Lanterman Ragtime Tea Dance

Last weekend we attended the Lanterman Ragtime Tea Dance - this event is held annually at the Lanterman House, a 19-Teens home in north Los Angeles. The event consists of a dance lesson, live music provided by Ian Whitcomb, and afternoon tea. (I've said it before and I'll say it again - I can get Chris to go just about anywhere if there are good cookies!)

I made my first attempt at a Teens outfit - like everyone else, I've been drooling over the Downton Abbey costumes, and this event gave me an excuse to make one. I didn't have nearly as much time to work on this outfit as I normally like, so there are some fit issues that I'd like to correct. But considering this is basically my mockup, it turned out pretty good!

I bobbed my hair a couple weeks ago, so I gave a go at a curled Irene Castle bob. Not bad for a new era! Chris's outfit blew mine out of the water, though - I've wanted him to wear a boater for years. Good look for him, yes?

Lanterman House - the tea was held in the center courtyard, and the ballroom is upstairs (where the tallest roof peak is) and runs the length of the house.

Downton Abbey Publicity Still? 

No, silly! It's Cait from Curse Words and Crinolines and Lauren from Wearing History.

Cait is wearing an original Edwardian Suit, and if you ask her real nice I bet she'll post some photos of the amazing details and beautiful lining. Lauren is wearing a late teens outfit she made herself.

Yes, right after I took this photo Chris *did* bust out some tap steps.

A wrinkled mess! Just look at the cute sailor collar instead. :)

An original WWI Liberty Loan pin, found at a local flea market. I added the ribbons.

Buttons! My favorite trim of the era. 

But really I just wanted to show you my white lacy shoes - my favorite part of my whole outfit!

Trying out some Vernon and Irene Castle dance steps...

...which quickly dissolved into the popular animal dances. 

Who can resist the "Grizzly"?

Ian Whitcomb and his Bungalow Boys provided the music.

Sheila Murphy-Nelson sang several songs with the band.

Walter Nelson gave the dance lesson and was on the floor the whole event, asking all the lovely ladies to dance (don't worry, this photo proves he didn't neglect his wife!)

More dancing...

Diane and Sheila

Dapper.

Relaxing on the balcony after we got tired of dancing.

Cait and Michael on the balcony. 

I love how you can see her tattoos through her original Edwardian blouse.

Time to go home? Oh no!

Trying to get a photo of the boys...easier said than done.

Edwardian Corset Part 1

This weekend I got some help fitting my Edwardian Corset! I'm pretty good at fitting on myself, but not only is fitting a corset on yourself EXTREMELY hard, but I also needed an experienced eye for this one. Most of the reference images I'm finding are illustrations so stylized with miniscule waists and odd proportions, it's hard to know how the corset should realistically fit. When Lauren from Wearing History said she could come up for a visit over the weekend, I immediately planned to rope her into my Edwardian world.

This is my scaled up version of the 1901 Corset from Hunnisett's Period Costumes for Stage and Screen. I got lucky and the basic pattern is close to my size. This is actually my second mockup - the first one I took out from the bust and hips (not anything from the waist, boo!). Now I see I could have made more changes on the first go-round, but I didn't know what I was doing! There are no bones in this mockup, and the final version will have a center opening busk.

(Man, my shoulders are way crooked. That's all I can see when I look at these photos. Time for a massage!)

We shortened the body length about 1" total so that the top of the corset hits at or just slightly above my apex. I also needed a little more gap at the CB, so we decided to take that out of the hip gussets. We got tired and didn't pin out the total amount, that's why it's still too close at the bottom gap.

On the side view, you can see a little bit of the Edwardian "S" curve posture, where I'm tipped forward on top and backward on the bottom.

I think one more mockup for this guy, and then I'm gonna start on the real deal!

Great Stays Project of '12

Things have been very scattered around here on the sewing front lately. I've got so many project and ideas swimming around in my head and I've had trouble focusing on anything. 30's blouse? Hats? Regency stays? A shiny shirt for Chris? I'm also thinking about outfits for Camp Hollywood and Costume College. (--My first time attending, because it doesn't conflict with CH for once! Whee!) All these were on the list, and then suddenly I was bit by the Edwardian bug.

More specifically, by this jacket in Downton Abbey:

I've never been a big fan of Edwardian fashion, but I'm starting to get it. I usually like tailored fashions more than fluff, but I've been branching out and finding a lot to like lately in the Edwardian world. And there are Edwardian events nearby (and as huge and crowded and frustrating as Los Angeles is, there are so many great events and fun things to do that I can't imagine ever leaving...) So I'm going to branch out and sew an Edwardian.

I spent a lot of last week surfing around, looking for project inspiration (instead of actually sewing!). If I were more fun and less precise, I would just grab a Simplicity costume pattern and make a dress. But that's not how I work. I try to be accurate and efficient, even in my "relaxing" hobbies. (I know, I bore myself even.) And everyone knows that undies make or break a period outfit.

So I'm going to take on the Great Stays Project of '12. I'm going to sew Regency stays (1812) and an Edwardian corset (1912) simultaneously. Using my hands and feet at the same time? Something like that. But I think I can get these projects done a little faster and quicker if I do them both at once.  This also fits in with the Double Period Project on Your Wardrobe Unlock'd, so if I keep my membership I suppose I'll enter.

Unfortunately, if I work from the inside out, I'll have about 37 garments to sew before I can make that coat. Edwardian undies are seriously complicated. Someone talk me out of this, quick!