New Sheer Civil War Dress

So for my second sewing project of the year, I have decided to redo the early 1860s dress I wear for Civil War events. My blue bud calico dress was made back in 2012 for a tea event at the local historical society. When I had put it together, I used a quilting calico which makes for a cool dress even during the summer (yay for cotton!) but the dress itself is very heavy because it's a quilting fabric. In addition, this was one of the last dresses I made before I started fanagaling fitting techniques so the bodice is a little big on me.

Denver Fabrics was holding a sale at the beginning of the year and while had I told myself I would NOT buy any more fabric this year, I caved when I found a pretty blue and brown striped cotton lawn. It is definitely much lighter than the quilting calico.

Winter Shopping Finds

I've had a slow accumulation of costume goodies since the beginning of the year and figured now would be a good time to show off some of the lovelies.

First up is a couple of costume books bought with giftcards from Christmas. Fashions of the Gilded Age by Frances Grimble is one I've been eyeing for a long time and cracked down and bought since I want to do a Natural Form dress at some point this year. English Women's Clothing I kept seeing on a lot of the recommended research/reading lists but was unable to acquire through the library. So I figured "what the heck" and bought it. And now I'm never letting it go!

18th Century Opulent Art at FIDM Museum

A couple days ago, I covered the film costumes I saw at FIDM. There was a second exhibit at the museum that showcased several pieces from the Helen Larson collection, a collection that the museum is actively trying to acquire. When I've gone in previous years, they've had other pieces from this collection on display (including a dress worn by Queen Victoria!) but this is the first year I got to photograph the display pieces.

The Opulent Era focuses on 18th Century fashion and includes men's and women's clothing, and accessories. Enjoy!

Embroidered shoes with pattens

Robe a l'anglaise

23 Annual Hollywood Costume Exhibit at FIDM

It's been a while since I wrote in, but I've been on vacation. I went home to Southern California for about a week and used a couple of days to catch up on museum exhibits that were in town.

Every year the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum in Los Angeles will display costumes that are nominated for Oscars along with other films released during the year. The official exhibit is The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design. It's always a treat to go see these costumes because some of them are just stunning. While I do love Victorian costume, film costume comes in at a close second. This year, they also allowed us to take photographs!

FIDM always displays the previous year's Oscar winning costumes. Last year (2013) was The Great Gatsby.