Entries tagged with diary:charles ii

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Hmm...

If (and this is a very big if, because I'm slightly suspicious of the price) what I've found is in fact silk moire, then my

charlesii will be a topaz/cream gold instead of the light blue/grey of the portraits. Because if it does turn out to be 100% silk, then I'd be insane to pass it up even if the color isn't right. After all, who's to say my dear princess didn't have more than one moire gown?

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Is it really CADD...

...when it was sewn ages ago?

A charlesii post!

Okay, I actually sewed this up back in November, but I didn't bother taking pictures until today.

The tabs need to be cut higher up on my hips, and that'll fix the big wrinkles wrapping around the sides. I also plan to cut the side piece higher along the armhole up towards the side front seam, because currently it sits at an uncomfortable and unflattering angle. But other than that, I have a working bodice mockup!

I have some yellow linen that I might use for the boned lining, for a little bit of brightness under all that grey. Either that or I might pick up some pink or blue linen to coordinate with whatever color ribbon I decide to use.

Costume Con Plans

Okay, this is an attempt to plan out what I want to do over the next three and a half months for Costume Con. Now, taking into account classes and a part-time job with my usual speed, I'm going to try for two outfits a month. Once I make a new pair of drawers and finish my fully boned stays, I won't need to factor in undies time. Anyway, here's a tentative schedule.

January:
1840s dresses x2 for Poe
18th century fully boned stays
1780s Chemise à la Reine if I can, otherwise it'll get bumped back where it fits.

February:
1872 Watteau Bustle Gown
1869 Villainess Gown, on the left

March:
1660s Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, Princess of Monaco for charlesii.
Secret Project for the Masq

April:
1791 Purple Sari Pierrot Jacket and Skirt
1920s Print Silk Dress, adaptation
1957 dress

Of course, if I finish stuff faster than I plan (which I probably will), things will get bumped up. Unfortunately, my budget won't allow for the duchesse satin for the 1660s gown until March, but if I can, the April dresses will get bumped up sooner because I already have the fabric for all of them, leaving more time for the March dresses.

ETA: wow that's a lot of tags. XD

ETA2: I've put up an ij mirror account, but I'm not worried about needing it. It's there just in case. Feel free to friend it.

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Looking Both Ways

Alright, I didn't do a lot in 2008, but I also didn't start anything until September. I did knock out two complete outfits in under a week each, though, so that has to count for something.

September, 2008: The Red Stripy Bustle
While I'd had the undies sewn for a while, the dress itself I did in three days. I wanted something bright for Saloncon, and this definitely qualifies.

December, 2008: Revolution in a Week
Basically, the only parts of this I didn't make in a one week rush were my shoes, stockings, and hat blank. Upon extended wearing I've decided the front of my half-boned stays need to be recut, because currently they're a bit too short and wide across the bust. But that's for later.

And for 2009, I have quite the list.

1560s Teal Venetian
Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont, Princess of Monaco(1660s), for charlesii. I plan to get this done for Costume Con in May.
1775 Pink Brocade Caraco
1780s Chemise à la Reine
1791 Purple Sari Pierrot Jacket and Skirt
1844 Grey and Lavender Plaid, for the Poe Bicentennial events this month.
1872 Watteau Bustle Gown
1874 Light Blue Evening Gown (left)
1875 Winter Striped Walking Suit
1920s Print Silk Dress, adaptation

I have ideas for a few more things, and I need at least one Vampires, Villains and Vixens outfit, but this is most definitely enough for the first half of 2009.

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Charlotte Update

I went pearl shopping the other day, hoping to get my jewelry sorted out and size the pearls for the bodice, and was mostly successful. I got 12mm glass pearls for my necklace. I plan to string them on some narrow bright blue silk ribbon I have, I just need to find it. I also found some teardrop glass pearls for my earrings, but they aren't as large as I'd like, and they weigh a ton. I found this site, which has large, lightweight earrings, so I might order from them at some point. And lastly, I picked sizes for the decorative pearls, and I'll be ordering those from Fire Mountain Gems once I can figure out how many 16" strands I need, which won't be for a long while.


the bodice pearls, on head pins to get an idea of sizing.	the current earrings and the necklace pearls, waiting to be properly strung.

And on a slightly different note, I found a great book in the FIT library last week that I had to immediately buy my own copy. At the Court of Versailles: Eye-Witness Reports from the Reign of Louis XIV, by Gilette Ziegler. It's one of those books that almost all contemporary gossip, and validates Wikipedia's claim that Charlotte was in fact one of Louis' mistresses. I know there are a few others doing French ladies, so it's definitely a book I'd recommend. It's out of print (published in 1966), but Amazon had over 2000 listings for it.

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Talkity Talk

I ordered a swatch book from Decorative Silks, so once it arrives I'll be deciding what color I'll use for my

charlesii dress, since silk moire is out of the question. Looking at the site, I'm between the Pistachio/Antique Gold and Saddle Grey/Gold. The Antique Gold/Champagne might be a possibility too; we'll see when the swatches arrive.

I've also started working on the pattern for this. I've decided to make separate stays and bodice, but I plan to baste the two together along the neckline, and possibly at the front point for wearing. But there are a couple other 1660s gowns I'd like to make as well, so having stays that can move from gown to gown will be much easier.

And bouncing into another century... Because they just look like so much fun, I've got almost everything I need to whip up a Chemise a la Reine. Can I just say that finding a buttercup yellow silk taffeta is surprisingly hard? In the mean time I've got cotton the color I want that will work for now. I stopped in at Greenburg and Hammer yesterday and picked up another pound of 1/4" steel boning for the pale yellow silk stays I plan to make after this pair in the McCord Museum, which I plan to wear with the chemise dress. I've also got half the boning channels sewn in the green cotton sateen stays I'm working on, and will get around to the rest at some point soon.

Does anyone know if there are any costume/period events going on in the NJ/PA area anytime soon? I want to dress up for something, but there doesn't seem to be anything.

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I must be insane.

Why else would I decide to take part in

charlesii?

After going through lots of lists of people, because I wanted to make sure I picked someone fun, I finally decided on Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont. She was the Princess of Monaco, though she and her husband spent most of their time in Paris, lady in waiting to Henrietta Anne and mistress of Louis XIV.

I found a pair of portraits for her, which made me quite happy. I think the second is a repaint of the first, because of the slight variations between the two, but I prefer the trim pattern on the second more. One and two.

Much as I would like to do it, my wallet refuses to even consider using silk moire when it's $150+ a yard. (Unless someone knows where to find it, preferably under $50/yd? Pipe dream, I know.) I'll most likely be going with a Duchesse satin, which is much more doable on my budget. I'd like to keep this under $500 total, and all those pearls I'll need won't be cheap either.

Here's hoping the place in Philly I've ordered Duchesse satin through before hasn't raised their prices.