Wednesday Wishlist: Costumers' gatherings

Once upon a time, when I began costuming seriously, I discovered that the hobby was shared by many out there and I was not all that weird after all! What I also found out is that there are quite a few types of gatherings for costumers: there are of course local group events and huge geek conventions, but there are also gatherings that are more specifically for costumers. So on today’s wish list, I will present the five top events I hope to go to one day.

1. Costume-Con

As per their website, “Costume-Con is an annual convention dedicated to the art and craft of costumes and costuming of all types. It features classes, displays, a fashion show, masquerades, and other competitions.” The website of Costume-Con 31, which will be held in 2013 in Denver, CO, further presents the Convention as “a 4-day weekend conference for everyone who designs, makes, wears and/or admires costumes.” So basically, it is a convention for costumers, about costumes. What is not to love? I have wanted to go to Costume-Con ever since I found out about it, and I should be able to go… in 2014. Costume-Con 32 will be held in Toronto (a mere 7 hour drive from where I live) and I won my membership at last year’s Otakuthon, for mine and my daughter’s costumes entered in the Masquerade. I have been planning costumes for a year already and will continue doing so in the year and a half left before the convention.

2. Costume College

Similar to Costume-Con is Costume College “a one-weekend educational conference on all subjects relating to costuming and clothing.” Costume College is always organized by Costumer's Guild West and is always held in California. There are classes, social gatherings, and visits to local points of interests for costumers, etc.

Now I may be wrong (and please correct me if I am), but I am under the impression that  Costume College focuses more on historical costuming, while Costume-Con has a wider range of interests, including fantasy.

(EDIT: As seen in the comments, I was wrong. The biggest difference is no Masquerades at Costume College. Thank you to Trystan and Colleen for their input.)

3. Dress U

Inspired by Costume College, East Coasters decided to hold their first convention this past June in Philadelphia, PA. From their website “Dress U is an educational and social four day event focusing on historic costume: from the ancient world, up to 1960. Events include costumed social gatherings, museum tours, and of course numerous classes on the art of costuming.” From what I hear, it was small but successful, so hopefully this will become an annual event and I can one day make it there.

4. Labyrinth of Jareth Fantasy Masquerade Ball

Moving away from costumer’s conventions, the Labyrinth of Jareth Fantasy Masquerade Ball is “a weekend of costumes and magic in Los Angeles. Inspiration and creativity meld under mask and cloak where nobles dance in the Faerie Court and legends take precious breath.” Basically, a costumed party that lasts a whole week-end! I would love to go for the fun of wearing fabulous fantasy fairy gowns and be surrounded by similarly clad people.

5. Venice Carnival

I have talked about it before, but going to Venice in February would be a dream come true. I look every year at all the pictures taken, the costumes, and I hope to one day join these people. Of course, I would bring my own garb! Right now, I am aiming to go for my 40^th birthday – 10 years from now.

These are the 5 events I would attend every year, if only my bank account would allow it. One day, perhaps, I can at least say that I have been once to each one of them.  

Ravenclaw Uniform

I will admit it, sometimes when searching for one of my costumes on my blog, I find out with a certain shock that I have never posted it. Since I sometimes plan posts that I don’t end up writing, I sometimes get a little confused as to whether or not I have published certain things. Take my Ravenclaw uniform for instance: I was absolutely certain I had presented it at some point, but it turns out I have never posted about it. Well, that is going to change now! 

I first made my uniform in 2005, to celebrate the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. When the Harry Potter Movie website first opened, I was sorted in Ravenclaw by the Sorting Hat. With Cho Chang being figured in the 4th movie, I finally got to get a closer look at what a Ravenclaw uniform looks like

An exhausted student, Fête des Enfants de Montréal, 2007

Robe

I adapted Simplicity5840 view B to fit my needs. I made my robe shorter and narrower than the original pattern, the separate shoulder piece was eliminated and the back was made as one big piece. I also made the sleeves larger and the point of the hood a tad longer.

The fabric is 100% cotton for both black and blue. The entire robe is bag lined.

The closure in the front consist of a loop of medium satin cord and two self-covered buttons in the black material (one of them is only decorative).

Skirt

For the skirt, I made my own pattern following some of the cast’s pictures as inspiration. It is an A line, wrap around with box pleats on the front, placed a bit outside the princess line. The material is dark grey wool, found in in sale of course.

Reading in the garden, Fête des Enfants de Montréal, 2007

Shirt and Tie

Why make what you can buy! I bought a white men’s shirt from Zeller’s for 19.99$ (CAD). The tie is from Alivan’s. It is a PoA style Adult tie.

Sweater and Scarf

Both the sweater and scarf are from Hobbie’s House of Wizard Wear. The sweater is the POA School Sweater with blue and silver accents and the scarf is the OOTP Trapped Bar Scarf 9.5ft long in blue and silver. I highly recommend them for your custom made Hogwarts knitted wear.

At the movie theatre, opening night of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Shoes and Socks

I usually wear my Hogwarts’ uniform with dark grey cable knit knee-high socks, but if it was too cold, I could also go with black tights. As for shoes, I used to wear my black high heeled Mary Janes, but they broke a few years ago. If I was to wear my uniform now, I would need new black shoes to go with it.

Wand and School Bag

A Harry Potter costume would not be complete without the perfect wand. I got mine at CharmeHYPERLINK "http://www.charme-et-sortilege.com/" HYPERLINK "http://www.charme-et-sortilege.com/"&HYPERLINK "http://www.charme-et-sortilege.com/" HYPERLINK "http://www.charme-et-sortilege.com/"Sortilège, a Montréal magick boutique (from their Pheonix Wands collection).

As for my school bag, it is an old brown leather satchel I’ve had since first grade. I usually keep a leather bound journal in it, along with Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them by Newt Scamander, Quidditch ThroughThe Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, some pencils and a feathered quill. It also doubles as my purse!

Just waiting for a friend, Fête des Enfants de Montréal, 2007

Unfortunately, I have not worn my uniform since 2007: I was a new mom when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) came out, so I stayed home with my baby daughter; in fact, the last time I went out to see a movie at a movie theatre, I saw Mama Mia (2008) with my mom! I need an excuse to wear my uniform again (and to go out!).

Halloween Polonaise: Pumpkin or Candy Corn

I have been really eager to illustrate my idea (make that ideas) for my Pumpkin Polonaise. I mean REALLY! So I have been sketching away and here is what I came up with.

My first thought was to make an orange polonaise with a Jack-o’-Lantern face on the stomacher, worn over a black skirt. I drew two variations on the theme: one with basic gathered trim, and one with ivy leaves used as trim.

Option 1: Orange polonaise with Jack-o'-Lantern stomacher, green and yellow gathered trim, black engageantes, black petticoat and miniature witch's hat.

Pumpkin Polonaise - option 1

Option 2: Orange polonaise with Jack-o'-Lantern stomacher, ivy leaves trim, white engageantes, black petticoat and fall leaves hair fascinator.

Pumpkin Polonaise - option 2

 

I was thinking how much fun it would be to have some candy corn jewellery to go with that, something like the charmbracelet from Epbot (but in polymer clay), when it hit me that a stomacher is the perfect shape for an upside down candy corn. So I tried a few (5) variations on the theme and came up with these (they are my 2 favourites – I won’t bore you with every different trim colour I tried).

Option 3: Orange polonaise with Candy Corn stomacher, black and yellow gathered trim, black engageantes, black petticoat and miniature witch's hat.

Candy Corn Polonaise - Option 3

Option 4: Orange polonaise with Candy Corn stomacher, yellow and white gathered trim, yellow engageantes, cream petticoat and candy corn hair accessories.

 

Candy Corn Polonaise - Option 4

To be quite honest, I think I’m more excited about the idea of a candy corn polonaise than the jack-o’-lantern one. I don’t know why I am so obsessed with candy corn; it is not a traditional Halloween candy in Québec (I only learn about it when I was about 14 and I watched Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s Halloween episode where they made too much of the stuff), and in any case, I am allergic to food colour, so I couldn’t have some even if I went south of the border. Yet now, I am obsessed with this sweet: I want to make some handmade candy corn for Halloween (using natural food dyes), and make jewellery and decorations, and maybe do some tole painting with candy corn motifs, etc.

So please tell me, which is your favourite concept for my orange Halloween Polonaise? I have my own, but I am always curious to get your feedback. Should it be the Pumpkin Polonaise or the Let them eat Candy Corn dress?

London 2012 Closing Ceremonies Costume Podium

The London 2012 Summer Olympics came to an end yesterday, in a 3 hour show of music, colour and yes, costumes. I will not review each and every one of them, but I wanted to share my top 3 favourites with you, or as I call it, my own Olympics Podium.

Bronze Medal / 3rd place: Ginger Spice

Ginger Spice at the 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremonies - Dress by Suzanne Neville

I will openly admit it: I was a huge Spice Girls fan in the late 1990’s. At a time where fashion was all about grey, browns, tiny plaids and neutral preppy looks, those girls wore crazy outfits and plenty of colour. Of course most of their clothes back then were very revealing and I was glad last night to see that 15 years later, they managed to be a little more covered (more age appropriate for them) and yet regain their crazy colourful look. My favourite of all the girl’s costumes was Gerri’s. She may be 40, bu she looks amazing! I seriously want her red burlesque dress with gold accent and Union Jack bustle. I thought it was a nice reference to her infamous Union Jack dress of back then.

Silver Medal / 2^nd place: Phoenix Ballet Dancers

A photo shows dancers performing during the extinguishing of the Olympic flame at the Olympic stadium in London during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games on August 12, 2012 (AFP Photo / Olivier Morin)

I know I’ve said it before, but I love dancing and dance as an art in general. I also love the costumes that are worn for dancing performances. Although I cannot claim to have ever been a Ballerina (a dream I hope to achieve one day, even if I’m 40 by then), I love tutus. That is probably why I was so impressed by the Phoenix Ballet number. 200 ballerinas dressed as phoenixes! I loved the fiery colours of their tutus and the fact that they were open in the front and still poufy in the back.

 

Gold Medal / 1st place: Annie Lennox

British singer Annie Lennox performs during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games on August 12, 2012. (AFP Photo/Leon Neal)

During the entire ceremony, I was chatting on Facebook with my friend Marie-Ange-the-Celt, and when Annie Lennox came out with her entourage on that boat, our reaction was “what is that?”. I called it “Hell’s Ball”, imagining the brain storming session that had given birth to that tableau. The mixture of historical inspirations with tattered looks and dark make-up was very well done and impressive. Just don’t ask me what song she sang; I was not paying attention to sound.

Honorary Mention: Volunteers

 Crowd-control volunteers were dressed in blue hats with working light bulbs on top (Patrick Semansky/AP)

During the show, the athletes were surrounded by volunteers dressed in royal blue, wearing royal blue hats with a light atop them. These uniforms sort of made me think of the Tardis; what about you?

How about you? Did any of the costumes in the show tickle your fancy? Which one(s)?

Halloween 2012 Costume Planning

I do realize it is barely the middle of August, it is still summer and very warm and sunny out, but I have been thinking of the next Halloween for a while now, so I believe it is time I shared my thoughts regarding the costumes I plan and wish to make. After all, I have no other costuming event in my near future and my brain needs a project to occupy itself with. Also, with the coming baby, I will most likely be out of service (sewing wise) for a good month, so I had better start working on costumes now if I hope to be ready. After all, by the end of October my youngest will be 1 1/2 month to 2 months old and will of course need a costume!

My original plan was to go for something like this:

Baby Fantasy Unicorn Costume - Pea In Pod Baby Costume - My Dark Maiden Dress

I thought my 3 1/2 years old daughter would be thrilled if I made her a unicorn costume; I’ve long loved the pea pod baby costume (how adorable is that), so now would be my chance to make it; and as for me, I would just wear my Dark Maiden Dress – a classic (with a drawstring neckline, the easier to breastfeed).

Since my daughter is so very much like me, at age 3, if she does not want to wear something, she simply does not – she has many t-shirts, pants and dresses which have never been worn because she simply refuses to (my parents would tell you there IS a God - to which I answer there are several – because I was exactly the same at her age).

So instead of picking her Halloween costume for her, I have decided to involve her in the choosing process. I Googled pictures of Unicorn costumes, but she never seemed very excited about them, finding them to be for babies (ah! to be 3 going on 13!). I started to look at costume patterns with her on the various commercial pattern websites (I used to do the same with my mom, except we had to go look at the books at the fabric store instead), and she said she became interested in Simplicity 1768, and she told me she wanted to be a pumpkin. More image Googling and this is what she has confirmed to me that she wants: a pumpkin tutu dress.

Halloween Pumpkin Tutu Dress

 

Why not! I’ve made her mascot type costumes complete with padded heads since she was born, if that is not what she wants this year, so be it. Besides, that dress looks easy! Of course, it sometimes snows up here in Québec on Halloween, so I agreed to make her a dress like the one pictured if she would wear it over her green fleece PJ (made for her to go trick-or-treating as a flower last year – it still fits!). I’ll have to figure some sort of hat as well.

Her choice of a pumpkin costume got me thinking about making them for the whole family. After all, I could easily make an orange Jack-o’-lantern fleece PJ for my baby.

Precious Pumpkin Baby Costume

What I will do is buy Simplicity “It’s so easy” 1753 and add the eyes and mouth, maybe even a padded green fleece peduncle at the top, or some leaves… Plus, baby will be comfortable to help me distribute candy.

I offered to make a Jack-o’-lantern t-shirt for my Sweetheart, but he did not seemed too thrilled, so we’ll see in time.

But what about me?

All this thinking about pumpkins reminded me of an orange fabric I have in my stash: it is “faux linen” (thickly woven polyester) which I bought years ago to make a medieval dress, only to decide afterwards that its name really didn’t fool anyone and I did not want to use it for its original purpose anymore.

It's in the stash: the orange "faux linen"

Since then, I have been looking for a way to use it, and now, I think I have found it: a Pumpkin Polonaise Dress. I’m thinking 18^th century Polonaise with a Jack-o’-lantern face on the stomacher. Maybe some ivy leaf trim. Something ridiculous, outrageous, and creative that makes no true sense historically but would be fun for Halloween. I have 6 metres of that fabric, so plenty for a Polonaise; all I would need is a walking skirt to go with it, maybe in black.

Let me sketch out some ideas and I will get back to you on this.

Child's Costumes: Recap of all my daughter's costumes

When I made the announcement on Facebook months ago that I was pregnant with my second child, I made a joke about making people sick of baby/toddler costumes, and Vintage Dancer said she wanted to see some because she has a 2 year old and has some costumed event to taker her too. So I though a quick recap of all the costumes my 3 1/2 years old daughter has worn in her short life might be of some interest to other parents and/or kiddie costume enthusiasts. Here they are in chronological order:

1- Medieval Baby (September 2009 – 6 months old)

Medieval Baby and Mommy, Fête Médiévale de Saint-Colomban, 2009

This brown linen tunic was a baby shower gift from the head of my SCA household. I use to pair it with grey leggings, white socks, black canvas shoes (not pictured), a coif I made and the “SCA the next generation” bib I had picked up in Pennsic in 2007 (we had decided to start trying to have a child). As I kept everything, this is one outfit that will be reused whatever the gender of my second child is.

2- Baby Owl (Halloween 2009 – 8 months old)

Baby Owl, Halloween 2009

My daughter’s pet name is “Chouette”, meaning owl, so for sure I made her a cute little own costume for her first Halloween. It consisted of a romper, made from McCall's 5648 to which I added “feathers” and wings, worn over a white PJ. The hat was made using Simplicity 2527 (but I added the eyes).

3- Little Snowman (Christmas Eve 2009 – 10 months old)

Frosty the Snowgirl, Christmas 2009

For her first Christmas Eve, I dressed her up in this cute little Snowman suit (complete with padded mini top hat atop the hood). I do believe it was from Wal-Mart. It was lent to me by my godsdaughter’s mom (who also happens to be the head of my SCA household) as her daughter is 9 months older than mine and no longer fitted in the 12 mo sized suit. I gave it back, but still, it was funny to have my baby in costume for her first Christmas / Yule season.

4- Light Blue Medieval outfit (Montréal Highland Games 2010 – 17 months old)

Light Blue Medieval Baby, Montreal Highland Games 2010

For her first birthday, Nancy-Raven made my daughter (her godsdaughter) a new Medieval outfit out of organic cotton jersey. Since she is a procrastinator like me, she finished it some months later, for her to wear at the Montréal Highland Games. The whole outfit is a light blue tunic and coif, and white drawstring pants. Embroidery stitches was added in a darker turquoise blue.

5- Baby Mouseling (Halloween 2010 – 20 months old)

Baby Mouseling, Halloween 2010

Second Halloween! I fell in love with the pattern for this little mouse costume when I was maybe 19 and bought it with the intention of one day making it for my kid. Fast forward a decade and here it is. I added the pink bow so everyone would know she was a girl. It was a very popular costume – everyone who saw her found her adorable.

6- Kimono (Birthday 2011 – 2 years old)

Toddler in Kimono, 2nd birthday

I love Kimono! So of course, I had to get my daughter one as well. I give her her first Kimono (a toddler’s Furisode and hifu set) for her second birthday, but she hasn’t worn it since. Eventually, we will find a reason to dress up in Kimono.

7- Purple T-tunic (BIA 2011 – 2 years old / BIA 2012 – 3 years)

Toddler's Purple T-tunic, BIA 2011/2012

This tunic she wore for the first time at BIA 2011, and again in 2012. She wears it over black leggings and a long sleeve tee. It is belted with a tablet woven band which was my first real card weaving project, and I made her a quick Viking hat of white twill and added a decorative stitch of red hearts around the edge.

8- Toadette (Otakuthon 2011 – 2 1/2  years old)

Toadette, Otakuthon 2011

For Otakuthon 2011, I had decided to make her a Toadette costume, knowing she would be the cutest Toadette ever. I have written extensively about that costume and how proud I was of how she behaved during the Masquerade. Even if I didn’t get a ribbon for making both our costumes, I know she will keep hers for a very long time (she puts it on sometimes). And yes, I watch the video of our entry on YouTube once in awhile.

9- Flower (Halloween 2011 – 2 1/2  years old)

Toddler Flower, Halloween 2011

For Halloween 2011, her costume was a Flower. I had bought most of the material (including green clothes) to make her this costume for Montreal ComicCon, planning to go as Buffy the 18th century lady (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 2, Episode 6, Halloween) – the flower is one of the kids she accompanies to go Trick-or-Treating). I did not go to the Con, but still finished the flower costume in time for my daughter to wear it for her first real go at Trick-or-Treating. She was a huge success!

                                                                                                

10- Cheongsam (Qípáo) (Christmas 2011 – 2 3/4 years old)

My Little China Girl, Christmas morning 2011

 

Before Christmas / Yule 2011, as I was looking for second hand fancy shoes for my daughter at Value Village, I found a silk Cheongsam in her size for 3.99$. I gave it to her as a present on December 25. She did not get a chance to wear it yet (other than when she opened it), but eventually, we’ll find an excuse.

11- Fancy Pink Princess dress / Regency dress and bonnet (Birthday 2012 – 3 years old/ Costumers' Picnic 2012 – 3 1/2 years old)

Regency girl, Costumers' Picnic, July 2012

For her 3^rd birthday, I made my daughter a fancy “princess” dress using Simplicity 7120. It was meant as a fancy dress, not a costume per say, but it can double as one. I used pink English lace for the bodice, sleeves and overskirt, and white poly cotton with red embroidered edge for the underskirt. The collar is made from some leftover white printed cotton (the same fabric as my Regency Dress). She has worn this dress for Easter / Ostara, for my birthday, and around the house to play princess. When I started planning for the Costumers' Picnic, deciding to go for Regency for me, I figured this dress would be perfect. All I had to do was make her a matching poke bonnet from leftover pink English lace, et voilà! Instant Regency toddler.

Extra – Wonder Woman Toddler Dress

Wonder Woman Toddler Dress, Christmas 2011

This dress I made for my godsdaughter as a Christmas / Yule / Hanukkah present, so it is not one of my daughter’s costumes (though she modeled it for me to take a picture), but it is a toddler costume so I thought it would be fitting to mention it in this post. My godsdaughter loves super heroes, and her favourite is Wonder Woman, so as her present, I made her a girly dress in a theme she would like.

So there you have it: in 3 1/2 short years, my daughter has had 11 costumes. Maybe I spoil her too much… Maybe I am spoiling myself! I enjoy spending time with her and I can’t help hoping that we will keep on doing costumed events and activities together for the next 50 years!

Regency Picnic Dress Project - Accessories

Last but not least in Regency outfit project series is the accessories.

The shoes

Let us first discuss a sore point: the shoes. I will admit it: I hate them. They just did not turn out the way I wanted, and they did not exactly survive the event. I first began with a pair of cheap (10$) ballerina flats from Wal-Mart:

Ballerina Flats

While planning for this entire outfit, I hesitated between spray painting and fabric covering these shoes. After looking at a few tutorials for covering shoes with fabric and Modge Podge, I decided this was the best idea (what can I say, I am sometimes wrong). I was leaning towards blue shoes (to go with that taffeta I want to make into a Spencer jacket eventually), and was wondering which one of my leftovers to use, when I remembered I have lime green faux Shantung in my stash (read 100% polyester), which would look great with purple (now leaning towards matching my accessories to my purple Pashmina). Plus I have more than enough for the poke bonnet too, I thought… So lime green it was.

One night, I sat down with my fabric, tools and Modge Podge and a foam brush. After removing the bows from the shoes, I attempted to drape a pattern, but that did not work well. Instead, I cut a piece of my lime green fabric big enough to cover one shoe and I began painting Modge Podge on the toes before sticking my fabric to it. On and on I went, trimming fabric away, painting Modge Podge, but the fabric was not sticking well. I took out some clothespins to keep the fabric sticking to the inside of the shoe, I added more Modge Podge, I panicked when I saw some glue stains appearing on my fabric. I left shoe number one to dry while I attempted a similar operation upon the next shoe. The next day, I was still trying to get the fabric to stick nicely all the way under, to the sole’s edge, and around the opening. I tried to paint Modge Podge on top of my fabric to hide the stains.

(Badly) Fabric covered shoes

On and on and on I tried. On Friday, the day before the event, I just got my hot glue gun out. The results were no better, but at least that fabric was now sticking damnit! I added some trim, hoping the decoration would help. I had intended to make fake seams to the side with gros grain ribbon and to add the same ribbon in centre back and around the opening of the shoe. I was inspired by this American Duchess tutorial for Pemberley shoes. Note to self: gros grain ribbon does not follow curves that well. The trim around the opening of the shoe just looks bad. Finally, I added gathered purple trim to the front (found at Club Tissus for 1.59$ while looking for the lace trim to fix my dress) and some satin ribbons to the sides to wrap around my ankle like period ballerina shoes (one of them came unglued before the end of the day).

Finished shoes

They look awful, I regret trying to cover them with fabric instead of spray painting them, but hey, you can’t always get everything right on the first try. At least I made my learning mistakes on cheap shoes, and they were not for a Mascarade, so I’m not stressing about anyone judging them. I don’t really know what I’m going to do with them now (does Modge Podge come off with lots of soap and water?), but right now, I’m just going to ignore them.

The Poke Bonnet

I actually had to make two poke bonnets: one for me, and one for my daughter. I used the videotutorial by Stephanie Johanesen of the Oregon Regency Society to make both.

I used hot glue to fix the lining (leftover dress fabric), the bias tape around the brim, the bonnet, the trims, the lace, etc. Actually, considering the entire hat is holding with hot glue and I am happily surprised at the result. I made the bonnet part of my using the lime green faux Shantung, trimmed the brim with burble bias tape, covered the edge of the bonnet with purple satin ribbon added some of that amazing pleated ribbon to the top of the brim (it made such a difference, I am so happy I found that trim), added some leftover lace around the bonnets edge (another happy find – had it not been for the hole in my dress, my hat would have been boring) and glued a big purple bow to the right side of the hat, to which I added a lace flower from the lace trim.

Green & Purple bonnet - right side view

Green & Purple bonnet - left side view

 

In the case of my daughter’s I sewed the bias tape, by machine, to the brim of her hat. I also sewed the bottom of the lining inside the bias tape. The rest holds with hot glue. The fabric used for the bonnet is leftover pink English lace from her dress, and to match the red accents in her dress, I used red satin ribbons around the bonnet and as ties. I glued tiny lace decorations (leftovers from my lace trim) on the ties where they meet the brim of the hat, as well as two silk roses from the Dollar store which she had chosen herself. I had added a big red bow to the top of the bonnet, but she did not like it and I had to take it out for her to wear the hat (sometimes, something’s are not worth fighting over).

Pink Toddler Bonnet - without bow

Pink Toddler Bonnet - with bow

Jewellery

I shopped for a long time for the perfect necklace, but in the end, I wore this gold tone medallion which I found for 3$ at Zellers maybe two years ago (I wear it fairly often too). It may not be accurate for the period, but I decided it matched the other accessories well.

Golden necklace

As earrings, I wore faux pearl tear drop danglers. Simple, elegant, could have been worn in period.

Faux pearl tear drop danglers

Hair

For the longest time, in planning for that picnic, I figured I would curl my hair the night before with rag curls and do some sort of updo the day of. As it happens, I was sewing the buttons to my dress at 11PM the night before the picnic, and was too tired to spend over 1h curling my hair, so after some Googling, I decided to go for a braided bun instead.

My regency updo

The hair style I was trying to copy had two small braids starting on each side of the face and curling themselves gracefully around the bun. I discovered my hair is no longer long enough to achieve this; I was barely able to pull the two small braids around the bun to hide the bobby pins holding them in place.

Shawl

The last of my accessory is my shawl. It is a beautiful purple, black and green Pashmina that a co-worker gave me for Christmas. Since it has a paisley pattern, I thought it was just perfect. As I mentioned, this was the inspiration for the colour scheme of all the accessories.

Purple and Green Pashmina

Phew! All done. Now you know all about my Regency dress project. I don’t know if I’ll make another dress any time soon, but I am very tempted to make accessory kits in various colours to change the look of my dress. There are a few things I’d like to try: Spencer jacket, open robe, turban… So many possibilities!