Costume for JASNA Portland -Trying for the "Regency Look"

Regency dress for the Bal Masque

Amethyst cross

White ballet shoes

I am very excited and slightly apprehensive about attending my first gathering of the Jane Austen Society of North America next Wednesday in Portland Oregon.  I am excited because I will be away with my sister and among people with similar interests, all intent on having fun.  I am slightly apprehensive because I don't know quite what to expect.  So I am rather obsessing about being ready for the Bal Masque on Saturday Oct 30.  I am trying to get my costume as period as possible without paying too much.  Huzzah for Ebay.

As well as what you see above, all purchased from Ebay, the crowning jewel being the dress ordered from Marion May in the UK, who I can highly recommend.  I got a real steal on it as she seemed to be clearing it out on Ebay, and it just happened to be the right size.

I got very cute masks from the dollar store for $1.25 each, so I got three to chose from (we can give one away to someone who needs a mask at the Ball).

I have also been sewing evening bags for my sister and I (called reticules), which meant breaking out my sewing machine for the first time in years.  The results are above.  I tried to emulate ones from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England as they were so pretty.

And the hair situation was an issue as neither my sister or I fuss with our hair too much, so I got fabric covered hair bands, white for me and black for my sis.  She is dressing up a regular black dress to look Period by adding a shawl, gloves, etc.  Oh, yes, I found us some long white gloves, 8 bucks a pair, to add the finishing touches.

Well, what do you think?  Will we pass muster?

Tribute to Elizabeth Gaskell Part II-Victorian Fashion

The inspiration for this post came partly from the excitement about Elizabeth Gaskell's 200th birthday and partly from the posting on Vic's blog Jane Austen Today where she posted a beautiful Youtube Regency fashion montage by PiepMiau04.
This talented German woman puts music and fashion images together in a sensory feast.  So sit back and relax while Mozart's Piano Concerto No.23 and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata transport you to another era.
Instead of the gorgeous Regency dresses on Vic's blog, I have given you some amazing Victorian dresses reminiscent of what was worn in Elizabeth Gaskell's time.  So picture Margaret Hale from North and South or the girls from The Buccaneers or even Romola Garai's character Gwendolyn from Daniel Deronda who all had some pretty amazing Victorian costumes.  Oh, and I can't forget the adaptation of Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now for some of the best Victorian dresses I have ever seen.
If you want the full size video, just click on the center of the Youtube video and expand it by clicking in the right corner.  I am still trying to get the hang of this blogging so my page doesn't look quite as pretty as Vic's yet!
Again, Happy Birthday to Elizabeth Gaskell to whom I feel a special kinship as some of my ancestors worked in the mills of Manchester at the time she was writing.  It is one of the many, many reasons I love North and South.

Dressing up and Northanger Abbey

"Miss Morland, no one can think more highly of the understanding of women than I do. In my opinion, nature has given them so much that they never find it necessary to use more than half."

This quotation is from a conversation (in Northanger Abbey) during a walk to Beechen Cliff in Bath, between Henry Tilney, his sister Eleanor and Catherine Morland, our heroine who is rather smitten with Henry Tilney.  Henry loves to tease his sister and here, Miss Morland  gets to know the way in which he banters with his sister, and all those to whom he is close.

"Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her the more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter."

Well, this is why Jane Austen's writing has endured.  It is just so damned funny and so relevant even 200 years later.

With respect to my own Regency finery for the JASNA gathering in Portland in October:

This is the back view of the dress which just arrived from England and doesn't need any alterations (yay!) so in celebration, I spent an entire $6.99 on this silver amethyst cross pendant to go with it.  Not exactly Regency in style, but fairly close.  Now I have to work on shoes.  I think that some pink ballet slippers would be a good choice for under this dress, and I could use them as slippers after.  Anyone with any thoughts on what would make a historically correct but also reasonably priced and comfortable shoe to go with this outfit, please post a comment below.  I am also wondering whether white gloves are just going too far, or should I go for it?

On to other matters, I have nearly finished the book Northanger Abbey again to get into the spirit of the JASNA  gathering in Portland, Oregon in October.  I am saving the latest film version of Northanger Abbey for a stormy evening.


Well, my dear old Dad used to say that anticipation is half of the fun of a trip and he was right!

I just bought a dress for JASNA

This is the dress that I bought last night off of ebay(!!!) from England(!!!)  to wear at the ball on Oct. 30th at the JASNA AGM in Portland.
I emailed my sister immediately with the photos as I knew she would get a laugh over how much I have thrown myself into the spirit of the Regency world.  I have been justifying the purchase to myself for almost 24 hours now, and have almost achieved full justification.  The price was right (only 54 pounds!-sounds so much better than the equivalent dollar value), and the size should be right (oh please let there not be major alterations required).  And it IS Halloween after all...
Unfortunately, as soon as I made this purchase, I realized that it won't end here.  Shoes, a shawl, a purse/reticule, and possibly some new jewelry (another weakness of mine).  Oh, where will this madness stop?  If this is a mid-life crisis, I guess it could be so much worse however...ah there I go justifying again.  Lets just face it, I have turned the corner on eccentric and gone full on loony, so there we are.  Oh, and now, I have more to blog about!  How many justifications am I up to now?  Maybe the mid-life crisis has something to do with my eldest leaving for University in 5 days and my youngest getting his driver's license a week from now.  Another justification!
Well, stay tuned my friends.  The shopping has only just begun.