Clearly, formal tea is all about the clothes. The tea is lovely (we always have a blend or two from Harney & Sons, which is my favorite and I recommend you check them out!), the snacks are nice, and the campus is lovely. But aside from playing croquet, formal tea is about lounging. Which, given that it was Wednesday after a morning and early afternoon full of dance classes, was nothing to sneeze at. Plus, I managed to throw together a pretty fab hat. It was my only new piece (modern blouse from Savers, skirts I've made over the past couple of summers) and was actually just a revamp of a very old straw hat from Colonial Williamsburg, so I was quite pleased to have it.
And as I said, this was really all about the clothes and the lounging, so to the pictures we go!
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| on the hillside at Roger Williams |
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| looking in the ornamental pond with Quinn |
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| girls in a line! there might be a trend here... |
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| holding our hats against the sea breeze |
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| some attendees playing croquet |
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| cattails! |
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| a close-up of my hat, which was trimmed with its original ribbon, two small false birds, and an ostrich feather |
There are some truly ridiculous croquet pictures as well, but I haven't sorted them yet...stay tuned for an update to this post!
I have come to your site from Quinn's blog, which I have been getting and enjoying for several months. I love the trained skirt you wore for the formal tea! I am doing a recreation of a woman who lived in my community from the 1870s to 1907. Her house is being restored and furnished to 1903 and I want to get a wardrobe for her for that year. So my bustle dress is out! Can you tell me where I can get a pattern for this skirt? Thank you in advance! elf
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm glad you liked the skirt! This skirt is actually modeled on an original in my collection, which has a matching pigeon-breasted blouse, which sounds just right the era you're aiming for! I used the Laughing Moon Mercantile 1890s skirt pattern with the long train length. You can see it here: http://www.lafnmoon.com/Patterns_s/33.htm
DeleteHappy sewing!