Formal Tea

The next big dressing occassion was formal tea. I wore an old (but still beloved) project - my lavender and white striped trained skirt. Then I made a brand new hat to go with it, covered in rose velvet with a giant blue shot pink silk bow on top. Unfortunately, I failed to pack the intended blouse, but I made due with what I had. I lent Julia my even more fabulous black and white trained skirt. They are made from the same pattern, but I installed an enormous thick and wide black ruffle in that one, which really makes the train look fabulous. I think I either need to do the same for the lavender and white skirt, or maybe I can get away with making a really fantastic petticoat. Either way, I better get on that. I also made Julia wear a fabulous three plumed hat I made, even though it freaked her out when the wind kept blowing them. Mother wore a lovely linen skirt with pretty flanges (they look really good in motion), and I trimmed a hat for her at the last minute with pretty yellow striped silk and a plume of ostrich feathers I dyed orange.

Fabulous skirts

And more!

Matching skirts, but hers looks better

Nice hat, Mother

This landscaped pond is easily the prettiest thing on campus

I couldn't pick a favorite

Protect the hat!

Pretty pretty

Nice hat on Adrian, too.

Walking home, looking silly...

Events Attended: Peformance at the Salem Athanaeum

A couple weeks ago CVD did a dance performance at the Salem Athanaeum for the Dickens Fellowship, at an event called "Tea for Mommy, Me, and Teddy." So we threw together a last minute Teddy Bear's Picnic choreography, put on some cute early 20th century outfits, and danced in the lovely back garden area. Of course, I had just gotten over the worst, most feverish parts of my flu at this point... so don't hold that against me! I put my hair up in delightfully silly puffs. Julia brought her charming British bear. We hit the town to get some lunch. Of course the shocking bit is at the very end of the post.

And then Nick Wurst (of our fake barbershop quartet) turned into a skeleton!!!

Titanic, Songe d'Automne

This weekend was a Titanic vintage dance week of epic proportions. Unfortunately, it has left me playing catch-up on schoolwork, so I haven't written you any great posts with pictures yet. Instead, I will leave you with the haunting song "Songe d'Automne," one song reported to be the final played by the band as the ship sank. Last night at the ball, our band played this as a final waltz. Although many people did not stay though the end of the evening, it was really quite something for those of us who stayed.

1900 Pink Worth Wheat Dress

Of course, it is a Worth. Of course, it belongs to the Met and not to me. Still, I love wheat as a motif. Not sure why, but it just speaks to me!

Peacock Showgirl

I've posted about peacock gowns and dresses and costumes before. But this - oh, this is a peacock outfit fit for a charming Edwardian showgirl. No doubt about it. WOW! Where could I need to wear this? Serious question.

Oscar Arthur Bluhm - "Leutnant (und Dame)"

I know basically nothing about this painting, except it seems to have gone up for auction under the title of "Leutnant (und Dame) (um 1900)." But what I love is that charming late-century uniform with the great boots and a monocle or possibly glasses (but I'm voting monocle, because that would obviously cooler). And then there is the woman, wearing a wonderful trained skirt. I love trains. I am not completely confident that this is her whole outfit (as opposed to her being in a state of mild un-dress), but I'm going to pretend I am. In which case, I really like the fabulous and dramatic skirt with a cute belt (maybe, anyway) and a little nothing blouse. I am inspired to make trains... or possibly uniforms. Oh dear.

White Fox Stoles

I have decided that the ultimate Edwardian fashion accessory (especially with all these Titanic events coming up) is a white fox stole. Don't believe me? Just look!

Hat of Grapes

I have finally gotten around to watching Downton Abbey. I've heard incredible things about the hats, so I was watching for them. In fact, there was not one hat that I adored or that particularly inspired me, but I do love the variety and quantity of them. One hat that struck me in particular is this one, not because I think it is pretty (or even un-stupid), but because it reminds me very much of an original in the Met costume collection. See for yourself.

Edwardian Garters

First of all, she is so cute! I love Edwardian underwear. More importantly, this is an interesting opportunity to see how you wear your drawers or combination, while also taking advantage of those beautiful garters hanging off of so many Edwardian corsets. You just bunch them up a little and go with it.

Gibson Girls in Vogue

This is super neat. I found this picture which appeared in Vogue in 1948 (Horst P. Horst, The Gibson Girls). Does it look familiar? It should if you are at all familiar with this Charles Dana Gibson drawing of "The Weaker Sex" from 1903. I love it!

Seaside Tea Dance at the Rotunda

I should have posted this back when I was doing all the Newport stuff, but I misplaced the pictures. Here they are! This was another afternoon event at the Newport Vintage Dance Week, and it was quite lovely. The Rotunda ballroom had beautiful views of the sea, we danced, and then we rode on the carousel and danced some more!

Formal Tea at Linden Place

For a spiffy afternoon event, check out these pictures of Wednesday's Formal Tea at Linden Place. Also, we had a trolley drive us from the school to the place. Neat. I wore my (newly completely ruffled!) lavender and white striped trained skirt, and a new hat. Julia wore a matching hat, and mother made her a brand new and super amazing pink eyelet skirt, all coated in tucks and pleats and lovely details. It is really super spiffy. While you look at the pictures, be sure to note my strange hobby of jumping into low trees while wearing trained skirts (Look! It's me in a tree!), and the cute boar statue. I liked him.

A Waltham Adventure - The Tea Leaf, Gore Place, and Stonehurst

Yesterday was a grand adventure with a rocky start. A friend invited me to go see Lyman Estate, which was supposed to be having an open house as part of the Historic Waltham Days (lots of wonderful events and thing are happening in Waltham right now). Unfortunately, when we showed up at the Lyman Estate, we were informed that the open house was not Thursday, the 8th, even though all the publicity had given that date. There must have been some misunderstanding somewhere, but so much for that plan.

Since we were looking so lovely, and this is a friend who has been telling me about a particular teahouse nearby forever, we went there. The Tea Leaf is absolutely darling, and the woman who runs it is delightful. We had some delicious tea and tasty cucumber sandwiches for lunch. Yum. Definitely go there when you get a chance. We chatted, both with the woman who owns the Tea Leaf and with some other very nice people eating there, and they all suggested that we go check out Gore Place, since the Lyman Estate hadn't worked out and because Gore Place is lovely. She even called them so they would know we were coming, and they set up a special tour for us. Here is a picture taken at the Tea Leaf - note the seersucker.Gore Place is absolutely gorgeous, and the gentleman who gave us our tour did a spectacular job pointing out fascinating things. I can heartily recommend going to look at it some time. I would tell you all about the house, but there is just too much! Some highlights are the incredible stairs, the fascinatingly large billiards table, the super lovely reproduction wallpaper (especially with the birds... I love that stuff), a particularly beautiful vainty, pretty marble floors, Mr. Gore's outfit for going to court (regal, not legal, if that was unclear), etc. Too many lovely things. Here's a picture in front of the entrance.Next, we went to take a look around Stonehurst, but as we arrived a woman came to the door and told us we could take a look around inside if we wanted, which was very sweet. So we wandered around, inside and out, and I was very much photographed. My favorite is the picture with the big windows... I really love that one for some reason.
So yesterday was an adventurous day, full of Waltham History and good clothing. The end.