First day of the retreat was my Little White Dress in a lightweight Swiss dot cotton. I first wore it to the Jane Austen Tea put on by our local JASNA group, but I’ve been working on it since last summer. It’s a 1790’s number.

I self-drafted the bodice using the American Duchess guide, and used three widths of fabric for the skirt. I shut the skirt in a car door more times than I counted during the day. It has a drawstring front, which ties on the side.Bonus of tying on the side is that it’s not as visible as the front and still technically able to be tied by the wearer. Downside is that it can’t really be tied properly if you’re doing it yourself.

I wore it with a cross-front chemisette that I copied from a photo on Pinterest, and the Agreeable Tyrant Spencer, from Fig Leaf Patterns. I used some of the batik fabric from Rwanda for the spencer. The only embellishments I added were two little self fabric covered buttons above the peplum at the back.I made the spencer last fall, and it was too small by the time I had a chance to wear it this summer. Thankfully, I made it with the generous side seam allowances the original spencer had. That allowed me to easily let it out at so it would fit again.

I had to draft new sleeves for the dress because my arms are bigger, and I used the Simplicity 8941 pattern piece, altered and hacked a little.I wish I’d just gone with a turban this day. My hair was being weird. Plus, I am more comfortable with headwraps and I’m good at them. However, I had bought a Regency bonnet and made a cap specifically for the weekend, and I was determined to wear them.

I know objectively there’s nothing wrong with either of them, but I kind of hate both. They don’t suit me. It may be that if I can find the right cap, I’ll like the bonnet better, so I’m on the lookout for a design that will work for me. Probably something less frilly.I also had to make new stays for this year. Stays are still difficult for me. I used the Sensibility pattern again, the next size up, and added some length to them.

I used a natural colored cotton canvas and quilted them for stability. At every try-on, the stays fit, but when I wore them for the retreat, my bust kept sliding down into them and out of place. I’m going to try taking them in, but I’m not sure which seam needs to be taken in. It’s hard to alter something when you aren’t sure what’s wrong! I’ll share more about the stays if and when I figure out what’s wrong with them and get them in better working order. My white dress kept sliding up towards the back, and my chest kept sliding down, and so I felt like I was always tugging something to get situated properly again. That’s why there aren’t any full front photos in this post – every photo from the front, the dress’ waistline looked like it was up by my clavicles. An exaggeration, but you understand.

Looking back, the sliding may be because I originally cut the front of the dress for a smaller bust. Maybe the stays are too big and the bodice too small. I may try remaking the bodice in hopes of getting a better fit.

For accessories, I wore a necklace I got on Etsy, and glasses I found on Zenni thanks to The Pragmatic Costumer. My boots were the American Duchess Hartfields (not at full price), and they were comfortable for all-day wear. My shawl is India cotton from Anuprerna. I made my reticule from a batch of recycled sari silk I found on Etsy. My yellow stockings are also from Etsy.I made it to the retreat on time this year, and even had time to eat my first meal of the day at 3 p.m., as one does when one has been sewing since the early morn. My middle daughter ingeniously sent me off that afternoon with a Chipotle bowl in the passenger seat. Eating it on the screened porch of the main house at the retreat property after I arrived was just what I needed.

The retreat opened with a trip to Prospect Mountain. I’d like to hike it sometime. This visit, we drove up to a point near the top and then walked up a short trail to the summit. It was beautiful, with a panoramic view of Lake George and the surrounding hills.While we were on the mountain, (unbeknownst to me) a bee flew up my dress as we were walking by a meadow taking photos. Hours later, it got stuck in some of my layers and started stinging. I knew it FELT like a bee sting, but there were no bees around and I had all my clothes on. I did a weird dance trying to get the pain to stop and it got a little better. I eventually forgot about it. At the end of the night when I took the dress off, I had two angry welts and a fuzzy, fat, mortally wounded bumble bee fell out of the dress.

Getting ready for the retreat always requires so much work that I’m almost too tired to enjoy the first night. We’re all dressed up, we’re having fun, and I’m ready for bed. Maybe next year I will remain size stable so the same clothes can fit and I can just re-accessorize. And maybe I can figure out the fit issues with my stays!Despite the exhaustion, being with friends, and more importantly, considerate humans and fellow costume nerds, was good for my soul.