2022 ROUND-UP & REVIEW

This is where, at the end of the year, I will either embarrass myself, or surprise myself, at what I accomplished this last year.

I started my year just puttering around with a few things, trying to get some motivation to finish any of my dresses. When the theme for the Riverside Dickens fashion show in February was announced, “The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire”, I had to look through my closet and see what could be finished in time for that. It turned out I had an 1830s dress very close to completion. It was one that I had converted to a front opening. In doing so, I got at least one of the 1830s dresses done that was on my list, and got to wear it in the fashion show.

Afterwards I went back to puttering around and remembered an antique hat I’d bought YEARS ago that had been refurbished for theatrical use. The original ribbon and buckle were on the wire frame hat but the fabric covering it was sad and dingy. I painstakingly took it apart, photographing it, and used the pieces for a new pattern. I’ve not yet had a chance to wear it. During the same time, I decided it would make a great hat to go with my wedding dress that I was going to take apart and turn it into a 1905 dress. It was one my mom made me, and she gave me her blessing to do this. It required a lot of unstitching, but until I can get back to the Los Angeles Fabric District to look for some lace fabric to extend it, it’s been put on the back burner.   

 All while I was doing that, I was also working on writing the fashion show for the Port Townsend Victorian Festival in WA. It was our first year back after the Pandemic, and it was going to be fabulous, with many new local models, and young girls wearing a collection of antique white dresses. Rather than try for something new, I wore my 1855 green & white cotton voile dress. I’ve decided I need to make a flat straw hat for it next time I wear it.

At the same event I finally got to wear two of my 1890s skirts and blouses I’d made to wear there back in 2019 before the shutdown. I refurbished an antique 1893 hat for one, and trimmed another with florals for the other.

Of course, every time I come back from an event; I want to sew all the things. One that kept staring me in the face was my gold and blue plaid bustle dress. I dug out the red trim I’d bought for it, and sewed it onto my lapels, cuffs, and all around the overskirt (not shown in the photo). This one will most likely get finished at the next sewing workshop in January. It needs its buttonholes & boning, and skirt hemmed.

Everyone on Facebook is probably tired of hearing about my blue and black plaid polonaise dress I was copying from an extent dress. But it too is almost done. I got the ruffle sewn and attached to the skirt hem, and then hand-sewed the black velvet ribbon around the edges of the polonaise and on top of the ruffle, because my machine wouldn’t go through it. It recently got a Christmas present of a custom made black 1880s bonnet, made by SHOCKING BAD HATS , that is just adorable! I haven’t decided on what kind of buttons to use on it yet, maybe some of my black glass ones will work. But other than the sleeves, it’s going to be finished in time to wear to the Riverside Dickens fashion show in February 2023.

The big event of the year for me was going back to Costume College at the end of July, after a 2-year hiatus due to the Pandemic. Physically I wasn’t much up to doing a lot, and was happy when I was asked to run the Costume Exhibit there. It was like running a fashion show but with no bodies. Well, there were mannequins. Also, I didn’t feel like making anything new quite yet but did manage to finish an 1890s dressing gown that I wore to the Sunday breakfast, and during the entire day. It was very comfortable. I also taught two classes on costume accessories for the 1800s. For other dressing up, I pulled out outfits from my closet already done.  During the Friday Night Scavenger Hunt, I wore my Carmelite Nun outfit and sat outside the Exhibit during that to introduce all the new folks to it, and then went out to dinner with friends in an 1890s evening dress. This made my transition back to attending less stressful on me.

A good part of my year was spent packing and unpacking our house, and then later packing up my black hole of a sewing room, while we had our tile floors & carpet demolished and redone with wood. That all started in March and ended in September with having a lot of boxes and piles still needing to be put away. Needless to say, this threw me off track doing any sewing. I worked on that blue & black plaid dress a few times but kept getting interrupted so I couldn’t focus on it. I’m hoping after the holidays, I can once again get myself back on track with that.

I didn’t have any other costume events the rest of the year until at the beginning of November, we held our second fashion show at the Lantern Crest Senior Community. I wrote that theme as “Movies & Costume Magic”, to show the audience our dresses that matched time periods of the movies we each picked to dress for. Once again, we were asked if we could do it for other locations, so I’m waiting to hear back on those.

That was pretty much it for my entire year. Right now, I’m waiting to see what new outfit waves its arms at me, and says Make me! Make me! Let’s see what the new year brings!

Oh, and my baby girl, Chloe, celebrated her 20^th year sewing with me!