Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all a very wonderful holiday season - whether or not you celebrate Christmas. I'm very much enjoying my holiday. Earlier this morning I received several sewing and costuming books (including Lauren Rennells' Retro Makeup book) from my family, along with a note for a pre-ordered pair of Pemberley regency shoes from American Duchess. I also received a few sweaters and tights which will keep me warm at school this coming year. The best gift I have received is the snow outside my window - it's a White Christmas!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Counting the days

I have exactly one week, six classes, one test, one composition, one showcase performance, and two essays left until I can go home. It will be so good to be home.

Caught in a Whirlwind

I realize it has been more than 2 months since I have last posted and. Basically this semester has not been a cup of tea - I'm not totally thrilled with my classes, plus I'm taking more credits than my brain can handle so I will be very glad to be done with this fall (exactly 2 weeks to be precise!).

So much has happened over the last couple months, that it would be hard to go into detail about everything that has happened. Instead I will post some photos highlighting what I've done.

I made sushi at an event hosted by one of the student groups and was taught how to wear and tie a traditional kimono (see the rest below the cut)

Seasons of Cities and Mountains

It is an absolutely gorgeous day outside today and there is no Mountain Day. Very disappointing (for all you non Smithie readers, Mountain Day is an unannounced holiday in which classes are cancelled on a nice fall day. I think originally Smithies did climb mountains, but now we go apple picking, sunbathe or just catch up on homework). Hopefully it will not be next week, as fall break starts on the 8th.

Here we go again!

Yep, school has started back up again, which means lots of work and little time to blog. I currently have no recent costuming or sewing news as I don't have any projects with me (or I can't find them). I swear I packed my embroidery kit (complete with strands and strands of colorful floss and my pink scissors), but have yet to find it. I am currently working on a couple bibs for my little cousins, but I can't do that because I don't think I packed my kit. Hopefully I can get it soon and then my hankering to sew something will stop.

In other news, Reefer Madness auditions are next Thursday and next weekend. I'm definitely excited about the show, but need to get through auditions first (and figure out something to sing!). I'm not really going for any specific part. I'd love to be Mary Lane, but 1) I'm an alto and 2) I don't know if I would be comfortable with her crazy bondage scene at the end. I think if I actually acted and put all my insecurities out of the way, I could handle it.

I'm also taking a bunch of cool but difficult classes - Advertising and Visual Culture, Intermediate Spanish, Methods in American Studies, West African Dance and Intro to Theater History. Sadly non are costuming related, but we will get to watch Mad Men in my Visual Culture class!! I am thrilled beyond belief.

Out with the Old, In with…the Old?

After a nice vacation and a decidedly undecided hurricane (which luckily only left lots of branches and minor power outages in my hometown, but no internet and landlines for my house), I figured it was time to go through my bedroom and purge all of the unnecessary contents. Now at first glance, I don't look like someone who is messy - I try to be quite organized with important things. But, my room and sewing areas are typically disaster zones when I try to keep them clean. Which is why a yearly purge is usually good for me to keep things under control.

I Keep Movin'

So as my summer internship winds to a close, I am both relieved and saddened to be leaving the theater I worked at. Yes, it was a lot of work, but I actually really enjoyed it (despite a couple blips along the journey). I am definitely a lot more confident in both my costuming and people relation skills, as well as quick thinking and fast dressing (for both myself and others). Of course, with the close of this comes some great memories and experience I can use to move forward hopefully professionally and recreationally too.

Now that I am finished, it's time to finish up those remaining projects before I start school in three weeks. During my time off between the shows last week, I managed to make a lot of progress on my 30's blouse - I managed to line the front and back bodice pieces and stitch them to the sleeves and together at the side seams. I also hemmed the bottom edge. All I really have left is to attach the collar (which has proven very difficult for some bizarre reason - it must be the disintegrating instruction sheet that confuses me), hem the front edges, finish the sleeve cuffs, and work on the buttons and button holes. I don't estimate it to be more than a few hours. I am truly pumped to finish this so I can wear this fall!! I have also sketched out a couple of the designs for Reefer Madness which may or may not go up on here after reviewing them with the director.

My neighbor also asked me to make some curtains for her, which I am about halfway through (but am reluctant to finish because of the massive ironing and straight seams. hehe). I'll have to finish those in the next few days before I leave for vacation.

Watch for photos of the finished projects soon!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

It's been a very very long week as my supervisor and I have slogged through the immense process of organizing (but first washing, drying, dry cleaning, ironing and steaming everything to perfection) the costumes for shipment in the 28 cardboard wardrobe boxes we received them in. Gladly, all of the boxes were packed and sealed at 2 pm on Saturday and loaded into a giant truck yesterday morning at 8:00 along with the party lights and the surrey. Thank goodness - I am so glad they are gone.

I'm really ready to move on from Oklahoma! purely because of the massive cast and amount of costumes, even though I know that Sound of Music will probably not be any better (read: all the children and Maria have about 9 costumes EACH). This means lots and lots of costume changes, which will be both stressful and fun.

It's also very hard to believe that my summer is about 2/3rds over. I received an email a couple days ago that key pick-up is on Sept. 6th and 7th, with us starting on the 8th. Holy cow! I'll be glad to go back to school where I won't have to deal with massive rental orders and can make my own designs. Don't get me wrong, this has been a wonderful experience and it affirms that I love what I do, but I tend to like independence - a lot. 

Plaid Ruffles and Polka Dots

I realize I've taken quite a break from blogging recently (considering I was able to crank out a post almost everyday in may), but it is because I've been busy with lots of fun crafty things which you'll read about in the next few posts.

My biggest news is that we have finished a couple really important pieces for Oklahoma!. There are 6 dresses we had to make for female leads and we have about two thirds of them in working (ok, fittable) condition. One difficult thing about Oklahoma! is that there are several costume changes for the leads, all of which are very distinct and absolutely crucial for the story. Thus lots of work for the sewers.

Think of…the Tony!!

As some of you may know, the Tony Awards are tonight. This celebration of broadway is my absolute favorite award show of the year and I tend to plan my night around the ceremony so I can watch it live. Now in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and other online networking sites, information about the nominees is widely available, with lots of updates from sources like Playbill.com and Broadway World. While browsing the Playbill twitters, I found two gems that represent my favorite parts of theater: the spectacular costumes and the actors off stage.

First up is a video and interview of Elmo and Sutton Foster (nominated for Best Actress in a Musical) singing on Sesame Street. It's very fun and energetic (very Sutton).

Second is a sneak peek photo gallery of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark which will be performing tonight  and opened May 12th at the Foxwoods theater. I saw a couple of the featured costumes up close while in New York in April and am excited to see them finally in use on stage. The show also features Jennifer Damiano of Spring Awakening and Next to Normal fame. I've never seen her live, but her voice is incredible.

Oh yeah, that project...

While I was at JoAnn’s on Thursday, I picked up a Butterick apron pattern since all Butterick patterns were $2.00 a piece. It is quite versatile and has multiple sizes and styles (plus it only requires less than 2 yards of fabric!), which will be great if I need to make other aprons in the future.

I personally really like View C (the one with the cherry fabric) because it reminds me of the fancy aprons I see around town near my school. It is also quite reminiscent of a 50’s apron. It will probably be made out of a fun novelty cotton (which my cousin and I will figure out somehow this summer) with her choice of apron style.

Just a list...

to figure out exactly how many projects I have started in the last couple days.

- Drafted [or maybe purchased pattern] Apron for my cousin (and maybe myself too)

- Dotted blouse (lined)

- Green Skirt to match

- Baby bibs (2) and burp clothes (a few) for my mom's coworker [These can't be that hard, and should be pretty quick] finished 5/14
- Dotted Skirt to match (lined) finished 6/10

Oh, and maybe any other things that decide to pop up.

Pretty Polka Dots and Silky Cottons

Finally home after a long and hot day of work. I'm a bit exhausted from today's travels, but I'll do my best to update you all about my crazy - but very productive day!

Yesterday I met the other three interns who will be working alongside the other crew members - two are college seniors (one of which goes to the same college as me and works in the theater department!) and a sophomore like me. We figured out that the costumes will be rented from UNCSA…well, about half of them. We have multiple actors (say, 20) who are larger than costumes that UNCSA can provide (including several of the leads), so we have to create alternative methods of acquiring costumes and it looks like it will be in the form of building lots and lots of fitted prairie blouses and ruffled skirts, as well as digging through jam-packed racks in an overcrowded basement for cowboy shirts, pants, and a pair of size 15 EEE cowboy boots. So we definitely have our work cut out for us. It looks like we'll be racing until the final bell. 

My biggest news is that today my supervisor and I went fabric shopping for suitable fabrics for the various costumes. As of present, our Ado Annie and Aunt Eller, will not fit the rental costumes, so we are building those from scratch, as well as a couple female ensemble members. The tricky thing is trying to find fabric that will fit in with the costumes that are being shipped to us - ones that are bright primaries and plaids. Surprisingly, our trip was very successful.

Stylin' at the Five 'n Dime - part 2

After much anticipation, I present final photos of my first set of 1930's blouses and skirts. Both are about 95% finished, but completely wearable. I need to readjust the back placket on the skirt, once I purchase a zipper and wash the white blouse to get out any remaining marks, but beyond that, they are beautiful.

TaDa! A nicely hemmed (and horsehaired) skirt and finished blouse. You can really see how the horsehair braid holds out the skirt hem.

The blouse alone. The top of the button holes and buttons are tacked down to create a mock collar. It looks nicer than just a flat front (which is my intent for a second blouse, but that will have a real collar).

The skirt alone. As you can see, it falls to about low calf, which is lower than I'm used to ever wearing, but I think it will prove nice. I plan to wear it out to dinner tonight.

My next set of plans (which I have been hinting at) is to create a short sleeved blouse out of the remaining dotted fabric, as well as a lime green skirt for extra options when costuming this fall. Now, to leave you all with an artsy photo - just me playing around in Iphoto with one of the better shots in my mock photo shoot.

Stylin' at the Five 'n Dime - part 1

I finally hunkered down and got a lot done on my blouse and skirt set - and have something to show for it! The last two nights I sewed together the seams on the spotted skirt and ripped a few seams to make the lining (or my skirt muslin) fit inside the spotted skirt. I sewed them together at the back placket (where the skirt closes in the back, for those of you non-sewers) and then basted them together at the top (so they would stay together until I could get the waistband on. It looks really nice. All I have left to do is sew some closures in the back (snaps, hooks and eyes, skirt hooks, whathaveyou), sew on the waistband, and hem both skirts. One of the hems will have a length of crinoline or (plastic) horsehair braid to help keep its shape. I'm thinking it will be the lining so the spotted skirt will stand out nicely.

I also decided to use my muslin as an actual blouse (I put so much time into it anyway that I might as well use it) and mostly finished it last night. The sleeves and blouse edge are both hemmed, with the buttons sewn on, the only (REALLY MAJOR) thing I am missing is the button holes which will hold the blouse together. Kinda important. I've been trying to get the sewing machine to make the correct sized buttonholes for my 5/8" buttons, but it doesn't want to cooperate. I'm waiting for my mom to help me figure out the machine so I can have a beautifully finished blouse (that is, after I wash it to get rid of any wax paper marks or such). I'm really excited to have made a nice dent in both pieces, but I still have an entire skirt and blouse to go (yay for mix-and-match separates), which I hope to start before Reagle eats my summer away.

So drumroll please….

Spending Habits Now and Then

I just found the most excellent article featured on Etsy's front page - it is about "The History of the Cheap Dress." After reading it, I thought about my own closet and what it consists of. In an attempt to be cost effective, I try not to buy anything full price, unless it is impossible to do so. Most of the solid cotton t-shirts I wear are sale rack finds or from the closing sale of a store. My sweaters are a mixed bag, some from Nordstrom's preview sale in the fall or their sale section as well as Target or Kohl's. Only when I get to the other items does it get tricky. As I type, I am wearing shorts from American Eagle last season (which were on sale), a yellow Aeropostale shirt (that was free when presenting a magazine cover a couple years ago), and a pair of silver Havaiana's flip flops (which I bought full price at school the day we made a trip into town and my shoes were giving me blisters). So it does tend to depend on my circumstance. I also frequent TJMaxx and Marshalls (but have much better luck at the former), and have had great luck. My best finds were two past season Nanette Lepore pieces - an eggplant textured boiled wool coat (which I wear all winter) and a navy semi-formal dress (that I wore to my high school graduation). Although my wallet seems to hate the prices, I know that an investment (especially in an expensive piece that was marked down) will help my wardrobe in the long run.

Back to the article, I am a bit appalled by the number of people who shop at places like Forever 21. Their clothing is made horribly and out of cheap fabric, then marked up for people at "cheap prices." I just don't understand it. My bitterness could be a result of the clothes hardly fitting me, but also looking quite sad in comparison to anything more expensive. I do realize that this store is supposed to be good for those trying to cut costs, but I suggest trying another store.

This way of thinking is far from what drives my love of retro and historical clothing and my passion for sewing. No, that is driven by my urge to create beautiful things for others to view both onstage and in my everyday wear (this much less so as I trend towards fanciful costumes). If I had the confidence, I'd wear retro clothes everyday, but I haven't worked up to that yet. Maybe sometime soon.

Charity Begins at Home

In light of the recent tornadoes in other parts of the country, my mom's company was asked to help one of their software clients by donating any extra items they could. The clients are a company that currently has 300 employees without homes or a place to work. Very distressing. So in the spirit of giving, my mom and I went up to the attic and purged any old clothing we no longer wore. After pulling down boxes, I managed to empty 2 whole boxes of old t-shirts. My mom also added to the pile a number of cotton "Fresh Produce" dresses and some other shapeless late nineties outfits. I personally am really glad I got rid of all the shirts, because I am constantly telling myself that I don't need anymore clothing (yet I insist on making more costumes to wear - you can NEVER have enough, in my opinion). Letting go of all the memories attached to the clothes is a bit hard, but good to do.

The massive pile of clothes getting ready to go to new homes!

As well as pulling clothes down to donate, my mom also showed me a couple dresses she wore in the late eighties/early nineties. One was a mock Laura Ashley dress made of blue corduroy and trimmed with lace at the collar and cuffs. The skirt was full with tucks adorning the lower half. It almost reminded me of a prairie dress, but was way too strange to wear. The other was a black floral dress with a hint of fifties (crinolined skirt) and a shawl collar on the back. If the dress had had a shawl collar on the front or been smaller at the bust, I might have liked it better.

My mom also pulled down from the attic a number of short, narrow scarves that she used to wear to work with her blazers and button down shirts. Most of them were darker mauves and muted blues, but I managed to save a couple colorful and neutral colored ones for use in future costumes (the bright blue one might make a great sash to match my 1930's dress or the red one might work well as a headband in Godspell). Hopefully you'll see them in future photos!

Spotty Dots

Finally some progress on my 1930's blouse set. I finished the muslin mockup (after making about a dozen silly mistakes including sewing darts and tucks on the wrong sides, sewing the neck fabric to the wrong sides, forgetting the collar after cutting it wrong, puckering on the shoulder, etc, etc.) and it looks good. The sleeves are currently three quarter length and I intend to make them in the short sleeve length. The shoulders are very puffy (which is the style, despite the blouse being a button down shirt), which are helped out by a cut of silky taffeta sewn into the armband (I think). Like most mockups I've done, I've yet to figure every detail out before starting the final project, so that will be one thing I'll do when I make the final blouse.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue..

And a silver sixpence in her shoe…On occasion I do like to repost some fun photos I find while looking through various tumblrs because I refuse to create another blog account (why should I make another when I have a perfectly fine blogger account, even though I could then follow some of my college friends that way) just to repost pictures. Anyway, I've always had a craving for oogling at fancy dresses (does it surprise you readers that I bought my junior prom dress in January, before I even had a date and tickets went on sale?), especially wedding dresses. So here I present some of my favorite dress findings (below the cut):

1930's Hair and Makeup Tutorials

I've started looking into makeup and hair tutorials for the 1930's so I have lots of inspiration for Reefer Madness come fall. I've done a lot of googling and found a reasonable amount of information about makeup recreating, but less detailed info about how to recreate the styled, curly and slim hairstyles. I have to admit that I have never been great with hair (every time I've curled my hair it turns out lumpy and strange - perhaps due to lack of correct tools) and I need specific instructions to create complex styles (which is why I ordered the Vintage Hairstyling book which should arrive soon). Anyway, I am creating this post for use as a basic tool and reference guide for those wishing to get a perfect 1930's look (and also for use during Reefer Madness this fall).

Broadway Antics

A couple weeks ago, the Tony Award nominees were announced, but I didn't recognize most of contenders for best play and musical. I haven't really kept up with the last couple potential Tony Awards nominees, which probably explains why I only recognize the revivals of Anything Goes (starring Sutton Foster - which I would love to see. She is an amazing actress.), How to Succeed…Trying (starring Dan Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame and with costumes I saw in my trip to New York in April), and The Importance of Being Earnest (starring Brian Bedford). Every year when I watch the Tonys, I revel in watching all the clips and performances put on by all the nominees, partly because they are more interesting than the suspense of waiting for the winners to be announced, but mostly because I love the spectacle of the elaborate sets and costumes.

Monday was the Drama Desk Awards Ceremony, with a number of important awards handed out to very deserving awardees. I didn't get the chance to watch it (I'm not even sure if it was televised), but I did look over the winners and nominees and they were quite satisfactory. Sutton Foster won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for Anything Goes (not surprising and definitely deserved) and the designer for Priscilla: Queen of the Desert won best costumes (SOOO glad - I've seen photos and they are amazing and swathed with detail. I used the movie as inspiration for my Midsummer Night's Dream/Costume Design 1 Final first semester)

Some of the nutty Priscilla costumes

Outstanding Music in a Play went to Peter and the Starcatcher, the play I was supposed to see when I was in NYC for my costuming trip (but didn't because an actor was sick); Sleep No More, an award winning theatrical experience, also won an award. I never had the opportunity to see the show, but it had a very cool premise. It was Macbeth, only set in an old high school and you walked through and watched the story unfold before your eyes. A complete list of winners can be found here.

A plus is that the Tony Awards are on June 12th! I can't wait to see what happens. In the meantime, I'll start doing some research about the nominated shows. Also Neil Patrick Harris is hosting. I love him (especially in Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog).

I also have task for you readers - if you are in the area, get tickets to come see Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music at Reagle Music Theater! I can assure you that both will be fantastic shows and won't disappoint!

"I think it's pretty, I reply."

Yep, another blog revamp. I was getting a bit tired of the older dull blue. I wanted something with a bit more pop (plus the header was out of date and I couldn't find the right file to fix it).

Haven't done all that much over the past couple days - measurements on Monday went well but were quite long and tedious. I got there at 9 and left at 7pm because we had appointments scattered throughout the day. There were a couple points when I had nothing to because of such a gap in appointments.

Still have made little progress on the 1930's dress. I need to work on the sleeves and sides and the collar before I can move on to making the skirt. I also need to get buttons for the blouse and a closure for the skirt, so it looks like a Joann's run is in order today.

Midnight Sewing Madness

Sew (sorry, bad pun), as most of you know, I've had started a lot of different projects over the 2 week span I have been home - most of these are quite far from finished (my 30's ensemble, the apron for my cousin…). Last night I decided to embark on another (quick) project. At the end of the school year, my theater group was enlisted to clean our stuff out of the basements of the houses we were storing stuff in, and move it to another basement. We split up and conquered two houses and each took a box containing varying props, costumes, and other really random knick-knacks (a ceramic duck? body parts? I think you get the idea). In the process we found a few really old t-shirts that were printed before any of us were even involved with the group - of course they were all size large and extra large, but I managed to get a large, figuring I could do something to make it fit. And I did.

I lay the shirt out and measured the front and back and cut it so the width of the shirt was slightly larger than my bust measurement and then zig-zagged the edges to prevent any fraying (I've never used or had any interest in using pinking shears). I stitched the two sides together, adjusting the arm holes a couple times until they fit right. I then folded over the armhole seams so they sat on my shoulders better and voila - I now have a nicely fitted sleeveless shirt! I was hoping it would be a little longer because I can't wear it without shorts or pants to bed, but with bottoms it will make a nice rehearsal shirt. It took me a couple of hours, plus I also sewed another part of my 30's blouse muslin. Yay!

Retro Styling

I finally broke down and bought the Vintage Hairstyling book from the publisher. I was growing impatient with Amazon for not having it back in stock and was having cravings for vintage hair and makeup (for some reason I have had this huge craving to go to the MAC store at the mall and play with all the different lipsticks and eye shadows to create a fancy vintage look). It should come in the next week or so.

I have made little progress on my 1930's dress ensemble. I whipped out the muslin of the skirt in about 2 hours and would just need to put a waistband on it. The shirt is proving more difficult; it is 5 pieces with the front and back pieces connecting and gathered to empaulets on the shoulders. It doesn't sound that difficult, but the pattern also calls for some really funky darts at the shoulders(?!?) and elbows (which will probably disappear when I turn them into short sleeve) which makes for some tricky maneuvering while sewing on the machine. Once I finish this muslin, I'll take apart the skirt muslin and try to line my fashion fabric with it, so I'm not flashing the audience, while dancing.

I also just learned my brother took the car for the weekend, so I'm back to my mom driving me places until they come back tomorrow afternoon. So much for my leisurely excursion to the mall tomorrow.

I also officially start my internship bright and early Monday morning at 9:00. I'll be there all day helping with measurement appointments (which I am very good at ;)) for Oklahoma, so that could get tedious. Good news is that I saw the cast list and I recognize a couple of the names, so it will be good to see those people again.

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow...

I've known for a couple days now, but it's now officially official - I've been hired as a wardrobe intern! I'll be helping with the construction and fitting of their two shows this summer - Oklahoma and The Sound of Music. I went to the theater and met with the producer and he mentioned that recently the University of North Carolina School of Arts put on a (practically) award winning production of Oklahoma and we would be renting the costumes from them. But the REALLY big deal with this is that they recreated the entire production to look like the original 1943 production - right down to the exact fabric choices and specks of paint on the backdrop. The production was absolutely stunning. Plus, they were blessed to have one of their alums (Terrance Mann - right after his stint on Broadway in The Addams Family) come back and direct, along with original Agnes De Mille choreography by Gemze de Lappe (who was Agnes de Mille's protegee). Anyway, long story short, it looks like we will be renting as many of UNC's "restored" costumes and I'll be helping with construction for any extra (larger) costumes they may need.

I realize this is a lot, but gets even better. Gemze de Lappe is choreographing the show. Readers, you have NO IDEA how excited I am about this. Gemze was in the original 1943 production and later was cast as Dream Laurey and continued on to work with Agnes de Mille. She currently travels the country teaching the choreography to various companies - and she is 89. Still not convinced? If you want to watch (a much younger version of) her work, she danced the part of "Simon of Legree" in the movie of The King and I with Yul Brunner.

So it looks like I will be kept busy with that (aka. making costumes) for a while. I rented the movie version this afternoon and finished it. After watching it, I don't really understand the appeal of the show (except for a couple fantastic dance numbers and famous songs) and truly prefer some of the other Rodgers and Hammerstein works. This is probably because I grew up with Cinderella, The Sound of Music, and The King and I (of which I have been in two out of three). However, I am very glad for Oklahoma's advancement of the musical theater genre.

Something I'm considering

I've been eyeing two different retro books for a while, both of which would help with costumes and such for Reefer Madness (and also fulfill my need for Retro styles for dances and such). The two books are actually both modern and written by Lauren Rennells of The Bobby Pin Blog and Vintagehairstyling.com, two fantastic resources for anything related to Retro Styling. Anyway, I came across the first book Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques a couple of years ago and found that it is practically the bible for vintage hairstyling. It goes into detail about how to create the exact look you want and what tools to use, plus also contains dozens of easy step-by-step tutorials about how to create vintage hairstyles. Lauren also recently published a companion book on how to create vintage makeup styles. Like the previous book, I've done my research and it also is very thorough with the history of vintage makeup. Both books look really interesting and useful, but I'm not sure if I really want to spend that much on books. Currently, they are both available on the publisher's website (that includes a shipping fee) and on Amazon (where only one is currently in stock, but includes free shipping). Any Leading Ladies want to weigh in on which whether the makeup book would be any use for Reefer Madness?

Huzzah!

My patterns came in the mail yesterday and I am suddenly really inspired to get started on (at least one of) them. I checked the mail as I left for babysitting and found a small package with my name in the mail!! Yay! They were here! Both were packaged very nicely in clear plastic envelopes (and I would highly recommend the seller as she shipped very quickly - purchased monday, sent wednesday, received friday).

I'm starting with the pattern on the left, the dress/skirt and blouse set with the short sleeves

After babysitting, I went over to Joann's to pick up some fabric for the blouse/dress/skirt (and notions for my apron making fiasco). Let's just note this now that when I go shopping alone, I tend to take my time, weighing every option and possibility (which is great for a savvy shopper, not the time-saver). Two hours later, I walked out with tracing paper, a tracing wheel, a measuring gauge (good for making a pattern and creating your own seam allowances), and a huge pile of fabric. I think it totals close to 8 yards. I bought 3 yards of plain white muslin (for lining and such - boring), 1/8th of a yard of silky white taffeta for "sleeve stiffener," 4 yards of a blue and green dot cotton which I am planning to use as the blouse (with enough leftover yardage to create a matching skirt), and a yard and a half of bright lime green cotton sateen for a second skirt to match the blouse. I'm really happy with the dotted fabric because it is very similar to one I found on reproductionfabrics.com, just half the price and minus shipping costs.

So pretty!!

I'm also working on some baby bibs for my mom's coworker who just had a baby girl and I decided it might be good to deplete my stash of pink baby fabric. More about that in my next post.

I also finally heard from the theater I applied to intern at and they want me to come in on Sunday and help them out by being a dresser backstage! I've never been a dresser before, so I hope it's not too hard to pick up on. Hopefully I'll have good news to report!

A Potential Commission

On Sunday, I went to visit my cousin (who is currently a Med Student at Boston University) and then made dumplings back at my house with her and my family. While we were touring the BU campus (for one of my brothers who is very interested in being a studio art major in college), she asked me if she could commission an apron from me! I certainly don't think it would be that difficult, so I think I'll be able to do it!

As far as my experience with aprons goes, I haven't had a lot. Some of you may remember my Alice costume from this past fall where I found a perfect dress in the costume store downtown, then made an apron to go over top. That apron was drafted completely by hand and included a simple rectangle gathered to a long strip (more like ribbon) of fabric and a square pinafore piece sewn to the waistband and with button-neckpiece (I know, it seems complicated, but makes some sense). Anyway, you may recognize I've had a lot of extra time now that I'm on break and have had way too much time to spend surfing Etsy, but I think this habit will prove quite beneficial because I now have more ideas for aprons and my 1930s/40s outfits.

Maybe this will explain my Material Culture focus...

I know the patterns haven't even shipped yet, but I can't stop thinking about what materials I want to use for my patterns. For the blouse and skirt set, I know I want one half to be patterned with the other half solid, so I have a nice mix and matchy costume idea going on (and then I can make a separate blouse or skirt to match other half - genius!). The dress, on the other hand, I have no idea. The pattern illustration is making me think a lot about how it appears to be a knit fabric, which would be nice for everyday wear. I think it will probably depend on my choices for the blouse and skirt set.

Decisions (or at least one) made!

I ordered the patterns for my vintage dresses! They should be shipped out in the next day or two. After a lot of deliberation, I decided to order two patterns: one for a 1940's scoopneck shirtwaist dress and another for a 1930's blouse and skirt set. Now to decide on the fabric. I'm thinking about choosing brighter colors for the both of them, but don't know if I want to shell out the cash for fancy vintage reproduction cotton. We'll see. I am currently leaning towards maybe ordering reproduction fabric for one, then getting something from JoAnn's for the other. I've only worked with cotton or linen before (and had good results), so I am leaning towards that because it's easy to work with. But I may try to branch out and pick a different fabric for the dress. Anyway, without further ado, I present my two pattern choices.

Blue Roses

Fabric choices for any sewing project are always the hardest part because I have to pick just one. For my 30's dress, I am planning to pick a cotton print (which will make it easy to wash), I just don't know if I want to splurge on a retro print (some of which are adorably expensive). Here are my favorites from the mouth-watering reproductionfabrics.com:

Mary Lane and Pretty Dresses (Post #100!!)

So in my last post I mentioned I had plans for a 1930's dress for use in Reefer Madness (and also daily use).  I guess a bit of background about the show and my plans for my dress would be quite appropriate.

Reefer Madness is a musical based off the 1936 film of the same name. It was originally a propaganda film that was supposed to warn parents of the dangers of smoking marijuana and to keep it away from their kids. I have watched part of the movie, but got a bit bored with it (probably because I had trouble hearing it and I didn't really have the energy to focus on it). Anyway, in 2005, the cult hit was remade into a movie musical (using the songs from the 2001 musical performance) starring Kristen Bell and Alan Cumming (who played the Emcee from the Cabaret Revival, small world). So yeah.

Finally Finished!

I can't believe I just finished my first year of college! It's hitting me pretty slowly, but I'm sure I'll notice it at some point. I'm officially moved out and back home with a little puppy sleeping at my feet. I had so much stuff that we had to take two cars back. My stuff is now unloaded out of the cars (except for the fridge) and is taking up the entire living room. Typical. It looks like I'll be cleaning up for the next week.

Right now (probably because the laziness of summer hasn't kicked into yet), I have a number of projects and such lined up to do. Tonight I have a ticket to see my high school's production of Les Miserables (our final production in our beloved Little Theater). It has gotten really good reviews, so it should be fun. It's also the last night, so I won't get a chance to to see everyone before they disappear to strike the set.

I am also babysitting next week for my neighbors, which should be a good way to earn a little extra cash before the summer starts.

I still haven't heard back from the major theater company I applied to intern at, but my mother keeps suggesting I call them, which I should probably do on Monday.

One of my biggest projects this summer is related to my theater group's fall musical Reefer Madness. I'm planning to sew a 1930's era dress to wear in the musical this fall. I don't know what part I will have, but probably something in the ensemble. It also helps that there are a few other regulars who are a similar size, so I could always lend it to one of them if I end up as a guy or a slutty character (the latter of which is MOST unlikely).

And so I leave you with a neat article about clothing sizes - which would make all of our lives about 100 times easier.

And piles and piles and piles….

of work. I'm getting sick of this. I just finished playing the cut and paste game with all the notes I took about children's clothing and I'm at 10 pages for my Material Culture essay. Just 5 6 to go (My 15th page has to be actual text, not piles of end notes, as I'd love it to be).

Also, I apologize for anyone who is reading my blog. The next few posts will probably be me complaining about my excessive work for finals. I promise that my 100th post (this is my 98th) will be something readable and amusing.

Beautiful day?

Happy Easter! So far, it has been beautiful outside (I went to brunch without a coat today), but I have been stuck inside prepping for all sorts of mayhem. We have our senior banquet today, so my entire house is setting up for the banquet in the living room. It looks really pretty. However, this morning the first years decided to make breakfast in bed for the seniors, but almost burned the house down. I guess they got toast stuck in the toaster and it started burning. Typical. So the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate around 9:30 am. It's a good thing one of the HONS came and knocked on my door otherwise I would have still been in pajamas.

Also this morning, an alumna came and photographed my room for one of her upcoming exhibits. She specializes in photographing personal spaces and one of my peers had sent around an email that she was going to be photographing in the area, so I signed up. I wasn't actually in the room while she worked, but I do know that she used my regency dress and chemise, my corset, my copy of Corsets and Crinolines, and my sewing box in the photos, which is cool because those are some of my most treasured items I have at school. I don't know exactly when the photos will go up, but hopefully before finals. I'm also hoping to get a copy of two of the photos. That would be cool.


Now back to work on something (maybe stats homework or my Material Culture essay about toys). Au revior!

April Showers

Hey there bloggies, I realize it's been forever since my last post, but it's mainly because of how hectic this month has turned out to be. I've had lots of work and tests and just haven't had time to work. And now it's getting down to crunch time as I have a paper due on Thursday. Yikes. So I'm basically on to mention as many cool costume-y and crafty things as I can remember to avoid posting multiple posts.

Blast from the Past

So after an impromptu study session with friends tonight, I began thinking about Godspell and (instead of working) decided to scope out the original score. When I performed it in high school, we used the 2001 revival touring cast rendition which has some beautiful remastering and re-orchestrations of the original works, but now leaves me listening the original recording and thinking something is missing. Anyway, in my searching I came across a youtube video of the original 1970 cast singing By My Side (along with several others). It turns out the owner of the channel is the original Peggy! So without further ado, I present the original cast with By My Side (and a collaboration of songs as performed on the Today Show)

Itinerary Time!

I can't remember if I mentioned this, but a couple weeks ago I was given the chance to take a trip to New York with the theater department to do Costume related things - and I just got the schedule an hour ago. We are going to see a couple exhibits at the Fashion Institute of Technology (one of the world famous schools for Fashion Design - that's where they sometimes film Project Runway), visit the Conde Nast building to meet with an alumna who works at a famous fashion magazine, stop at Parsons-Meares (where they build most of the costumes for Broadway productions), then have dinner on the way down to the theater where we will see Peter and the Starcatcher. A very busy day.

I looked into the show we will be seeing and it appears to be a play about what happened to Peter Pan before he met Wendy. Sounds really interesting. During my search, I also discovered that a couple of the cast members were important people - one actor was nominated for multiple awards while playing the original part of Emmett in Legally Blonde the Musical, another was in the original cast of Next to Normal and one actress originated the role of Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, so it should be a good show!

I'll post again once I get back with plenty of photos of my adventures! And hopefully by then my next set of embroidery stuff will have arrived!

Sad news

So after much legal battle, Cabaret will not be happening. To make a really long, winding story short, we could not get the rights and must cancel the show. It is very sad, especially because we all put so much time and effort into it. We had finished most of the first act. At some point I think we will probably perform what we know to get it out of our systems and close off the show, but it will probably be just for ourselves.

On another (less pertinent) note, Jane Eyre opens this weekend - but not at all close to me. It has a limited engagement and the closest location to me is New York. Grrr. So unless I can get down there over break, I'll be stuck seeing a more mainstream movie (probably The King's Speech, which should have some fantastic 30's costumes) this coming week.

It looks like my break plans have now officially changed and instead of costume shopping, I'll be spending my time finishing projects (dare I say my corded petticoat?), learning to embroider (once the kit comes in the mail), and hennaing my hair.

So close….

Less than 48 hours and I will be home. I just have to finish a paper (which feels much harder than it really should be) and attend 3 more classes. Ugh. If only my professor on Friday had cancelled class. I want to go home (where I plan to sleep, sew Cabaret stuff (armband and cap sleeves for my top), see Jane Eyre, costume shop (whee!!), learn how to embroider, and henna my hair).

Now to write a page about a painting. Shouldn't be too hard right?

Finished?

I finally finished the Kit Kat Boys' costume designs. They look pretty schnazzy if you ask me. I guess I'll make an official post with both photos on here, instead of changing one post to avoid writing a new entry Also, please ignore any strange markings in my coloring (it's eraser residue from my costume design class - I didn't want to waste perfectly good paper). So without further ado, I present the Kit Kat Dancer costume designs (Bobby, Victor, Hans, Rosie, Lulu, Frenchie, Texas, Frenchie, and Helga)!

Hey, it's like doing homework

but it's not! My current homework for my material culture class is to read about historical fashion and it is making me think a lot about Cabaret costumes - so much that I have designed the Kit-Kat Girls costumes. Hehe. I made thumbnail sketches this morning and just now finished full size pencil drawings for 5 of the 6. I'm having a hard time picking a costume for myself, partially because I used all the good ideas on the others. EDIT: I finished drawing and coloring all the girls' designs! I'm really happy because they look very pretty and well organized! Yay! I'm really hoping that these ideas can come true, but we are a low budget group, so we'll see. But without further ado, here they are:

Yes, the designs in all their glory. 

*LL Readers: I'd love for these to happen, but if you're not comfortable with what I've put you in, feel free to change it (we'll be sending out a costume list sometime next week so you can hunt over break).*

Diamond in the rough

I just finished all six of the Kit Kat girl designs and still have to do the Kit Kat boys (after tomorrow night, when I finish my essay for Material Culture). So anyway, I was surfing youtube and found a wonderful gem - a recording of the original Cabaret opening with Joel Grey. It's very different from Alan Cumming's version, but still cool (it's also more proof that the girls had cats on their costumes)!

Exciting times!

I have garter belts!! Yes, Target is currently selling garter belts - I was there a couple weeks ago to get curtains for my room and found a display of shiny black lingerie that seemed perfect for Cabaret. So on my excursion with my mother, I purchased two sparkly sheer black garter belts (one medium - which surprisingly fits me, the queen of size zero! and an extra-large)! They are really pretty and I'm excited to see them used in the show. I think they'll help with the 1930's vibe a bit.

1930's inspiration

I'm up earlier than usual this morning because my mom is coming to visit, but it turns out she is coming in a short while. I could go back to sleep or I could write a blogpost with images of 1930's underwear to get more ideas for designs. I think I'll do the latter and sleep in the car :) Although I've finished my designs, I might tweak them once I've done some more research on the matter (aka. dig up the dozens of Sears Roebuck catalogs at the library).

But until then, enjoy this big post with lots of images for inspiration.

(more below the cut)

What do you know?!?

I was watching a segment from my all-time favorite PBS documentary Broadway: the American Musical about Cabaret and I discovered the original kit-kat girls had sparkly halter dresses bedazzled with a black cat on the front! It's actually a bit hysterical that the costume designer took their names so literally! Anyway, just a fun fact while I'm waiting for my laundry to finish.

I also found the prettiest sequin fabric which I am thinking of ordering (if we can't find something similar at the local JoAnn's) for skirts for the Kit-Kat girls to wear during "Money." It's so shiny!

Beedle dee deedle dee dee!

Ugh - that song is going to be stuck in my head for eternity. As much as I love the Emcee from Cabaret singing about sleeping with two women at once, I think I'll pass. For the past couple days, there was a little bit of uncertanity about my part in Cabaret. I was initially cast as a Kit Kat Boy (Herman), but yesterday I mentioned to the director I was really excited about being girl. So she talked to the choreographer who was the one who made decisions about the dancers and she wasn't so hot with me switching (she wanted to have balance with the guys in the dance numbers). But this afternoon she talked to me and basically told me to make up my mind and that I could choose. So now I am officially the sixth Kit-Kat girl (or 5th in the Emcee's introductions) Fritzie. It's going to be a bit of a push for me to act like a stripper, but it will be a good time for me to break my boundaries both mentally and physically.

Oh and yesterday I got all the cast's measurements! Yay! Now to figure out the costume list. I also got word that a girl from my costume class last semester wants to help, which would be cool (especially if I end up making a few things)

This is Belchertown where people can't see free!

I decided to avoid doing work this afternoon, so I joined a couple leading ladies on a trip to Theatrix to pick up some mics that were accidentally returned (they belong to the Campus Center). Somehow we decided that we had to write a new musical parody about the parody Urinetown. It is currently titled Belchertown, but the premise is that there is an evil corporation (Theatrix?) that controls energy usage by limiting light usage. It will feature new songs such as "It's a Privilege to See" and the opening number "Belchertown." Look for it soon ;-)

On another note, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is once again auctioning off teddy bears to raise money and awareness for AIDS. All of the bears are dressed like various characters from current Broadway musicals and signed by someone famous who was part of the show in some way. Here are some of my favorites (can you guess what shows they are?):

Meine Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs, Ladies and Gentlement!

I'm just having a lot of trouble focusing on my work, so it's probably a good idea to take a break and do this now while it's fresh on my mind - I got the cast list for Cabaret! I'm playing one of the Kit-Kat guys (Herman to b exact) which is a bit surprising. I've always seen myself as feminine and I was sure that I would be cast as a lady this time around, but I was wrong. I'm a bit disappointed because I won't be dancing quite as much now, but the Assistant Director came and talked to me tonight and mentioned I'd be dancing in one of the numbers in the beginning of the show (either Don't Tell Mama or Mein Herr - which are traditionally performed by Sally and the Kit-Kat Girls) because I'm one of the stronger "male" dancers. I also talked to the other costume head and she has some cool ideas for costumes and we'll have to go over those at some point (she was thinking Dresden Dolls/Amanda Palmer as an inspiration). I was also planning to stop by my costume design professor's office to see if I could borrow some fashion books from the late 20's/early 30's to get a better idea of the shapes (but only once I've gotten my work under control).

Ok. Now that that's out of my system, off to reading Material Culture and studying for my Stats test tomorrow morning.

Extra! Extra!

I've waited practically forever for this to happen and my dream is finally becoming a reality! Paper Mill Playhouse is putting on Newsies as their opening show this fall!!!! I'm practically hyperventilating!!! This wonderful soon-to-be show was a Disney movie musical made in the early 1990's about the newsboy strike of 1899. It is a wonderful movie with fantastic music (written by Alan Menken of The Little Mermaid and Little Shop fame) and incredible dancing - and the best part is that it is all done by boys!

I was first introduced to the music when I performed in a musical revue that used "Carrying the Banner" as the opening and in later renditions, "Seize the Day,""King of New York," and (a particularly off-key) "The World Will Know." The best part about Paper Mill presenting this is that Disney is prepping a stage version that amateur companies can perform!! In the past, it has always been illegal to present a show like that because it is not a legit show (and we could get in trouble). So hopefully the stage version will be ready to perform sometime before I graduate college!!!

Oh and here is the full article from the New York Times.

And one more thing - I'm auditioning tonight for the LL show. We still have not heard about rights from Tams-Witmark. Grr. EDIT: We literally just heard and we got the rights to Cabaret!! I'm going tonight and then callbacks are Sunday. I'm hoping for something small with dancing (a.k.a. Kit-Kat Girl [although I could end up as a boy too]). Plus I've already started a costume list for the dancers and Emcee (does that surprise you?). Yay!

Sneak peek

I can't really advertise the Leading Ladies' spring show, considering we have not been confirmed yet, but I can say that the revue fell through and we are in the process of finding another show. We have a director and assistant director (as well as 2 costume heads - myself and one of the seniors), we just need to hear back from Tams-Witmark about getting the rights. Hopefully we'll know by mid-week, but here's something to tide you over.

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will..."

I've known about this for a little while, but just started to look into it more today. Mia Wasikowska will be staring in a feature film of Jane Eyre. I'm interested to see how the story strays from the novel (I didn't see a character listing on IMDB a character listing for Grace Poole, but I may have missed it), but I can't wait to see the dresses. There is a teaser on IMDB of a gorgeous striped white and purply-grey silk that Blanche Ingram wears while visiting Mr. Rochester. I'd love to make it someday (and that may be feasible, considering I've learned more about fitting and pattern making). There are a number of beautiful 1840's dresses showcased throughout the internet, including the one of Mia below. The movie comes out on March 11th, so I'll have to see it over spring break at some point.

More progress...and hairy news!

I finally got around to posting photos of my corded petticoat. It currently has eleven rows, with half of them hand sewn (due to the fact that I have no sewing machine here at school and the machine I would have brought has no zipper foot which is what I would use to sew cords into the fabric). I'm starting to get burnt out with it and want to sew on the waistband, starch it and be done with it (even though I know that it would probably be better/more stable with more cords). Hopefully I will get the chance to head down to the costume shop soon and use a machine to attach the waistband.

It's a bit hard to see, but all eleven cords are there! 

My big highlight is that I finally got tickets to go see Hair! It is coming to Boston and I have tickets in row L of the orchestra! I'm so excited that I will finally get to see it live (even though there will be no Gavin Creel as Claude or Allison Case as Crissy [a dream role of mine. I will be auditioning with Frank Mills for the revue at the end of the month]). I'm so excited!!!

Take a deep breath and sigh...

...because I officially dropped out of Pirates of Penzance. I was just not going to have enough time this semester because my SWAG class just happens to have several film screenings at night that run into Pirates rehearsal times. I was also getting some minor pressure from my friends in the student run theater group to be in the Broadway Revue with them. But that is not the full reason I dropped Pirates. 

Anyways, regarding the Revue, the director is working on getting the rights to various songs, but was recently rejected for the use of Summer Nights :(. So it looks like she'll have to change that song (and any others that become vetoed by publishers refusing to grant us rights to perform songs). 

Red and creamy silk all over

I figured it was time for a new post, considering my last one was about my stage makeup class. The semester has started off quite well. I'm taking Statistical Thinking (which my professor keeps telling us is NOT MATH), Intro to American Studies, Intro to Study of Women and Gender, Ballet IV, and New England Material Culture from 1860-1940. So far all the classes have been good, but I particularly love my Material Culture class. My professor brought in some random artifacts today and had us analyze them based on appearance. I was given the task of analyzing a red satin boot. It turned out to be a "bathing" boot from about 1890 that women wore on trips to the seashore. Pretty cool!

I also received a book for my birthday: Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines! Ahh! It is so beautiful and packed with information about all sorts of skirt supports and stays and corsets. Hopefully I will get to draft a pattern for one of the skirt supports over break or this summer (of course, after I finish fitting the cover for my dress form...).

I'm also looking to drop Pirates of Penzance. I would really love to do it, but my work is a lot heavier than last and I'm worried about keeping up. So I'm looking at staying with the Leading Ladies or maybe joining the newly formed Shakespeare troupe. I just need to make up my mind.

I can't stop giggling at how silly I look!

Yep, my stage makeup class was quite a success! I learned an amazing amount of stuff over the course of only 4 days. Monday we started with the basics (such as using and blending highlights and shadows) and then using them to change the shape of our faces. Tuesday we put our skills to the test and tried to recreate a makeup look from a past time. I chose a portrait from the 1830's and then our teacher put us in clothes from the costume stock! It was very exciting to finally get to wear something that wasn't mine :) Unfortunately though, the theater department has never done a production based in the 1830s so I had to settle for a dress from the 1840s (I wish that I could have run back to the house to grab my corset and chemise so it would have been perfect!).

The class in all our period glory

Wednesday we got so much snow that we had no classes (which was good for all of our sanity). On thursday we worked on old age. I found this kinda creepy because I don't know what I will look like when I age, but I got a glimpse of what might happen. I also had a lot of trouble because I don't have that many wrinkles and that made it very hard to figure out where they might be. We also did middle age which was much easier and much less intense than old age.

Apparently I look about 5 years older with my makeup like this

Our last day we worked on anything we wanted. Like usual, I had a hard time deciding, so I did "Showgirl" makeup which I can now describe as very exaggerated glamour makeup or very subtle drag-queen makeup. 

To make my eyebrows this high, I soaped over them, then coated them with lots of foundation and powder

After this week, I'm inspired to purchase a kit so I can do my makeup like this for future shows. It also looks like I will become one of the makeup designers for any future Leading Ladies productions.

EDIT: I forgot to add this photo, which I used as a reference for my "showgirl" makeup. Definitely very colorful and dramatic.

Yet another

post with a video. I have taken a huge liking towards the crazy antics of the Reduced Shakespeare company and found a clip where they were on Jeopardy!!

This is what happens

when I go shopping before the new year. I find this:

as well as two gorgeous vintage-y pieces from anthropologie. More on these later.