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

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Costume College: Friday Night Ice Cream Social, A Dress From A Portrait

The theme for Friday night's Ice Cream Social was "Ice".  I thought that since icebergs have a lovely shade of blue in them many times, that I could wear my blue 1830s portrait dress!  Josie's Mom, Greeneyed Nana, styled a wig for me and it turned out fabulously!!  I made some hair ornaments like the Countess Emilia Sommariva Seilliere wore in her painting.

Again, I will share my Friday Evening, Ice Cream Social album with you as there are so many photos of fabulous dresses!


Two images of me trying to get the same pose as the Countess.  The one on the left is the right body pose, but my hair needs bangs...the one on the right has the right bangs but my body isn't right!  Hahahaha!!  Josie did a great job posing me, don't you think?
 

Nice view of my hair ornaments and Greeneyed Nana's fabulous wig!  Thank you for helping out with the ornaments and the extra braid Josie!


Yeah for wonderful black fur tippets and jewelry!


I starched my corded and plain petticoats.  Oh man were they stiff when they were dry!  It took me over an hour to iron them out and in the end my the shoulder and bicep of my right arm were exceedingly grouchy with me!


This is a wonderful shot of the pleating on the back of my skirt and the back of my hair.  I decided to do spiral lacing for the closure.


To keep the sleeves in their beret shape, I made circles of hoop boning and sewed them to the netting on the inside of sleeve.



25 comments:

  1. Beautiful dress! The sleeves are fantastic!!

    Caroline

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    1. Thank you so much Caroline! I loved these sleeves! They were so ridiculous!
      Blessings!
      g

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  2. Wonderful job, Gina! You've produced a perfect 1830s look! I especially love the hair and the sleeves :)

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    1. Thank you muchly Nora! The sleeves and the hair are what makes me so happy about this era! Totally silly and fun!
      Blessings!
      g
      ps...I feel so young in this era...I think it's the style!

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  3. That's perfect! I was never fond of 1830's fashion, but as I see your reconstruction, I might look upon the period with a different eye ;) So apparently it is possible to look pretty in that bizarre decade! Every detail is wonderful - the wig (which doesn't actually look like a wig at all, but it seems to be real hair), the jewellery, the cut... Well done! This autumn I'll probably attend a 1830's ball... You've given me some hope :D

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    1. Oh yay!! I am so happy that you are looking at this era differently! I simply adore this time period as the clothing was so fun and silly! Just looking at the hairstyles and absurdly HUGE sleeves puts me in a happy mood. I don't know who came up with the look, but they were genius! My friend's Mom did such a fabulous job on my wig... it is now my favorite! I hope you decided to make something 1830s for the autumn ball! I will be keeping an eye out for it!
      Blessings!
      g

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  4. This was beautiful on the dressform but it takes my breath away being worn! The hair styling is so perfect!

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    1. Oh thank you so much Jeanette! Emma does a fine job wearing my clothes, but she is waaaay too skinny! hahahahaha!!
      Blessings!
      g

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  5. Fabulous dress! It's amazing!!

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    1. Thank you Lily! It was super fun to wear!
      Blessings!
      g

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  6. Oh so that's how you keep those sleeves stiff! Just watched an old French movie and loads of ladies in it wore the same kind of puffed sleeves, couldn't figure out what kind of supports they used. And wow, at first I didn't notice you're wearing a wig! Nana did an awesome job, and so did you!

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    1. They acutally had a more involved wire structure for theirs, but I was running out of time so just did what I did. I plan on making the stuffed cotton ones for my gigot sleeve dresses. Thank you! Nana did do a fabulous job!
      Blessings!
      g

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  7. That's a great shade of green. And it was fun to see so many 1830s sleeves in person at CoCo. I still think they look ridiculous, but I can appreciate the sheer fantastical construction challenge they must pose.

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    1. hahahaha!! Oh my yes, these dresses are so silly! I think that's why I like them so much and will be making more. For some reason they just make my heart happy! And yes, I agree with your statement. The fantastical construction is something to behold!
      Blessings!
      g

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    1. Thank you so very much Black Tulip! It was a truly fun dress!
      Blessings!
      g

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  9. Love the color! Love the hair! Love the sleeves! Love the jewelry! Love love love! You look absolutely wonderful!!!

    Best,
    Quinn

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    1. Oh now this makes me smile! Thank you so very much Quinn for your fabulous compliments!!
      Blessings!
      g

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  10. The hoop boning in the sleeves is genius! I have to try that now!

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    1. Thanks! I had to keep them "inflated" somehow!
      Blessings!
      g

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  11. Holy moly is this FABULOUS!! Every detail from the hair, to the jewlery, to the fall of the pleats on the skirt, bertha & sleeves = perfection. You're amazing!!

    Anneliese :)

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    1. Oh thank you so very much Anneliese!! This outfit was so very fun to make...all of the accessory finding...like a treasure hunt!
      Blessings!
      g

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  12. Your dress is really, really fabulous! And I love your hair!

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    1. Thank you so much Marylou! The hair from this era is so fun!
      Blessings!
      g

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  13. Oh I am so sad I missed this dress in person. It's absolutely stunning!

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