Goals for our first costuming adventure:
A. To look Early Victorian Era (1860’s) to those who know what they’re looking at, and to look 19th century/old-fashioned to everyone else. B. To have fun and be comfortable.
I spent the entire month of November collecting items from around our house, sewing, crafting, and buying things to put together our costumes. I used a combination of hand-me-down clothes and craft supplies (like ribbon) as well as costume pieces for the kids, as well as sewing several larger pieces for myself and the Chaplain, like a vest, period-appropriate dress shirt, and my Zouave Jacket.
One of the first things about historical costuming is that in order to get each time period’s look right, you have to start with the underpinnings – all the supportive undergarments that give your body the right shape. These underthings allow you to make clothes to fit their shape and look authentic.
For the 18th century, this means stays, and they seem to be the hardest thing to make. To procrastinate on making them, after an overstimulating couple of weeks researching my stays pattern options, construction, and hacks for the pattern I eventually chose, I freaked out and decided to make a set of jumps first.
When I first started pursuing costuming in earnest, I could barely find any events for costumers in my area, at least, not if you didn’t want to be a re-enactor.
I gradually started discovering events, like this one in Troy, NY, for steampunk folks.
But I always seemed to find out about the events days after they happened, and I knew I’d never be ready in time for the couple of other costume/masquerade-type of events I discovered locally ahead of time.
Then, I found not one but TWO Victorian strolls near our house scheduled within a week of each other in December.
