Costume College: Sunday

This year four of us complete a secret group project involving plaid silk! We all used the same fabric to make dresses from different time periods but kept our exact plans a secret until Costume College.

A dizzy of plaid!

Even our backs were pretty!

Katherine of The Fashionable Past (aka Koshka the cat) did a fabulous Regency dress.

Plaid really lends itself to interesting self-fabric trims and Katherine did a really great job with hers.



Ginger of Scene in the Past did 1860s (ie Civil War). Love it! The trim is so striking and I love the bow at the neckline.



She looked so elegant!



Lauren of Wearing History did an 1869/1870 dress. It's from a cool transition period between hoop skirts and bustle dresses. I love in between periods.



Super pretty!



I did the 1950s!

I found this great vintage pattern and when I saw the green plaid on the cover, I had to make it!



It was so fun to wear and I am in love with silk now! It makes the most amazing sound when you wear it.



And it wouldn't be Costume College with out a bit of silly!

Costume College: Saturday

The Gala at Costume College is the time to show off your prettiest, most special or favorite costume! And this year did not disappoint! I had a hard time picking photos to share because everyone looked so fabulous! Be warned- many photos ahead!

Ginger of Scene in the Past-Isn't she so fabulous! The color of this gown is so gorgeous in person.

Dress fluffing!

Love the hair!

If you'd like some more background on her costume, you can go here or here.

Lauren of Wearing History.

She looked so fabulous! Aside from just having a stunning dress, she accessorized it perfectly.

I just adore the back of this dress!



Beth of V is for Vintage in a stunning vintage dress.



These three ladies wore gorgeous natural form dresses!

I'm so sad that none of my full length shots of these ladies came out but I love this shot of their gloves and fans. So elegant!



Me! I already posted heaps of photos of this dress so you can check them out here if you missed that post.

Costume College: Friday

For whatever reason, I decided that it would be a good idea to wear my Edwardian corset and underpinnings all day on Friday even though I'd never worn them for more than an hour or so.....

I wore my 1916 nautical dress!

This corset ended up not being very comfortable to sit in because the boning in the front was too long and poked my legs. And I picked up a new pair of stockings right before I left and I must have picked up a size to small because they started cutting off circulation to my legs. So for the latter half of the day, I stood as much as possible and scandalously wore no stockings. Live and learn.



For the ice cream social, I wore the 1914 day dress. I felt so pretty! :D I actually made it to the ice cream social early enough to get ice cream and socialize with people before the market place opened.

Ginger of Scene in the Past looking pretty in red!



1940s does 17th Century pirate



After the four Disney princesses at last year's gala, there were quite a few more this year. But these Disney villains rocked it! :D

Costume College: Thursday

Phew! I'm still recovering from Costume College but I know you're all dying to see photos so let's get started! Thursday was travel day so I was up super early to catch my flight, but that meant more time in LA to do fun things!

 First stop was Mood! It's not actually in the garment district so I didn't get to go last year. I didn't end up purchasing anything because it was pricey and I wanted to save for deals in the garment district. But if anyone wants to buy me really nice gold lame for Christmas, it's $99/yd at Mood. ;)
 

Then it was time for Remix and shoe shopping! Shoes can be hard to buy online because of fit issues so it was super nice to be able to try on shoes and handle them in person.

Me and Ginger of Scene in the Past at Remix.

I did end up buying a pair of shoes that were on sale, but I'm saving all my trip purchases for one big reveal post. (And I'm feeling too lazy to get out my camera and photograph them right now.)

We also hit the What Katie Did shop in LA! I did pick up a pair of seamed stockings to try out. Need to see what all the hype is about!

Thursday evening was the pool party and I wore this dress. I didn't take any pictures myself since I'd been up about 20 hours at that point but if I find any floating around the internet, I'll be sure and share!

***Edit*** Ooops! Found this one on my camera! Guess I did get one shot after all!

Youtube: July Beauty Haul

Here are some new beauty products that I purchased in July and will be testing out!

In the Navy

Well, in navy at least....... I love a great classic outfit and this is a favorite!

Outfit:

Hat & crochet gloves: vintage

Blouse: Banana Republic

Skirt: me made

Earrings & faux pearls: vintage

 I just adore this navy hat! Too bad I have two navy hats and this blouse is the only navy thing in my wardrobe! Must fix this soon!

I love this brown circle skirt. It's basic but super nerdy with the atomic symbols! (I'm a chemistry grad student.)

 I opted to wear this outfit without a crinoline in the ballerina style. This style was popular in the early 50s before crinolines were in style. My skirt is a bit short for the ballerina style since they were usually ankle length or so but it's a nice change from the crinoline.

I've also been loving my new coral lipstick (Coral Crush by Red Apple Lipstick). Such a great color for summer! Not as fussy as red but still a lot of color.

Do you have a favorite go to outfit? Do you style it the same way every time or do you like to switch it up?

What is Costume College anyways?

If you weren't following me this time last year, you are probably wondering what the Costume College thing is that I keep talking about. Since I'm flying out today for this event, let's demystify it for you.

1. Is Costume College a fashion university?

It's actually not a school of any kind. (Though it'd be so fun to get to go to a design school!) Costume College is a costuming convention that is held every year in LA.

 Costume on display at Costume College '12.

2. So what do you do at Costume College?

There are classes and work shops taught by fellow members of the costuming community during the day. At night, there are fun social events-pool party, ice cream social, gala, and tea. And there is loads of running around in pretty dresses and oohing and ahhing over how fabulous everyone looks. And on Monday there is a trip to the Garment District for fabric shopping!

The "red carpet" for the Gala

3. What types of costuming do people do?

Every year, there is a theme and many people choose to dress in the theme and take classes from the bonus theme track but people do all kinds of costuming! A lot of it is historical costuming but there is definitely a scifi/fantasy costuming presence there too! Last year the theme was 30s, 40s, 50s Hollywood Glamor so I wore loads of vintage things but this year is Cavalier with a dash of Pirate and I won't be wearing anything theme related.

Rosie the Riveter gals ready for classes!

4. Now I want to go to Costume College!

Keep an eye out on the Costume College website for info on next year's event! If you are going this year, please to do stop me and say hi! For more Costume College fabulousness, see here.