Special Event: Pattern Design Class @ Hancock Fabrics

For our seamstresses and seamsters:

Pattern Design Class
Hancock Fabrics - 534 Greenbrae Dr.  Sparks
Wednesday, March 10, 5:30-8:00 pm

This is not a GBCS hosted event.

Victorian Era Bustles: A Primer

by Brenda Hineman

Bustles are a staple in vintage costume design and, to be sure, bustles present in different ways for different eras. In this primer, we are going to be discussing Victorian-era bustles, from the 1870s to the 1890s.

In the Victorian era, they naturally didn't refer to themselves as Victorians. As such, there was no such term as "Victorian bustle". Indeed, what we now refer to as the Victorian bustle was first known as the "Grecian bend" and it first came into vogue in the early 1870s. Following the era of crinoline cages that dominated fashion from the 1830s forward, bustles evolved from the realization that crinoline designs couldn't be worn any bigger and that trying to go smaller might provide some distinct new design possibilities.

A smaller crinoline, then, often with an additional steel support off the small of the back was used. This new approach necessitated the drawing of excess garment fabric to be pulled and piled to back of the skirt. These piles and layers were held in place with the strategic placement of buttons and tapes sewn into the skirt itself.

The ways in which bustles were pulled together soon became an art form in itself and in the late 1870s and early 1880s, bustles had replaced crinoline dresses as the fashion of the day. The taping and buttoning arrangements used to draw the fabric back created new design opportunities that were openly embraced by dressmakers of the day. This design movement, naturally, drew attention to the way skirts and dresses came together at the hips. To accentuate the design, a more slender fitting top - such as the cuirasse and princess body - was favored as it pulled the attention of the gown to the unique folds in the back.

With this more slender fashion, particularly in Parisian society, came the brief absence of bustles all together in favor of a trained petticoat that would provide fullness, while still catering to the emerging slender style. The bustle, however, was not done yet.

In 1883, the bustle emerged in British society in a completely new way. Favoring the large span of late-era crinoline dresses combined with the early-era bustles that pulled fabric to the back, the bustles that emerged in 1883 were very large in the back, creating an appearance akin to a horse's hindquarters.

The extended horizontal nature of this appearance presented difficulties in terms of the options available for layering fabric. Very soon, the approach of layering the fabric - a staple of early Victorian bustles - was abandoned in favor of flowing fabric that simple draped over the back of the larger bustles. Fabric that had been piled in the back was being pulled to the sides or, in some cases, to the front of dresses.

By the early 1890s, the bustle had all but disappeared. Early Edwardian fashion favored mere padding in favor of bustles. Still the s-curve from that had been created by tight-fit, tapered bodices and pronounced bustles continued on into the designs that dominated the next several decades.

Brenda Hineman is a costume aficionado and writes regularly about Halloween Costumes at StarCostumes.com.

Dressing Up 1930s

These days, dressing up in fashions of the past is easier than ever. We have merely to look to the last century to be inspired, and with fashion today being so diverse, it's perfectly acceptable to wear vintage outfits, old-fashioned hats, or add a retro skirt or jacket into your wardrobe.

Achieving the look of the 1930s involves putting the right shaped pieces together. Many of these pieces may already be in your closet! Here's a brief look at how to put together a 1930s ensemble...

The Dress (or the Skirt + Top)
For the greater part of the '30s, the shape was slim and long. Look for slim skirts that hit at mid-calf or a couple inches below the knee. Skirts with inset pleats, button details, and belts are great. You can also add buttons, bows, and trims to modern skirts to give them that vintage feel.

On top, the look was "full" and blousy. Look for loose-fitting blouses, shirts, and sweaters that are tailored at the waist. Full sleeves, ties at the neck, and interesting details such as pin-tucks and pleats are all the mode in the 1930s. Tuck blouses into skirts and add a belt, or pair a tweed skirt with a sweater that's thin through the waist and full in the top.

Fabric choice ran the gamut - for Winter, we suggest anything tweed, twill, or with a pattern like houndstooth, and go for warm tones like browns, rusts, and taupes. For warmer weather, thin voiles and batistes, printed rayons, or lightweight linens and silks work great.

The Shoes
Shoes play an important part in the look and feel of your 1930s ensemble. The shape should be slim and refined, with a slightly rounded toe, a not-too-high french heel. Look for fun details like bows, straps (especially t-straps), cut-outs and pinking, and two-tone colors. A sensible pair of black and white (or brown and white) wingtips will pair with almost any day outfit.

Vintage shoes can be hard to find and harder to wear. Lucky for us, a huge selection of inexpensive, retro-inspired shoes are available at places like Target (take a look at these or these), Payless Shoes (these, these), Steve Madden (check these out), almost anywhere in fact!

The Hat
Hats in the '30s could be anything from cloches to little perch hats with net veils. Earlier in the decade, the cloche and brimmed cloche were still popular. These are great hats because they cover the hair almost completely, can be kept on inside, and have great decorations such as felt flowers, ribbons, bows, feathers, beads, you name it. Later on, sporty shapes, altered cloches, large-brimmed picture hats, and sailor-styled caps came in.

Vintage hats can be easy to find at antique shops and thrift stores, but you can also spot them making a come back at stores like Target (cute cloche) and online boutiques (like this one).

Hair
In the 1930s, curled and waved hair was all the rage. If you're not one to lob off your locks for a waved bob, try rolling your hair into large curls and pinning against your head. A chignon bun at the back and some waves at the front will also achieve the look. Later in the decade, longer hair came back into style, with shoulder-length bobs curled and fluffed. Try tight curls by pin-curling your wet hair, drying, and fluffing (here's a tutorial), scultped finger waves (how-to), or go for a looser style by using a curling iron, pinning curls until they cool, and tousling with your fingers. If you're like me, though, you'll just keep your cloche hat on all day!

Makeup
In the 1930s, it was all about the "matte look," the bold lip, and big lashes. Apply all-over foundation with a sponge applicator, then brush on powder over the top using a large powder/blush brush. A little blush goes a long way, so use it sparingly and on the apples of your cheeks only, not all over.

For eyes, stick to neutral tones like browns, and keep it soft. If you like eyeliner, use it on the top lid only, and blend it with shadow for a warm, soft look. An eyelash curler and lash-enhancing mascara will make your eyes pop. Be sure also to fill in your eyebrows and extend them, as thin, long eyebrows were en vogue.

The last step is the lip color. Darker shades of red, to neutral shades of mauve and rose are great, but stay away from pinks, pearly shades, orangey hues, and glossy lip colors. A little shine is good, but glassy is too modern.

Sewing
If you'd like to make a 1930s outfit from scratch, here are some pattern companies to try:
Selection from The Vintage Pattern Lending Library
Selection from Decades of Style Company
Selection from Past Patterns Company

Books
Want to read up on Depression-Era clothing, check out these books:
-Art Deco Fashion
-Everyday Fashions of the Thirties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs
-Fashions of the Thirties: 476 Authentic Copyright-Free Illustrations
-Dress Cutting: Instructions and Illustrations for Sewing 26 Vintage 1930s Fashions
-Make-Up -- 1930s Beauty Instruction and Technique
-Fashionable Clothing from the Sears Catalogs: Mid 1930s
-Pattern Making -- Drafting 1930s Lingerie, Blouses, Skirts and Sp­ortswear Fashions
-Women's Wear of the 1930's: With Complete Patterns
-Millinery -- 1930s Hat Making Techniques

As always, leave your tips, tricks, and suggestions in the comments section below!

Costume Fever

by Dana Reeser
It’s all very well to describe what costumers do, but perhaps we should also explain a little about how costumers come up with the costumes to wear to all those fun events. Mostly, they make them or commission someone else to make them. Some buy them online, often from other costumers, and some rent.

The Great Basin Costume Society has been in existence for less than a week and the members – all two of us – haven’t had time to scour Reno and surrounding towns for shops that carry quality costumes. Often, you can find something appropriate in the antique stores, secondhand stores and thrift shops, especially if you’re looking for early 20^th century. These are great places to pick up bits of your costume from any era: jewelry, gloves, collars, hats, shoes and the like.

The Mexican wedding shops on Wells are excellent places to find hoops and petticoats. My high school Spanish/English Dictionary gives at least eight words for “petticoat”. “Crinolina” worked for me. I think “hoop-skirt” is “tontillo”, but you might want to check that. The shop girls were very helpful and with lots of gesturing, giggles and Spanglish, I got what I needed.

But, mainly, costumers sew. Personally, I think the events are just excuses to make new costumes. It’s addictive. Most of us start with a pattern from Simplicity or Butterick and grow from there. The Society plans to provide workshops and other support. The internet offers an amazing number of blogs by both experienced and novice costumers who are always ready with suggestions, encouragement, and links to other helpful sites. Soon, you’ll find yourself researching the difference between Elizabethan and Victorian corsets and the proper shape for a Regency sleeve or your gentleman’s frock coat. I am continually amazed by the number of men who get wholeheartedly involved in costuming, right down to researching and sewing their own attire. Thank goodness, for without the gentlemen, with whom would we dance?

How To Commission A Historical Costume

There are two kinds of costumers, ones who sew their own costumes, and ones who have them made.

True, many pieces of your costume can easily be found at second hand shops, or even retails stores like Target. You can buy bits and pieces, such as gloves, parasols, hats, shoes, in online boutiques, but when it comes down to your main ensemble, where exactly do you get that?

It has become more and more difficult to find ready-to-wear costumes to rent or buy. Most "costumes" nowadays are made from shiny, cheap polyester, don't fit quite right, and are either for children or promiscuous Halloween "ladies of the night." Locating a decent quality historical costume is near impossible. Even with online shops offering ready-to-wear skirts, bodices, and jackets, you end up paying the same if not more than you would to commission a local costume seamstress to make it exactly to your specs and liking.

What to expect when you commission a costume...

The seamstress will first have a consultation to determine your needs. What event is the costume for? What sort of material would you like? What is your budget? Once these and other questions are answered, you can expect to see a couple design sketches and fabric/trim swatches. A design sketch for a Victorian ballgown, taking in to
account patterning, details, and fabric

Cost is based on the price of the fabrics/trims chosen, plus the labor. You can expect a modest costume dress (bodice and skirt) to be around $100, whereas an elaborate, historically accurate, made-to-last gown could be upwards of $200.

An example of a muslin, made to check for proper fit and patterning,
before the final, expensive fabric is used. Dog not included.

The seamstress will then set to work on what is known as a "muslin" or a "toile." This is a test run made from cheap cotton, to determine proper fit. Expect at least one fitting during this step, though depending on the complexity of the gown and its purpose, there may be multiple fittings.

Once the fit is perfect, the gown will be completed and delivered, and you'll be ready to wear it to your party, dance, or outing!

An example of a fashion plate from Godey's Ladies' Book, 1874

Your commission can be a simple or complex as you like, as creative or conservative. Simple dresses sometimes make a greater statement than fanciful ones. If you are at a loss for ideas, think of movies set in the time period you wish to portray, and your favorite costumes in the film. Try looking up images on Google, using search terms like "victorian fashion plate," or "renaissance portrait," depending on your focus. Your costume specialist is also a wealth of information when it comes to designing historical garments, and can help you make decissions about your look.

If you are in need of a costume for upcoming events, feel free to contact Lauren at renreeser@gmail.com. She is currently accepting commissions, and specializes in Renaissance, 18th century, and Victorian costuming.

The Joy of Bonnets - A Primer

It can be reasonably assumed that many of the events members of the Great Basin Costume Society may attend in the Reno area will be set in the past, between 1850 and 1900. Many of these events will be outside, affording our ladies (and gentlemen too) to display various forms of headgear associated with the decades of the 19th century.

Pervasive among these is The Bonnet. The Bonnet came into vogue around the turn of the 19th c., and enjoyed various incarnations before dropping out of style in the 1870s. Women wore both summer bonnets of straw, and winter bonnets of felt, wool, velvet, any number of materials.

Summer bonnets were often decorated with lace, faux flowers, ribbons, even small fake birds. Winter bonnets could simply be straw forms that were covered in decorative fabric, but were more often built on a buckram base. They could be lined in fur, satin or silk, velvet, and decorated with ribbons, feathers, bows, more faux flowers, a myriad of possibilities.

Bonnets were worn out of doors, to protect the lady's face and hair from sun, snow, rain, fog, or lurid gentlemen. Bonnets were never worn as fashion accessories indoors, when hair ornaments, ribbons, feathers, and wraps were favored. This was as much a safety and social precaution as anything, as bonnets limited the peripheral vision of ladies, and could easily assault the faces of the poor gentlemen they were dancing with. Therefore, bonnets and other outdoor accessories, such as capelets, pellerines, and parasols, were left in the coatroom.

So now that you know when and when not to wear The Bonnet, where do you get one?

A) Order Online - Top-Hats.com has both basic felt forms (for winter) and straw forms (for summer), just waiting to be decorated to the tee. Prices are quite reasonable.

B) Take a Jaunt to Old Sacramento - where you will find Sacramento City Dry Goods, a lovely shop that carries all manner of Victorian dress, from shoes, to full ensembles, to bonnets. They have an online shop as well, and here you can see their bonnet and hat options.

C) Get Crafty - make your own bonnet using tutorials found online, and craft store goodies. Here is a tutorial on making a form from a cheap straw hat. Some commercial pattern companies offer bonnet patterns, such as this one from Butterick, and this one from McCalls

D) Commission A Custom Creation - have your bonnet made exactly to spec and to match your costume by commissioning from local costume specialists. Lauren Reeser is accepting costume commissions for all manner of dress, including accessories and hats - contact her at renreeser@gmail.com.

Examples of custom made bonnets