Costumes Galore!

My life as it is today, working a full-time Silicon Valley job and raising 2 hellions fine energetic boys does not allow much time for sewing.  I have 4 sewing machines in the house (1 broken, 1 borrowed), a closet full of fabric (OK, OK...2 closets).  Still, pants that need to be taken in can languish on my sewing table until they no longer fit the boy-child they were purchased for, but are now perfect for his 3-years younger brother!

Costumes are a pipe-dream in this life.  Maybe someday when the kids are grown.  I have sewn casual costumes for the Norcal Renaissance Faire, but there were not authentic at all. Quick and easy adaptations of modern clothing found at Goodwill and bastardized to suit the event.  Not at all like my friend Rose's creation sewn for the Dickens Fair held in the area at Christmas.

So, when Rose invited our sewing circle to the Costume Guild Open House, two of us jumped at the chance to look in.  It was very enjoyable being voyeurs.  It felt like we had stepped through a time portal as we mingled with people in modern clothing, renaissance, victorian, etc.  All sorts of costumes paraded around on stage and among us lesser folk.  No, I did not wear my completely inauthentic stuff.

Here are some of my favorites:

This was one of my favorite dresses.  Notice the button treatment on the sleeves.  We loved the puckery fabric the gown is made from.  We wondered if the menfolk who were there were also enthusiasts in their own right, or just tolerant spouses?  Had any of them made their own clothing?

This red dress was another favorite.  Her stripes were perfectly matched on the back of the dress.  Hat and ringlets completed the picture perfectly.

These 2 ladies sport corsets on the outside of their clothing--de rigeur at any costuming event, I think!

Then again, sometimes a corset can seem a little ... unusual, shall we say?  Such as when a buff, shirtless guy in pirate pants wears one??  

 

Yes, those are red skull and crossbones in the fabric covering the corset...I didn't have the nerve to ask him to pose for me, so I took this sneak shot of his back.  I suspect he would have been happy to pose for me, though.  I mean, you don't wear something like that in semi-public without wanting to get a reaction from people, right?

We left during the raffle at the end, we had a long drive getting out to Albany, CA, and we wanted to avoid the ski weekend traffic returning to the Bay Area.  It was a fun peek into a world of costume enthusiasts with much more time and energy than I have these days.

I did learn about a very interesting group: Period Events and Entertainments Re-Creation Society.  Reading their flyer, I learned of what sound like very fun ways to enjoy period re-enactment (Mardi Gras, Faerie Ball, Cabaret)--but I got the feeling bystanders are discouraged.  And frankly, I don't have a thing to wear!