More Regency Regalia: Cobbling a Costume for a Jane Austen Event
... I set about completing the outfit. I needed a purse, a hat, and a pelisse or spencer ...
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Go Big or Go Home: Trimming an 18th Century Hat
... What I discovered was that just about anything goes. Ribbons, flowers, birds, feathers, fruit, wheat. You name it ...
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Repairing an Antique Blouse
... It was the collar I worried about. The stitches attaching its satin-covered boning framework were mostly gone, leaving the whole thing collapsed and disheveled. I had to do something ...
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Making a Regency Bonnet
... Always looking for new dress-up opportunities, I contacted JASNA to see what Atlanta-area events might require head-to-toe Regency finery ...
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Going Solo to the Summer Soiree
... I wasn't going to let my lack of a dance partner or a partner-in-crime stop me from attending a mid-Victorian ball ...
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Another Reticule Rescue
... I tore away the shattered chiffon lining, wondering why someone would have used such sheer fabric to house drawstrings. I hesitated before snipping the original, tiny, hand stitches ...
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Making Movies: My First Year as an Extra
... I've never aspired to a career in acting. Nope. I'm in it for the clothes! ...
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Lecture - "On Cameos: From Antiquity to Present"
... modern machinery is electrified, while the ancients used a pedal-powered system similar to a treadle sewing machine ...
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Exhibit Visit - "Dressing Downton" at Biltmore Estate
... An excited gift-shop employee, captivated by the exhibit and my outfit, asked: "Is this what you used to wear?" To which I responded, laughing: "How old do you think I am?" ...
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Repairing a Vintage Hand Fan
... The shards had torn through the silk in several spots of nearly every section. Some were hanging from one edge. Others had completely detached. Sob ...
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Making a Parasol Bag
... I'd seen a single example of a parasol bag, and that was for at-home storage. But that didn't mean a carried version never did or could exist. Surely some enterprising woman had whipped one up back when, right? ...
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In a Box, With Tissue Paper
... I've been buying both reproduction and original antique garments and accessories. Not for collecting. I intend to wear and use them ...
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