Tag: period costume

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A Regency costume picnic for Jane Austen’s 250th birthday

Back in May, my friend Elizabeth and I attended the Greater Bay Area Costumers’ Guild picnic in honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday! Austen’s my favorite writer (my pinup name is an allusion to the heroine of Northanger Abbey), and I really like Regency historic fashions, so of course we had to go! 

New Regency gown at McNears Park
New Regency gown at McNears Park.

Like the Persuasion event our group sponsored three years ago in honor of Austen’s novel, this picnic took place at McNears Beach in San Rafael. The park at McNears is the former site of a 19th century bayside resort, so the views are lovely and there are a lot of weird old palms dotted picturesquely throughout the lawn areas. 

More after the jump… Continue reading “A Regency costume picnic for Jane Austen’s 250th birthday”

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I finally saw the new Emma – my initial thoughts, and…it’s coming to DVD & Blu-Ray on May 19! Order now!

So I finally got around to seeing the new Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, and it was pretty good. You can stream it now, or pre-order it on Blu-Ray or DVD, both of which will drop on May 19.  

So what did I think, exactly? Read on to find out…

Continue reading “I finally saw the new Emma – my initial thoughts, and…it’s coming to DVD & Blu-Ray on May 19! Order now!”

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A new Regency gown!

Thanks to my friend Elizabeth, I now have a new Regency gown – a full day dress ensemble – that fits! She asked me to be her model for a Regency fashion lecture at Modesto’s Jane Austen-themed JaneCon, and I agreed! She kindly made me the entire ensemble for the cost of materials and washing/ironing labor, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a good thing she loves to sew, because I sure don’t! I do love paying my friends, or doing them favors, in exchange for beautiful clothes! The look and fit is just perfect.

Me in mushroom hat/beret, fichu and spencer jacket
Me in mushroom hat/beret, fichu and spencer jacket. Regency makeup is weird but surprisingly effective – you use burnt cloves to fill in your brows and liquid/pomade consistency lip and cheek products.
Me, Elizabeth in our ensembles for the day
I’m on the left, Elizabeth’s on the right. She made us look good.

The outfit consists of an 1805-ish gown made from a block-printed almost-sheer cotton muslin from Renaissance Fabrics. It’s the first front-opening Regency gown I’ve had, as my other, smaller gowns were all of the slightly later frock (back buttons) variety. Since this gown has a bib front that pins in place, it’s taken a bit of getting used to. I think eventually I’ll add period-incorrect snaps and ties to help keep it in place so I won’t stab myself or flash anybody by accident. Continue reading “A new Regency gown!”