Christmas at the Commandant's House

The weekend before Fezziwig's Ball, we were busy doing a fun dance performance at the Charlestown Navy Yard. It was a blast to be in the Commandant's house once again, and I rather wish the event had been longer. We had a lot of audience at the beginning, but near the end it was mostly just us so we had a grand time taking pictures. SADLY, I completely failed to get pictures of the food! We made cookies for the audience (Raven repeated her fabulous sugar cookies, and Julia R made the most adorable gingerbread men ever), and I made a special treat for us - wine jellies in orange peels. I can't believe I didn't take a picture - I will have to make them again. I hollowed out oranges, filled them with gelatine dissolved in wine, and then sliced them into wedges. Oh well, settle for great pictures of pretty people instead!

Some of the nice girls who work there danced with us

Blind Man's Buff - Nick, that may be a bonnet, but it is way too short to be a girl

... and that is a wall!

ART! There was too much laughing to be in focus.

Quinn will serve you tea

Pretty mantlepiece, pretty girls

Check out those cool people. I think we were missing a couple of people, but that happens

Mmm, floral arrangements. The back of Quinn's dress is so pretty!

My new favorite regency hairstyle. It was quite experimental, but don't you think it looks nice?

Alex sure knows how to pose. Doesn't he look amazing? Great outfit. Nick looks a bit too rake-ish, but you must take into account that he only looks so disheveled because he gave up his jacket to some young ladies in need. So he can be forgiven.

It's the awesome hair club! Nice ponytail.

I actually sewed something! This is my new fur-trimmed wool spencer. It is such nice wool, and obviously I love fur. Of course, now I want a new dress that isn't too long in the back...

It will get more fur in front in the future. But obviously I wasn't that together yet.

BIG ASS MUFF. I made this more than a year ago, but have never used it. Isn't that a tragedy?

Big ass muffs get dragged along the ground, because obviously they are just for show.

Beautiful new spencer, big ass muff, AND a dumb bonnet. Now we're talking.

Lah de dah!

Regency Wheat Sheaf Fever

I think wheat sheaves are super pretty. So imagine my delight at finding all these fabulous fashion plates which use wheat as decoration! Whether you stick it in your hair or on your bonnet, what a lovely accessory. Some of these are obviously a little late to call regency, but oh well. I am very inspired to incorporate a wheat motif into a regency ensemble.

My Dress for Returning Heroes - Mrs. C W Stoughton

A while ago I made a dress vaguely inspired by the very famous Winterhalter painting of Empress Elizabeth of Austria (or "Sisi" as she is less formally known). Mostly I found gauzy white fabric with sparkly gold stars and couldn't resist it. Add to that a lucky chunk of cream silk at a good price, and we were in business. At some point I found a painting of Mrs. C W Stoughton, who was not an empress (just like me!), but who had a strikingly similar dress. Yay! I always love finding more inspiration and justification.Sisi was famous for wearing precious diamond encrusted stars in her hair. This is certainly a look, if you can afford it. As I have mentioned once already, I am not an empress. On the other hand, Mrs. Stoughton's approach really spoke to me. The morning of the ball, I decided to throw together a black velvet diadem for my single Sisi star. Next time I am in Vienna I will have to invest in some graduated sizes to further match the Stoughton solution.
I cut buckram into a shape. I bent wire to match it. Then I tacked the wire to the buckram, forming a ring for my head. I wrapped the back of the ring in black (in fact, I used some junky lace because it wrapped better than wide ribbon, and that is what was on hand - remember, I mentioned that this was mere hours before the ball). Then I cut some little chunks of velvet (note to self - next time cut the velvet while the buckram is still a 2 dimensional template), and sewed them on (by hand, in the car). Ta dah! A last minute solution, with no glue-gun in sight! Oh, and of course I tacked on my sparkly star hair barrette.
I've never attempted this sort of loose hair style before, but I thought I would go for it for the sake of being different. In fact, I don't think I like it, but you need to try these things out to know, don't you? Here is the full effect.
And, because it is important, here is a picture of my family.

Women's Hair for Regency

The best way to learn is by example, so here are a bunch of portraits and paintings. Look at the repeating elements. In fact, I haven't even sorted these for you, because I am lazy and you will learn more by studying them all yourself anyway. First of all, notice that nobody's hair is just down. A lot of the hair is kind of messy, with intentionally random-looking wisps (not huge tendrils or big escaping curls, but a lot of wispy bits). There are some really classical looking styles, channeling that ancient Roman and Greek feeling. Sometimes there are braided elements. Sometimes there are bands or ribbons wound through the hair. Sometime it is piled more high on the head, sometimes it is lower down in the back. Some of these ladies (like Josephine) are wearing crowns, but even the non-empresses sometimes have diadems or other ornaments. Also, sometimes the hair is even covered, with a hat or a turban (turbans are very cool for balls).

So how can you use this to get ready for a ball? The great news is that any hair you have is going to work. If your hair is really short, there is some precedence for this (I don't have a portrait, though), and at worst people may just think you are recovering from an illness. If your hair is short, try curling it and getting one of those wispy messes for a hairstyle. If your hair is medium, put it up in a knot or a bun and then mess with it to get it wispier, or aim for some really classical looking hairstyle. If your hair is so long you have extra to play with, try doing some of those braided elements incorporated into your piled hair style. With bangs, make them curly and wispy. With no bangs, don't worry about it. Add bands, ribbons, flowers, diadems, and more!

Or just make a bun. Let this collection of portraits inspire you, but not overwhelm you. After all, simple and understated is the height of Regency elegance.