MY 2019 COSTUME COLLEGE BIG REVEAL

I don’t normally share what I’m wearing to Costume College, which starts next Thursday but am so excited that I decided to go for it.

As I’ve written earlier, I couldn’t do a lot of sewing this year due to packing and moving, and then unpacking. And no, 3 months later still not done. And still can’t find some things so I had to make this easy on myself.  

I did make one new dress for it; pulled two from my previous wardrobe; and purchased pieces for two more modern outfits.

I don’t often dress to the themes going on but this time a couple worked out to fit them.

Firstly, our guest speaker this year is Marion Boyce, the costume designer for the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries. A bunch of us had already planned on dressing in various similar outfits from the series, and it was a cherry on top when we discovered the costume designer was going to be there. I decided wearing her classic white pants with a jacket would be comfortable to wear during the day to classes. I “thought” this would be an easy sew. I bought a couple different fabrics for the jacket but they all stretched and wouldn’t work with me. In the end, I purchased white pants, pulled out an aqua jacket from my wardrobe, and found a gorgeous yellow one on the TJ Maxx website. I added a few pieces of Art Deco jewelry I found on etsy, and reshaped and trimmed a straw hat with two different color trims that I could switch out for each outfit. I also tried my hand at making a purse, in the signature shape of Miss Fisher’s. It didn’t turn out so great but it will pass at 5 ft away. 

Another mini-theme going on this year is Once Upon a Bustle, making bustle dresses but with a Disney character theme. We’re also doing the Showcase parade at the Friday Night Social. I chose doing a Dalmatian from 101 Dalmatians. My far-fetched idea of stamping dots on fabric didn’t go so well. I wasn’t very good at it and I was afraid to ruin the expensive linen I’d bought. Luckily Amazon came to the rescue with a very nice dotted cotton. I sewed a narrow black soutache trim around all the edges which finished it off very nicely. I also made a purse using my 101 Dalmatian fabric using the same design as my Miss Fisher purse. I just completed it all yesterday and took photos of it, and then got one partial photo of me wearing it. I didn’t realize I was red, white, & blue until I took these photos. 

For the Gala on Saturday night, I am reprising a 1770s caraco I made from 2010. The theme is The Opulent Streets of Venice, and I felt this was blingy enough. This photo was from when I first made it. I did buy some new jewelry with colored stones that match it to update it. I was really happy that it still fit so this made it much easier on my stress level. 

For the Sunday Mourning Breakfast, and the Tea at the Haunted Mansion, I’m wearing another older 1870s black dress, accessorized to match these themes, as the Crazy Dead Cat Lady. No photo of that yet but this was my inspiration, and the antique bonnet I’ll be wearing with it. 

So, there you go, 5 days before I leave and I’M DONE!!

The first thing I did was pull out purple fabric and a purple sprigged cotton, and pattern, to make a late 1890s skirt and blouse. But that’s for something else, not CoCo.