January 15, 2012
This entry is not so much about me, or my gown, but of all the wonderful ladies and gentlemen dressed in their finery. Yesterday my friends and I drove up to Los Angeles to join a tea event with the Costumer’s Guild West at the gorgeous Biltmore Hotel in the middle of downtown LA. When we first walked out of the parking garage we were all stopped in our tracks by the size of all the buildings.
Inside the Biltmore we were again awed by the architecture inside this grand old lady. Our attention first went to the grand staircase in front of us, with stairs rising on each side. The bottom of the staircase proved to be an excellent location for many photographs of everyone attending the tea. And then turning around was a beautiful view of a large arched window letting in so much light.
Our tea tables were already set with beautiful Royal Albert Old Country Roses china, and shortly after a tray of delicious sandwiches, scones, and desserts were brought out. I enjoyed many cups of Bombay Chai tea to go with my meal.
Before and after we’d eaten, many of us posed around the grand staircase for photos. These were some of my favorites. I wore my red and black bustle gown again, and this will probably be its final wearing for awhile.
The green 1917 dress was my favorite and I’m already planning one myself. It was the first dress of that time period that I've liked and she did a wonderful job on it.
These are a few photos of my friends and other attendees.
After the tea was over, many of us walked across the street to the outdoor ice skating rink, and 6 of them donned ice skates and skated with their costumes on. I was very impressed. I tried taking photos but they moved so quickly, they were a blur mostly. But with all the Christmas lights still up, it still looked pretty.
What fun and such gorgeous costumes, you look stunning. The architecture looks absolutely beautiful. I was raised in LA and grew up in Long Beach and I have always been impressed with the beautiful old buildings. It is a shame that Long Beach torn down the auditorium to build the arena.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria.
DeleteVal
I am so jealous. I just LOVE tea, and having tea in costume in such a gorgeous setting is a dream!
ReplyDeleteYour gown is beautiful. :)
Thank you, Issy. It was a beautiful place.
DeleteVal
Looks like so much fun! I wish such fun things happened nearer to where I live!
ReplyDeleteStephanie, we usually find places like this that we can dress and go to. If you don't have tearooms in your area, most large fancy hotels do. We've also gone to museum exhibits and dressed in the style of the exhibit.
DeleteVal
What a wonderful event! Everyone looks so fabulous! :D
ReplyDeleteThis is just beautiful from the setting, the food, and the costumes. And then ending at the ice skating rink, how beautiful indeed. What a lovely day and a memory you will treasure. The food looks totally wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you gals had an amazing time! You certainly all looked amazing...eye candy for the public!
ReplyDeleteOh my, I wish I was there. The ladies looks so lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh, my! You all look so elegant, and the place is worthy of your beauty!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Steph. *blush*
DeleteVal
Jealous. I don't have (or haven't found) a costume guild in my area. A friend of mine and I are wanting to start one here but so far it is just us two. We've been to a tea house and a museum display. Our next one is a tea held annually at a Fort close by on Queen Victoria's birthday. Did you start your guild? How was it started? How do you find people to join?
ReplyDeleteNo, Wanda, I didn't start our guild. It had already been in operation for quite a few years and was mainly Renaissance. But as the years went by, their interests expanded. Not sure how they started originally tho.I found them eventually after being on a couple Yahoo Groups involving costuming, and someone finally picked up on where I lived, and pointed me to the local group. Social networks, like Yahoo and Facebook are good ways to do searches for time periods you're interested in. Also just do a search on the internet for costume guild under the city's name.They sometimes don't say the specific name tho. Its like hide and seek sometimes.
DeleteOr announce on a social group that you'd like to start one and you may get contacts that way. Good luck!
Val