Newport Vintage Dance Week Part IV: Mid-Nineteenth Century Ball at Ochre Court

August 19, 2012August 19, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

As you may already know if you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, the 1860s are my favorite period. I get super excited about them–especially the clothes! So you can imagine my absolute joy at being able to attend an 1860s ball during Newport Vintage Dance Week. But to make things even more amazingly wonderful, this particular ball was held in one of the most beautiful places we visited during the week! You can see pictures of last year’s 1860s Ochre Court Newport ball here, in an earlier post. In fact, Ochre Court is my favorite of any Newport venues I have ever entered, except maybe the Breakers… but we didn’t have a ball at the Breakers (because it is no longer open to the public, as far as I know), so for Newport 2012, Ochre Court was my top most favorite place!

Ochre Court was built in 1892 as a summer home for Ogden Goelet, a wealthy New York banker and developer, for $4.5 million. It was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, who also designed the Breakers, which is just down the street. In fact, Ochre Court is the 2nd largest Newport “cottage,” the Breakers being the largest. (All of this information came from the Newport Mansions website, which you can access by clicking the link at the beginning of the paragraph. It also has fantastic pictures, which you should check out if you’re at all interested!)

We came up the side road to enter Ochre Court. This is the side gate.

As you walk in the side gate you are greeted by the grand front drive to the right.

Looking down the main drive. Directly behind the camera is Ochre Court.

The grand main drive is just to the right. To the left is the entry to Ochre Court.

Looking up at Ochre Court. The arch at the bottom of the picture is the front entryway from the last picture.

This is the grand ballroom: the first room reached upon entering Ochre Court! It is three stories high with arched galleries on the second and third floors, which are reached by means of a fabulous red carpeted staircase (pictures of that are coming soon).

Pass through the grand ballroom and you emerge onto the back lawns which slope gently down toward the cliff and the water.

The neat thing about many of the balls at Newport is that multiple rooms on the same level of the mansions are open and available to us, and we are able to dance between rooms during the course of one dance!

This is the library, which is just off of the grand ballroom.

Another view of dancers in the grand ballroom.

This room wasn’t open last year! In my head it is the white room. It is also just off of the grand ballroom. We are dancing the Newport 2012 quadrille: Les Rats.

We’ve just finished a figure of the quadrille! Yay us!

IMG_1572 (2) — Taking a break in the entryway.

Okay, this next bit takes a bit of explaining. Antonia expressed it very well in her post “Speed Virginia Reel at Ochre Court.” You can read the whole description by clicking the link, but here’s the short version: “The Virginia Reel is an interesting dance…there are always people who refuse to wait for the music and push the speed…Speed Virginia Reel doesn’t even try that hard, and instead strives to be insane. It was invented by teenagers a couple of months ago…and it doesn’t even pretend to be dancing to music.” Is your interest peaked?

I hope so, because it was some of the most fun we young people had at this particular ball! It included many sweeping hoop skirts showing scandalous views of ladies’ drawers as well as a slide and fall on her bottom by none other than me! Unfortauntely, there are no pictures of me actually on the floor, so you’ll have to take my word for it (and I’m sure my fellow dancers would back me up!). Lucky for me I had two factors in my favor such that I didn’t hurt myself at all: 1-I wear a pretty hefty bum pad with my 1860s clothes to help my hoop stay paralell to the floor (I’m pretty sure I landed on this, because the floor is marble, and the fall didn’t hurt) and 2-there was so much adrenaline going around that even if it did hurt I didn’t feel it…I remember lying on the floor thinking “Yikes, I am lying on the floor,” and then jumping up again and continuing the dance! This dance was so much fun I really couldn’t rule out very many pictures, so I do hope that you don’t mind seeing a lot of Speed Virginia Reel, the all new 1860s dance craze!

Hoops and tails are flying! This is part of the grand ballroom, looking toward the dining room. We stationed ourselves in an uninhabited section of the room so as not to endanger others…

The corner people dance (or run…) various things together to begin the dance.

You can see the momentum in the swinging hoops!

This part of the dance is called strip the willow. It involves the top couple turning each of the people below them till they meet at the bottom…

The top couple is just beginning to run to the top to start follow the leaders.

Even more is showing in this picture. I think this is the highest any skirt went…

The top couple runs down the middle of the other four couples, and the other couples have to spring apart to make space!

Really, the top couple just goes all out down the middle and hopes for the best (at least in the speedy version of this dance).

This picture is pretty awesome. The wind is ruffling my sails (skirt…) and I am clearly running, as I wouldn’t be able to stand at that angle without falling over otherwise…

Another favorite running picture! I’m sure you can see why!

I had to include this, because look at how high my skirt was swinging! It’s pretty epic!

Clearly, there was a lot of running and momentum in this dance.

Forward and backward, all while running.

This is what was happening while the top couple circled the people below them.

Evidence of my fall! You can see one of my flower clumps on the floor that’s about to be picked up so it is out of danger!

Follow the leader around the column…running as fast as possible and missing a flower clump…

We made it, corsets, falling and all! I’m obviously excited, because look at how far off the floor I am! I LOVE this picture! Don’t you?

There was nothing sedate about this dance. What else is there to say? I have more fabulous pictures from the end of this event… but I think I’ll do a second installment post about this event to share them. So stay tuned!

Newport Vintage Dance Week Part III: Formal Tea on the Lawn at RWU

August 16, 2012August 16, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

As I was in a bit of a hurry when I posted pictures of the Seaside Dance at Easton’s Beach, I failed to include some interesting information that I am going to include here, now! Other ladies in the fabulous young set at Newport maintain their own blogs and have also posted pictures of the Newport events with their own unique commentary. If you’re vicariously enjoying the fun of the week, I encourage you to check out their posts and extend your fun! #1: Antonia’s Experiments in Elegance “Speed Virginia Reel at Ochre Court,” for example; #2: Raven’s Plaid Petticoats “Project Newport,” for example; or #3: Barbara’s Recreating the Nineteenth Century Ballroom “The White Ball at Rosecliff,” for example.

On this blog right now, however, we are going to continue the marathon of awesome-ness that was Newport and reminiscence about the Formal Tea on the Lawn at Roger Williams University. This event, being an afternoon event, did not have a specific time period, so you’ll see a variety of clothing styles. Here we go!

On our way to the official lawn for the tea, we stopped to take pictures here by the boats.

Here I am: 1903. The blouse was made last year and the skirt earlier this summer (though I haven’t posted about that yet…). The bolero and hat were additions to complete the look.

A side view. You can really see the silhouette.

It’s like Where’s Waldo. Can you spot one of our faithful photographers caught on camera? He blends in with the boats.

Another beautiful distraction before we even made it to tea.

I wish there weren’t modern buildings behind the pond… but there were fish in pond!

Looking picturesque. Again with the modern buildings…

Close up. Such a lovely line with the skirt and all! And the buildings are much less obvious.

IMG_1540 (2) — Finally we stopped getting distracted and made it to the tea, where we saw this lovely group of people playing croquet!

This is only the beginning of the croquet poses…

So we didn’t actually play croquet… we just borrowed the mallets for our photos!

Hard to see that they are different lengths in the last photo, but not in this one!

The long one was great for striking a pose that didn’t involve bending over.

I’ve whittled it down to just this one close up hat picture…

We got our young ladies together to take pictures in a line. We do love back side photos!

Swirling skirts and stunning backgrounds. What more could we ask for?

Silly moment! We like to try and walk toward the camera slowly, which always means walking like we’re either zombies or underwater, depending on your inclination.

Awww. Aren’t they lovely together? Look at those trains!

IMG_1534 (2) — The neat looking knot-thing to finish off this particular sash–finishing off sashes in neat ways this was a theme of the week for me!

Sitting with one of the little girls for a photo. We had to bribe her with lemonade… shhh!

It’s possible that we were also distracted by cattails on our way out…

I really wanted to reach them, but they were just out of reach.

We had to return to reality–the modern world. But did we walk on the sidewalk? NO! Up the middle of the road is the only way.

More silly! Lifting the skirts and walking is always essential for sillyness. We are on our way to get ready for the evening 1860s ball at Ochre Court!

Final tally for this event: 27 pictures out of 298 total. Whew!

Newport Vintage Dance Week Part II: Seaside Tea Dance at Easton’s Beach

August 13, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

Here we are again, for the second installation of the Newport marathon of awesome-ness. If you missed it, you can view the first installation, the 1920s Gatsby Ball at Rosecliff, here.

The Seaside Tea Dance took place on Tuesday. It was held at a venue right on the beach that also houses a operational carousel! In fact, the carousel was shut down for the public so that those of us at the ball might ride it with our other costumed companions. If you’ve ever been to Newport, this beach area is the one just down the hill from Bellevue Avenue (where many of the mansions are). Actually, many of the mansions along the left side of Bellevue Avenue actually have a view of the beach area where this event was held. The day events did not have specific time periods, thus you’ll see a variety represented in the pictures. It’s nice to be able to choose, but I enjoy the atmosphere most when everyone is wearing clothes from a short time span (as is the case at the formal evening balls).

It wound up being a rainy afternoon, which caused some stress, but we managed to overcome our various situations and have silly, fun time anyway. You’ll have to look through the pictures to see the adventures! Onward!

I hardly danced at this event–I wasn’t in the mood. BUT, I did ride the carousel!

Hm… not actually smiling, but with the same look on their faces.

IMG_1124 (2) — Being proper ladies, we were obligated to ride side saddle! (And you can see the back of my newly decorated hat.)

IMG_1127 (2) — Now you can see the front of my hat.

IMG_1254 (2) — This was ride number two. I was practicing my princess wave.

IMG_1365 (2) — As I mentioned in an earlier picture: we didn’t dance much. We did spend a lot of time sitting and discussing things (I don’t remember what things… I think mostly that we didn’t feel like dancing…). You can also see the fabulous knot I made on the blue belt! It was all pinned in place at the last minute, but I do like it.

IMG_1366 (2) — We, the young set, might not have been dancing, but that didn’t stop other people!

IMG_1291 (2) — If you’re going to wear matching bathing suits, you must take pictures on the beach!

IMG_1301 (2) — Oh no! The picture has been crashed by a random modern guy! Eep!

Single occupant pictures are always essential.

Here I am: 1900. New skirt, blouse from 1913 (shhh…), new belt, and newly trimmed hat (that appears to be listing to one side… oh well, it’s jaunty, right?).

Close up. I love that I finally have a picture of this blouse that shows the details!

Another good blouse shot. I can’t resist including lots of pictures of new clothes!

Silly fun! We went wading in the ocean, in the rain! It was pretty warm, so the water didn’t feel cold.

It is for spur of the moment events like this that it is always useful to wear historic underthings… You never know when your combination legs might be seen!

Look, you can see one of our faithful cameramen!

After getting our feet all sandy, we had to hose down a little bit.

My ostrich feathers were rather bedraggled when we finally went inside… but I fluffed them and they dried looking just as wonderful as before the rainy sea adventure.

Walking to the car. More petticoat ruffle is always better!

Final picture tally: 22 pictures out of 655 total from this event… You made it!

Newport Vintage Dance Week Part I: 1920s Gatsby Ball at Rosecliff

August 7, 2012August 7, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 8 Comments

Remember I recently promised you lots of awesome pictures and recounted adventures? Last week was the 25th annual Newport Vintage Dance Week hosted by the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers. The week includes vintage dance classes during the day followed by fabulous afternoon events and formal balls in the evenings. All of the events are held in lovely places including some of Newport’s famous historic mansions!

My friends and I took a whopping 4,796 (ish) pictures during the week!!! Yikes! I promise I won’t put up ALL of them… but even after sorting, there are still mounds of great ones to share. Get ready, because a marathon of awesome-ness is beginning… right now!

Part I: the 1920s Gatsby Ball at Rosecliff:

Commissioned by Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs in 1899, architect Stanford White modeled Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of French kings at Versailles. After the house was completed in 1902, at a reported cost of $2.5 million, Mrs. Oelrichs hosted fabulous entertainments here, including a fairy tale dinner and a party featuring famed magician Harry Houdini. (From the Newport Mansions website about Rosecliff. The site also includes really beautiful pictures of the mansion. I encourage you to click the link to look at them!)

The setting: Rosecliff as we arrived in the twilight. (Rargh, lions!)

Ready Newport? We’re here and it’s the 20s!

The yawning red carpeted grand staircase just inside the entrance.

It turns out that we were wearing complementing shades of green and gold!

I made a new green dress for this ball–my first 20s dress. I’m not really a huge fan of this particular period, but it was fun to branch out and build something different. In fact, I know at least 4 of the 5 dresses we were wearing were built new for this ball (some were finished just before the ball…). It’s really neat that without realizing it we all coordinated, but each of us managed to incorporate different design pieces into our dresses: one has panels, one has beads, one has asymmetrical draping, one has fringe, and one has an overskirt. All similar 20s shapes, and all totally different and entirely unique!

The staircase required lounging and looking elegant.

More lounging… we lost a few people from the last shot. Oh well!

Just practicing a bit of Charleston before entering the ballroom…

I’m not sure what we’re discussing, but we look rather intent on the topic…

The live orchestra (I believe this ball had music by the New River Orchestra).

Looking in on the ballroom from the lovely patio.

Contrary to the impression in the following pictures: there were actually lots of other people at the ball in addition to us…

We really enjoyed the Charleston and more importantly, we enjoyed Charleston-ing together!

Kicks and flying Charlestons were not to be left out! I am particularly amused that this picture captured some of us in midair!

Look, we’re all kicking the same way at the same time! How cute!

This became one of our signature dances for the week: Charleston in a line!

It accompanied one of our other signature dances: the Raise the Roof Charleston (which I don’t think I have pictures of at this ball–but perhaps at another ball I’ll find some). Raise the Roof Charleston is simply regular Charleston footwork while raising the roof with your hands–it’s super silly and super fun!

I think we took most of those Charleston pictures during mid-ball refreshment time, which is why the ballroom is empty behind us. But here is more proof that there were other people at the ball, too!

There were other lovely rooms in addition to the ballroom that we could wander through… isn’t this one cosy?

And this one, which is grand and fabulous! I love the curtains!

Okay, part of my love of the curtains is related to my love of tassels, especially giant upholstery/drapery tassels!

It was, of course, essential that I have my picture taken with the fabulous drapes!

There were a lot of poses… this is only a few!

Trading places: I’m behind the camera now…!

Another view of the same room. Isn’t is wonderfully fabulous???

Here I am, be-feathered, be-pearled, be-gloved, and enjoying the mirror doors!

Mirrored doors are mesmerizing and fantastic photo opportunities! More feathers! More jewels! More pearls! More gloves! More awesome! (*More* *adequate*! Inside joke…)

Just one of the many fabulous chandeliers hanging from one of the fabulous ceilings!

It was essential that every day include at least one super silly moment. Most days, of course, there were many silly moments…

IMG_0928 (2) — This was just one silly moment from this ball (in case you can’t tell what’s happening–and I don’t blame you, because honestly, I can’t really tell either… I only know because I was there–we are attempting to imitate the statue behind us).

Another silly moment, diving into the fountain!

IMG_0962 (2) — Ok, so we didn’t actually dive into the fountain… but we did briefly consider it!

Strike a final pose before the night ends!

Congratulations! You made it through all the pictures!

Final tally: 35 pictures out of 890 from that event.

I leave you with vicarious memories of a window into a glorious evening of the past–tonight, the 1920s.

Edwardian Gown Eye Candy

July 28, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 5 Comments

This fabulous vintage Edwardian dress was recently brought to my attention by one of you fabulous readers. It is for sale on eBay for $2,250! I certainly won’t be purchasing this original, but I absolutely think it is something to add to my body of inspirational images of clothing for future projects… The seller has included many pictures of the dress as well as background information on the dressmaker and a detailed description of the garment. I have included some of that information in addition to pictures for you to view here in this post.

The lace is exquisite! The rhinestones add even more sparkle! I love that there are pictures which show the closures and construction details. I classify this gown as “drool-worthy.” What do you think? Do you like it? Or not? Why?

Some of the information from the eBay seller, labellevintage_inc:

“This was created by Mrs. Catherine Donovan who was originally from Ireland (b.1826) and studied fashion in Paris. She owned the couture shop “MRS. C. DONOVAN & CO” which was located at 29 East 55th St.in New York. Her dresses in 1910 were billed at $100 and up which was extravagant as a gown from her would cost over $4,000 today!

Many of her garments are found in Museums throughout the world. There are 4 dresses at the Metropolitan Museum of Art alone. But the detailing and workmanship of these garments are worth every penny in my opinion.

FABRIC:
This is made of peach satin (formerly peach silk) and covered in exquisite ivory lace with re-embroidered patterns done with silk thread. The lace gives hints of Orientalism (which was made popular by Paul Poiret ) with its Royal Pavillion shapes on the back panels. The rosette and belt details are done in peach silk.

This enchanting garment features a fitted satin strapless bodice covered with a blouson bodice of lace. The bodice features a low square neckline and the dolman sleeves are short. Both the neckline and arms are decorated with cream glass and gold painted cut steel beads. There is an inner netted bodice which helps with the weight of the dress.

The empire waist is decorated with a ruched sash which is adorned with rhinestones, each individually sewn on a gold lame’ backing in the shape of a buckle.

The straight satin skirt is covered in two tiers of lace at the front. Each tier is decorated with cream glass beads and gold steel cut beads in a chevron shape. The tier is separated with a silk band featuring a large silk rosette. The top tier is adorned with crystal cut glass beads around the hemline.

The back has a surplice detail on the bodice with the silk band closing at the back decorated with more rhinestones.

The lace skirt is made of 3 tiers with one extra panel which attaches to the finger as a drape or can be left hanging as a short train. The top tier and second tier are both decorated with crystal cut glass beads.

This closes with several snaps, hook & eyes and tiny crochet buttons at the back.”

Thank you, Kimberly, for bringing this dress to my attention!

Fun in the Sun Part II (Regency Picnic 2012)

July 22, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

As you might recall from my last post, I have more Regency picnic game pictures to share with you! I’m excited! I hope you are as well… We left off with the four of us playing “Graces” and coming up with innovative methods of playing to keep us amused and challenged… let’s just see where that led us! I had a hard time condensing the photos… I hope you’re not overwhelmed!

Lost my bonnet, but I caught a hoop on each arm! Success!

Yes! Bonnet still on head and two hoops! Wow!

Double hoop-age and a silly looking action shot! What could be better?

Reach! Somehow, I think this is much more graceful looking than the last photo…

Okay… now we get silly!

Wand attack pose. Not very Regency-like, but amusing, nonetheless!

Strike a pose! Conduct an orchestra! ???

Attempts at being graceful and Regency-like…

Another graceful pose. Okay, okay, so I wore my sunglasses for much of the picnic. Shhh!

Bloopers?

Graceful, certainly, but I don’t think I caught the hoops that time…

This certainly looks like one time when the hoops are going to hit the ground…

(More sunglasses… didn’t they have those?)I think I’m confused about why the second hoop is on the ground by my right foot…

Fun in the Sun Part I (Regency Picnic 2012)

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 6 Comments

Vacationing is lovely while it lasts, but it does seem to make real life a bit overwhelming. I’ve been slow on the posting lately because of my vacationing. And, to be honest, life + vacationing is most likely going to be slowing me down some more over the next month or so. Some of my vacations will generate some really great pictures, though, so stay tuned for those in August!

It’s been roasting-ly hot here in Massachusetts for the last few weeks, but the heat didn’t stop the Massachusetts Costumers from enjoying the annual Regency Picnic. It was toasty, but we tried to spend lots of time in the shade. And despite the heat, we had a marvelous time! Join me in recalling the fun through viewing (just a few of the 300 or so) pictures we snapped that day.

Our idyllic setting at a lovely park in Bridgewater, MA.

Okay, so our food and table setting was not historically accurate. But the colors were so nice and summer-y! (And the pink lemonade was quite refreshing.)

After eating, we strolled through the park and took pictures (and coerced random passers-by to take photos of us…). Lovely group of ladies, don’t you think?

Then we played a Regency game called… “Graces?” (Ack! I can’t remember the name… Jenni, help me!)

Basically, each person has two long sticks which they use to fling the be-ribboned hoops at the other player. The second person catches the hoops on their own sticks before flinging them back again.

I’ve included pictures where you can see the hoops in midair. Despite the fact that we often seem to be catching the hoops, I also have many pictures where we, um, didn’t catch the hoops…

Eventually, we got the hang of it and decided to make it more challenging. In this instance we had two hoops going at once, one flung by each player!

It took a little time to get used to the coordination of flinging and catching in quick succession.

But we got the hang of it and then we started flinging two hoops at the same time in one direction! That meant the person catching had to catch two at once! Eep!

After that challenge we thought we were finished with the game… but then one of us (I can’t remember who…) had the brilliant idea to attempt to make graceul, Regency-like poses, while playing the game. That kept us going for awhile longer, with some amusing photos and lots of laughs, but you’ll have to wait till my next post for those photos (I don’t want to overload you with too many fun in the sun Regency picnic photos at once, you know!). In the end, the heat wasn’t so bad!

A Series Of Striped Shoes

June 29, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 7 Comments

Since I seem to be on a shoe spree, I thought it would be a fitting time to share with you a series of striped shoes from the 19th and early 20th century. The continuity of the adornment over the changing shoe styles on these first three pairs is so interesting.

54.61.31a-b_CP4 — Striped evening slippers. 1840-1849. The Met.

54.61.70a_CP4 — Striped evening slippers. 1860-1870. The Met.

67.110.85a-b_CP4 — Striped evening pumps. 1920. The Met.

Do you have a favorite amongst these? Personally, I like the pair from 1860-1870 best (maybe it’s the rosette that appeals to me in addition to the stripes!). You can also pick from these next few pairs, which I’ve included just for fun.

19562579601826355_1LwhFqH4_f — Striped slippers. 1795-1810. The Met.

19562579601456223_olfplt3k_f — Striped shoes. 1845-1865. The Met. (These kind of look like Toms?!?)

19562579601456286_vCzmw5wx_f — Striped evening shoes. Late 1920s. The Met.

Astorias In Action

June 23, 2012March 25, 2018 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

As I recently mentioned, my American Duchess Astorias have gained a coat of paint and are now ivory. The buttons have also been moved and now it is time to officially show you how fun they are with feet in them! (By the way, I did include a picture where you could see them on my new portfolio page, which was unveiled before this post… it was a spoiler, though I don’t think it was very noticeable!)

7346824448_d3b68f62ef_h — Here’s the spoiler picture.

7165821271_79c9326196_b — They’re a little buried in the grass, but here they are!

Super fun! Now I have outdoor shoes to wear with Edwardian clothes!

Product links in this post contain an affiliate code, which provides a small benefit to my shoe fund. This does not affect my impressions and reviews of this product.

SaveSave

Introducing The New Portfolio Page!

June 17, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 3 Comments

If you’ve looked along the top of this blog, right above that lacey petticoat picture, you have probably noticed the different pages listed there. Hopefully, you’ve even clicked on one or two of them and conducted a little bit of exploration! Well, as of today, a new page has been added: The Portfolio Page.

“What is the Portfolio Page?” Well, click and see!

If you’re like me and you want to know before you click, here are the details: The Portfolio Page is a gallery of my past work with links to the blog posts about the different garments. As I continue to construct new things, I’ll add them to the page so that it constantly reflects a quick-view of my work. The Portfolio Page also contains a link to my professional portfolio, for those of you who are interested in learning more about me or seeing my expanded, professional work.

My professional portfolio: www.quinnmburgess.com

Why do I have a separate professional portfolio? Well, this blog is a collection of posts relating to my personal hobby of historic costuming; however, as a professional costumer there are many other things that I make and shows that I work on. These are things that I have chosen to keep separate from my personal blog for many reasons, but they are still representative of my costuming skills. The new Portfolio Page of this blog is a great opportunity for me to include all my personal projects that show a high quality of work but which do not belong on my professional portfolio! So go, visit my Portfolio Page and then take a little trip to see my professional portfolio, too!

In fact, here’s a taste! Here are just a few things that are available to be viewed on my professional portfolio, but which are not included on this blog.