Saturday, August 25, 2012

Newport Part 6: 1890s Ball at Roger Williams Casino

Did you know that in the 1890s a casino was a public building, not a gambling hall?  I learned that at Newport, when we danced at the Roger Williams Casino, which was certainly not a place for poker.  Like a modern casino, however, it was certainly a place for bling.
We don't do 1890s very often (something I am hoping, however, will change now), so this dress was an exciting chance to be sparkly.  So naturally, we were.  My dress is not done, but considering it wasn't finished when I arrived at Newport, the fact that it was wearable by Friday was a great success.  The skirt and bodice are decorated with butterflies made of lace and rhinestones.  Someday they will also be outlined in sequins so that they pop a bit more.  While this dress still needs a lot of work, I was happy with it for the ball (and how swooshy the skirt was!), and the ball was a lot of fun.  Any ball where we are all wearing tiaras promises to be a good night.

Enough from me--I'll let the pictures say the rest.  Shiny!

people dancing in the upstairs ballroom

and taking a refreshments break downstairs

sometimes, we are not very good at being serious

Antonia lent me her ginormous feather boa to play with!

it is so fabulous.

Antonia was one of the boys

this is a terrible picture, and you can tell how sweaty and hot I was by the end of the night, but you can see the butterflies! they fly up the skirt to make an upside-down "V" with one on the bodice. 

Quinn and I take a casual posing break
and of course, we were silly! Here we are doing the "Zombie Cake Walk"
Whew! We made it!  That was the last Newport event.  It was an amazing week, full of gorgeous ballrooms, fabulous dresses, and a lot of dancing.  It would not have been the same without new friends, though! They were the best part.  I look forward to sewing and adventuring with them this year--and I'm actually off to do it today.

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