Confession time.
When my Sis and I were kids (okay, teenagers) and were homeschooled, we often spent the school day in costume. We liked all kinds of costumes, from Princesses to "Prairie Girls". Cat favored the Victorian boarding school look, while I was known to emulate Emma Peel from the Avengers on occasion. (Sorry for outing you, Cat!)
However, that's not the confession. The confession is:
I still do it.
I informed my husband this morning that it was a very good day for long skirts, and not to be surprised if I was in full costume when he got home. He chuckled and told me that he thinks I'm cute. Whew! I mean, he knows I'm weird, but coming home to find your wife looking like a Brueghels Painting could throw some men off kilter. Not my man. He loves me through all moods and eras.
Though, today, I'm not in "garb" (the official Rennie term for fair clothes. See my posts from summer '07 for full details.) Somehow, the full linen skirt and leather-trimmed bodice did not seem right today. Maybe because they're summer clothes and the high today is supposed to be 44*. Brr!
So, naturally, I went for the 19th century frontier look. And let me tell you, those ladies knew what they were doing when they got dressed. Though none of my clothes are actually "period accurate", the gist is the same. I've got knee-high wool "stockings", cotton drawers, two petticoats, a 9-gore skirt, a light wool sweater, and a wool shawl. So warm and comfy! On drafty days like today, I can really understand what is was like to live in my tiny house in 1906 when it was first built and it was heated by wood stove. A couple of heavy cotton petticoats do the trick for keeping out the cold air. My movement is free enough to get all my chores done, even the baking, which I sometimes find hard when wearing a sweatshirt. Too bulky. And, to be honest, this rivals even my most worn-in bell bottoms for comfort. But one thing is troubling me.
You see, I'm wearing a corset and chemise. And the thing troubling me is not, as you might imagine that I am uncomfortable. To the contrary, Corsets are quite comfortable if well made, and they are especially nice back support for long days of hard work. No, I am bothered because my corset and chemise are actually 16th century and it totally throws off the silhouette. You see, Tudor corsets like I'm wearing are designed to flatten the front, while 19th century corsets are designed to suck in the waist. So, when paired with my cozy Victorian outfit, it makes me look oddly lumpy and my skirt hangs funny. Not at all attractive. What's a girl to do?(I'm sure some of you have guessed where this is going.)
I'm making a new corset. I already whipped up a quick chemise from an 1893 pattern, and I'm getting ready to cut the corset pieces. I've discovered that since my recent endeavors for the play, I am much faster at sewing than I used to be. An unexpected benefit. However, this will probably take two days, because of the handwork involved. For those who care, I'm making it of two layers of muslin and one of pale yellow cotton. It will be trimmed with self-bias strips and boned, unfortunately, with reeds because I have some. And I hope the purists will forgive me, but I'm going to close it with lacings up the front instead of a busk. Busks are expensive!
Anyway, all this has got me thinking about Housewifery in general. I'm not the greatest housekeeper, but I am inspired by the days when women had to not only keep the house, but make all the family's garments, linens, and household items from scratch. Not to mention all the food. It's hard to complain when I have central heat and a washing machine.
That said, enough time wasted here. I've got to finish the laundry, winterize the doors and bake a batch or two of cookies for my deserving Husband. And the sewing machine is calling!
Comments (7)
This reminds me of so much of one of my mum's friends. She used to tell me that in order to stave off boredom when her house would be snowed in for a week or two at a time, she would dress up in formal clothes just to spice up the occasion. She said she had to do it just to counterbalance the rest of the year when she helped relatives on a ranch and was constantly stuck in jeans and mud!
I always wanted to dress up when I was younger (...and still do...) but with a lack of costuming I had to improvise. My parents came home to see me making hard tack dressed in one of my sis's formal gowns. I guess that is slightly embarassing considering I was 13 and almost ruined a dress worth more than my entire wardrobe but it was worth it!
If you don't want to use reeds for boning, I have used the heavy duty cable ties, available at hardware stores. They're a bit long for a usual person's corset, but they are rigid plastic with some give. Plus, a package of about 20 is less than $10.
I remember the days I've helped Kate at Cowtown in costume, or gone to the ren faire. Yes, well-made corsets are actually comfortable! You don't have to worry about good posture or straining your back so much.
@rae_at_sterling -
Yeah, cable ties would be nice, but my budget for this is $0, and I don't have a car to go to town anyway. Though, I have changed my mind and decided to lace up the back, at least, and leave an opening for a make-shift busk at the front. *sigh* In my dream world, this thing would be historically perfect!
You need a corset hook and eye busk for the front, for a true (workable) victorian corset! Here's a link to what they look like (and where I got mine): http://store.corsetmaking.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=CMS&Category_Code=SB&AFFIL=CM
It was the only way I got into my corset myself for Cowtown everyday. I actually miss that corset! It was wonderful back support. I wasn't afraid to do anything in my corset (except maybe run - I would have passed out). It gave me a nice waist, pushed things up that wanted to go down, and things in that wanted to stick out :) And, I could be as free in a long full skirt as I am in jeans, for the most part. Well, no jumping hurdles, but most everything else :) It was kind of a relief to only have two dresses, effectively, for work. I didn't have to worry about what to wear. I also wish aprons would make a comeback. They really are very convienient if you do any kind of work that you could possibly get dirty in - cooking, cleaning....Sigh! You make me miss that house at Cowtown!
@ladykatethewise -
Honestly, I would love to have a busk, but finances prohibit.
Maybe someone will get me one for Christmas. *sigh* As it is, I am more interested in getting the patterning and shape right with this one, so that I can use it to construct a better, more accurate one in the future.
I do have a question, though. What is the boning pattern like for a Victorian corset? The pattern I am using (yes, I am using a pattern since I have never made this type before!) seems to indicate boning at the seams, and only there. That doesn't seem right to me. And, I have a "pattern" from online of an 1865 corset, but it has a ridiculous lot of boning, and is a different structure shape than the one I am making, anyway. As someone who's worn one, what do you say? Do you have any images of yours I could look at?
Well, are you using an early victorian or late victorian pattern? Early victorian is very similar to civil war era. The two big changes between civil war and late victorian corsets are the separate shaping (and tailoring) for the breasts instead of just smashing them in, and the squeezing in of the waist and lengthening of the corset overall instead of the corset stopping at or contouring over the hips.
Victorian corsets did have A LOT of boning. Early on, they followed the seams for the most part, and maybe had some shaping around the breasts. Later, corsets were downright marvels of engineering. Needless to say, my corset tended towards an earlier model. I used Simplicity # 9769. I had boning on either side of each seam, and double boning on the lacings. The busk is spring steel, so it's tougher than boning anyway. I'll try to get an image to you later...
off subject, but what is Stacy's last name now? I'd love to see how she's doing...