For love of Pretty Things

[gwendolyngrey]

Women wore REDICULOUS things on their heads in 1820.  Funny cylindrical turbans with huge frothy feathers and flowers and lace... although there were a couple fashion plates with nothing in the women's hair but huge flowers; that wouldn't be too distasteful.  I will just have to get used to looking rediculous if I want to do this properly.  And I realised that I need proper gloves and a fan and dancing slippers.

No, the dress is not finished yet, and the next Regency event isn't until next February.  However, it is never to early to amass all the proper accessories. 

I've been progressing steadily on the dress though, and have the bodice put together and the neckline trim attached.  I kind of love the trim; it's two strips of bias edged with piping that are twisted around each other giving a somewhat rope-like effect.  
Like this:

Fred isn't wearing my regency corset and her shoulders are slopey-er than mine, so the bodice doesn't quite fit her properly here.  And those white dots are the pins holding the trim in place.

Did I mention I'm sewing it entirely by hand?  If I'm going to do this right, I'm going to do it RIGHT.  This is the first time I've ever attempted hand-sewing a whole dress, but it's going really well so far.  I've already watched Anne of Green Gables II, The Other Bolyen Girl, Stargate: the Ark of Truth, and Cousin Bette... one of the perks of hand-sewing is that I can do it in front of the TV.  I even broke down and bought a thimble.

Of course, all this means that I haven't been working on my senior project, but I badly needed to indulge in some "me" sewing.

No new apartment yet... but I did find the perfect house.  It's ivy-covered brick, is surrounded by a wrought iron fence and droopy trees, and is simply dripping with romance and mystery.  It's even right in the area I'm looking in.  It is, of course, not for rent.  One can dream however, and I assure you, one does.  I might or might not drive past it every day in the vain hope that a magical "For Rent" sign will appear on the lawn, although I doubt there is any such thing as a real, live Patty's Place senario.

Comments

[koshka-the-cat.livejournal.com]

The trim is amazing! Looking forward to the whole dress :)

[idlewild-grey.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm looking forward to the whole dress too!

[lindseyerin37.livejournal.com]

Ok, that is beautiful! I can't wait to see more!

[idlewild-grey.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I kinda can't wait either...

[lyschan.livejournal.com]

It's so pretty~~!! At first I didn't realize the white dots were pins, and I thought that way looked rather nice too... haha. Your description of the ridiculous head-adornments sounds fascinating!

[idlewild-grey.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And you should SEE some of the fashion plates from that era!!! Utterly and completely absurd... don't know why I like it so much.

[lyschan.livejournal.com]

Haha! I bet it's because you... like absurd things! Or maybe it's just me who does. (I have a fondness for those crazy Japanese girls with their super-tans and blonde hair and gobs of makeup, too. It's nice to think that insane fashion isn't limited to one time or place!)

[girliegirl32786.livejournal.com]

I cant even begin to tell you how much I love that trim!

[idlewild-grey.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I can't really tell you how much I love it either. This dress is well on its way to being my favorite.

[attack-laurel.livejournal.com]

That looks gorgeous - too many people do Regency in a rather slap-dash way, but I really like your piece.

[idlewild-grey.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And I know exactly what you mean... the general height of achievement seems to be buying and making the Sense and Sensibility pattern as opposed to a Big Three one.