Chantilly Lace Shawl

After pining after a chantilly lace shawl for the longest time, I finally broke down and bought one for myself. This original chantilly lace shawl is from the mid-19th century and will be perfect to wear for nicer civil war living history events.

Chantilly lace is a bobbin lace with a fine ground and ornate designs. These shawls were very fashionable in the mid-19th century and were a standard item in any well dressed lady's wardrobe.

It's virtually impossible to find a reproduction lace shawl even remotely close to the beauty and delicacy of the originals.

Kent State University: Civil War Fashions

This weekend I had the good fortune to see Kent State University's exhibit of Civil War era fashions, On the Homefront: Civil War Fashions and Domestic Life. Our three year wedding anniversary was on October 18th, and we finally found time to break away from schoolwork this weekend to celebrate with a trip to nearby Ohio.

Vince did all the research and planning for the trip, so I was totally surprised and thrilled to be able to see the originals on display at Kent State.

The original dresses on display were fabulous! All in amazing condition, made of exquisite fabrics, and very beautifully constructed. Stunning works of art. And so inspiring.

The exhibit will be on display until August 26th, 2012 and is a must see exhibit.

If you don't have the opportunity to visit Ohio, be sure to check out their online collections which include many images of the originals in the exhibit.

Old Economy Village

Several weekends ago I had the delight of welcoming my mother, Nancy, and her good friend, Audrey to Pittsburgh, PA for a weekend of sight-seeing and to attend a living history event at Old Economy Village in Ambridge, PA.

We had a wonderful few days of touring Pittsburgh. We went to the Zoo, Aviary, Phipps Conservatory, Duquesne Incline, my favorite thrift store - Common Thread, and a new found favorite restaurant - Legends of the North Shore.

But the main event of the weekend was the Old Economy Village event. Vince and I hadn't been out to a reenactment in quite a while, so it took us a long time to get ready! We waited until the morning of the event to find and iron all of our clothing because we're so organized like that. But we arrived just in time to participate in the fashion show - my favorite part of the event.

We also enjoyed strolling in the gardens of Old Economy. They are stunning. My favorite part is the classical statue and pond above. It's exquisite in any season of the year.

I'm wearing the ivory sheer silk dress that I made last summer. I'm in the process of finishing a longer petticoat for under it. I am wearing a straw hat that I made that is trimmed in white flowers with coral centers and coral ribbon. An original coral necklace, brooch, and belt buckle add color to the ensemble.

Audrey is wearing a beautiful blue cotton dress made by Somewear in Time of Gettysburg. Her bonnet is made by Beverly Lister. Nancy's dress is a sheer cotton dress from Family Heirloom Weavers reproduction fabric trimmed in ruched red silk.

Vince's frock coat was made by Kara Bartels of Corner Clothiers - she did a fantastic job! His other clothing items were made by my mom and I as Birthday and Christmas presents.

This photograph was taken by a very talented photographer at the event. We had the pleasure of posing for many such pictures throughout the day. You can see my mother's bonnet in the distance. This is a straw bonnet form from Beverly Lister that my mother trimmed herself.

Vince was asked repeatedly throughout the event if he was portraying a doctor. No, he wasn't. His leather portmanteau was purchased from Landis Valley Museum and is a gentleman's travelling case to carry important documents.

We had such a wonderful time at the event. I do hope that they decide to organize a similar event in future years.

Old Economy Village

Audrey and Lindsey

My mother and Audrey stayed at The Priory hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. The hotel is an old building that once belonged to the church, now restored into a gorgeous 42-room European-style hotel. The hotel is beautifully decorated with antique furniture. We are pictured above in the courtyard.

Upon arriving at Old Economy Village we were asked to participate in the fashion show coordinated by Emily Lapisardi - the lovely lady in the pink sheer dress (above).

Here Vince and I relax under one of the many beautiful trees at Old Economy.

Audrey and Nancy.

Reproduction: Basque Bodice Dress

Recently my mother, Nancy, finished a Basque bodice to match the skirt that she made two autumns ago as part of a ballgown. Like some original dresses, this skirt has two matching bodices - one for daytime and the other for evening. This dress is in the style of a late 1850s- early 1860s dress. The Basque bodice, a fitted bodice with a peplum skirt, was popular in the 1850s and was often seen into the 1860s on women who were not as up-to-date in their fashions and would have hung onto some of the fashions of previous years.

The dress is made of a beautiful silk taffeta with gold design woven into it. The sleeves have a gathered double puff at the top and an open pagoda sleeve. The undersleeves are sheer silk organza. The inside of the sleeve is trimmed in white silk ribbon about 3/4" wide that is box pleated. I've seen this treatment on several originals in the collection of Wheatland in Lancaster County. The collar is also made of sheer silk organza.

Here is my mother, Nancy and her friend Audrey in the parlor at Wheatland.

A chatelaine hangs at her waist, holding the essential sewing tools for sewing a silk apron.

The cap is made of fine net and lace with ribbon trim and would be worn indoors.

Kent State Exhibit

Kent State will be having an exhibition of Civil War era clothing this fall! It sounds delightful!

More Information on their Website.

1860s Asymmetrical Bodice

My mother, Nancy, recently finished another stunning 1860s dress for herself. She's an amazing seamstress. She taught herself by watching her grandmother sew and practice, practice, practice. Her grandmother left her a large stash of fabrics, and mom sewed clothing for herself just for the practice. Recently she attended her first Genteel Arts sewing class...not that she needed it, I'm sure that she could have figured out the asymmetrical bodice on her own, but purely for the experience and camaraderie with other seamstresses. Her dress turned out lovely!

Here's my mom in her new dress portraying Harriet Lane at President James Buchanan's home, Wheatland, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

When we first started reenacting, Mom made all of our clothing, and she was passionate about doing things the authentic way. She figured that if she was going to do it, she was going to do it the right way. She also wanted to dress authentically out of respect for the others in the reenacting community who devoted so much time and energy perfecting the authenticity of their impressions. I think that a lot of reenactors could learn from this example.

Asymmetrical bodice trimmed with blue glass buttons. Small double point at the bottom center front of the bodice. Stand up collar - like most original asymmetrical bodice dresses. Box pleated skirt.

The back is straight across at the bottom. I think that a point would also look lovely.

Coat sleeves pleated at the back in the armhole with ruffled self-fabric trim down the back of the sleeves.

Bonnet & Corset Progress

Here are a few progress shots of my current projects. This is a reproduction 1860s straw bonnet form that I have been working on in my free time.

And this is the set of early 1800s Corded Stays that I am making for a customer. Right now I'm in the process of cording them.

Victorian Tea Party

This evening I hosted a Victorian inspired tea in my apartment to coincide with our book club's discussion of 'Travels in West Africa' by Mary Nerietta Kingsley. Kingsley traveled to Africa in the early 1890s and wrote about her time there. When I was asked to host I knew that I would have to do something special. Since tea was an important custom during the Victorian era, I thought that a tea party would be fitting. Our apartment buildng is an 1890s mansion, so our study of this book was even more fascinating. And, to top it all off, it wouldn't have been right to leave my 1888 dress hanging in the closet when this was a perfect occasion to wear it.



Our tea was at 7:30 in the evening, so I lit the candles in our fireplace and had a few other candles scattered about the room for an intimate and cozy setting.

Scones and preserves.

I used some of the vintage glass items that I've been collecting, combined with some newer pieces for an elaborate table display. The teacups and matching teapot were a wedding gift from a dear friend who has inspired me with her lovely tradition of drinking tea each night with her husband before bed.

Menu:

Irish Scones with English Clotted Cream and Raspberry and Peach Preserves

Red Grapes

Pepperidge Farm Cookies (Yum!)

Cucumber Sandwiches from this recipe

Peppermint Tea

Buckingham Palace Tea

Many thanks to Margaret of Margaret's Fine Imports who helped me select the delightful teas and treats for the party!

Mourning James Buchanan

In Lancaster, Pennsylvania friends and family of President James Buchanan gathered at his home, Wheatland, to mourn his passing. The body was on display in the hallway for loved ones to pay their last respects.

Audrey looking lovely in her printed cotton dress.

My mother portrayed one of the family members.




Jennie Walton as Harriet Lane stands with several other mourners.

Mourning James Buchanan

Here is my mother in the most recent dress that she's sewn - a lightweight black wool mourning dress. I found this lovely wool at the fabric store where I worked several years ago and purchased enough for us to both make mourning dresses. Her skirt is box pleated and the sleeves are coat sleeves with horizontal gathering running down the back of the sleeve. We were able to remake a black silk bonnet that we had into a mourning bonnet, adding antique cotton net trim to the inside in large folds with black ribbon. A black organza veil is pinned in place with black pins.

We're planning to change out the shiny bonnet ribbons...we just didn't have anything more appropriate at the time.

Inside Wheatland.

Mark and Faith Hintzen in mourning attire.