So I recently just celebrated my birthday and treated myself with a brand new 18th century costume. I've been waiting a long time to make a dress with purple/pink floral material and finally found the perfect fabric. The dress I decided to make is a Robe à la Française which was a popular style from… Continue reading A Birthday Treat
I’ll admit when writing Shores of Chaos: Shipwrecked, I was driven by nostalgia for my love of all things related to the seashore. Two of those things are the boardwalk and seaside amusement parks. I personally have always loved walking up and down the boardwalks, looking for cool things to buy or fun games to… Continue reading A Good Ole Time: Seaside Amusements and Boardwalks
Here’s some more history behind our favorite Christmas symbols to put you in the holiday mood! Santa Claus The story of Santa beings in the 3rd century AD when a monk helped the poor and sick and became St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children. His veneration spread throughout Europe over the centuries where his… Continue reading The History of Christmas Traditions and Symbols- Part 2
This year's costume takes on a more imaginative turn as I don a raven masquerade outfit. The costume was inspired by ravens, of course, but also by some costumes from film and TV: The collar is actually inspired by the collars that queens of each krewe (social organization) wear on Mardi Gras. The 2017 Queen… Continue reading Halloween Costume: Quoth the Raven Nevermore
My most recent adventure into historical costuming is a 14th century gown fit for a queen. I've been wanting to make this costume for awhile and I finally found the right material for it (or more like my dad found it at the store)! You may remember this sketch from my previous post, "Historical Costuming:… Continue reading The Queen has Arrived.
So in this post, we're saying goodbye to winter and hello to spring. Here's the second costume I promised you. Once again, the dress in this post can be worn two different ways. Below is the first version of the dress that I made when I was a teenager. I also separated the bodice and… Continue reading …To Spring: 18th Century 2 for 1 Costume Special
This week and next week, I will be treating you all to some more of my 18th century costumes. Each post will feature a dress that can be worn two different ways, so they are literally 2 for 1 costumes. This week's costume is a winter gown/jacket and skirt. I originally made this dress back… Continue reading From Winter…: 18th Century 2 for 1 Costume Special
Hey everyone, I know it’s been awhile since I posted. I’ve been busy with work and getting my book finished. Yes, my book is all edited and currently awaiting registration at the copyright office! But while you wait for the book to be available, today I’m putting you in the holiday mood. So, ever wonder… Continue reading The History of Christmas Traditions and Symbols
Happy Halloween and Happy Samhain everyone! Today I’m giving you a special post just for the occasion. As you may recall from my last post, “Historic Costuming: That Other Cool Thing I Do,” one thing I like to do is sew historic costumes. For this Halloween, I decided to wear a revamped 18th century dress… Continue reading Halloween Special: The Ghost of Marie Antoinette
This post is different from what I normally write, but I really needed to pay tribute to one of my all time favorite TV shows Supernatural. For those of you who don’t know, Supernatural is about brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, aka the boys, who take up the family business of hunting monsters with the… Continue reading Supernatural- A Farewell Tribute
Spooky season is upon us everyone so here’s a post discussing Halloween’s history. Modern Halloween as we know it has its origins in ancient times. It began with the Celtic festival of Samhain, pronounced sow-en or sah-when. Samhain was first celebrated thousands of years ago by the Celts. It was the last harvest festival of… Continue reading The Spooktacular History of Halloween
If there is one thing that has remained consistent in the past 13 years of my life, it's my love of historical costuming. I probably have over 100 costumes and costume accessories that I have made stored in my room. So how did I get started in this craft? It all started with a little… Continue reading Historical Costuming- That Other Cool Thing I Do
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