), et nous étions vraiment touchés de voir l,évènement grandir encore cette année. Souhaitons-nous un pique-nique encore plus gros et plus réussis l'an prochain!

1920's Obsession

I love to look and drool at vintage garments on websites such as AntiqueDress.com and Vintage Textile. It is the best way to pass the time! While looking at all the beauties for sale or already sold, I have found many dresses I am dying to make.

In this post I will present the three 1920's dresses that have caught my fancy. I had never imagined that I could get so obsessed with the specific cut of dresses from that time, but I cannot get these out of my mind. I know I must try to figure out their patterns and make them for myself.

1. Burned Velvet ans Chiffon

c. 1922/23 Flapper Dress of Raspberry and Coral Silk Cut Velvet Chiffon

The front and back are simple rectangular pieces with a curved opening for the neckline. The left hand side has chiffon gathers held low on the waist by a rhinestone ornament. There is a lining layer of the same chiffon under the dress. According to the description, this dress has no closure; it just goes on over the head and is meant to be worn loose.

I am unsure of the exact shape of the chiffon gathers at the side, but I expect a little draping will help me figure it out.

2. Brocade and Rhinestones

Metallic brocade flapper evening dress, c.1925

This dress has gathered shoulders, a triangular hanging extension over the left arm as well as at the front and back, a faux wrapped waistband and lined skirt. The fabric is metallic brocade and there are two rhinestones flower appliqués decorating the front of the dress.

Unfortunately, I can no longer find this dress on the website where I had discovered it, so I have to no description to go by, only the photos I saved for my own reference. This will also require some draping to figure out the pattern. But I did see the perfect brocade for it at Fabricville.

3. Medieval Inspiration

Gallenga hand-stenciled tea gown, c.1920

Maria Monaci Gallenga was well known for her Medieval style gowns. This gown is loose fitting, ankle length, has long pointed sleeves and a square back train. The sleeves are joined to the body of the gown at the armholes with tubular Venetian glass beads. Mille fiore Venetian beads also decorate the points of the sleeves.

Made of modern stretch velvet, I bet this dress would be incredibly comfortable to wear.

So there you have it, these are my three 1920's obsession.With The Great Gatsby coming out this December, I hope and wish I can make at least one of them to wear for the Holidays.

100 years ago in fashion

2010. Just think about it for a second: 100 years ago, it was 1910. The world had not yet lived through two World Wars, or the Titanic, and the most popular car was the Ford Model T! King Edward VII died in may of that year, ending the Edwardian Era as we now call it.

Let's reminisce a little about that period, which most of our great-grandparents probably knew.

Les Dessous Elegants, Mars 1910, page27 (From Wikipedia Commons)

In 1910, women still wore corsets. This piece of underwear would soon disappear from the fashionable lady's drawer, thanks to designers such as Paul Poiret and world changing events such as the Great War, but for now it was still present. It was known as the Long-Line Corset as it covered the hips and thighs to agree with the new style of dress in which the width of the skirt had moved from the waist down to the ankles. And F.Y.I., this corset used strips of elastic fabric in it's construction.

1910 Fashion Plate (From Wikipedia Commons)

Around that time, there was a Classical revival in fashion. Inspired by the early 18th century style of dresses, themselves inspired by Ancient Rome and Athens, the waistline moved up (but not as high as in Regency Fashion) and the skirts became straighter. It is to achieve this look that the Long-Line Corset was developed.

Hat, 1911-1913, 20th century, 14.3 cm, Gift of Mrs. Ward Pitfield. M970.29.9 © McCord Museum

In Edwardian times, women wore huge hats, with wide brims, and heavily decorated with feathers and flowers; the bigger the head wear was, the better.

Laura Jean Libbey, August 1910 (From Wikipedia Commons)

In 1910, the woman who wore all these would have been a very fashionable lady. Nothing to do with throwing on jeans and a t-shirt to run to the grocery store! (I agree the latter is much faster to put on and much more comfortable.)

And what did the men wear?

Executive, McGill Union, Montreal, QC, 1910, Wm. Notman & Son, 1910, 20th century, Photograph, Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process, 20 x 25 cm, Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd. II-178206 © McCord Museum

A three-piece suit over a shirt an tie. As you can see from the picture, it hasn't evolved all that much in a century. The biggest change in men's wear (and this is also true for women) is the loss of the hat. Until the 60's, no well dressed person would leave their home without a hat, where as today, hats are either fashion statements or worn for practical reasons (for instance, here in the winter it is highly recommended you wear a tuque to keep warm). In 1910, men would mostly wear either Derby or Bowler hats.

Are you feeling a little nostalgic? I mean, none of us were actually alive back then (unless I have 100 year old readers), but still, people looked good. But I do love my jeans.

Movie Monday: Me and Orson Welles

Oh, this brings back memories of Film Study classes of days gone by! Think Citizen Kane (1941).

Me and Orson Welles (2009), out in theatres next Friday, tells the story of one crazy week in the life of 1937 teenager Richard Samuel: the week he meat Orson Welles!

Wait, did I say 1937? Costumes! (I knew this was not just school reminiscing on my part).

Zac Efron as Richard Samuels and Claire Danes as Sonja Jones, Me and Orson Welles (2009)

A few quick notes about the 1930's: this is the time of the Great Depression, before the Second World War. For most people, money is scarce. In the world of fashion, this led to the wide use of Bias cut fabric: you get more out of less (something that was already known in Medieval times, but was forgotten over time).

So Ladies, flutter sleeves and crossed or halter neckeline are "de rigueur", just as moderately full but longer skirt are. Polka dot is THE print of the decade, hair are wavy and berets are worn sideways.

Men, get those suspenders out of storage, wear white-t-shirts as underwear, and if you have any sense of style, a double breasted jacket is what you are looking for. Think Prohibition Era Gangsters and Al Capone; those are your fashion icons!

Edwardian / Titanic inspired Evening Dress

I bet "Office Party" season has began for everyone. I know these past few years, all of us girls began discussing what we would wear before Halloween had even come to pass. So how can you reconcile your love for costumes with fancy diner with co-workers? (In my case, it was a huge party in a reception hall and attires went from Jeans to Prom dresses, so you could pretty much get away with anything).

Last year, I was 7 month pregnant by the time the Office Party came to be. All of my fancier outfits did not fit my belly, so I just HAD to make something new (I have an excuse every year, I know, but you have to admit, that was a good one).

Original "Jump Dress" Drawing, Titanic (1997)

I happened to have a (lab grown) oval sapphire pendant surrounded by (lab grown) diamonds and it reminded me of The Heart of the Ocean. That inspired me to turn to Rose's dresses in James Cameron's Oscar winning movie, Titanic.

Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, Titanic (1997)

Designed by Deborah Lynn Scott, the costumes in Titanic are beautiful, romantic and dramatic. Of course, I have wanted for many years to reproduce one of them (famous last words), but I guess the next best thing is to make something that has a certain costume feel.

For my dress, I was inspired by Rose's Jump Dress: I loved the red with black lace effect. It's other advantage was that is is en empire waist, which I needed to fit my growing belly.

Gwenyver's Edwardian inspired Evening Dress

I found this beautiful black lace fabric at a decent price, and after hesitating a little (but only a little - I had hoped to go for some bejewelled lace), I go just enough for my dress, and I am glad I did because it came out great. For the red fabric, I had hoped to get satin, but I ended up using this polyester silk imitation that was dirt cheap and actually worked better. As for the pattern, I made it up. It consists of an empire waist bodice with darts, short sleeves and a below the knee gathered skirt. I did originally consider having the lace over skirt be split up the center, sort of like the Jump Dress, but I decided against it as I was afraid it would only serve to outline my baby bump (I know it sounds dumb, but having always been self conscious about my weight and body shape, I felt uncomfortable with the new maternity fashion that really accents the tummy area).

At the time, I wanted a short skirt, but now, I almost wish I had made it floor length so I could wear it as a period dress.

Gwenyver, Seven Month Pregnant, December 2008

So there it is. Guess when I finished it? That's right, the night before. Once it was done, I found that the neckline was a little too high for my taste, but I had been afraid to make it too low. That's OK, I can easily fix it by cutting a few inches away (it would have been much harder to add some had I originally cut too much!).

My co-workers were very impressed. My supervisor kept saying it was just like Haute Couture. Well, I don't know about that, but it is true that it is a very nice dress.

The Evolution of Fashion in 30 seconds

There are costumes everywhere. I've said this often, and I have yet a new example for you.

Have you seen the new Tena commercial on Tele? I know, it is an add for incontinence solutions, but lets try to ignore that here. What is cool is they show 200 years of fashion evolution in less than 30 seconds. OK, sure that means they had to make some choices and show only a few costumes, but I still think it's fun.

Can you identify them all? First we have an 18th century / Marie-Antoinette style gown (well, at least that is what it is supposed to represent, because it's not exactly perfectly period per se), then a late 19th century Bustle Gown, followed by a 1920's flapper look, completed with cloche hat, a 1950's dress and finally an evening gown which could be from the 80's, but is probably meant to represent today's fashion (styles comes back every 20 years or so, you know).

It's a cute add. It pleases this costumer. Sure, it's not going to encourage me to buy the product (I'm really not in their target market), but the message is clear.

Just like Fashion evolves, so do many other things.

Wednesday Weekly Wishlist: Private Helga Geerhart

British Humour, for a North American or French person, can be a little strange. But I love it. One of my Sweetheart and mine's favorite TV show is an old British sitcom called 'Allo, 'Allo!. It ran on BBC1 from 1982 to 1992, so of course, I was too young at the time, but my aunt and uncle introduced us to it some years ago and we couldn't get enough of it. It's stupid, but funny.

The story is set in a small French town during the German Occupation. On the one side, you have the Germans, mainly Colonel Kurt Von Strohm, Lieutenant Hubert Gruber, Captain Hans Geering, Major-General Erich Von Klinkerhoffen and Private Helga Geerhart, and on the other, the resistance lead by Michelle "of the Resistance" Dubois. Stuck in the middle, trying to mind and run his own business is Café owner René Artois, his waitresses, Yvette, Maria and later Mimi (all of whom are madly in love with him), his wife Edith, his mother-in-law Fanny and the Forger/Pianist Monsieur LeClerc. Oh, and the two British airmen hidden in his cellar.

Kim Hartman as Private Helga Geerhart, Sue Hodge as Mimi Labonq, Gorden Kaye as René Artois and Vicki Michelle as Yvette Carte-Blanche, 'Allo, 'Allo! (1982)

I love the character of Helga. She is devious, will associate with the strongest man around, doesn't mind getting her clothes off to get what she wants, and has iconic phrases such as "BRRIINNG-THEM-IN-HHHERE!". Plus she has that Marlene Dietrich look. So I would like to make a Helga costume, but there is an important "But": to anyone not familiar with the series, I would be wearing a German WWII "female of the opposite sex" uniform, and that might be misinterpreted as me being a Nazi. Which I'm not.

I guess as long as I don't wear silk knickers "with little swastikas around the edge", I should be OK, though, right?

I'm very interested on your opinion on the matter; not the knickers, but wearing a costume that might offend people. Are you for or against?

Military Uniforms: Evolution from Napoleon to WWII

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. Although I am against Wars and don't particularly encourage the Military, I can't really ignore the date. Sooo...

No one in my family ever served during the two World Wars. My Grand Dad, a Frenchman, was recruited as a translator after the Second World War, but only because he lived in the mess that was Europe after fighting was over (and because he was too young to be drafted before that).

But my Sweetheart did take the Officer's Course (if that is the right term) when he was in his twenties, my friend Sciath was in the Navy and I have another friend, J., who still is in the Navy. So for them, I salute this days the only way I, your favorite Costumeholic, can.

By talking clothes. Military Uniforms to be exact.

Costume Militaire, Le Petit Larousse Illustré, 1990

Well, there's not all that much I can say: this is not one of my areas of expertise.

What I do know, and thank you Sweetheart for feeding me the info here, is that there was a very important change in uniforms with the First World War. As you may remember from High School History, the Great War was the first to be fought in trenches (instead of on a field).

A century earlier, at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, uniforms were splendid and colourful; the point was to be recognizable on the battlefield. Battles were bloody, but they were disciplined affairs. It was all about courageously running out on the battlefield. During the 19th century, military uniforms were highly decorated, moreover in peace time.

But with the new (deadly) technologies available to armies in the early 1900's, being easy to spot, was no longer desired. Besides, colourful, decorated uniforms for all was way too expensive during this war time. Slowly, throughout the 20th century, Military Battle uniforms (different from Dress uniforms) changed, to blend itself more and more with the environment over time. Cubism, a popular new Art style of the early 20th Century was the inspiration for Camouflage, a print we all know of today and used by the Military all around the world.

That's pretty much all I know. If you would like to see more reference pictures, I suggest you visit the New York Public Library Digital Gallery - Military Uniform. With about 31,770 search results, you should find what you need.

Of course NYPL Digital Gallery is also a great source of pictorial information, whatever you are looking for.

Movie Monday: Amelia

Ever heard of Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean? This Friday, Amelia (2009), the movie about her story, will open in theatres. Now that was a true role model!

As her exploits happened in the 20's and 30's, this means historical clothes for us costumes lovers!

Virginia Madsen as Dorothy Binney, Hilary Swank as Amelia Earheart and Richard Gere as George P. Putnam, Amelia (2009)

Go on, put on your Cloche hat and go see that movie!

Gymslip Pattern

This is just so... COOL! Remember on September 1st, how I was going on about Gymslips, the school dress of the century? This week, I got an e-mail from Margaret, asking me if I was serious about wanting to make one (Note to all of you: I may use a mocking or sarcastic tone sometimes, but I'm ALWAYS serious about wanting to make costume!), because she just so happens to have made one last year for Halloween! Ask my Sweetheart: I was bouncing on my chair and clapping my hands excitedly.

Here is her story: having seen pictures of her mother wearing one back when she was in school, she jumped on the occasion when she found an old Butterick Pattern from the 1950's on eBay.

Butterick 516 (Enveloppe Front)

Butterick 516 (Enveloppe Back)

But when she got the pattern, she was disappointed as it was missing the yoke pieces, and it was a child's size. Luckily, her husband Mike who is an engineer, said upon seeing the pattern that he could fix it. spent a week photographing and measuring the original pattern and then re-drawing it on the computer to her size. Margaret then had to spend a day printing out pages and gluing them together (the pattern Mike designed fits on 8.5" by 11" pages - 45 of them to be exact).

Since she lives in a hot climate, she didn't make it out of the wool serge which is what these jumpers were made of back then (as confirmed by Margaret's mother and mine), but in a brown twill, because that was the color that her mother wore. Dark navy blue or bottle green were apparently more common colours (for instance, my Mom's was navy blue).

Margaret's Gymslip (Halloween 2008)

In the photo, she tells me she was more or less finished: she still needed to press the pleats and sew the buttons on the shoulders. Her husband Mike gave me permission to post the picture, because, as he put it, he thinks Margaret "looks da bomb" in the outfit. She does look very cute. Great job, both of you.

Now here is the extra fun part: Margaret and Mike sent me the pattern and the instructions in PDF format and I have their permission to share it with anyone who wants it. So if you want it, e-mail me and I'll send it to you!

Many thanks to Margaret and Mike, you are both awesome and you have no idea how happy you have made me.

Shopping Alert - Costumes in Fashion: T-Strap shoes

Yes, more shoes to buy that can be used for costumes! Have you noticed how many t-strap shoes are on the market this year? I was looking for a (cheap) pair like crazy last fall. (I would have found one had I been ready to pay top dollar!) Why? Because last year, Nancy-Raven decided to add a theme to her annual Halloween party: the Roaring 20's. Nothing wrong with that, I love a theme as much as the next costumer, but I'm a perfectionist, and I had to go to the party with the wrong shoes (which no one noticed, really).

Here are two that I have found that could be used for historical (20th century) costuming:

Unforgettable Moments by Lela Rose Diana T-Strap Pump (Payless ShoeSource)

These are from their Bridal collection, so they only come in white, but they're only 24.99$ (USD) so you can always spray paint them to change their colour if you need them, say, black (mind you, I'm sure you can find some black ones if you take the time to look around).

Auffrey (Spring)

These look very much like Character Shoes (Ballroom Dance shoes), which are perfect for a 1920's look, except that these particular shoes have this little frill down the T-Strap. Not very historical, but I still like them. They do have that little romantic Je ne sais quoi, and you can get them in Neutral, Grey or Black.

So if any of you need T-Strap shoes, now is the time to buy. I've only given you a couple of examples, but really there are plenty in stores.

As for Nancy-Raven's Roaring 20's party, it turned out great, and we all looked fabulous.

Flapper Ladies

I wore teal of course (more on that dress in a future post, sometime in October), and Nancy-Raven made herself a red dress. Also note that, although I'm holding a wine glass, I was drinking Sprite as I was 5 1/2 month pregnant. (The two other girls are some of Nancy-Raven's co-workers. The guy in the back seen in the center of the picture is my Sweetheart, while the one wearing a hat is a friend of Nancy-Raven's Honey.)

Blast from the past

My grandfather is currently cleaning his house and he is making some wonderful discoveries in boxes that have remained unopened for 30 years. Look what he sent me the other day:

Gaiters! Original, leather gaiters worn by my mom when she was four. So obviously, I won't be able to wear them (actually, they were sent to me for my daughter), but this costumer gets to look at them up close and see how they are made. (For those of you interested, the brand, printed in gold inside the top of the foot, is Packard.)

I love vintage clothes and accessories!

Back to school!

It's September first, you know what that means: it's back to school! Now, I graduated high school 10 years ago (yikes, it makes me old!) but from the WalMart flyer, I seem to gather that uniforms are becoming more and more popular. That's how it used to be in old times and that is how it is in other countries, so why not here too!

"What does that have to do with costumes?" you might wonder (don't you know by now I always find a way to link things together?). Let us go back in time, to as far back as the 1920's, and talk about the Gymslip, also known as a pinafore or jumper dress. That is what our grandmother's wore to school (my grandmother used to bring back the cafeteria food she disliked in her dress pockets, but that's a whole other story).

Girls wearing Gymslips

For years, I've been amassing data on this type of dress in order to eventually reproduce it. "Why would she want to do that for?" I hear you think. Simple. I'm a Costumeholic, AND I'm a fan of the TV show The Worst Witch.

Kate Duchêne as Miss Hardbroom, Emma Brown as Maud Moonshine, Georgina Sherrington as Mildred Hubble and Joanna Dyce as Ruby Cherrytree; The Worst Witch (1998)

Emma Brown as Maud Moonshine and Georgina Sherrington as Mildred Hubble, The Worst Witch (1998)

So obviously, I want to make a Cackle's Academy uniform, which includes a black gymslip, a light grey shirt, a black and grey tie, black Inverness cape and black witch's hat. I've even redrawn the school's coat of arms to eventually embroider as a patch!

Cackle's Academy Coat of Arms

So far as my research goes, imagine how thrilled I was to see a gymslip dress up close at my favorite museum last year!

School uniform (front), Manhattan Childrenswear, About 1960, 20th century, 79 cm, Gift of Mrs. Douglas T. Bourke, M988.68.1.1-2© McCord Museum

School uniform (back), Manhattan Childrenswear, About 1960, 20th century, 79 cm, Gift of Mrs. Douglas T. Bourke, M988.68.1.1-2© McCord Museum

More recently, a pinafore dress was seen in a Box Office movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).

The Pevensies: Edmund, Peter, Susan and Lucy; The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

That's right folks, Lucy's school dress is a pinafore!

So, plenty of reasons to like your grandmother's school uniform. Why not try to convince your school to pick it up instead of the plaid skirts? (Too much? Yeah, I do get carried away.)

Movie Monday: Coco avant Chanel

Coco Chanel loved to spin stories about her life, so it really is impossible to know the whole truth (the same can be said of Karl Lagerfeld, who's now head designer and creative director for the Chanel Couture House). Coco avant Chanel tells us the story of the woman behind the name, before she revolutionized 20th century fashion. The story begins in Edwardian times and shows us how this little orphaned girl built a Couture Empire.

Do I really have to mention all of the costume possibilities for this movie? (If you think I do, just go to Vogue UK's Coco avant Chanel Costume Gallery and choose for yourself!) If you do go, at least wear some pearls, since for Coco Chanel, when it came to pearls, her motto was "the more the better"!

Audrey Tautou as Gabriel Chanel in Coco avant Chanel

Coco avant Chanel opens in north America on September 25, 2009.

Fashion Forward: Futuristic looks from the 1930's

I've always loved the Horizon ride at Epcot Center (Walt Disney World): it showed a utopian vision of the future in all it's technological glory. I do love to re-visit an era's vision of the future (think Back to the Future Part II), I think it tells us more about that era than the concepters originally imagined.

I have here a video of what a group of American Fashion Designers from the 1930's thought the modern woman of the year 2000 would wear. Some of the comments are actually dead-on: "transparent net" (net was all the rage on the catwalks in 2001/2002), "skirts will disappear entirely" (ok, they haven't really disappeared, but a lot of us girls wear pants most of the time for practical reasons), "atmosphere scientifically kept to the right temperature" (pretty much true, we have central heating systems and air conditioning), "fitted with telephone, radio,..." (Cell Phones, iPods,...). Crazy, right?

Ok, sure most of these look more like Sci-Fi costumes, the man even looks like an original Star Trek (1966) alien, but I find all this fascinating.

HairDo: Gibson Girl

I have had a request! Yeah! I'm not jut talking to myself like a crazy person, someone actually reads all my craziness (OK, I actually know that already because I have had a few very appreciated comments). So, Following my HairDo: 18th Century Pouf post, I received a request for some help in doing one's hair in the style worn by women in Road to Avonlea (1989).

Felicity King and Sara Stanley, Road to Avonlea (1989)

For those of you who do not know the series, it is set in Prince Edward Island in the early 1900's, also known as the Edwardian Era.

Gibson Girl, Drawing by Charles Dana Gibson

The beauty icon of the Edwardian era is of course the Gibson Girl (and by this, one does not mean a girl named Miss Gibson, but the girls illustrated by Charles Dana Gibson; look it up).

Alas, I have found no tutorial videos for this hair style (that I was satisfied with, I should add), but I do have a favorite web page (you didn't think I'd let you down, now did you?).

Introducing In Timely Fashion - Crowning Glory Period Hairstyles: under the Edwardian icon, they present well explained, photo accompanied tutorials for four hairstyles of the time: the Edwardian Twist, the Gibson Braids (my personal favorite - I've often done my hair this way for Christmas parties), the Gibson Pompadour and a Variation on the Pompadour using Rats (hair styling accessories, not rodents). The Pompadour* is the hairstyle most associated with Edwardian times.

*At the time, women used Hair Frames called Transformation, also referred to as Pompadour, to get that perfect elaborate hairstyle.

Gibson Girls at the Beach, Drawing by Charles Dana Gibson

Have you noticed? The Gibson Girl hairdo is perfect to go with a 1890 - 1900 bathing suit, for say, a day at the beach?