To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61:3

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Victorian Boise at The Bishops' House

Yeah!!!  Today was the day!  "We Wear History" went to the event "Victorian Boise at the Bishops' House" today and we had a marvelous time!  The Bishops' House is a wonderful historical site here in Boise and it is a beautiful example of Queen Anne style architecture.  I want it.

Anyway, this was also the day that the captain's dress debuted!  I felt really good in the dress and it fit me very well!  And praise God it was cool today!!  Yeah!!  The only time I got hot was after walking up the stairs to look at the wonderful ladies dress display on the second floor....I think I'm getting or out of shape or both!!  Below are many photographs my fabulous Mama took of my dress and hat....

















The lovely ladies of "We Wear History"!  Me, Lana Walters, Marilyn Holly, and Tammy Eliasen....such a wonderful and gracious group of women to share my love of costuming with!!


It appears as if we have scandalized the newest member of our group!  She will soon come over to the dark side!  Bwahahahaha.....





Well, I am home, the corset is off, the shoes are off, the dress has been hung in the closet and the hat is back on the mannequin head.  Today was a GREAT day and I had so much fun sharing it with my friends!  Can't wait for next weekend!!!

Blessings!

g

26 comments:

  1. I just love it, the color, the style and the hat is fantastic...looks like your group is growing! That is so wonderful! I am so glad you had a successful putting. Can I borrow the hat? :)

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    1. Thank you so much my friend!!! Our group is at a most comfortable size right now!!! And it was a successful outing! Yeah!!! Yes, you may totally borrow the hat my dear!!!!

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    1. Hi Lauren!!

      Yeah! Thank you so much!!!

      Blessings!

      g

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  3. Ah, your gown is perfect! And the wonderful hat... I really love your outfit! :)

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    1. Hello Gabrielle!

      Thank you so very much! I sorta like the outfit too! ;-)

      Blessings!

      g

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    1. Hello Jen!

      Thank you so very much!!

      Blessings!

      g

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  5. Such lovely pictures! It looks like a beautiful place and you all express great joy in your smiles. :)

    Best,
    Quinn

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    1. Hello Quinn!

      This House and the grounds truly are beautiful! I would love to recreate it, but I'm afraid that would take a bit longer than recreating a dress! hahahahaha!!! We had a very delightful time!!

      Blessings!

      g

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    1. Hi Emily!!

      Thank you so very much!!

      Blessings!

      g

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  7. Your gown and hat are absolutely delicious!! Hope you'll be selling copies of your hat pattern asap!!

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    1. Awe my friend! For you of course!!! Thank you so much for liking the outfit!! This one was a good one!!!

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  8. Oh my! You look just sooo gorgeous!! It seems you've had a great time in a wonderful place! :)

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    1. Hello Eleonora!

      Thank you so much for your compliment! Yes we did have a most wonderful time!

      Blessings!

      g

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  9. I love being able to have lots of details and things to look at on a gown, and you my dear, are the Queen of Details. Your dress looks real, not costumey. And such a gorgeous color.
    Val

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    1. Hello there Val!!

      Thank you for your wonderful compliment!!! A real dress is always what I attempt to achieve when making an era dress....so thank you for thinking it looks "real"!!! Yeah!!!

      Blessings!!

      g

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  10. Dear Gina,

    As always, your creations are absolutely stunning! I especially adore all of your pictures under the arch!

    I admire all of your work, especially your Civil War Era bonnets and dresses! Therefore, I was hoping to ask you a few questions...I have recently been asked to play the part of Sara Robbins (the sister of Union soldier Silas Robbins) at a local history reenactment event. I have always wanted to be a reenactor, and I am so excited for this opportunity! However, I find myself in need of much advice. Besides my monologue, what should I expect at a reenactment - how do I better become my character? Each of the participants are required to supply their own costumes. I've dabbled a bit, but where do I begin to create an accurate "right-looking" costume (dress/bonnet/accessories) for my character? My event is on October 18th and your advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Many thanks,
    Anneliese :)

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    1. Hello Anneliese!!

      Thank you so much for admiring my work!! I will attempt to answer your questions and steer you in the direction you need to go for your needs! How fun to be asked to be Miss Sara!! I am truly excited for you! Since I am not a re-enactor, just a re-creator of Victorian clothing, I can't help you with what to expect from an event or how to better become your character. I will share some blogs from re-enactors who would better answer your question. I hope that I can cut and paste them here....

      As for your outfit, what I do for myself when looking to recreate an outfit is research three things....fashion plates from the era I am looking to recreate, photographs of women wearing those outfits, and then photos of extant garments from museums and online antique stores...those combined are a great wealth of resource! Pinterest is also a wonderful place to find these things!!! It actually takes me about as much time researching my outfit as it does making it! Well pretty close anyways!!!

      Ok, here are the blogs I think you would find handy or at least you could ask them questions! I am sorry that I could not be a better resource for you in this area!!!

      1) http://www.abrahamslady.com/
      2) http://romantichistory.blogspot.com/
      3) http://couturecourtesan.blogspot.com/
      4) http://adayin1862.blogspot.com/
      5) http://www.cwreenactors.com/index.php

      I sincerely hope this helps!!! If you still have questions about researching outfits, I would be happy to lend a hand!!

      Be blessed!!

      g

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    2. Dear Gina,

      I would never have guessed - you always look like you have just stepped out from the past! I sincerely appreciate your help and advice! No wonder your costumes look spot on - I will definitely have to start researching fashion plates, photographs and existing garments. (In fact, pinterest is my newest online discovery and I am spending way too much time pinning historical clothing, especially from your numerous boards :). Thanks also for the blog links, I'll send my questions to them too.

      Many thanks,
      Anneliese :)

      P.S. By the way, do you by chance know of any resources for teenage clothing of the Civil War era? Sarah, my character, is around fifteen years old :)

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  11. Hello Anneliese!

    Oh dear...Pinterest is my downfall!! I am a little bit too addicted to it!! When I am sick or hurt my back, it truly is a life saver! hahahahaha!!!

    As for the teenage girl clothing, I would type in "young ladies in 1860" "Victorian girls clothing" "Victorian girls fashion" or any number of those words onto google or Pinterest...those should bring up a lot of fashion plates of photographs.....Yes! I just typed in "Young ladies 1860" and a ton of images showed up! that should help you!!

    I can't wait to see what you come p with for Sarah!!!

    Blessings!

    g

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    1. Thank you, Gina, for setting me on the right track! Following your advice, pinterest and google images have proven great resources for inspiration - I have a plan in place! Anneliese :)

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    2. Oh wonderful! I can't wait to see your new creation!! I love it when a plan comes together!!!!

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  12. Beautiful ensemble! I love military-inspired fashions in any era and yours has such attention to detail. And that hat! Perfect :)

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    1. Hi Nora!

      Thank you so much! I too love military inspired fashions! I have an 1863 green military-inspired dress as well and am seriously looking at a 1912 military inspired dress...in green!!! I think I have a pattern emerging here! hahahaha!!!

      Blessings!

      g

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