A Foray into Men's Fashion

I got to foray into men's modern fashion a bit more a few years ago, making my brother's 3 piece suit for formal events. He took a break from being behind the camera, and submitted to being photographed so I could share that suit with all of you. :)

After scouring Pinterest for suit ideas, we kept running across this suit with the tail coat and really cool asymmetric vest. We both thought it was the perfect style for him, and only after we settled on making it did we realize we had picked a high formality white tie morning suit to emulate.

 

 

Photos were taken by me this time. ;) :P :D

Regency Christmas Ball Blues

  

It's that time of year again, Christmas is coming, life is busy, and usually I'm reveling in the fun of the annual Regency Christmas Ball I've been attending each year since 2012. Last year the event was sadly cancelled, and I was really hoping to make it this year after last year's deprivation. It's the first Regency Ball since 2012 I've been unable to attend. Nostalgia and event blues hit me as I sit awaiting the very near arrival of our little "heffalump" (as we've nick-named our little fellow, due oh so soon!). 

Since I couldn't go to the ball this year, I thought I'd instead finally finish editing the outfit photos from the LAST Christmas Ball I attended. (Hooray for 2 years of procrastination! 😏)

 

 

My white silk regency gown has served me extremely well since I made it 6 years ago. When I found this piece of white silk in the clearance section at Joann's, I knew I wanted to make a new regency gown with it. I loved the Grecian inspiration so prevalent in the regency era, and the delightful asymmetry of the wrap styles. Enter eking out a wrap regency dress from 3.5 yards of narrow silk fabric... 😬 I had to piece some poly taffeta underneath to accomplish the feat, but it was well worth the challenge to finally make my dream regency dress. :)

 

I found this delicate gold trim for the skirt, and the narrow edges worked perfectly for trimming the top. Just a few snips, and voila, a perfectly matched narrow trim for the neckline and sleeve details.

 

Casual and Comfy 1930's Corduroy Skirt

This piece of 100% cotton corduroy was an amazing thrift store acquisition. I'm not sure you can even find corduroy that's both sturdy and narrowly spaced like this anymore!

This skirt reminds me of the "golf" or "sport" skirts of the era, and I suddenly understand the appeal of a hefty weight material in a tailored skirt. It's incredibly practical and comfortable! I used the same skirt draft from the Brown 1930's Suit and Tigger Outfit, with just a bit more tailoring in cut for the stiffer fabric. I love how the weight of the corduroy holds the pleats.

 

 

I tried to be as strategic as I could with where the faded bit of the fabric landed, and since it's a "play" skirt, I didn't mind some defects of material... Plus the fabric cost less than $5 total, so how could I complain. 😉

I had SO much fun playing with the corduroy grain-lines for the pocket design and details of the skirt. The pointed tacking for the pleats even echos the angle of the pocket in reverse. 😊

The closure features several of my favorite techniques- a zipper put in with historically accurate hand picked stitching and hooks with thread eyes. Folks, thread eyes are the BEST! They stay hooked so much better than the metal bars or eyes, and they blend in really well to the garment!

I've had the skirt for over a year now, and it's been one of my favorite go-to, everyday skirts. It pairs perfectly with my linen blouse from the 1930's Linen Ensemble for warmer days, though the weight of the corduroy material makes it exceptionally well suited to chilly weather. Even my wool skirt, being a lighter-weight suiting is cooler. 😄

 

All things told, I think this is my favorite 1930's skirt to date, though it's really hard to decide between this and my brown wool one! Both are so comfortable to wear, but this one has pockets, so it noses ahead in the "favorite" race by just a hair. 😊😉