Pseudo-Renfaire and Fort Tryon

The pseudo-Renfaire went very well! I wish I could have blogged more about my ensemble while it was under construction, but it all came together exceedingly well, with one or two alterations. I didn't get many photos from the pseudofaire, but here's one example.

There's the full outfit!

Capelet, corset, leggings, belt, and satchel just as planned, except that I omitted the sleeves from the corset to make sure I'd have everything done on time. The shirt's from Wal-Mart and looks surprisingly like unbleached cotton, and I used different boots to spare my best pair of heeled boots from the perils of running around on a hilly landscape after dark. The only things missing are a matching skirt and jewellery. For a skirt, I used my multi-purpose petticoat without an overskirt - so radical and daring for a lady!

Oh, and I made the bracers, just didn't wear them. Too hot.

A few weeks after the pseudofaire I attended the Medieval Festival in Fort Tryon Park, by the Cloisters in Manhattan. A few friends from the Renfaire and I gathered to watch the falconry demonstration, and I was picked to be a volunteer! It pays to show up in costume - I got to play perch to Spirit, the proud and graceful red-tailed hawk, between her flights across the field. The friends took pictures aplenty, but from where they were sitting, all they could get were side views.

Now that I'm done with my wenchly Medieval/Renaissance garb, it's on to my favorite century: The 18th!

I'm going to use the wonderful multi-purpose shoes that I bought a few months ago... (remember these?)

... And then sew a dressing gown, corset, and bodice or some kind of casaquin/caraco/figaro/robe and skirt. It'd also be nice to get a wig all fluffed and teased and together, I'm very curious as I've never done a wig before, and think one could look absolutely smashing if done right.

This post and the corsets it contains were brought to you by grommets and sledgehammers.

Hammering a few grommets is an excellent way for costumers to let off steam and create beautiful, professional-quality garments while doing it - because grommets make everything look awesome.

One thing at a time: Subito RenFaire!

Now the Fringe play is over and done with, I can shift my focus back to my main areas of interest: opera and costumes!

My voice is skipping happily along as it usually does, which is especially good since rehearsals for this fall's production of Rigoletto have begun!

I get to be tossed around by a few principals during the first act, and then dropped on the floor in a comical manner and forgotten about. I'm learning many interesting facts about royal courts in the 1600s, when our production is set. Men like the Duke of Mantua could decide to have an orgy to celebrate Tuesday, and the diritto feudale (ou le droit de seigneur) was in its prime, so with relative ease the Duke could treat said orgy as a feast for every sense, in every sense, as he'd already had a good deal of fun with most of the women in attendance. For the sheer novelty of it, now seems as good a time as any to seduce your jester's virginal daughter, no?

Anyway, I'm getting a bit carried away with the prose, here. The ball scene in Act I will be played as a masked ball, and I've decided to help develop my chorusey character by purchasing my own mask to match the costume I've been fitted for (alas, I've had no time to make my own). I've been thinking of adding lace or tulle around the top for a bit of extra flair (the character would like it so), but that might carry it over the top. I'll experiment with it.

The erstwhile corset of last July is still in production, but at the second to last step! I only have to add the bias tape and grommets, and it's ready to debut. Not a moment too soon, either. This Labor Day weekend, the yearly party I attend will be renaissance-themed. After singing an aria for the group two weeks ago that was received unimaginably well, I feel like I'm on a roll. I'd love for my costume to make a good impression. Also, I find deadlines to be a wonderful incentives to finish something quickly.

It's reversible!

I'm going to modify the design slightly, and combine two separate Simplicity patterns to make a fully-boned corset with detachable "sleeves." Everything will lace together with grommets, and interchangeable with other pieces made from the same or similar patterns, in case I want to do something more "harlequin" in the future.

I'm aiming to design an entire outfit that will be ready to wear to the faire in Tuxedo, NY before it closes, which I think will be on Sept. 20th. I planned to make the corset (with straps/sleeves), a matching skirt, and possibly a simple blouse if I can't find a cheap one. While wandering around the garment district today, however, I was forced to change my plans when I encountered a gorgeous, 1.5yd remnant of dark green wool crepe. There wasn't enough for a full cape, but it's perfect for a capelet, maybe even one with a hood (if I can figure those blasted things out).

So, a list of my costume pieces:
- Capelet (green, woolly)
- Corset (sleeves optional)
- Skirt (to match corset)
- Leather bracers (with the aid of grommets)
- Leggings (I think I have a pair somewhere)
- Boots (fancy, leather, waterproof, already mine)
- Jewellery (to be crafted)
- Belt (made of tassels) (More on that later.)
- Small satchel (to coordinate with the belt, possibly out of the green wool)

I think that's the largest single costuming task I've ever set for myself, or bothered to plan ahead of time. Gasp! I think I stand a chance of finishing it all, which would be fantastic for so many reasons. I'd always thought of doing something baroque first, but a Renaissance/Medieval woman of a generally unsavory character (part pirate, part cutpurse) is a fine first step into semi-serious costuming.

One thing at a time: NY Fringe Festival

I spent half of July and most of August rehearsing and acting in a play that was part of the New York Fringe Festival. I won't name it, but I will say that it was a mildly interesting play and an excruciating run. My favorite thing about the entire experience was becoming acquainted with the other actors and the stage manager, who turns out to be a costume geek like myself. (Hooray, another costumer on the Eastern coastline!) 
A final, important note on the Fringe play: If anyone has the opportunity to work with one Thomas Praino in the future, please feel free to contact me about my experiences during this production, in which he acted as playwright, director, and producer.


After the final show, the stage manager and I wandered around the most interestingly appareled areas of the city, and had heaps of fun picking out costumes that the men of the play would  have been wearing if we'd had our say - and a considerably larger budget. The show shifted from the middle-east, to some steampunk era, and then settled in baroque Europe with considerable punk, goth, and steampunk influences. If we'd had those costumes during the run of the show, they would have more than made up for the minor imperfections in each performance.


In the next post, it's back to costuming. I just had to get the weight of the Fringe play (like the Scottish play, you see, but less noteworthy). I'm also back to opera - Freaking YAY!

Huzzah!

I just confirmed with my two closest friends that they would not be opposed to my sewing them into uncomfortable costumes and us all running around in a giant park doing random improv. This may well mean I immerse myself once more in the thick of costuming, or this may turn out to be another wild idea that doesn't come to fruition. Either way, life's looking particularly benissimo right now.

"It's only a flesh wound...

...I'm not dead yet!"
Still here, still costuming, though I've been feeling decidedly detached from life in general lately. Since I'm 99% sure that nobody from my current job knows the URL for this blog, or even knows that I make costumes in my spare time, I think I can say here that it feels like work has been gorging itself on heaps of my time lately, even though I know I don't work that many hours a week. This job is so far removed from my ultimate goals in life in just about every way, I don't think it's a huge secret that, although I do the best work that I possibly can while I'm there because I was raised (by karate) with the mindset that slacking off should be physically impossible, I'm only there because it pays for my vocal lessons and a bit of fabric and nice togs on the side. 


But back A good friend of mine just sent me (cross-country!) some lovely green fabric with gold stripes. I think it's acetate, but it looks like jacquard, which makes it the perfect candidate for:

My first corset! I need to purchase the fancy bit of machinery that puts in eyelets for you, but I think I know where to find it. Aside from the eyelets and lacing (also easy to obtain), I have everything I need. Main fabric, check; lining/reversible main fabric, check; leftover interfacing from frock coat, check. Oh, duh, I just remembered (silly, forgetful me) that corsets need boning as well. I'm going for the tried-and-true modern whalebone substitute: thick cable ties. I hope the interfacing I have is thick enough to hold its shape with the "bones" in, but if it's not, at least I won't be wasting any expensive fabrics. I do hope it stays together, though. I love the way the striped fabric looks even when I can only see the different cutout pattern pieces lying flat together on the cutting board.

And a quick room design update: 

As  I keep adding things to the room, more pictures of things will be added to the blog. I desperately want to paint soon, hopefully I'll be up for that once the AC is fixed. 
(Painting + 90-degree weather = not the good)

All that glitters...

...Is table lamps and shoes.
Or is it "are table lamps and shoes"? Either way, I have a pair of both in wonderful gold hues, and they do wonders for my room designing and costuming efforts, respectively.


A few days ago I schlepped a few items into a huge furniture consignment warehouse that just opened a few blocks from my home, and I plan to schlep a few more as soon as I can. From the same warehouse I purchased a vintage brass tea cart that I'd been eyeing since Thursday, and yesterday I spent a good 3+ hours polishing it. It looks gorgeous, but with some particularly stubborn tarnish that I think gives it character. Everything seemed to fall into place yesterday; I had been thinking about getting some new lighting for my room and, walking home from work, I found a pair of table lamps sitting by the curb as if they had stepped out of their previous home promptly at 8:30 to wait for me to walk by. They're a simple, elegant shape, and seem to be hollow metal that almost matches the tea cart in color. Sitting with them were shades that can easily be re-covered to match my design. I don't know yet if the wiring works, but if not it should be easy enough to replace. Hooray for street treasure!

And remember my shoe-covering efforts? 

Well, now I have a perfectly good excuse reason to abandon that effort, at least for now. From a thrift store in the city that was serendipitously holding a 50% off sale when I happened in, I found an absolutely gorgeous pair of gold brocade shoes in a very interesting style that looks like a variation of fancy 18th century shoes.

(They look a bit whiter in the photo than they actually are, but you can see the pattern really well here.)

I think I'll be able to wear them when I sing in the NJAVO chorus in October, depending on what the rest of my costume is. I shouldn't need an excuse to wear them, and believe me I'd love to have them on my feet every single day, but New York transit system and exhaust dirt would all too quickly change the beautiful gold to the ubiquitous grimy city brownish-sludgey color. Urk. So, they'll sit under my "mannequin" for a while.

New layout!

For personal enjoyment more than anything else (which seems to have been the point of the rest of this blog thus far, though I don't really mind), I've tinkered with the HTML and a few images used in this blog and designed a spiffy new layout. I think the new version is a bit easier on the eyes, meaning it doesn't have the back-to-back red and orange tones that could appear eye-gougingly saturated on some monitors.

The new theme is simpler yet more elegant, I think, and the subject of it has a certain resonance with me.
Bonus geek creds to anyone who recognizes the scene depicted in my new header.

Aside from the obvious cosmetic changes (background, header image), I did some tinkering under the hood and changed the column sizes so more text will fit in a page. The expanses of background space previously left untouched by words was driving me mad.

I might do a bit more tweaking over the next few days, but I'm very happy with how my renovation has turned out thus far. I can't stop staring at the gorgeous silhouette image I found for the header and the lovely black/white/burgundy color combination; I hope my further costumial endeavors can live up to the elegance the new design advertises.
I just put in an order for eight historical patterns at $0.99 each online, so a chance to test my skills should be arriving in the mail within a few weeks. In the meantime, there's plenty of other things to do.