Last weekend a dear friend, Jenny, gave me an incredible gift – a complete pattern catalog from 1880. I’ve been studying it with great interest and costume lust, careful to keep the…
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Tavistock Button Boots Steampunk Photoshoot at the Sparks Museum
It’s been *ages* since Chris, Angie, and I did this Victorian / Steampunk photo shoot for Tavistock, featuring the “Green Acres” gown, and, of course, our new black button boots. I’ve been…
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Victorian Boots & Accessories Survey – Please Help!
Hi Ladies! As always, I am working on improving our historical footwear and accessories, and am in need of some information about your shapely gams. The most difficult part of creating our…
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1880s Green Acres Gown: Steampunkin’ Photo Shoot Preview
Happy Easter! Yesterday was photo shoot day with one of my favorite girls, Angie, wearing one of my favorite gowns, the 1880s giant green bustle dress. I can’t wait to share the…
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Restoring Antique Shoes – How to Polish Leather Shoes
Ever since I started collecting antique shoes, I’ve been a little obsessive about restoration, primarily bringing leather shoes back from the dead. I look for the *worst* leather shoes on eBay and…
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Beautiful Historical Fans – Please Vote!
Hello Lovelies! Today I’d like to share with you a number of gorgeous historical fans, and ask your opinion on which you like the most… Fan #1 – The Met, early 19th…
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V364: Corset Training – Week 2 Report
It’s been about two weeks now that I’ve been consistently wearing a Victorian corset for about 7+ hours per day. I’ve already learned so much about my body, the effects of the…
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V363: Semi-Finished Project: The “Green Acres” Bustle Gown
I’ve been a bad blogger, but only because I’ve been *really* busy trying to get the Green Acres gown done for a local Victorian ball, this past Saturday. I suppose this is…
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V361: Corset Training – Facing Questions and Issues
Hi! I’ve been wearing my corset now for 7 days, and within even this short amount of time, I have learned quite a lot about corseting, and also been asking myself some…
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V359: “Green Acres” Bustle – Progressing on the Bodice
I haven’t been sewing consistently, but I have made more progress on the bodice for this giant green bustle dress. It’s beginning to look like the end – needs finishing on the…
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V356: A Few More Antique and Vintage Shoes
Well, here I am again to show you more historic shoes from my rapidly growing collection…. Wedding Slippers, 1870s. These are a perfect example of an 1870s slipper. They have a slightly…
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V355: Green Acres Bustle Gown Progress
Little by little this gown is coming together. It’s complicated! Please forgive my lack of backdrop – working on a better system! I have all the trims on the skirt now, and…
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V352: New Vintage Shoe Acquisitions
Well, I’ve been on eBay entirely too much…again…acquiring vintage and antique footwear for our quickly growing collection. All the shoes I nabbed aren’t even here yet, but I wanted to share with…
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V347: Shoes of the 1860s-1880s
I’m still plugging away on my 2012 “Vintage 365” project, ha! I want to share my new costume-related New Years Resolution with you, but I can’t until I’m done with last year’s.…
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V346: How to Make a Victorian Bustle – Pattern and Instructions
Hi all! Okay, I’m going to attempt to explain how to make the lobster tail bustle I posted about last time. I want to stress that there is no right or wrong…
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V345: Finished 1880 “Lobster Tail” Bustle
I finished off my electric blue “lobster tail” tournure this morning, and I’m really happy with the result! I took lots of photos of the construction, so I will write a tutorial…
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V344: And Now To Make a Lobster Tail
…a bustle, I mean, or a tournure. Originally I had planned *not* to make a big ole honkin’ bustle, but I can see now why it is a necessity. The big huge…
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V338: Green Acres Bustle Gown Skirt Progress
It’s slow going over here in Green Acres, partially due to laziness, and partially due to the omg-howmuchyardage!?-for-trims that comes along with many bustle projects. My original plan for the trimmeries on…
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V336: The Geneva Hand Fluter – Experiments
Last to arrive from my round of eBay acquisition was the Geneva Hand Fluter, a ridged iron that was used to flute, or crimp, all kinds of things, like cuffs, collars, ruffly…
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V335: eBay Find of the Year: Antique Button Boots…That FIT!
In my recent eBay haunting, I’ve collected a number of interesting items – a leather punch, a cast iron fluting iron, two early Victorian slippers, and a pair of Edwardian button boots.…
