LoJ Costume in Progress! Annabelle Leigh Langly.

Labyrinth of Jareth is creeping up on me yet again! Luckily this time around was prepared and started work on my costume at the beginning of the month instead of oh, 2 days before the actual event. I'm glad I did too because this one is extremely different from anything else I've put together.
I'll be heading to LoJ on Friday night which is steampunk night. So I figured I'll put together something somewhat steampunkish for the evening. At first I was going to put together an old ornery prairie woman (and I still may do that for a future date). But then I drew this:

Above is a beloved original character I created named Annabelle Leigh Langly. She pretty much resides in a wild west steampunk world. I really had a blast designing her look on paper so I figured why not try to bring it to life?

I'm a masochist sometimes.

Here's some progress shots:

I wanted the blouse to be very light and sheer. I ended up stumbling onto this strange yet pretty gold netting. Its not really netting as much as webbing. The pictures don't do the sparkle justice.  Its a bit Frankenstein-ed from various patterns I had laying around. I'm not sure why I decided to get so fancy with the seams since you're not going to see them. %90 of the blouse is hidden by the corset.  The sleeves proved a bit of a challenge since they are so sheer and I didn't want the elastic to show though. I did some trickery with gold ribbon to hide it.

Here's where I left off last night. Everything is in dire need of closures right now. I foresee lots of hand sewing in my future this week.

Once again, I Frankenstein-ed a bunch of patterns to get the skirt right. I was originally going to go purple for the skirt like in my drawing. But I fell in love with this plaid while fabric shopping and went this route. I'm actually really happy with the choice. The original design tended to chop my body up into sections, making me look short and squat. Since the corset and the skirt are so close in tone, they really do a good job lengthening my body and making me look a lot less choppy.  I also changed the stocking colors to black and burgundy to keep with the tones.

The corset I got from Corset Story. They have amazing sales so if you're in the market for a corset I highly recommend them. Also, their shipping is very quick. The corset fits me far better than the form since I'm... well... squishy.

I'm going to need to punch some extra holes in the belt too.

I'm guessing I was standing on one leg when I took this photo. The bustle in the back is so far my favorite part of the costume. Its from a Truly Victorian pattern that is deceptively easy. I'll be adding some sort of steampunk-ish looking brooch/doodad on the butterfly part of the bustle to dress it up. To get the bustle to hang where I want it, I'll have to Macgyver it to the belt then attach the train sides to the apron front.  Honestly, I'm not looking forward to attaching that train to the leather belt.

So the big parts are done! WOO! From this point on its just finishing work and detailing. I still need to make a pair of brown fingerless gloves, find a steampunkish belt pouch, put closures on the skirt and blouse, and then do all the little details to make it look like a finished piece and TAH DAH! finished!

More photos to come soon!

12th Night Dress 2.0.

Caid Coronation! WOOO!

I was asked to be on royal court this time around. I'm pretty stoked for the job and this Saturday I was sworn in. So of course this meant, time to haul out the court garb!  I just got back from Potrero War so the idea of me trying to whip up something new was laughable really. (Trust me. I only pretend to be that fast.) Since I only wore my 12th Night gown once before, I figured now would be a good time to haul it out, spruce it up, and wear it again.

I even got some decent pictures! Check it!

Sans Jazz Hands.

I tweaked the dress a bit here and there, did some minor repairs, then added the gold baubles to the sleeve ties to make it look more finished. Really, the only major thing I did to the dress was add the pearls to the trim, which instantly dressed up the entire outfit. Here's a detail shot:

I love sewing little doodads to garb. Its an addiction, really. I may add some more beads to the trim later on. It depends on how obsessive I get before the next time I wear this dress.

Here's a few more photos of the day:

 Its gettin' all Disney Princess up in here!

Lady Sabyna of Aydon (aka, Ace) and Lady Giovanna Ricci (aka, me) 

Me with The Honorable Lady Reina MacCormick aka, sexy Ty.

It was my first coronation, and even though I was sweating like a teamster due to the climate, I had a fantastic time!

And speaking of beading. I also beaded the heck out of my last 12th Night dress. I totally forgot I had photos of it!

I beaded this and wore it for Calafia Anniversary last year. I've been wanting to punch up the original beading on this. I think I managed to pull it off decently.

Next up, Labyrinth Ball! I'm starting my costume for that tonight so Progress photos to come very soon!

Cheers All!

Steam Punk Dance Costume Photos.

I finally found a good pic of my Dance costume for Gaslight Gathering! In usual fashion, I was too busy running around like a crazy person to haul out my camera...such is my absent minded way. But I did get this one great photo of me!

Photo taken by Mr. Muggles, He always makes me look good!

In reference, here's the original sketch again: 

Not too shabby! In retrospect, I think I'm going to change the shape of the sleeves of my chemise. They seem a bit too wide in photos. But they moved really well on the dance floor. Still, I may narrow out the sleeves and keep the flair at the elbow only.  The ensemble was extremely comfortable for a full day's wear. I was a bit worried since both the ghawee and chemise were mostly polyester. But it breathed great!

Here's me in action... Ignore my dancing concentration face. I need to work on that.

Photo by Jerry Abuan.

As with most of my steampunk stuff, I'll be doing little tweaks here and there when I need to wear it. But overall I feel this was a success.

The entire crew. Photo by Jerry Abuan.

My next venture into costuming will be at Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball. My friend Jen and I will be heading out as Steampunk style saloon girls. Progress shots soon to come!... Now that I have all the materials finally that is. Also, all my patterns are FINALLY bought to start my Victorian Walking dress. Better late than never I say!

 

Also, I'll be donning my 12th Night dress soon as I head to Caid Coronation in June. Hopefully I'll remember to get some decent photos of it. Cheers until then!

Gaslight Gathering Dancewear!

I'm Back! And sewing like the wind!

Gaslight Gathering is approaching and the Calafian Middle Eastern Guild has been asked to provide ambient entertainment again. Needless to say, I am STOKED!  Finally the three of us dancers decided to put something together... at the last possible minute of course. Well in my defense I DID buy the fabric weeks ago.

We're all going for a basic ghawazee and flowing pants look. I went with a very rusty color pallet to fit in with the whole steampunk feel. Here's my basic design sketch for what I'm trying to do:

Rust orange for the ghawazee,  beige for the chemise, and orange for the pants. You can't tell in this photo, but the fabric for the pants have some gold sparkle in it. I used a basic ghawazee pattern and lengthen it to a little above the ankle. You can't tell in the photos, but the side and back seams are split up to the hip for movement.

Work in progress!

Found some nice frogs at Yardage Town for 1.50 a piece. So much nicer that the $6 a piece Joann's was asking for.

Here's where I stand so far with it. Its pinned a bit halfassed to the dress form in this pic. I was tired last night.  Yes, I am using that bra YET again. I took many a finger wound for that bra so I am getting my fill out of it! I'm considering taking the hem up of the ghawazee a few more inches. Not sure if I'm happy with where its laying.

A quick detail shot of the patterns.  I was at first afraid to use so many prints but since they are both small and subtle I went for it.  I've been on this weird "I NEED TO WEAR PRINTS" kick lately.

And that's where I am about now. I should hopefully have this all done by tomorrow if the fates allow. I also am in the middle of making a cowboy duster for my friend, and another ghawazee for a fellow dancer. Needless to say my plate is full!

Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product!



Regina Black photos!

Of course I find these three months AFTER Steampunk Symposium.  Here I am in my Regina "Reggie" Black costume on the Queen Mary. These are some great pics of my vest and gun holster, which I was lacking. My gun..well it still needs to be finished.
I'm a slacker.

The photos were taken by Richard Lowe Jr., a very sweet gentleman who managed to not take a goofy photo of me. Thank you very much Richard! You can find his website at www.richardlowejr.com
Definitely check out his work when you can. He takes lovely photos of Ren. Faires and tribal belly dancers. If he stops you for a photo, he'll definitely make you look good. Hell, he managed to keep me from looking like a total doof. You know how hard that is?

 He also caught me sketching in the vendor's hall later that day. Thank you AGAIN Richard for the great shot of my goggles!

I'll be updating here very soon. Gaslight Gathering and Labyrinth Ball is fast approaching and I have lots to get working on!
Stay tuned!

12th Night Dress

When Caid 12th Night approached I remember saying that I was not going to make a new court dress for the event. I already had a good amount of court gowns I built in the past and I only wore them a few times.

Of course I say one thing and completely do another.

Here's my dress I wore to Caid 12th Night.

Pardon the wrinkles. 12th Night was at the beginning of the month and I just now managed to pull the dress back out from the garb laundry pile to take photos. Its made out of a lovely brown linen I bought up in the LA Fashion district. There was a linen sale. An SCA gal can never have enough linen.  The plus for using linen is this dress is now washable!

I used a different style of pattern than the one I drafted for my orange silk Italian Ren. I was trying to have a more 1520's Venetian silhouette so I changed the neckline and put the closure in the front.

This portrait was my main inspiration:

Palma Vecchio, 1520s: Woman In Blue

 I was completely taken with this portrait and wanted to create the same feel as it. I ended up only having a week to put the dress together (I caught the plague the week before) so there are parts that need refining. Overall, I think I did a decent job.

 Once again, Trim from a impulse by at war.  I KNEW it would come in handy! Do to the shape of the neckline I had to put it all on by hand. That.. was an adventure Alas, you can catch some scorch marks on the trim there. My iron was WAY too hot *facepalm*. The ties are made of simple grosgrain ribbon. the gold balls on the end are leftover buttons from some other project long forgotten. I thought they finished up the bodice nicely.

Ah yes, my "Special" moment. The trim was a bit of a nightmare to put on and I ended up with bizarre gap at the back of the neckline. So I added this little loopy bow detail on the back  I thought it was kinda a cute detail for the time I had. But I might change it out later on.

I really loved the red brocade I used for the sleeves. I lucked into a yard of it when a friend of mine was getting rid of his fabric stash. The diamonds are really pretty. 

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of me in the dress except one:

And the jazz hands in it are epic.

H.R.M. Steampunk Symposium

We had a great time vending the event and really enjoyed exploring the Queen Mary. What a great place for a steampunk event!

 

Of course the fun part for me was the dressing up. Colleen, also being a costumer, joined me with the costume fun. He has some great photos of us playing on the Queen Mary in costume that i will be stealing from her in the future.  Here we are dressed in Steampunk Romani  on our first day of vending.On Saturday I even donned the Regina "Reggie" Black costume which I put a few more details on. I'll be hunting some photos down soon.

 I only took a couple goof ball photos of us playing on the sundeck of the Queen Mary. Mainly of us trying to sneak into this locked door.

Most of the weekend was spent vending so I didn't see much of the con, luckily some awesome looking folks headed over to the booth to peek in on our wares.

Not only did this gentleman light up, but his winds were mechanized and moved up and down. Beautiful work!

Aw, I want a spray can full of the powder of Ibn Ghazi too!

These two were my favorites of week. Native American Steampunk. How awesome is that? This couple were extremely sweet too. LOVED their plague maskes especially.

ARRRR, ITS DRIVING ME NUTS.

Now that I'm fresh from the con, I'm already plotting to delve more into the costuming world. I especially would like to start on my Victorian walking dress and I am considering putting together a "Great White Hunter" costume for my husband...and a steampunk cowboy costume for him as well...for my own personal reasons..I love the period cowboys.

Hopefully I'll hunt down more photos to put up soon!