Mona May costumes another Emma-inspired film?

Times of India reports that Mona May, Clueless costume designer, is doing Sonam Kapoor’s wardrobe for Ayesha.

Historic Fashion Blogger?

David Joseph Designs is looking for an historic fashion blogger!  If you’re interested, get in touch with David Joseph via his website.

A part-time blogger is currently needed to write about historic fashion for David Joseph Designs, a growing atelier featuring unique fashion design and couture clothing with vintage appeal. This will be a great opportunity for fashionistas and history buffs seeking to stretch their imagination and find captivating topics to discuss on the site. The writer must speak and write fluent English and possess experience in the fashion industry and/or a willingness to learn. The topics must reflect the designer’s passion for historic fashion, its cultural relevance to the period and its lingering affects on modern style. The writer must be willing to conduct online research, when necessary, and provide appealing visual graphics to accompany each and every post. Interested parties should contact the designer with a brief explanation of their field of interest, prior experience and the compensation you expect. The writer should expect to start within the same day of hire.

Emma 4 – On Location

There’s a nice selection of behind-the-scenes photos from Emma 4‘s Chilham location posted at the Republic of Pemberley.  They provide a nice preview of some of the costuming!

Bunny Costume, ca. 1966…

From the CBC archives, a look at life in the Playboy Bunny outfit…

Cindy’s Birthday Tea

This past weekend, I went back down to OC for my friend Cindy’s birthday. It was a wonderful few days! For her party, a group of us went to the Tea House on Los Rios in San Juan Capistrano, the same place Cindy and I went back on November 1. Here are a couple of photos from the event…

Cindy and Kali at tea
Cindy and Kali in Edwardian costume at the Tea House on Los Rios in San Juan Capistrano on February 7, 2009.
Cindy, Kali, and Haydee at tea
Cindy, Kali, and Haydee at tea.

Cindy wore a mid-Edwardian dress she made herself. I wore my 1912 tea/luncheon gown (made by Tracie) and the 1911ish “Lunardi revival” hat I’d put together for the GBACG “My Fair Lady” event last August.

Fun in OC: My new 1880 gown

A new gown! Or is it? Actually, it’s a new variation on an old theme of mine: Winona Ryder’s Newport archery ensemble from Martin Scorsese’s 1993 Age of Innocence adaptation.

Ensemble from the film.
Ensemble from the film.

The ensemble is fiercely cute, with little faux pannier-looking things radiating out over the hips from a shirred panel on the skirtfront and layers of eyelet ruffles cascading down the skirt.  It’s a little reminiscent of the gown on the left in this French fashion plate from the early 1880s:

Natural Form Eyelet
Early 1880s natural form gowns.

My friend Tracie Arnold of Past & Present Creations made the fresh iteration of my original, beloved version of this gorgeous natural-form era ivy dress.  The first dress – constructed by Victoria Riddenour, hand-embroidered by me, and photographed beautifully by Lani Teshima – had become too small to even THINK about wearing.

I wore the new ensemble to San Juan Capistrano on Halloween weekend, where my pal Cindy and I had tea and generally caroused around the old town area.  Cindy wore a beautiful, embroidered black velvet ball gown that she’d made for Bat’s Day.

Kali in 1880s natural form eyelet ensemble, photographed by Cindy
Kali in 1880s natural form eyelet ensemble, photographed by Cindy.
Kali and Cindy in old San Juan Capistrano
Kali and Cindy in old San Juan Capistrano.

Outfit notes: The straw skimmer is a Victoria Riddenour original.  My corset is Denise Nadine‘s late Victorian “Nettie” style.  I made the combination undergarment (which you can’t see) from Truly Victorian’s 1876 combination pattern (TV105).  My garnet earrings are from Lacis.

For Austenprose: Regency costuming in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey adaptations

As part of her “Go Gothic!” tribute to Northanger Abbey, my friend Laurel Ann invited me to do a light look at the costuming in the 1986 and 2007 television adaptations of the novel.

Here it is!

Anyway, I hope people enjoy it.