Elizabethan Hat and Mask Shenanigans

At the end of summer my other fun project outside of work was creating an Elizabethan men's hat for my partner, who was working on his own full English Renaissance ensemble.  It is a very similar style to my own 1560's hat (that goes with the turquoise dress) but constructed AFTER I spend a few months as a milliner's apprentice at the Lynne Mackey Studio.  In other words, it is MUCH better and more professionally constructed.  

Elizabethan bonnet of red silk & wool blend, bound in navy with an underbrim of ultramarine silk.  Pheasant and ostrich feather plumes, pewter medallion, metallic trim over grosgrain for the hat band.  The brim has an under structure of lightweight pellon, wired with millinery wire and mulled with a single layer of canvas. 

  

Barrettes make a pretty good substitute for alligator clips. Score!

 

The finished product!  No model photos yet, as the rest of the project is still catching up.  We all know that the hat makes the man, anyways.

I delivered the hat in person to the New York Renaissance Faire, and took the opportunity (or maybe used to the excuse to avoid packing for my move...) to make a masquerade mask to match my copper Italian ensemble.  I also dressed my sister up in the Lettice Knollys gown, and we had a grand time as patrons, socializing and hitting the pubs. 

 

Of course, I wore the hat myself for as long as I could get away with.

 

Here you can sort of see my mask, which I was quite proud of but nonetheless completely neglected to photograph.  Maybe later!

Speaking of masks, my image and work were  used on the poster for Masquerade Weekend at The New York Renaissance Faire for the 2016 season.  So even though I was living the southern dream in North Carolina, some piece of me was still present in New York.

 

Heading Down South to the Land of the Pines...

Hello world,

I'm finally settling into life in North Carolina after moving in August to begin school.  The first semester of my costume production program is largely sewing and pattern-making samples as I re-learn everything I thought that I knew about making clothes, so there isn't much photogenic work to show!  Let's catch up on some older projects anyways.

In July I finished my ultramarine 1960's dress, which I've worn twice to formal events and is always a big hit.  The color!  I don't have any full-length photos of the completed dress, but these will give you an idea.  The cocktail-length dress is fully lined and finished with a matching belt.  I'm having trouble getting photos to upload to this server (I recently switched to using a tablet full time, and don't have a laptop anymore) but I'll figure it out soon!

 

 

The dress with major seams completed, before any finishing work, lining or sleeves

 

First fitting! I absolutely adore the shape of this dress. The waist felt perfectly snug without any lining, so I let it out 1/2" total after this picture to accommodate and leave space for any shapewear- after all, what is 1962 without a girdle? This picture shows the dress with NO waist support underneath: the silk and flat-lining of cotton broadcloth are enough to nip in my waist and hold structure, even before adding the lining.  It looks surprisingly smooth!

 

Neckline is corded, zipper is in, and sleeves are inserted for good!  The only thing missing is the hem, which you can see is thread marked in this picture. I also created a narrow self-fabric belt with a crystal buckle, but haven't photographed that yet (oops! Bad costumer!). This picture is in my combat-sewing setup in the attic guest room, after I was kicked out of the much-more-appropriate dining room.  As you can see, there is 1. No natural light, 2. A thick carpet and 3. Dark burgundy details, which all added to a lighting catastrophe and many pins lost to the carpet gods.  I guess this is what I get for freeloading in the parents house! Someday I'll have a proper studio.

 

Here you can truly see the vibrant color, which is especially effective against my pale skin and red hair.  This is, outrageously, the only picture of me wearing the completed dress.  It was a hot July night, and my date and I were too busy having a wonderful night on the town (champagne and soufflé at an extremely lovely French restaurant in Manhatten with 1960's interiors: perfect!) so I only have this one silly selfie from the train ride in.  

When I look back on the glorious years between school, I think I will always remember the feeling of riding New Jersey Transit dressed in my finery, heading into NYC for some adventure.   So many amazing evenings with my wonderful friends: I'll miss this silly, glamorous, outrageous time in my life. 

 z