Breakfast Cap for a Bride, 1860s

I have an ongoing fascination with caps. I think they're absurd. Also, I kind of love them?

Usually my focus is on Regency caps, because the only reliable daytime event I go to these days is the tea at our annual Regency dance weekend. But every now and then I come across a later period cap, and I tuck it away. While I was working on my 1860s morning dress, I came across a particular description for a breakfast cap that seemed serendipitous:

Godey's Lady's Book, December 1861 (via)

"NOVELTIES FOR DECEMBER...Breakfast-cap for a bride (a fashion becoming more and more universal since breakfast caps are now made extremely piquant and becoming). Material spotted thulle [sic], trimmed with roses and rose de chine ribbon."

I think a combination of being newly married myself and finding spotted tulle while at the craft store for something wholly unrelated lead me to decide that I needed a breakfast cap to go with my morning dress. I ended up taking inspiration from the description above and the general shape of these two extant caps from the period.

black net cap, French, from the MFA Boston

breakfast caps, from Godey's 1863

And then I made it up. I knew I needed a structure of some kind, so I ended up using black velvet ribbon to make a base shape. Then a gathered a circle of spotted tulle to the ribbon, and trimmed the hell out of it.

Ribbon base

completed cap

I did depart from the description on the colors: mine is trimmed in blue silk ribbon and purple flowers rather than roses and pink ribbon, but both the ribbons and flowers came to my stash from wedding gifts. So I feel like that doubles down a bit on the "bride"-iness of the cap and it makes me happy! 

cap, hair, and dress

In the end, I should have pinned this in a bit better. It slid back from the center of my scalp where I had intended it to sit. Also, by the time this picture was taken my loosely styled hair was falling pretty considerably. But even so, I'm really pleased with this first foray into caps! It's absurd, which is just the way I like it.

Put Some Birds On It

This past weekend was Fezziwig's Ball, our annual holiday tradition in which we summon the ghosts of Christmas past for carols, dancing, and a whole lot of refreshments. It's a fun opportunity for me to wear a period I wouldn't otherwise get to explore, because it's our only ball of the year with a date range instead of a specific period ("the life of Charles Dickens," so 1812-1872). Last year I made my first 1830s dress, and I wore it again this year with a couple of improvements--last-minute hand finishing I didn't have time for the first time around.

I also changed my hair this year, because I am totally in love with 1830s hair and I wanted to try something different. So naturally, I hit the craft store holiday bargain bin for bits, and ended up with...birds!

I used wired burlap ribbon in black (closest to my dark brown hair) to make a sort-of upside-down T shape, with the short bits of the T loops that would be easy to get bobby pins through (the weave of the burlap ribbon in general was also good for stabbing through). Then I went to town with the hot glue gun, and created a little holly bush for my head. I took inspiration from styles like this, which mix ridiculous decoration (snakes?!) and vertical sweeps of hair:

hairstyles, 1830 (LA Public Library)

more 1830 styles (also LAPL)

fashionable headdresses, 1830 (Wellcome Library)

new fashions for 1830(?-hard to make out the date) (Oldprint)

  I made a bunch of different bits, and then figured it out as I went. I used a rat to shape a vertical-ish on one side, and then added my holly tower on the other. I finished with birds, because birds are the best part! (No, there were no birds in my fashion plates. But there were snakes, so...artistic license.)

I was in good company! We were a well-coiffed 1830s gang. 

I hope your holiday festivities are joyous!

Put a Bird On It

Last Saturday was Fezziwig's, and the first wearing of my 1830s dress! I was so pleased with the way this came out, from my petticoats to my hair. Best of all, while my hair definitely started to get heavy late in the evening, my dress was super comfy all night. That doesn't happen very often, usually something isn't sitting right, or pulls, or slides off...but not this time! It was a great feeling!

I've previously posted about the inspiration and construction of this dress, so all that's left to say is that I was quite pleased with my decision to use tulle as the sheer over-layer. It had an airy, invisible quality that made me feel like a Christmas tree topper.

basically the only picture that shows the vertical pleating on the bodice

the belt buckle I polished was a perfect touch!

My truly fluffy 1830s silhouette is thanks to a "carrot" bustle pad (like these originals) and a very not historical stiff net a-line wedding crinoline I bought on ebay for super cheap. When I first tried it on the net started about two thirds down my hip (because modern styles call for that), so I took it up with safety pins just before the ball to bring the fluff right up to the waist, where I wanted it. I threw a thin cotton petticoat over the top to smooth things out (I have a couple "all purpose" pettis that are wide enough enough for 1860s hoops but hemmed for wear without as needed), and that was that!

And then of course there was my hair, which was the bird on top of the tree. (maybe? no? not as good as icing on the cake, fine.)

The braid wreath is made of jewelry wire with fake hair hot-glued to it, then decorated with gold and red holly berries from the Christmas clearance bin at JoAnn's. It's pinned in and surrounded by my actual hair, which is curly so it's easy to blend. My plan had been to have a vertical loop in addition to the braid, like this fashion plate. After a collapse into a gluey, plastic-hair mess, the plan had to change. But I think the addition of the decorations make up for it, and maybe I'll try loops again for next time!

The side curls are bangs that I curled based on the Laced Angel's Romantic hair. They worked really well, because they saved my hair for anchoring the giant braid. The bird was a last-minute addition after a friend decided she didn't need it. It was the perfect touch!

I'd love to wear this again for a photo shoot, because I was so busy running around setting up/hosting the ball that I manage to look a bit rumpled in every picture...not to mention all my photos came out weirdly noisy. Harumph. But I was so happy wearing this dress, it doesn't much matter. I look forward to styling this dress in new and different ways (a tartan sash must happen, of course!) in the future.

Oh--and Mom's dress came out great too! She looked awesome.

I don't remember what was said but there isn't a single picture in which I'm not laughing...

Hair Experiments: Lavender Pomatum

In preparation for my foray into the 18th century, I've been studying up on 18th century hair styling. This has included the usual mix of reading blogs, historical texts, and watching youtube videos. In particular, I've been watching a lot of the videos by Alicia of LBCC Historical. They're very informative in a practical way, and break down the ins and outs of both getting the style and using the LBCC line of historical cosmetics. I'm learning a lot, which is always a good thing!

hair goals: Mme Lalive de Jully, 1764

However, I was/am feeling a little bit nervous about adapting what I'm learning for my own hair, which is very curly and about as fussy as a temperamental toddler. When it curls well, oh man is it perfect for most historical styles! But when it's humid/dry/windy/rainy/Tuesday/too clean/too dirty I end up with a giant ball of frizz. Boo. So this is a combination of worry about getting my hair to cooperate, and finding products that help that cooperation along.

my hair on a good day in December

So I took a leap and ordered the 1787 Lavender Pomatum from LBCC on Etsy. I decided to use it to make curls for the Regency Weekend to see how my hair reacted to it and how well it kept my natural curls in line. I was really impressed, and I'm feeling a bit better about my chance of success with 18th century hair.

Because my hair absolutely freaks if I do anything to it when it's dry, I started by working the pomatum into the front section of my hair when it was still damp. Then I formed the pomatumed section into several pincurls, which I sported to breakfast and the morning minuet class. After tea setup we went back to our hotel to change, at which point I gave the pincurls a quick blast with the blow dryer to ensure they were dry all the way through and removed the pins. The curls were very tight and flat, but once I pulled them a bit with my hands they fluffed up.

1820 fashion plate with curls in the bonnet

I've had good luck with pincurls using setting lotion, but the awesome thing about the pomatum was that the curls came out soft, and I could mess with them without devolving the curl into frizz--unheard of! As usual, my hair tried to fight back into its natural shape, but I found that by re-twisting the curls (something you can't do with lotion-set curls) in their desired direction I got a pretty nice-looking final product.

1805 fashion plate with face-framing curls for evening

Granted, that final product was a bit poodle-like, but that is the look. I had amazing curls to fill my bonnet for our afternoon stroll to the dock. It was great! Even with the wind on the ocean everything held up well.

Regency fringe without the bonnet...

...and with the bonnet

without the bonnet again, post-seaside stroll. Everything is intact, even after the wind! (photo credit to Tammi, thanks!)

Then I did a lot of lifting and running around (deconstructing tea, loading out at one hall and in at another, setting up a ball) before changing into an evening gown for the Grand Ball. By this time my curls were acceptably intact, but some of them were getting a bit ugly. I pulled those up into my evening style, leaving only the two topmost curls from the original set. Then I pulled those two apart into several smaller curls...and they looked good!

getting ready to perform the opening minuet

I wore the new style through a several-hour ball with significant dancing, then more running around (post-ball cleanup, load out, and return to the hotel). My hair was still going by the time we opened the wine.

about 11:30pm back at the hotel

The LBCC pomatum is magic, and I love it.

I'd also be remiss not to mention: it made my entire head a cloud of lavender, which was delicious and amazing. Next up I need to buy powder (which I'm also planning to get from LBCC), and I'm leaning towards the gray because it is also lavender scented. Yum!

GBVS White Lightning Ball

Last weekend I ventured out of my work/grad school hole to the 1920s, where I attended the Greater Boston Vintage Society's White Lightning Ball. I attended this event in its first year, but missed last year, so I was excited to see how the event has developed. 

It was a lot of fun, because I got to spend time with wonderful people--some of whom I see quite frequently, and others I only see at events. I also explored the downstairs car displays at the museum (the event is held at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum). I don't remember if the lower floor was closed the first year, or if I just didn't know it was there...but either way, it was new to me! We had fun looking at the cars--there was even a custom touring model with a built-in toilet for long trips!

gathered friends

Over the last year or so I've been practicing setting my hair in pin curls and marcel waves for various 20s, 30s, and 40s events, and I think that finally paid off. Early in the day I set the front of my hair in marcel waves by creating the overall shape and clipping it with salon clamps, and then pinching each section into wave clips to create the iconic ridge. (Both sets of clips and my setting solution of choice, Lotta Body, are from Sally Beauty Supply.) The top and back I set into large pincurls--I probably should have done smaller ones, but at this point I was losing steam and my hair was getting fussy. When I got ready for the event in the evening, I took out the curls and brushed them, then basically twisted them back into loops and pinned them wherever looked good. The front waved sections I combed (to get rid of the severe crinklyness from the setting solution without losing the wave) and layered with some scrap gold sequin trim to create a headband. I was really pleased with the way this came out! I learned a few more lessons, but overall this felt like a big payoff of all the practice.

side part and dramatic waves

pinned up curls under waves

Of course, I sort of failed at pictures...but I did manage enough to show off my hair, so that's something!

dramatic waves!

this doorway just spoke to me...

checking out the motorcycle exhibit in the back gallery

One place I'm still struggling is with my ears. In pictures of women from the period, their ears are mostly covered by their hair--but hair over my ears feels so strange! I'm not used to it, so I never want to do it. I think this style struck a pretty good balance by covering only half of each ear, so that's progress.

4:30am, or: Broken Promises

 A few weeks ago I participated in a 1914 dance performance, and we wore 1910s evening attire. It's been a while since there was a Ragtime ball to which I didn't just cheat and wear 20s, so I've never made a truly performance-acceptable Ragtime evening outfit. Well, this was the time...unfortunately, the performance fell on a week I was traveling for work and super busy, so I didn't have a lot of time to work on anything (despite my best intentions to not rush to deadlines).

As a result, I finished around 4:30am on the Saturday morning of the performance. Not my favorite way to sew! But I am really mostly happy with this project. I love the lace and brocade, and the colors are awesome. I did mess up a few things (namely the draped green piece over the closure on the front side seam) because I was sewing while exhausted, but they're fixable. All in all, this could have gone a lot worse and I will definitely keep this in the wardrobe (with some fixes)!

I also tried out a new technique (thanks to Emily!) to get iconic finger waves into my hair. While they are usually associated with flappers and the 1920s, they do show up earlier in softer forms. Here's an example:

fashion image, 1914

I attempted to copy the general style, and it worked pretty well! I think I need more practice and some tweaking to get the severe waves of the 20s, but my hair worked perfectly for 1914.

Here are a couple of quick progress pictures, and two of the finished product from the performance!

the whole crew for the performance

In Which I Lose Spectacularly at Croquet

Yesterday was gloriously perfect, so it was fate that we were already planning to have our first historical picnic of season. We never go super accurate for these, as its a casual for fun outing, but I think this summer I want to make a couple of new pieces for my picnic wardrobe. In the meantime, we broke out my croquet set and looked quite pretty...but man, I can barely hold my own against people who actually know how to play. It was a good game anyway though, because we were equally good-natured and vicious, so the revenge battles were frequent. (Especially from Julia, who is evil. And has good aim. Drat.)

The whole party

I went for an asymmetrical pouf a la the early 1900s for this. It was a little less defined than I wanted, but the shapes worked pretty well. I ended up not using any of my actual rats (they're big) and just padding my (teased) hair out with a couple of home-made rats from my real hair. It's what they would have done in period, but tends to gross people out. Sorry--it's really not as weird as you're thinking.

terrible picture of my hair..the back is a giant pile of curls

side puffs...sorry, terrible cell-phone pictures!

As I wasn't wearing anything new (or anything I particularly care about), I took it as an opportunity to practice my photography skills. I'm learning a lot, but I'm not very good at putting the lessons into practice yet...the bright bright sun versus dark shade kind of threw me. But it was fun! And the garden was full of interesting people and things to practice on. Hooray! 

Quinn caught me in the act (thanks for sharing, Quinn!)

picnic hats and stories (I was taking this when Quinn took the picture above)

All in all, it really was a lovely day. It had been a while since I got to hang out with my friends, and I really needed it. Even if I do suck at croquet.

our picnic spot

Luckily for me, Antonia is really patient...and sometimes all that practice pays off! I was really happy with this portrait.

BABY DUCKIES!! A whole family of duckies, in fact! Just like Make Way for Ducklings, one the most darling children's books ever.

watching the baby ducks

attempting to be picturesque on a bench. I need better blouses, but man I love that hat.

Quinn overlooking the pond

the swans are nesting--which means soon there will be baby swans!! Also, the swans/swan boats thing never gets old.

I love when people match their pets. This pair had fantastic great danes, and each guy sort of matched is dog--it was really cute. Also, in further adventures of the Awkward Photographer, they saw me (it might have been the hat), so I blurted "those are beautiful dogs!"

and it turns out, they are also really well trained. And better at posing than I am.

See? I have a limited range of poses (but aren't those flowers cool? they remind me of Dr Seuss!)

luckily, there were other interesting subjects to try. Like Washington here, who was showing some Bruins pride in a custom jersey

I wish the artist had been around, because these were all lovely

the roses were in bloom

after our picture walk we were tired from the sun, so we took a break to play cards

and then we rallied for croquet! (I'm saving the rest of the croquet pictures for another post)

Our croquet actually gathered quite a crowd. It was an interesting taste of what it might be like to have a reality show...and I think it's an experience I can live without. On the other hand, the Early Music Festival was this past week, and we met some really nice 18th century dancers who were visiting to attend. Sometimes being visible means you get to meet fun interesting people.

the crowd starts to form

a smaller section--people got awkward when we took their picture. A little ironic, haha

And of course, as the sun went down we needed to do a second round of pictures!

Quinn imitating a period picture...or just gloating on her croquet win...

bench lounging! the laziest kind of posing ever!

guys, posing is hard.

This may be my favorite picture of the day

swan boats in for the night

I'm excited for the rest of the summer.