SP: Goals for the Week

My goals for this week are to:
- order fabric for the corset and chemise and drawers
- trace the corset pattern
- purchase fabric to make a mock up
- cut out and assemble a mock-up of the corset
- watch the corset making DVD
- go to Vokes
- update blog

That's all.

Trip to Lowell - a fashion (and textile) history

Because of vacation, I went out to the American Textile History Museum to get some ideas and do some research. It was so cool! The museum actually talked about the different types of materials used in clothing and how they have progressed over time. It started with flax and linen, moved through cotton and the labor required (think mills and such), then ended in modern day with polyester and Eco-fabrics (such as polar fleece made of recycled bottles). The museum was well laid out and very informative - plus it had dresses from all the major eras! Here are my findings below:

SP: Speakers and a 20 year old cat

I think that it is quite an adventure every time I go help at Vokes. Yesterday I was there for 2 and a half hours and I saw lots of crazy things. At the beginning of the night, I was sifting through boxes to find appropriate hats. I found 4 that worked, but also found some crazy pointed wool hats and turban-type things. I also found lots of feathers and crazy beading. Yay. my supervisor had me pin a pattern so she could cut it out, but there is hardly enough fabric for the pattern to fit, so the skirt will be not full at all. At one point, a couple actors came down to try on some clothes for us and the stuff we had pulled (*cough* I had pulled, aka. pants) looked amazing. One of the overcoats needed new buttons, so I found 3 matching buttons and after sewing them on, realized they were too big for the holes! Bummer. So next time I head over to the theater, I will have to resew buttons onto the coat.

Now about my title. Vokes has a resident cat named Beatrice (after Beatrice Herford, founder of the theater). This cat is really old and very sad looking. Most of the time she is sleeping on the couch in the green room or hiding in the office upstairs, but yesterday she was walking around the green room and I could swear that the cat is senile. She was just staring into space or looking at things like the drawer-pull on the make-up cabinet. Poor kitty. She also is very thin. I guess one of the women stays there whenever Bea is sick to take care of her :-( I also discovered yesterday that they have this ancient speaker that you can turn on and then hear what is going on onstage. Pretty ingenious. Actually, never mind. Most theaters have those, just Wayland High School is too low budget to do anything of the sort. What was cool about it was how it was like one of those old radios. It buzzed when you turned it on and then faded in and out. I can't wait to see it in action again.

I also just got an email that my corset pattern shipped. Hopefully it will be here soon!

SP: Stubby Man Pants and green houndstooth

So I spent an hour and a half last night at Vokes digging for pants. Yes pants. While my supervisor turned this suit-coat into a vest, I picked through a box to find a pair of gray (or is it spelled grey?) pants, a pair of brown  pants and a pair of black pants. Towards the top of the box I found a couple pants that would work and as I worked to the bottom, I found pants for a very heavy and stout man. The waist measurement was AT LEAST 40 inches in diameter. Yikes. The inseam (taken from the crotch of the pants to the hem) was about 27 or so inches. To compare, I'm about a 30 or 31 inch inseam. And the men's pants were probably supposed to go to the natural waist. I wear my jeans at my high hips. Shows how much some pants (or in my case about a dozen pants in that box) are one size fits one. I then found a pair of brown pants in the next box and they are about the right size for the man we need them for. After last night, I felt very accomplished - I found pants for all three men! I think there are 7 people in the cast and we have costumes for about half of them! It's exciting because they open in a couple weeks (May 6th, I believe). Before I got to work yesterday, I got to watch them in rehearsal again and they were a lot better. They are off book right now and it is cool to watch "real" actors work through a true play. I'm going back tonight to find a hat for the aunt and sew buttons on a coat.

On another note, my corset pattern hasn't shipped yet. I need it for next week otherwise I will be in trouble. I should email the company and ask about my order.

SP: Assistant to the Costume Manager?

I feel like Dwight who constantly tries to change his title from Assistant to the Regional Manager to Assistant Regional Manager. Anyway my first week of the senior project went really well - but it had a slow start. I spent some time at Vokes on Wednesday. I've yet to read the play, but it looks quite interesting. When I arrived, the woman in charge of costuming wasn’t there yet so I sat and watched the actors for about 15 minutes. After being part of acting at the high school, I noticed a huge difference between them and my peers. They were very strong actors and able to drop in emotions at the drop of a hat. I wonder if it was because they had been in rehearsal for so long or if they were just naturally good. It was cool. When the woman arrived, we went downstairs and she gave me a basis for what the costume plot of the show would entail. Hedda Gabler was written in the late 1890’s, but set in the 1860’s (meaning the original production would have had hoop skirts and bustles – something the director didn’t want to deal with). So they are setting their production in the 1890’s. Once I had ideas of what we were looking for (and approximate sizes) I helped pull costumes from their stock (a costume closet that was overstuffed with boxes). At one point the woman left me looking for blouses and I found a couple in a plastic box (with mouse droppings) that would work. We later tried the clothing on the actors and actresses and found which pieces worked and which didn’t. By the end of the night, we had potential costumes for 2 actors. Yay! I'm hoping to go back later this week. I actually really enjoy learning all this stuff.

Crochet a Bag with Plastic bags - awesome!?!

I really wish I knew how to crochet *pokes link below*

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-tuesday-how-to-make-plarn-crochet-an-eco-friendly-tote-b-7773/

SP: Finally!

I finally started the senior project today! YAY! It was supposed to start yesterday, but I was bogged down by third quarter stuff and a 3 block long Macbeth performance. The show went really well, so I am very sad that it is over. Each night was very strong and I didn't hear one bad review. I wish there were more nights. I'm hoping to get a video of the performance so I can watch it and remember my only Shakespeare production in high school. We are doing another show this spring (another original) and I think I'll probably do it so that I'm not crazy anti-social. Because of the senior project, I don't have to go to 80% of my classes and instead I work on my project. So I don't see my friends. Odd. Anyway, I ordered the pattern for my corset today (laughing moon #100) and a DVD that gives instructions on how to fit a corset. This should be here next week when I can finally get to work on the pattern. I also got my dress form and I need to alter the cover that goes on top of it (used to conform to my measurements). This has proved to be difficult thus far, so we'll have to see. Hopefully my mom and I will be able to get it done soon so I can use it to fit my corset.

Something Beautiful

I was poking around on Etsy and found an amazing behind the scenes video of NYC Ballet's costume shop and a woman who works as a draper there. It was just so fantastic. Take a look (the video is the second on the page)

http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/espalore-the-making-of-a-tutu-7321/

Starting my Collection

Yesterday my Easter basket contained a note saying that the Kyoto Fashion Institute book was in the mail. I really didn't want lots of candy for Easter (for both my sanity and my body's health) - that really didn't work, but hey, I tried. So the book came today - all 730 something pages of full color photos of both historical clothing pieces and reproductions! AHH! It is such bliss to pour over the piles of pages and see the difference between the various headpieces and dresses, corsets and shoes. I don't think I will tire of the book for a long while.

Meanwhile, Macbeth is going quite well - we open on Wednesday. My costume is very simple. A black blazer with black dress pants, black loafers and stockings with a white dress shirt and black patterned tie. I think it looks okay - very masculine. I think I will be the most androgynous character on the stage during the next few days of performances.

SP: Dress Form!!

It came today!! I am so excited! It is really awesome to be able finally look at what my clothing looks like. I put my regency dress and chemise on it to test it out, but it looked funny because the form is currently larger than my measurements. The form is made of polyurethane and the purchaser buys a cotton cover which they them fit to their (skintight!) body measurements. I haven't gotten a chance to do this yet because the instructions are really long! I'm hoping that after rehearsal tomorrow, Mom can help me fit it. Now just to figure out a name and where to store her. Right now, she's living in my family room because I really don't want a dress form watching me sleep!

Dress Form:

 Regency Dress:

Regency Chemise: