This was
from the Friday Showcase show, where we all paraded around stage to the music of
the Electric Light Parade from Disneyland. It was a lot of fun and got lots of cheers
as we each stepped out on stage.
I was really
excited this year when I heard Marion Boyce, the costume designer from Miss Fisher
Murder Mysteries, was going to be there and doing lectures on her costumes. A
lot of us planned to make costumes similar to the series to wear. I had big
plans myself but with us moving and still unpacking to this day, I had to make
other choices of what to wear. I was able to buy some modern clothes to put
together for my Miss Fisher persona, which can actually be worn on a daily
basis. My yellow sweater was purchased online at TJ Maxx on sale for $12.99. I
found the white cotton shirt later at Macy’s marked down immensely because of a
small hole near the shoulder. The only failure was my choice of linen-blend white
pants, bought online at JC Penneys, which turned out stretched every which way,
and after a few hours, the high waist had stretched, and dropped, making the legs
hang on the ground, and they got baggier by the minute. I was safety-pinning it
tighter the next day. And I should have cut the wig length shorter, and not tip
the hat so far forward, although it was fun that very few people even
recognized me. For my yellow outfit, I had bought a vintage Art Deco necklace
on Etsy, stamped Avon on it, that originally was going to be worn with a black
and white outfit, but it got used. My friend Cindy loaned me her Art Deco earrings
that went perfectly with it too. I made my hat trims so I could change the
ribbons out from yellow to teal for each outfit but I liked the yellow one the
best. I got lots of compliments on my marigold yellow sweater as a great color
on me, so it will be a new color for me to add to my costume wardrobe someday.
For the Red
Carpet prior to the Gala on Saturday night, I pulled out my 1770s teal caraco
and cream skirt to wear that I’d made back in 2010, and only worn twice. I love
this dress and was happy to wear it again. But sadly, while ironing it in my
hotel room, the iron had run out of water and got hot, so I melted a portion of
the skirt. Fortunately, it was up near the top on in the back where my caraco would
hide it. After having a melt-down myself, I made it work. The pleats also
folded over it so I knew I could still wear it without that showing. What
really helped me up was when I stepped out on the Red Carpet, I heard a loud
cheer come out from the audience. Thank you all! You don’t know how much that
helped me.
On Sunday
morning, I got to wear another of my favorite outfits from the weekend, to the
Sunday Mourning Breakfast, and later to the Tea at the Haunted Mansion. I again
pulled a black mourning dress from my wardrobe, and added my cat skeleton, to
be the Crazy Dead Cat Lady. My skeleton proved to be a very popular prop for
other people to borrow for their photos too. I was able to wear my antique wire
framed bonnet recovered many years ago by my friend Lynne, and it was so
comfortable I need to get more use out of it. There was a new photographer
there this year that used a green or blue screen and added different backdrops
to it each day. For Sunday Mourning, he had cemetery backdrops.
I carried my
antique black purse that I had made a new pouch for to replace the shredded one
that came with it. My jewelry, a necklace and bracelet, was from my collection.
I was asked
to share more photos of my bonnet, so here they are. Back sometime around 2002 I
found the two- piece wire frame inside a trunk in an antique shop, and
recognized the shapes right away as being a bonnet. My friend Lynne told me if
I trusted her, having only chatted with her online for a short time, she would
cover it in exchange for using it as a sample for one of her classes. It’s
extremely lightweight and cool to wear. She did a wonderful job and she’s been
inspirational to me in my own hat trimming.
The
afternoon tea couldn’t have been more incredible! Due to both Shawn & Colleen
Crosby’s talents and connections, and their great crew, they had the huge room decorated like we were
in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, with lots of photo set-ups, and
interactive areas. The first photo of me was a re-creation of the elevator that
takes you down into the Haunted Mansion.
This black
with white dots is the other skirt and will have a matching shirtwaist of the same fabric with lace
appliques on the front. The purple will have that tiny purple floral cotton,
and the green striped skirt will have the solid white sheer that I found cut
out.
~~~Val~~~
