Dickens on the Strand Costume Contest - We won!!!

I don't think it quite set in yet - The girls and I won 3rd place in the ladies' compeition and my husband won 2nd in the men's. It sure was competitive this year, as always. There were about 30-35 women and over 15 men.

I've gone into the contest a few times over the 5 years I've gone to Dickens in costume. Last year my matron of honor made the cut but I didn't. For suffering all that great embarrassment, I think I've earned the privilege and honor of not only making the cut this year but winning 3rd!

Christian, who is usually a very soft-spoken kind of guy, really did well in the competition. He made to sure note his pocket watch from the 1870's (his wedding gift I bought from Somewhere in Time antique store on the Strand a week before Ike!) and his hand-embroidered handkerchief that I made him for the wedding, too. Glad I made it in Christmas green and metallic gold because I could see it all the way from the audience.

It's kind of funny because the lady who was in charge of it was rude to me when I came to check in. She said that the focus would be on me, not the girls, as girls cannot actually compete alone (Yeah whatever - I saw the others go on stage alone.) Because I was forced to go up competing with them, we pushed it over the top for sure. I felt bad when somone yelled out "That's not fair!" after the MC said "Cuteness counts in America," because there IS no competition for families or children. It's not my fault. I really wish they'd bring back the family competition, because it would make things more fair. I also think there should be a few catagories, such as Best Day Dress, Best Ball Gown, Best Bustle, and maybe even most creative costume (like the guy who made an effort to get everything at Goodwill stores and the like and still looked good). They probably don't do this due to a lack of prizes, but honestly, who CARES about prizes??? People want the bragging rights, not a prize! (Although a $100 Landry's gift card does sound good right about now. Hehe!) I think a certificate would be a very nice addition to the prizes, as that would be a nice thing to frame and hang next to my wedding certificate from the Queen and my wedding pictures on my mom's living room walls. :)

I probably should've talked about my hair and the hand-embroidered hankerchief I was wearing. I got so nervous I forgot. I even had my handkerchief out to remind me but I forgot anyway. I wasn't mentally prepared for it, although due to my talent of improvising, we all curtsied to the Queen and the other judges (this wasn't planned! Honest!)

The girls, my cousins, were WONDERFUL and followed my direction to the letter, and since I can't share my winnings with them (a Dickens T-shirt) I'm planning on treating them out today to some chocolate at La King's Confectionary on The Strand.

The kids were also great during the carriage ride. We had a better carriage than last year, and better decorated too, I think. Sid from Island Carriage charged us $200 as his standard fee, but for some reason we got a driver and carriage from Seahorse Carriages, who I believe usually charge a lot more. We really lucked out this year, except for the cold. The kids were awesome and rarely complained - they had never been in a carriage so they were pretty excited.

Another stroke of rare luck happened today - My dad and I coordinated it so we would be parking around the same time. (He was coming from a hotel in Galveston and the rest of us from Texas City.) My mom noticed a car that looked like his rental right in front of us at the Opera House parking lot, and lo and behold, it was him! We also had great timing when it came to meeting up with the Reids, as we found them right away over my Mo Betta's. We also got to catch up with Tony from Morgan Costume Studios. We didn't see everybody that day, like the two couples me met at TRF and Marita Beth and her husband. I sure hope they made it there because they always make such an effort on their costumes.

That's it for now. I hope the weather will clear up today, as it is currently raining in Galveston.

:( I have my TRF water-resistant parasol I plan on bringing today as long as it's not raining buckets all day but I don't think it's supposed to.

Dickens on the Strand this weekend!!!

I'm excited not just because I'm a professional costumer or that this is my first anniversary, but my dad decided he had so much fun at Dickens last year that he's coming again this year! I rented him a Victorian suit (slacks, white shirt, cravat, dress jacket, and vest) from Morgan Costume Studios. He doesn't have a website, but I do recommend him if you have an out-of-towner coming or you just don't have a costume yet.

However, if he comes next year, I'm thinking of just outright getting him a costume since I spent $80 last year and $80 this year on them so far. I could've gotten a few costume pieces for that kind of money! But I didn't know he was coming again until late in the fall, so I couldn't. I did however get him gloves from Somewhere in Time, a wonderful antique store on The Strand past Hendley's Market. I also got Christian a cravat there because I was too busy to make one! I had to resort to buying a top hat for my dad since Morgan didn't have any good ones left, so I found a pretty good one on eBay that I would highly recommend. His user name is Hatstu.

I've been very busy lately trying to finish my new gown. I used Simplicity 3855. I had to tailor it down quite a bit since the sizes ran so big. I didn't get to finish the trim on the upper sleeve seam so I'll have to do that for next year. I used taffeta for both the main part and the trim. It's kind of difficult to find a fancy fabric that doesn't shred so I'm not a big fan how the trim came out, even with the edges pinking-sheared. In all, I wasn't too thrilled with the construction of the gown as it is lined AND faced (weird!!!) and the dress was originally designed for 5 panels, with 1 skinny one in the front . I ended up using the pattern I used for my wedding dress and the Sunday dress from last year. I do like the style even though the construction design wasn't the best idea. I think it should last a long time since the front goes into a V and it has a little give in the chest area. I'm aiming at costumes that will last a while so I won't have to make any more for next year unless it's for someone else who doesn't have one yet.

By the way, I bought the iridescent purple/black taffeta on eBay from paylessfabric. I've gotten fabric from him before and he is awesome!!! I bought it at the *best* price I could find around here and online for $5.99/yard.

My School's Fall Bazaar Theme: Pirates!!!

Got dragged into the whole pirate thing this year. I'm such a girly-girl that this idea is completely alien to me. I don't mind making stuff for other people - they look good in pirate stuff - but I feel weird in it. Probably doesn't help that I'm a 34G. I know that I just can't pass for a guy no matter how much I try.

Anyway, I decided between teaching and finishing up these costumes, I would *shudder* BUY a pirate shirt rather than make it. Big mistake. I ordered a "swordswoman's shirt" from By the Sword, Inc. Since I'm kinda big on top, I ordered a woman's XL. Another big mistake. Usually I HAVE to wear XL, but I'm swimming - no, DROWNING - in this shirt. The worst part is that they claim that the cuffs are designed with a woman in mind. Maybe a 600 lb woman??? The cuffs are 11" around! My wrists are like HALF that!

On the flip side, I only have to wear it twice, once for the bazaar and once for Halloween at school. Then, I can give it to my husband and he can wear it to TRF, since I would estimate it's more like a man's size L-XL rather than a woman's.

Planning on going to TRF on Halloween weekend. I'm hoping Christian will pick out a costume for himself, preferably a musketeer since he has the sword and shirt already and the good looks. Hehe!

Anyway, I'm using some black capris/pants (depending on weather) that I already had, plus a single necklace from Wal-Mart that has 7-in-one (about $7) and a set of different-sized hoops at Wal-mart ($5) as well as thin black and red scarves for $5 each at Wal-Mart. The socks I might wear if it's chilly - they are the same pair I got for Mrs. Lovett at Hot Topic.

Anything to keep the school going and impress the kiddos, I guess...

Victorian Girl's dresses c. 1860

I finished two out of the three dresses so far. I just need to put buttonholes on the other two.

The girls were able to try on the finished ones while the third had to try on a muslin mock-up of her bodice as I had to enlarge it and tailor it to her.

I was quite disappointed how long they turned out, as I thought the tulle would make the dress stick out more like the picture on the pattern. I guess the taffeta weighs it down. So much for engineering...

I'm not a big fan of the pattern - the skirt lengths run rediculously long for their size. I had to measure and cut where I planned to, which didn't correlate with their regular size AT ALL.

Overall though, they are very cute and the bodices really flatter their natural shape and the dark colors flatter their skin color.

Stangely enough, I hope they all grow an inch taller by December! (However, I suppose too long is better than too short, right? I've seen too short and it looks worse!!!)

Mrs. Lovett is ready to go!

Well, fall is in full swing and I'm trying to finish up projects so I can enjoy goings-on like Boo on the Boardwalk, TRF, Dickens, and of course my school's Fall Bazaar.

I finished a lot of stuff over the summer but just never felt like writing since my aunt died.

I decided to use red bias tape to accent the dark black ruffles, and I think it makes it much more striking and gothic. I'm actually surprised how well it turned out, how easy it was to make, and how it (surprisingly big time!) fits me. And one of my husband's friends said I couldn't pull it off....

Hoping to go to Boo on the Boardwalk in Kemah this weekend. Still not sure about the make-up idea though, and never found a plastic roach to accompany me either....Halloween really sucks here in Texas. No stores have any cool accessories this year.

Mrs. Lovett costume almost finished

I finished the project as much as I could while I wait for my husband to fix the serger. I had changed out the white for black, and ever since it won't weave the thread like it used to.

I finished the skirt and decided to add some gothic brick-red bias tape to the edge of every ruffle (3 packages got me barely there!) I also finished the corselet, which really looks good with the clear red sparkly ribbon. All I'm waiting to do is serge the edges of the shirt, as it is made of a black sheer chiffon. Should look good once it is finished.

All I need is a pair of black mitts and some red and black striped stockings, as well as black lace and eyelet for the neckline (which I am having a hard time finding).

The only problem is that the black cotton I had to match to the chiffon picks up lint everywhere....looks like I'll have to carry a lint brush in my pie basket!

Three Dresses for Three Perfect Little Ladies

Since Ike and my first year teaching got in the way of making these last year, I finally decided summer to be a great time for a large, fun project. I decided to make my three cousins true-to-the-period Victorian dresses using McCall's 5131.

The pattern suggests to use cotton, but I decided it would look best in taffeta, since it was designed with all that fancy trim that would have been expensive back then. That way, they would match me and my husband in class.

When I went to NYC last summer, I had gotten cranberry and green taffeta, thinking my nieces would be in my wedding. (Didn't happen for a number of reasons.) So all I need is a third color (navy blue?) for the third. I've been looking on eBay lately but not much luck.

I've already finished the undergarments for Paris, including a chemise, pantalettes, and petticoat. I'm tempted to lace up the pantalettes to make them all frilly, since I have so much left over from the wedding, but I think I need to finish the rest of the outfit to see if that would be going overboard. Sure would look cute, though.

The underwear has been super-easy to make. It's the dress that has been the source of my upset lately. I started cutting the cranberry thinking if I messed up, I can always get more (yeah for $7.99/yd at HL!!!) Well, I didn't think of how the dress was made with 2 tiers, and I didn't notice that I had to cut 4 of the same pattern, 2 on the shorter line and 2 on the longer line. It's very confusing, since there are so many cutting and shortening lines I ended up cutting 4 shorter overskirts instead of 2. Looks like I'm going to have to go to HL soon...

I finally found the key to working with gimp trim. I remember having an awful time with it when I was making my first Dickens dress. You start out sideways, going frontways and back again until it's good and secure at the end. Then you go back into the middle and turn lengthwise. It's easier than using that clear anti-fray stuff because you don't have to wait for it to dry.