Ahoy fellow bloggites

How best to begin? I'm a singer turned singer-slash-costume designer, and off-and-on seamstress in my spare time. There's a possibility that I may get paid to costume a small theatre company a few times a year, and along with scouring thrift stores for bargain pieces that could somehow fit whatever show is in production, I've offered my services as a seamstress for any hard-to-find costumial bits that need to be custom-made. But there's a little catch, here: I've done my own costumes before, but I'm one of those insane people who prefers to work with their own measurements and a few wads of fabric rather than with a pattern. I thought it might be in my employers' best interests for me to gain a bit more knowledge of the field I'm shoving myself into, and good for me to have a bit of fun in the meantime, so a few weeks back I stumbled around the internets until I found myself at a number of 18th Century costume blogs. That's my favorite historical period, and I've since spent my nights perusing the web, looking for tutorials, ideas, etc. Thusly, most of the costumes, etc. on here will have nothing to do with the shows I'm supposed to be costuming, but little flights of fancy in case I can ever find a good 1700s reenactment group or society in my area.

At completely random intervals, or when I get bored, I'll break up the posts on costumes with one or two about another craft, or a mildly well-informed opera review. And, that's something I should mention: I'm a total opera geek. Half (or more) of the things I post here will be inspired by a production I've seen at the Metropolitan Opera or elsewhere, and I'd be interested to see if anyone notices my little references. The first one should be pretty obvious to anyone who's seen this particular production - but I'll post that soon. You've been warned, read the following posts with the knowledge that anything could start me referencing - or singing.

Oh, and the name of the blog? Well, though I can sometimes feel at home in a giant, froofy skirt, I feel much more comfortable with the freedom of motion given by a pair of breeches (after 9 years of martial arts training, it's frustrating not to be able to roundhouse-kick at one's leisure). I've got a soft spot for trouser roles in opera, and I'll probably end up channeling quite a bit of that influence into my costumes. I figure if I can pass myself off as a page or a girl in boy's clothing at a reenactment or two (and anyone who's seen me will vouch that I probably can), it'll be worthwhile - and it'd be much easier to wear a frock coat around this city on a daily basis (I like making my costumes multi-task) than to wear a robe Polonaise or panniers. ^^