Across All Ages

18th Century Shoes

liselfwench — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:31:22 +0000

The Devonshires are a leather 18th century shoe based on museum examples from the 1760s through 1780s. They’re made of top-grade dyable leather, with a beautiful, smooth Italian leather sole for dancing, and are hard-wearing, water- and mud-proof, for even the toughest of outdoor re-enactments.

Pre-Order the Devonshires through August 10, and get the special $100 price. We’re only making 200 of these shoes, so don’t miss the chance to own one of only a couple hundred pair on the planet! Visit www.american-duchess.com to order.

I’m on Facebook now.

liselfwench — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:26:22 +0000

If you want cool updates of a costuming nature, “like” me on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dragonfly-Designs-by-Alisa/208906099677?ref=ts

3D Fashion

liselfwench — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:43:24 +0000

Here’s an amazing site by those amazing folks at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/features/round/index.html

3D fashion!!!!

Well, okay, it’s not really 3D (by the American definition anyway) but it’s almost as cool. How many times have you seen an awesome photograph of an extant costume and tried to imagine what the back looks like? Or what decoration is on the side of the sleeve? Well, with this site, there’s no need to wonder. You select a historical costume you like, and then click on it, and it will rotate around so that you can see all sides. You can even pause the video, to take a closer look at a certain angle.

Seriously, this site is a costumer’s dream!

Emilie Autumn Does Fairy Wings

liselfwench — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:09:25 +0000

I recently found this youtube video. Besides being a darn good fairy wing tutorial, the tutor is none other than singer/musician Emilie Autumn! Who knew she was crafty, too?

I am so totally making a pair of wings once I find some wire….

Pure Fabulous Win

liselfwench — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 04:06:28 +0000

I absolutely adore costumers who research an era down to the tiny exact details, and then create a gown that you could time-travel in.

I also absolutely adore costumers who make gowns like this:

I mean, isn’t that amazingly fun? Elizabethan camo gowns? Elizabethan Green Bay Packer gowns? I love it. I love the creativity, and I love the sense of humor and not-taking-of-one’s-historical-costuming-too-seriously.

This same costumer is also recreating the court of King Henry VIII – which is a huge undertaking and awe-inspiringly intimidating. Check out her site and blog here.

And hey? That camo gown? It glows in the dark when you take a flash photo!

Victorian Bustled Gowns

liselfwench — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:34:49 +0000

Go here, and look at all the pretties. Thank me later.

Entries number 59 and 55 may possibly be the most gorgeous things ever. They inspire me massively!

Miss Julie

liselfwench — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:03:41 +0000

I watched this film last night called “Miss Julie”. I was lured into buying it from the grocery store’s clearance rack by two things:

1) The description.

Saffron Burrows (Deep Blue Sea) and Peter Mullan (Trainspotting) deliver riveting performances (Newsday) in this tale of desire, passion and betrayal that pits upper class against lower class in a ‘superbly staged battle between the sexes (Detour). With a script basedon August Strindberg’s famous play and written for the screen by Helen Cooper, Miss Julie director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) presents a taut and intimate story, holding you with the intensity of his vision and his mastery of nuance (Los Angeles Times) from beginning to end. On a late 19th-century estate, a celebration of wine and beer lets loose inhibitions and innerpassions. Jean (Mullan), the Count’s footman, takes the advances of the Count’s daughter (Burrows) too far with a scandalous encounter in the kitchen. And over one night, it becomes clear that these two lost souls desperately need each other in order to escape the confinesand trappingsof their lives. But can a servant support a noblewoman, who, without her father’s money, is no more privileged than he?

Ooo. A love affair between a upper class woman and a footman? I’m so there.

2) The back cover showed the upper class woman in a gorgeous Victorian gown.

I was falsely seduced by the advertising, folks. Don’t rent this movie unless you’re the sort of person that reason #2 is enough of a reason for you, because otherwise you’re going to feel really, really let down.

However, me being a reason #2 sort of girl, I felt my $4 was justifiably spent.

Search as I might on Google images, I can’t discover a really good picture of this dress, but it combines two of my favorite things: stripes and floral embroidery! (And the back is a gorgeous bustle!) Her boots are also stunning, with a zillion tiny buttons that go all the way up to her knee (at one point she throws her foot in the footman’s lap and demands that he kiss her shoe. I might have been cringing from the sheer non-sexiness of that scene, had I luckily not been so distracted by her boots).

The color is embroidered on sheer fabric, and seems to be some sort of blouse, or partlet.

In my internet-seeking after Miss Julie pictures, I also found this site:

http://periodmovies.blogspot.com/

Miss Julie doesn’t rate a mention on it, but plenty of other (worthier) films do. I have to properly explore it, but it seems a fabulous resourse.

So hey. Lucky bonus.

Rockin’ the Rococo

liselfwench — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:46:50 +0000

Here’s an amazing site for you fans of 18th century fashion. A Master’s student in Canada did this exhibition of 18th century clothing. The kicker is that she sewed it all herself, using period materials and methods, in as period a manner as possible. In other words, she wore a corseted costume while sewing, sat in a wooden straight-backed chair, using only natural light or candlelight, hand sewing for 10 – 12 hours daily to duplicate an 18th century seamstress’ experience!

http://brocadegoddess.wordpress.com/project-overview-short-version/

When you look at the finished exhibition, you would swear the finished garments were actual extant clothing on view in a museum.

Old Bailey

liselfwench — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:29:17 +0000

This is fascinating. The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, the main law court in London from 1674 to 1834 are now online. You can search by sentence, crime, keywords, age of perpetrator, by name, or by year. You can even see the scans of the actual documents. Rich with detail, this is an incredible resource!

www.oldbaileyonline.org/

Marie Antoinette Hair & Make-up

liselfwench — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:10:28 +0000

Bit more trouble than I’d want to go through (I’m a wig girl for hair of this magnitude) but oddly fascinating to watch.