A Groom with a View......

I was told yesterday that my previous post was leaving out that poor disregarded person at weddings 'The Groom'. O.K, let's put that right...
You and your bride have agreed on a wedding with a difference - Great, the photographs will never look 'out of date', for a start! Now you're either experienced at this 'dressing up' or you aren't. If you are, you probably know what you want, - if you aren't, you are probably very close to someone who does know what you want! The main thing is relax, this journey can be fun. Once you have your 'theme' sorted, the main question is - are all your guests going to be costumed, or just the main wedding party? Hint- the more are costumed, the more your guests feel 'involved' and the more memorable your wedding becomes.
The picture shows Christian in his 'posh tudor' actually, not at his wedding , but at ours! We had a multi-period wedding where most of the guests were Re-enactors, Interpreters, Historians, Authors, Archaeologists, Musicians etc., so we settled on a wedding that let them all pick their favourite period. No-one let us down and didn't come in costume, but the fact that we were being filmed for T.V could have helped! (The one chap we were worried about, got really into it and spent all day doing '1st person')! So don't worry. Try and get everything in place for your guests to enjoy themselves, then leave them to it. Any glitches are the long suffering Best man's problem. The day is for you and your bride.
Still think you can't come up with an outfit?
You mean that there are grooms out there who don't want to be Mr Darcy???.......

Brides & Weddings

We are regularly asked to create bridal wear, historical and contemporary. In our experience, some Brides know exactly what they want down to the last spangle*, because it is the dress they've dreamed of since childhood. Others, though, can need some help with the creative process and this can only begin with information - and plenty of it! If you need information, then the most obvious way to get it is to ask and thus the process begins with an informal 'getting to know you' conversation, where Gini may often be heard to ask some pretty strange questions, that may seem have nothing whatsoever to do with wedding dresses……..
Before a bride comes to the first consultation, we ask her to put together a storyboard. This can take the form of a book, a large folder - in fact, it can be as creative as you like and should be visual. Collect images and items that appeal to you - a piece of cloth, an autumn leaf, pictures of landscapes, cars, colours that express mood. And of course pictures of dresses you like from magazines, weblinks…….you get the picture, but more to the point, this helps Gini to get a visual feeling about who you are and what you like. We keep the storyboard from our own wedding on permanent display in sewing room - covering Bride, Groom, Best Man, Bridesmaid & Pageboy.
At a first meeting, a good designer will assess your size and take a really good look at you from all angles [don't forget, your guests will spend a fair bit of time looking at the back of you too!]. They will be able to advise on colours and styles that will suit you and play up to your best features whilst drawing the eye away from any areas that you don't like - and we all have at least one of those! That's really what it's all about, you see…..Finding THE dress for YOUR day. Whether you are choosing an authentic period style, an historically influenced style or a contemporary style, the day is ultimately about Romance and adding those little extra touches which will make you feel so special and your day a dream come true.
* (Spangle -A sequin of our forebears )

Carriage and Stature.......

An actor once said "It's only when I first put on the costume that the character comes together". We know exactly what he meant. Each period and different status that you wear informs your carriage, mannerisms and abilities. Male, 15th Century wear fits close all over. Tudor paned hose seem very loose, although with a girdlestead, all the weight is carried on the shoulders. The weight of the back pleats in an 18th C. Frock coat forces you to lean back and give the 'pigeon chest', so reminiscent of the period. Victorian gents' clothing just makes you stand upright! The addition of wigs, (no, you can't bend down) Canes, (Learning to bow, with a cane, in the different periods deserves an article on its own!) Kerchiefs, Hats, gloves and other sundries all help the character come to life. Spending a little time on these is well worth the investment. The photo was taken at the 'Festival of History', where we met lots of nice people, including Gina B
who has featured on here before - and there's a lady that likes 'fine details'!

Temporal Fugue

If we were a contemporary tailor, or if we specialised in one small section of history, it would never happen. Clients would just say "I need a new outfit (or in the latest case 35 outfits!), in wool, dull colours". and that would be it. No problem, sorted.

Ah, would that it were. It normally happens late on a Sunday afternoon at shows, when you've seen a few hundred people in 'civvies', or when you've been concentrating on a particularly difficult project for hours. The truis in the picture, for example. Then it happens. You can almost see it coming..

1st Customer "Hi, I'm after a Victorian Gents' outfit".
" Yes Sir, which date in particular?"........(and it's starting)
2nd Customer " Hello, have you any Elizabethan Ruffs?"...
" Of course Sir, plain, figure of eight, lace?".....(definitely on the way)
3rd Customer " Good afternoon, I'm re-enacting the Battle of Neringapatam".
"Err....... "(Temporal Fugue achieved!)

Just for a couple of seconds it kicks in. The Temporal fugue...which is the utter inability to remember dates, whole periods of History or even your own name.

So if you ever contact or meet us, give us a couple of seconds for our brain to 'get in gear'. You may just be witnessing a 'displacement'. It doesn't happen all the time, promise! ;-)
By the way, Neringapatam was a Naval battle off India in 1858, but I knew that, - didn't - I?.....

Regency

We have here Mr.John White of "Select Society" collecting his new Regency outfit. The first shot is of the silk waistcoat.Lined and backed with silk. The horizontal stripe (at this date), usually shows that the clothes are being worn as'livery'.








With the coat added, the 'character building' seems to be progressing! The coat is a copy of one in the Victoria & Albert Museum, made by the same methods.













It is rather apt that that the coat is a V.& A. copy, as it was due to make an appearance there 6 hours later!

I'm sure you'll agree, very stylish!

New Team Member

Things have been so busy here, that it's been a while since I managed to post. So first of all, let me introduce you to our new team member, Ms Fiona Dowler B.A.. Fiona, although young, (well by the standards of the rest of us here..!), has an honours degree in woven textile design and is an award winning designer, as well as being an experienced art & design teacher. Most importantly, Gini has said that she has a 'fine hand' at sewing.
Seen working here on a tudor kirtle for Loseley Hall, Fiona has a lot of talent and we hope that she will enjoy working with us.

Tudor 'Bodies'......

There a lots of pictures on here of things that that have been finished. So I thought, for a change, I'd show you something that has hardly been started! The commission is for a high status Elizabethan and the portrait chosen is one in the Norwich Castle museum & Art gallery of Elizabeth Buxton, by Robert Peake, dated 1588-90. As in nearly all periods, you have to build from the inside out, starting in this instance with shift, 'pair of bodies' and wheel. Over this you build the toile (a canvas 'mock -up')
and then you are actually ready to commence on the gown!


The design for the bodies was taken from the 'effigy' pair in Westminster Abbey (dated 1603),well there are only a few extant samples available to choose from!






The last picture shows the toile in place and it fits well! Now we just have to plan the embroidery, execute it - and make the gown!

Fashion Shows...

Wow,what a busy time we had at 'The Original Re-enactors Market' last weekend. This was on top of Gini being asked to produce the fashion show - at very short notice! Visitors from all over the E.U, Canada, America and even New Zealand attended. The theme at this show was 'Costume and the Media' bringing in items from Film and T.V etc., and hopefully, a good time was had by all.

The pictures show Lynne Osbourne, wearing her 'Regency' pelisse and bonnet,just before her 'exit'. The pelisse has a couple of 'secrets' one being that the skirts can be removed leaving a 'spencer jacket' for warmer weather! The other is that the jacket actually closes with hooks & eyes - not 'frogs'.


The next Fashion show, in the Autumn, is on the theme of "Lethal Beauty", so I am expecting to see Lucretia Borgia or Mata Hari perhaps?

A Portmanteau Gown.....



For a certain part she's playing, Sue needed to look 'outrageous and over the top '.
The discussion began with Sue saying "Well, there's that super purple one in the V&A publication , 19th Century Fashion in Detail" and Gini replied "Yes. And then of course, there's that fabulous magenta pink ensemble by Madame Vignon, 1870".

And so the dye was cast. Much "Oh Yes!" and "we could do this and that" later, a design was agreed on. Certain details from the original were kept, other details were added in [as if it wasn't OTT enough to begin with!].

Over 130 hours in production, including over 83 feet of scalloping and 80 feet of 'box' pleating! The materials used were fushia pink silk taffeta, black taffeta, fushia pink crepe backed satin and black chantilly lace. Each part of the outfit is lined with white twilled silk.

It has now been collected along with its' rather weighty technical instruction manual -'Fit tab A into slit B' etc!
Why? She also needed to be able to convert her outfit to fit any date from 1860 - 1900. And to be able to customise it to wear it for any time of day , from morning, to promenading, afternoon tea and ball gown. A tall order and not quite possible, given the evolving shapes through that period, but we managed to satisfy most by:-

* creating a skirt that can be worn over an 1860's crinoline looking fairly plain, worn with the day bodice
* Add in the lace overskirt, change to the evening bodice and it becomes full evening gown.
* Change the crinoline for a 'bustle' petticoat, pull up the hidden drawstrings within and it changes to 1880.
* Add the scallop frilled apron and tailed bustle pad it becomes a day dress
* Release draw strings and it develops a 'train'
* Change the bustle to a frilled 1890's petticoat, let out the drawstring, pull in the back ties underneath and it becomes 1890 evening gown.
* There are many more permutations - discussions are already in hand as to the adding of other bodices and accessories for 'other looks'!

We normally call this a portmanteau gown, but with the sheer amount of frills & 'Frockage' (Sues' word), I suspect it will take a couple of suitcases...........

These photos were taken at a 'try-on' so no wig, no tiara and the wrong corset, but I'll replace them soon as hopefully, we're getting proper pics done next week.

Finest detail......

We do have our favourite historical films here, things like "Dangerous Liaisons", "Restoration" and "Master and Commander"- the costuming in these is excellent.Unfortunately, Television is mostly at the other end of the scale, with a few notable exceptions lately.
With the introduction of HD television, will a higher standard of costuming be found on the worlds' T.V.screens? In the past, most costumes dramas had a certain leeway in as much as you couldn't see the 'fine detail' and it was only a problem to those like Gini who could spot a machined cuff at a hundred paces or even the hidden bits like "she's wearing the wrong period corset under that dress"!(and speaking of hidden bits - the photo is of Alices' petticoats). Hopefully, in the future, more care will be taken with costume and other details on T.V and while I've no problem with 'entertainment' as such, if you're in education, educate.