Real Life Pretty Pretty Princess

After the 1890s ball we went back to our room and decided to be awfully silly. Do you remember the game Pretty Pretty Princess? Honestly, I hardly do, but I do remember there was a box of cheap plastic jewelry and the winner of the game got to put on all the jewelry and the princess! Or something like that. Of course, instead of cheap plastic we had all the (fairly fabulous) rhinestone jewelry of a weeks worth of fancy balls. Including a ton of brooches because I freaked out while packing and just took extras instead of making decisions. Anyway, here we go:

I was the clear loser. Julia counted that I was wearing 20 pieces of glitter during the ball, and here I have stripped down to one measly tiara. But I get points for style on my teased monster hair, right?

Quinn is rocking two tiaras, and some assorted necklace bling.

Julia R with a number of necklaces and a great brooch.

Raven in at least one tiara, plus pearls, rhinestone collar, and some fabulous matching dripping flower brooches that I have plans for but haven't yet debuted.

But here we have our undisputed victor. Can you even tell how many brooches he's wearing? And doesn't he have great hair for tiaras? He can really pull off the look. Not to mention that I love the iron man pants. Congratulations Nick - the rest of us never had a chance.

The Pimp Polka

Inquiring minds wanted to know (see my previous post). Luckily, I have a poor quality video! I can take no responsibility for this, but Nick and the two Julia's came up with it, and I think it is fairly darling (if questionably named).

1890s at the Roger Williams Casino

For the 1890s ball, we went all out on the glitter. For me that meant a tiara, two necklaces, and 14 sparkly bow pins. Excessive? Since it was all about the sparkles, I made the dress out of black velvet for maximum visibility. Add some big hair, and it's a thing. I started Mother's dress for Newport last year, but we didn't get as far as a bodice. Everything this year was a little rushed (I lost about a month of preparation time to the flu followed by a vicious cold), but the fabric is lovely. It deserves to be trimmed with something pretty next time, though. Julia's dress was also new (and unfinished). I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but it is the most amazing fabric ever. Pretty green gauze all covered in gold and embroidery. Wow. Pictures!

The lights are making my tiara difficult to distinguish, but it is a fabulous one, all fleur de lys and sparkles!

Black velvet shows off the bows. I think I need more for the bodice, though. What do you think?

Sitting.

All the angles.

With Julia. This doesn't do the green dress any justice. It is amazing.

With Adrian

Pugliese girls, covered in sparkles

People dancing

More people. More dancing.

Zombie cakewalk!

More typical cakewalk. You can't see me behind Julia, but you can see my foot.

I believe they call this the pimp polka

Ragtime at Glenn Manor

The Ragtime ball, as usual, was at Glenn Manor. We ate a fancy dinner, spent some time frolicking in the gardens, and did some significant chilling. And we recycled outfits from the Titanic weekend, which saved a little on sewing. Newport is so much work!

Looking cute outside

Teddy bears dancing!

Mother with an enormous black ostrich feather fan. I am overwhelmed by the beaded peacock fabric of her dress still.

On the stairs. I love sitting on stairs.

More people on the stairs!

Chilling in the garden

We each found the flowers that best matched our outfits, so we have a matched set of pictures in the garden. Here's Raven.

That's me

Julia

Quinn

We walked down to the water for some pictures.

Story time! I love Saki.

Unfortunately, I don't really like the color of this with the dress I was wearing, but this is a wrap I made in pink satin with brown feathers. It is based on one in a museum collection, and I should really do a good post about it someday, but I haven't really worn it yet. Eventually, I will!

Speed Virginia Reel at Ochre Court

The Virginia Reel is an interesting dance. No matter how carefully you teach it, there are always a few people who refuse to wait for the music and push the speed. When you're trying to be serious and have a lovely and period accurate ball, this can be irritating. Speed Virginia Reel doesn't even try that hard, and instead strives to be insane. It was invented by teenagers a couple of months ago (Nick W and Julia P - you know it is all your fault, guys), and it doesn't even pretend to be dancing to music. Is it a farce? A race? A dance with death? You decide - but it results in photos good enough for their own post! Here are some of my favorites

Mid-Nineteenth Century Ball at Ochre Court

Then we went to Ochre Court for a fabulous ball in a spectacular hall. It really is very pretty. I was going to wear blue, but we couldn't locate my dress (eek!), so I wore gold instead. Hopefully it isn't too bad that Mother and I both wore gold dresses.

Flop!

Death from above! Or maybe it is a quadrille.

Chairs in the pretty side room

Don't we look lovely?

Some people dance, rather than just posing all the time...

Oh, more dancing people

Looking good on the stairs.

More on the stairs

A different angle

Pretty!

We all fall down

Higher up on the stairs

More pictures in the side room

We stopped to get slurpees at 7-11 (a critical and time-honored tradition), but Raven and I had already started undressing by then. It was really hot and humid!