Prepping for the Semester

Like most breaks, I didn't totally get done everything I had wanted to (like part of my corded petticoat). Nope, I've been busy getting my life in order to pass the museums class on collecting I took this J-term. But hey, plans change right?

Tomorrow marks the first day of classes and I don't totally feel ready. It's very strange. Perhaps it is that I only have 2 classes between today and Saturday, or that I have to be up earlier than my only class tomorrow to meet with an advisor at the Career Development office about resumes and such. Either way, I am determined to make this semester much more controlled than the last - and to start, I have organized all my notebooks and binder (as well as photocopied some readings for my American Lit. class) for tomorrow and next week. Aren't I good?

Potential Progress

So I've headed back home for the weekend so I can celebrate my upcoming birthday with my family and friends (after spending over three hours on busses and in terminals today). I'm planning to visit with friends, pick up my birthday freebies at the mall (little indulgences here and there never hurt anyone), email a couple professors, and knock out a sewing project. All before I get out of my teenage years.

A while ago my mom and I visited the New York garment district in search of a green coating wool for my regency pelisse. We did succeed in finding the wool, but also came across other treasures, particularly a soft cotton print with a pink background and desserts all over. We discovered it was a print by Nick and Nora (high end pajama company) and bought six yards of it. Now, this yardage has been sitting in the closet for a while and I've been dying to make a nice nightgown or pajama shorts with it. So I bought a pattern a couple months ago, looked at it this evening, and discovered I had bought the wrong size. Ooops. There's no chance the size large will come close to fitting me properly. It looks like I'll be off to JoAnn's sometime tomorrow to switch out the sizes.

Now on to finishing this museums studies paper. Tally ho!

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.

Merry Christmas!

Yes, another year come and gone. I'm done with my first semester of college and I'm nearly 19. Jeez times flies fast. Christmas was very nice this year (if you don't count my awful cold complete with headache and runny nose - I've gone through several tissue boxes in the past couple days and my upper lip is chapped from blowing my nose so often). I received a couple pairs of shoes, some socks, candy, as well as 3 (well 4) new books. One is Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail by Lucy Johnston, Costume in Detail by Nancy Bradfield, and Patterns of Fashion 1: 1660-1860 by Janet Arnold. I've heard they are all really good books to have in the library for a costumer :) So glad to add them to my collection along with Lucy Barton's Historic Costume for the Stage, James Laver's History of Fashion, Kyoto Costume Institute's Fashion, and Cut My Cote. I'm also waiting for a copy of Stage Makeup by Richard Corson (it's in the mail) for use in my J-term Stage Makeup Course.

I've also been inspired to do something over my break. I still need to finish my corded petticoat (once I find the spool of hemp someplace in my house) and make a new regency chemise (from the remaining batiste from my victorian chemise and drawers). I've been eyeing the JP Ryan stays pattern and kit from Silly Sisters for a while, so I'm planning to order that soon so I have something to work on when I'm back at school in a couple weeks.