A Further Study In Bustles - The 1880s

These are 1880s bustles. As you can see, they have a similar pattern. There are the dull hoop-type bustles, the mummy-bustles, and the narrow bustles just in the back in casings. The interesting part is that there are also some stranger and more fascinating short bustles. I know it is a lot of pictures to scroll through, but make sure you get that far because they are cool.

Plain hoops.Mummy-style bustle


Casings, all the bustle in the back.
Short bustles! I adore them.

A Study of 1870s Bustles

Wow. This is a lot of pictures. Brace yourself.

I was thinking about steampunk, and I thought I would like to make a bustle. So I started researching. These are the 1870s bustles I found (tomorrow you can see the 1880s!). I have lumped them into three categories. First, the boring, like hoops but a little funny shaped, bustles. Second, there are the mummy hoops (I have included pictures from both side and front for these, so you can see what I am talking about), where there are wire supports only in the back and then a grid of tapes for support. I have made up the mummy term, but that's just what it makes me think of. Then there are the more interesting bustles, which vary and are often fabric with casings for wires or even without wires altogether. Interesting. I must further consider what I want to make for myself. If nothing else, I'm enjoying seeing the variation.

First category: Boring hoop-like things.
Second category: The mummy bustle







Third category: Interesting bustles, usually with casings.

Enchanted Menagerie with Dances of Vice

As a rather last-minute plan (mother's car accident had me thinking we wouldn't be able to go, but she got a rental car - she is also fine), I went traipsing off to New York on Friday with mother and a friend. We had a delicious dinner with my aunt, and went to a Dances of Vice event.

The event was called "The Enchanted Menagerie," and we decided to go all out on the costuming. We both wore fantastic wigs made by Sweet Hayseed. We also went all out with the makeup, as you will see in a moment. She wore a dress (one of those "in progress" forever projects), which was delightfully spiffy with the addition of pretty butterfly fabric and rhinestones! The rhinestones don't show up well in photographs, but they looked really great, especially considering how much rhinstone-ing she did in the car. Very impressive.

I made new stuff! I threw together an 18th century underwear outfit with things I had, and then I made gold cage panniers. Bird cages! You know, "enchanted menagerie"... I am pretty proud of this last minute bit of construction. I was hitting them with spray paint up to the last minute... waiting for things to dry is such a pain. Now, to fully document the outfit!(Me, getting birds in their cages)(The back)(The front)(Friend from the front)(Us being cute)(Me, panicking! Oh no!)

The actual event was delightful. I had never gotten to see Shien Lee (the organizer of Dances of Vice) sing before, and she was really lovely. Wish her a happy birthday! Also, the band she was singing with was great. Check out Grandpa Mussleman and his Syncopators, and when they play with Shien they go by Shanghai Foxtrot. There were some other performances too, like a really impressive fashion show of animal-inspired fashions by Kristen Costa Designs, and a very strange performance piece by Sequinette involving glitter (my friend approves very much) and the most incredible violin costume. Wow. All the performers were really talented.I met a lot of nice people at the event, and drooled over some really incredible costumes (as usual), but one of the more fun moments was walking back to the car. We were photographed, we were questioned, we were repeatedly bowed and curtsied to. Keep in mind this is all at 3 in the morning on the Bowery. My friend was drukenly molested in a harmless kind of way (We frequently get questions about our clothes, so "Can I touch you," didn't seem so ridiculous at the time...). Some foreigners said something nice about Lady Gaga having a hard time out-doing us. I even met a girl who knew that I was wearing panniers, and knew how to pronounce that, and even had made some herself! Note to self: you meet the most suprisingly lovely people when you run around in crazy clothes at 3 in the morning.(Us in the street, walking to the car, hilariously juxtaposed with prolific graffiti)

All in all, an excellent adventure!

Klockwerq

Last night I went to Klockwerq, a steampunk event at Club Oberon in Harvard Square. It being steampunk, I wore my underwear on the outside with a bustle. For a very thrown together outfit, I though this was quite respectable. Well, not respectable from the point of view of "Oh, I forgot to wear an actual skirt," but respectable in terms of "I threw this outfit together last minute and it looks fundamentally intentional." The event itself was lovely, though entirely devoid of waltzes. You would be amazed how much music it is possible, if ill-advised, to polka or charleston to. A waltz needs a waltz, though.

I caught a ride on a very snazzy scooter to get there. And just for the record, it is possible to ride a scooter side-saddle. And just for the record, it is much cooler that way.