Victorian Ball Gown ,Gothic Victorian Dresses,Civil War Dresses,Victorian Bustle Dress,Lolita Dress,Cheap Costumes for Adults

Victorian Ball Gown ,Gothic Victorian Dresses,Civil War Dresses,Victorian Bustle Dress,Lolita Dress,Cheap Costumes for Adults

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New Year Celebrations of the Victorian Era

一月 5th, 2016

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New Year isn’t until next week, but I can’t help thinking ahead a little. What a fun time New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day must have been during the Victorian era.

Hogmanay- Scottish New Year

New Year celebrations have changed over time, even from the beginning to the end of the Victorian era. Prince Albert may have introduced the tradition of the Christmas tree from Germany, but Queen Victoria was obsessed with everything Scottish. There was no bigger holiday during the year in Scotland than New Year’s Eve and Day where it is known as Hogmanay or Hegmena and the Queen passed her passion on to her subjects.

Traditions associated with Hogmanay include gift giving, which was already popular in England. In wealthier households, New Year was the time for gift giving and payments of rewards to loyal servants.

‘First Foot’ is the Hogmanay tradition of bearing gifts as the first person to cross a threshold after the stroke of midnight. During Victorian times, the guest brought symbolic gifts of black bun (a rich fruit cake), shortbread, coal, salt, and whiskey. The gifts foretold the family’s fortune for the year. It was considered lucky if the gift giver was male and dark haired. Blonde hair was an omen for trouble, and women who were not home before midnight were often left wandering around outside until a dark haired male arrived at the home.

Victorian New Year Card

Foretelling the Upcoming Year

Another foretelling of the future was associated with what you were doing at midnight. It was thought that whatever you were doing at midnight would be what you would do for the coming year. This might be why going out and socializing was a popular thing to do at the New Year. Staying home and going to bed might foretell illness or worse during the coming year. Other superstitious include throwing out ashes from the hearth. Throwing them out the night before allows for a clean slate to start the new year right. Doing any kind of work, especially laundry was considered unlucky. Every person, no matter how young, should also have money in their pocket on New Year’s Day. To not do this was to risk poverty during the coming year. It was also considered unlucky to have fire leave the house in the form of a lantern or candle, as was having the fire in stove or hearth go out.

Victorian New Year card

Open Houses

New Year’s celebrations moved from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day. During the latter part of the 19^th century, the wealthy served guests a wide and varied buffet and egg nog laced with bourbon, rum, or brandy. Everyone donned in their holiday finery. Women and boys up to age 10 stayed home. Gentlemen visited many homes on New Year’s Day and eligible bachelors left their calling cards to show they’d visited. Sometimes, it was a competitive event to see how many homes could be visited and how many egg nogs could be drunk before the end of the day. Raucous behavior saw the holiday evolve from being an open house to invitation only affair.

Bonus!

If you can’t get enough of everything Victorian, watch your local PBS station (Masterpiece Theater) in the United States and BBC in the UK. Emmy-winner Benedict Cumberbatch, and costar Martin Freeman will return as Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Baker Street mystery solvers Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. However, the contemporary-set series will see them return to Doyle’s original 1890s London time period for a one-off episode.

Period Events & Entertainments Re-Creation Society

十二月 18th, 2015

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What is Period Events & Entertainments Re-Creation Society?
The Period Events & Entertainments Re-Creation Society (PEERS) is a non-profit corporation based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The organization is dedicated to remembering, researching, and re-creating the performing arts of the past. Their goals include producing and sponsoring original and re-creations of historical works of dance, music, and theatre, with an emphasis on audience interaction. They also support artists and researchers involved in the performing arts of the past. PEERS provides instruction to the general public in the performing arts of the past in their historical context.

How does PEERS connect with its audience?

PEERS has two ways to encourage audience participation. Each year they produce a number of historical and literary re-creation events. These events celebrate times in our past as far back as the Canterbury Tales with a feast and ball, and as current as the 1940s with a 1941 Evening in Casablanca, a Film Noir Black & White Ball. The Victorian era also plays a prominent role in PEERS events. They’ve held a variety of Victorian Balls and recreate a 19th century French costume ball dubbed ‘Le Bal des Vampires.’

So, what if you don’t know how to dance, especially historical period dances? No problem! PEERS offers weekly dance classes. They offer a newcomer-friendly one hour class on Sunday afternoons. A more advanced one hour class for experienced dancers and brave newcomers follows each week. Partners aren’t necessary. Dress is casual for these classes. Classes often focus on the dances of the era of their next event, which makes it easier for people to fully participate. If you aren’t comfortable dancing in a group, PEERS also offers private vintage ballroom dance lessons.

Supporting Period Events & Entertainments Re-Creation Society

To support their mission of research, and public participation and education in historical re-creations, people pay admission to their events and for the dance classes. They also accept donations.

Finished Project: The 1870s Green Plaid Bustle Dress

十二月 18th, 2015

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I’m back from Costume College, my good friend is on her way back home to Texas, and it’s time to get back to real life. Woe! But I have some fun photos to share coming up, and the first of which I want to share is the 1870s plaid bustle dress project I posted about previously.

I finished it all up for the most part by the time my friend arrived, but since she had some extra sewing to do I started doing trimming. And more trimming. And more trimming. Someone on the American Duchess Facebook album of Costume College photos said it looked similar to old fashioned ribbon candy- and you know, I have to agree!

This one was lots of fun to trim. I love this time period. I can trim, and trim the trims, then trim the trim with trims. In this case the most fun things to make for trimming were the ruffles which were finished with a bias binding in the peach. Over the top of the ruffles at the side I ran a braid which was made of three tubes of bias made into cording and then braided. The bows that are accented with tassels at the end were lots of fun to make, too.

This outfit was made using Truly Victorian patterns. The bodice was made with Heather’s new 1872 Vested Bodice Pattern, TV403. The skirt was made with the 1875 Parisian Trained Skirt Pattern, TV216 (you can see my previous version of the skirt in their website photo). I’m a huge fan of Truly Victorian patterns- they make these Victorian patterns so accessible, and they make up really well! I documented working on this bodice in prior posts here, here, and here.

Capturing the correct colors of this outfit has proved quite difficult. In reality it’s probably a combination of the photos here in front of a blank background and the photos above.

The hat is actually a 1930s hat I had in my vintage collection. At the last minute I remembered I didn’t have appropriate headwear so I pulled out this one, which just so happened to match perfectly. I pinned little accents of the green onto the hat, added a pink feather and a few dress clips, and it suddenly became passable for 1870s. The entire dress was made from polyester taffeta (gasp!) but the fabrics looked so much like authentic silk taffeta, even in person, and had the same hand to the touch, that I was able to make the dress look passable on a much better budget than by using a more authentic silk. For a dress I’ll only wear on occasion, I decided it was a good sacrifice for me to make and it helped out my pocketbook 😉

Recollections Fashion Show at the Centennial Building -Civil War Dresses

十二月 16th, 2015

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Recollections Fashion Show Recap

The Lake Huron Discovery Tour 2015 has come and gone, but the Recollections fashion show at the Centennial Building in Alpena continues to live in the memories of those who joined us on October 10 for the festivities. The day started early for Recollections, with the models from the show prepped and dressed and mingling with the crowds at various events downtown by 11 a.m. Children and adults alike enjoyed interacting with the models in their Victorian, Edwardian, and Steampunk finery. The weather was perfect for spending a few hours in the autumn sunshine.

Recollections fashion show models in white dresses

Models in white Victorian, Edwardian, and Civil War era fashions

When 1 p.m. rolled around, the front room of the first floor of the Centennial Building was filled with people of all ages. They weren’t just there for the Recollections fashion show, they were there to listen to Nathanael Koenig. Nathanael presented a mini concert of classical and jazz guitar compositions, many from his debut CD, “Along the Way.” His music speaks across generations and was very much appreciated by the audience.

Recollections fashion show models in colorful dresses

Our seamstresses, their relatives and friends, and Mike & Kate’s daughters were our models!

By the time the fashion show started, it was standing room only. Over the course of the next forty-five minutes, approximately 60 dresses, gowns, and ensembles received oohs and ahhs from the nearly 70 people who came out to enjoy the show. Antebellum Civil War ball gowns shared the catwalk with pioneer everyday wear, Old West saloon girls, and even the maid outfit you can see on the Comedy Central show, “Another Period” (think “Chair” and the other female servants)! Victorian and Edwardian wedding gowns were sprinkled among the offerings, garnering high marks from those in attendance. Some of the Edwardian ensembles were reminiscent of “Somewhere in Time,” (check out their fan club) which was filmed on Mackinac Island, less than a two hours’ drive north of Alpena. A few fashions were also adapted for Halloween, much to everyone’s amusement!

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A History of Victorian Hats

十二月 15th, 2015

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When we think of Victorian hats, we tend to think of extravagant hats with feathers and lace and ribbons. However, these hats are more indicative of the late Victorian era instead of the era as a whole. Remember, the era itself was almost one-hundred years long, and the styles were bound to change throughout the period. And, they did. There are many fashions that we don’t recognize as Victorian at all, even though they were worn during a significant portion of the era. Here, we have provided a detailed history of Victorian Hats.

Bonnets were widely in style during the start of the Victorian era. These could be fashioned from straw or silk or any material in between, but the most important part of these Victorian hats was the wide brim. These brims were meant to mirror the wide hoop skirts and other clothes of the era. The exaggerated nature of Victorian clothes definitely worked its way into the hats, as some hats were so narrow that the faces of the women who wore them could only be seen from the front. The back of the neck was often covered by a large frill because the neck was considered an especially sexual part of the body. Then, as parasols became more fashionable, bonnets became less functional to keep off wind. More ornamental hats like fanchons, which were extremely small, triangular hats, became more popular. As the Victorian era neared its end, both fanchons and bonnets were still popular styles. Fanchons were flashier, while bonnets were a bit more modest. During the Edwardian era, hats brims grew again and balanced out the slimmer silhouettes of gowns.

No matter what you seek, Recollections can fill your need for Victorian hats. Whether you want an elegant fanchon or a homely bonnet, your next Victorian look can be completed with one of our hats. Get started building your next Victorian look on Wholesalelolita.com!

Wedding Traditions from the Victorian Era

十二月 14th, 2015

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It’s crazy to think about where our traditions come from. The unexplained reasons behind why we do what we do sometimes bring us comfort, but when we learn their origins, they become even more meaningful . Many of the traditions that we still hold in weddings today are from the Victorian Era, over 100 years ago!

Take for instance, the “traditional” white wedding gown that’s so common in the western world. Well, the truth is that, historically, they weren’t always white. Most women just wore their best and most beautiful gown for their wedding. Queen Victoria was the one who popularized the white wedding dress in 1840, and ever since then, white wedding dresses have been the trend. Even though today dresses with splashes of color—blush, baby blue, lavender, even black—are gaining popularity, white is still the most traditional and popular color for wedding dresses. Queen Victoria’s daughter (also named Victoria), is also responsible for another tradition when she popularized the use of the “Bridal March” as the song to mark the bride walking down the aisle at her wedding in 1858. Although songs by artists ranging everywhere from Billie Holiday to Chris Brown are used for the Bridal Procession today, the “Bridal March” is still most iconically associated with weddings.

The Victorians were also the ones who kicked off the idea of an engagement ring that the hopeful potential groom would give his bride as a symbol of commitment. However, the wedding rings of the Victorian Era were not quite what we imagine when we think of our diamond studded bands of today. Instead of diamonds, wedding bands shaped like snakes with dotted ruby eyes were popular in Victorian England. The snakes were supposed to symbolize eternity.

Bridesmaids were present in Victorian English culture, just like in our culture today. However, while it’s considered rude for anyone other than the bride to wear white today, it was the complete opposite in Victorian England. Weddings were supposed to be white overall, with other colors only acting as an embellishment to white. So, bridesmaids would sometimes wear white veils and white gowns. Mother of the brides were supposed to wear black, unless they were “in mourning,” in which case they would wear purple or red, depending on where they lived and their local custom.

Victorian receptions didn’t last until the wee hours of the morning like ours do today. In fact, breakfast and brunch were normally held as wedding receptions because weddings themselves were in the early morning. There were three wedding cakes, one fruitcake for guests, one light cake for the bride, and one dark cake for the groom. Guests could take boxed cake with them on their way out to eat later, but the bride’s cake wasn’t touched. Instead, it was packed away and saved to be eaten on the couple’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. As soon as the cake was cut, the couple would change for their honeymoon. The difference between honeymoons of today and those of the Victorian Era were that nobody knew where the couple was going! Instead of bragging about their lavish trip, asking where the couple was going was considered in bad taste, and only the best man (who was sworn to secrecy) knew, as he helped them to the train station with their bags.

Victorian weddings were similar to what we typically celebrate today, and we can see where many of our traditions come from when we look at them. Because so many of the traditions of Victorian Weddings are still present in our culture today, we can only guess at what our great grandchildren will take from the weddings we have today!

A Modern Woman in the Victorian Age: The Tea Party

十二月 14th, 2015

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A popular trend among women in the past few years is to host a Victorian Tea Party as if it was 1867. These events—lavishly decorated, handwritten invites, hoop-skirt optional—are used as bridal showers, fifth birthday parties, charity events, baby showers, and more. Really, anytime there will be a gathering of more than three women, it has the potential to be a tea party. However, what was it really like to host a Victorian Tea Party? In reality, they were much more formal had many more rules, and if the wrong etiquette was used during one, it could end a woman’s social life.

From The Home Manual: Everybody’s Guide in Social, Domestic, & Business Life, 1889, we learn the afternoon tea is among the most informal events one can host, that only light refreshments should be served, and no wine of any variety should appear. In the Victorian Era, calling cards were used to communicate among neighbors and friends, and the type of calling card one used denoted the formality of the event. Because the type of calling card used is so vital to knowing how formal an event was, a simple “visiting card” would have been used for tea (The Home Manual).

To hold your tea, a tea urn would be most ideal. Tea should be made in bulk in the kitchen and then placed in the urn for heating, then served in antique flowered tea-sets. If you don’t happen to own a flowery tea set, don’t fear! A common pastime for Victorian ladies was hand-painting china, and you could create your own lovely china and have it be just as authentic (Victoriana). As for food, scones served with jam, curds, and clotted cream are the most traditional option for tea parties (Tea Laden). Along with light sandwiches, nothing more was expected.

Throughout the Victorian era, we can see the beginnings of women’s liberation through ladies’ fashion. Although the era ended with restricting corsets and bustles, they were much improved from the thick petticoats and steel hoops of the 1830’s. Day dresses of the late 1800’s “show that women were leading rather more active lives,” but that does not mean that they were not restrictive in their own way (Victoria and Albert Museum). Many corsets had bone and steel linings, and the hemlines of dresses did not allow for free flowing movement. To hold a completely authentic tea party, your dress will no doubt be uncomfortable, maybe even painful.

While there are countless other rules and formalities, our world seems to be obsessed with going back in time to experience the days of the Victorian era. Hosting tea parties brings us back to more elegant, more refined times. Perhaps the next special occasion you host, be it a gathering of old friends or a birthday for your family, a tea party may be just the right fit.

From wholesalelolita Victorian Dress

Ladies’ Evening Dress of the 1850s and 1860s

十二月 11th, 2015

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Ladies’ Evening Dress of the 1850s and 1860s
a Brief Overview on the Elements of a Period Ensemble

This era was one where ladies fashions saw the transition from a style where bell-shaped skirts were supported by a multitude of petticoats (see 1854 illustration, left)to the introduction of the cage crinoline or hoop-skirt as skirt support. Flounced skirts were quite popular in the 1850s; in the late 1860s skirts became elliptical.

Ladies’ evening gowns of this era typically consist of a full gathered or pleated skirt (usually 115″-140″ at the hem), a fitted bodice with rounded open neckline and short puffed sleeves. In the early 1850s they would have been worn over starched petticoats, after around 1856 they would have been worn over a wired hoop (105″-125″ bottom hoop circumference on average). The bodice is usually fastened at the center back by either hooks and eyes or lacing. The look of the bodice was usually longer waisted in the 1850s and becoming more short waisted throughout the 1860s.

BODICES: FIT:The bodice fits smoothly wthout straining across the body or shoulders.
NECKLINE: The neckline is open, just to the turn of the shoulder (lower cut in Europe), the armhole is slightly dropped. The neckline is usually finished with a tucked net trim or eyelet edging and has a drawstring for a snug fit.
WAISTLINE:The waistline is either pointed in front and back or straight; points are more common earlier in the period, straight waistline appears more often late in the period. Princess-line gowns are cut with the bodice and skirt in one piece, not extremely common.
CLOSURE: The closure is in the center back, especially when the waist is pointed, with either lacing (most common) with hand sewn eyelette holes or hooks and eyes. Front hooks or buttons are sometimes seen.
SLEEVES: Sleeves are short and are usually puffed (single, double, or triple), or a ruffle with puff beneath. Sleeves usually have an undersleeve of white net or easily washable material.
TRIM: The neckline trim is often called a berthe, and is pleated horizontally around the neckline; ruffles, ribbon, lace, sashes, or sheer net fichus are also popular. The neckline, armhole, and waistline are all usually edged with fine self piping.

SKIRTS:

LENGTH: Skirts are full length, sweeping the floor for day wear and a bit shorter for dancing (the more experienced the dancer the longer the skirt can be).
WAIST FINISH: The waistline is gathered or pleated in several combinations: pleated in front and gathered in back; gathered all the way around; layered box pleats; pleats all the way around.
SHAPE: The shape of the skirt is bell shaped in the 1850s and early 1860s, transitioning from a petticoat supported skirt to a crinoline (cage or boned skirt) support. Throughout the 1860s the shape changed from bell to an elliptical shaped, ending the decade with a conical skirt with more fullness towards the back.
FULLNESS: The skirt should have enough extra fullness to allow it to fall gracefully over the hoop. A skirt that is not very full will show the lines of the hoop’s underneath.
PETTICOAT/UNDERSKIRT: An over-the-hoop petticoat is recommended, especially for sheer fabrics.
HOOPS: Hoops were generally smaller for day wear than evening wear. The size of the hoop ranges from around 115″ to 150″ in circumference depending on things like height, level of society, or formality of occasion. The width of one’s hoop should be chosen to harmonize with a lady’s height. A lady of 5’ 2” might choose a hoop of 110-120” circumference, but a lady 6’ tall might have her hoop at 150” around. It is best to avoid a hoop that is too large and will not fit into the ballroom.

FABRICS: Fabrics used were most often silks in taffeta, moire and lightweight jacquards or brocades; for summer wear lightweight organdies, various open weaves and cotton muslins were popular.
PATTERNS: patterns Can be solids, stripes, small prints (both allover and border prints) or plaids. Embroidered degigns are also seen.
COLORS: Colors are generally lighter for young ladies, darker for older women. Bright red should be avoided, as should black (in America), unless one is in mourning, and very dark colors.
TRIM: The gown can be decorated with contrasting or complimentary trim and black or white lace. Decorative elements (ruffles, bows, geometric designs, flowers, etc.) on the bodice and skirt usually matched, with the skirt decoration reflected on a smaller scale on the berthe (neckline trimming, see illustration) of the bodice.