While it’s still holiday season I want to share a few pictures from The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers’ 2017 Fezziwig’s Ball. This year we had snow on the day of the event. It made for some slippery driving, which unfortunately caused a number of people to not be able to make it, but the bright side was that Salem was enchantingly draped in snow.
It was a bit colder than it has been in some previous years, so it was necessary to wrap up warmly for outdoor caroling. The easiest (and warmest) option that would fit over my gigantic 1830s sleeves was my 1860s wool cape (it is lined in flannel and has thick batting so it is quite soft and warm!). It was great to make use of its amazing warmth since I hadn’t worn it in years, though I have yet to get actual documenting photos of it. I always seem to be wearing it when it’s dark outside! We did get this nice picture though. The stars of light are made using a special Petzval lens (you can read more about this special lens in this past post). The cape plus a muff did a good job of keeping everything but my head warm. There’s no easy way I know of to cover a big hairstyle without mussing it while also keeping your head warm…
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I wore last year’s 1832 dress again, but with bigger and better underpinnings, so you’ll likely recognize one of these images from my comparison of 1830s pouf.
Super puffed sleeves, a little more skirt volume, and ribbons on my shoes are the notable changes from last year’s wearing.
I basically styled my hair the same way as last year. I really liked what I came up with and there seemed to be no need to reinvent the wheel!
After vigorous dancing to lovely holiday music it is always a treat to partake of the lavish refreshments, which provided a perfect outing for my refreshing apron. It does a wonderful job of keeping my dresses clean!
Happy holidays!
I hope you’ve had a joyous December so far, full of laughter and blessings!
The Quintessential Clothes Pen 
Lovely, as always.
Thanks, Helen!!
What a beautiful dress! Thank you for sharing your photos.
Thank you! 🙂
You look amazing as always, and your hair is particularly fabulous! No wonder you didn’t want to mess it up.