At the very end of my first post about the Ragtime evening event at Glen Manor, I had just shared with you our series of pictures of the “young set” spelling out our most recent acronym: TNG. You’ll have to read the captions in the pictures of the that post to see what it stands for, because this post is moving on to pictures of the Ragtime ball. Before I start on pictures, I just have to share that this ball had the most fantastic food catered for our dinner. I don’t know what company catered it, unfortunately, but it was spectacular and delicious! We all ate generous first and second helpings and were super full… but it was SO good!
The light was fading as we returned from our adventures down by the water and on the dock… This is the back side of Glen Manor with the lights on in the downstairs rooms and the twilight sky behind.The orchestra for the night. I believe this is the New River Orchestra.The doors were thrown wide open to the patio and gardens, which allowed for picturesque viewing of the dancers.This was one of the venues in which the dancers progressed through a series of small-ish rooms.It was fun to look in and watch people dance. Because they were traveling through different rooms there were always new people to watch.There were lots of really beautiful gowns to admire.Dancers in the main ballroom.The interior of one of the beautiful rooms.The fabulous red carpeted staircase. Not quite as grand as Rosecliff or Ochre Court, but still beautiful.Most members of TNG lounging on the stairs.One of our faithful cameramen caught lounging without a camera in hand!None of the young set danced very much, but there were a few times we stood up and danced. This is one of them.And another, blurry, picture of members of the young set actually dancing.Photographic proof the Scott the Portsmouth Policeman danced (and with one of our own young set–as well as many other dancers).On the left is Scott the Policeman. Elsewhere are other wonderfully dressed dancers.We may not look like we’re dancing, but we had just finished a tango. One of the few times the young set danced.We did get up to dance the Charleston!And we basically had the room to ourselves, which meant we could be super silly!A silly Charleston figure called something like “shine your shoes.”Charleston in a line. A TNG favorite.The traditional TNG “raise the roof” Charleston! (It’s like patting your head and rubbing your stomach… to Charleston while raising the roof! You should try it!)Follow the leader. Now everyone is doing the “raise the roof” Charleston!Double trouble! We caught one of our TNG faithful photographers and Bill Cunningham in the same picture!I believe at least some of us are doing the “flying Charleston” in this picture.Yay! We Charleston-ed!We’re all laughing and smiling! Doesn’t it look like a wonderful time? Don’t you just want to jump in the photo and join us?Two fabulous TNG-ers.The fearless leader of TNG and the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers. What a fabulous fan! Doesn’t it just scream for sillyness?Well, here you go! Sillyness! (Can you tell that it’s her tail? Like a peacock?)Okay, I’m not actually asleep… but the stairs were a pretty comfy place to relax… Clearly, it is nearing bed time.“Follow the moon path!” I said, knowing you can’t actually follow the moon path over the water. It’s a good metaphor for life though, to follow your dreams.Last view of Glen Manor that night, with the lights on and the rising moon. So lovely!
Final tally: 72 pictures between 2 posts out of a total of 1,266 pictures total for this event. Not bad, I say.
The next formal event at Newport was a Ragtime Dinner Reception and Formal Ball held at Glen Manor House in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Glen Manor was designed by renowned architect John Russell Pope to resemble the Petit Trianon at Versailles. Construction began in 1921 and the house was completed in 1923.
It is truly lovely inside and out, as you will soon see in the photos! I have 1,266 pictures from that evening… and even though I’ve slimmed down the number I’m going to share with you I’m going to have to break the evening up into two posts. The first part will be before the ball and the second part during and after the ball.
The exterior of Glen Manor.One of the ladies’ changing rooms just off of the entrance hallway.Once I passed through the rooms, this was the view that greeted me.The magnificent garden was also behind the main house.Before dinner we took some group photos. While standing in the group I took the opportunity to snap a shot of Bill Cunningham taking photos of us! We were a little afraid for his safety on the ladder, so you can see people keeping careful watch.This is Scott, from the Portsmouth Police. He has worked this particular event in years past and really loved it; indeed, he jiggled his work schedule around to join us again this year. He was so excited by the historic clothing that he had purchased a historic uniform to wear just for the event!After the group photo the four of us and our faithful photographers set out to be silly and take beautiful pictures.One of our faithful photographers caught Bill Cunningham (another of our faithful photographers) taking photos of us! It was really magical to have Bill Cunningham hurrying to catch our pictures! At one point he said he would “stop bothering us for five minutes” and then five minutes later he was back again, saying “I couldn’t resist, it’s been five minutes!”The picture Bill Cunningham was trying to capture included frantic waving of the arms…Running around is a returning theme for us. This time we were just enjoying the beauty and being silly.Striking theatrical poses under the trees…I think we resemble the Muses…There were so many lovely flowers in the garden! We found some to match each of our dresses!Flowers to match the burgundy in my dress.Looking the other way. I think I like the first one better, but this is lovely as well.Purple, white, and green!Those hibiscus flowers were huge! And they matched so well!There was also this lovely hydrangea bush that looked so droopy we just had to imitate it.Peek a boo!Elegantly perched.One more panorama of the garden, because it is just so lovely!After being in the gardens awhile we began to be drawn toward the water…But decided to turn and take another picture before heading down the hill.Heading down the hill toward the water.At water’s edge. Literally, the water was lapping at the rocks just a few feet away.Silly time!Looking to our left, we noticed that enticing dock…So naturally we had to go and investigate!Diving in! With a red moon rising beyond the water.The sun was obviously setting as the moon was rising. We stood on the end of the dock, thinking of the Great Gatsby, pointing across the water at the moon, and talking of West Egg and the green light.Looking off into the distance and enjoying the twilight.The sash on the left was another of my last minute creations. There was a breeze and we just had to soak in the atmosphere. So magical!Don’t you just want to jump into the picture and join us?By this point in the week the “young set” had taken on the name TNG “The Next Generation” (of the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers). We’re trying to spell TNG, but the N is hard to see and the G is a little like a blob…So we tried again with all caps. Can you see it?Now do you see it?The new name sparked many bouts of Star Trek references… I hope that you see the connection!
I leave you for now, in a magical twilight world with TNG.
Last post, I left you just at the completion of our young set’s Speed Virginia Reel. This post is going to be a continuation of Ochre Court pictures, because there were too many I wanted to share for just one post. At the end of the ball we decided to get some young people pictures on the fabulous red carpeted stair case in the entry way, so that is where we begin Ochre Court pictures: part II.
Congregating on the stairs. If you look closely, you can see the flower clump casualty on my dress.Such a lovely group of young people.Of course, we’re all very tired after our exertions…But that doesn’t stop us from taking animal pictures!Which made us laugh pretty hard.Bill Cunningham caught us taking photos on the stairs and was very excited. BUT… We caught Bill Cunningham taking pictures of us on the stairs!Halfway up the stairs, pretending to jump!A close up…Another view. It was particularly amusing to us because we were tired and the floor below the stairs is marble, so obviously one would not actually want to jump over the railing…Okay, now we’re trying to be serious and look like we’re having casual conversations.And now we’re being elegant. Look! Bill Cunningham!Descending the stairs with camera flashes going off as though I was a celebrity!But I’m not… I’m just me, missing a flower clump… backed by young men in tails…Momentary relaxation between photos…This was the skirt puddle pose which followed the traditional jellyfish dance… (aka all of us jumping up and down in a clump and moving through the rooms before suddenly plopping and letting our skirts billow around us).While being a jellyfish I lost a second clump of flowers! I didn’t think I had sewn them on so loosely!So sad. You know it’s a good ball when your dress suffers injuries not once, but twice!Oh my! Tartan drawers to match the tartan dress!I was so happy to just BE in Ochre Court. Do you get that feeling from this picture? I’m just soaking it all in.Exuberant might be a better word for me.“I love Ochre Court THIS much!”Posing by the fireplace in the white room. Isn’t it lovely?Don’t we look fabulous???The necessary bum picture, particularly amusing when wearing hoops.One last glimpse of the back lawn before we pack up to leave.I LOVE Ochre Court. I just wanted to drink it in as much as I possibly could.
That was a long one! But you made it! Thanks for sticking with me through all those photos. I sincerely hope that you were able to get a feeling of excitement and unrestrained happiness from the pictures that matched even half of my feelings from that night. It was truly spectacular. Thanks to all my lovely friends for assisting me in having such a marvelous time.
Final tally: 66 pictures from this event between two posts out of 1047 possible Ochre Court pictures… Honestly, I don’t think I did too terribly narrowing them down, considering the possibilities!
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.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!Throw them over your shoulder?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 rather like this pose.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!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.So lovely!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!
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!Carousel!Hm… not actually smiling, but with the same look on their faces.More of the fabulous young set…Being proper ladies, we were obligated to ride side saddle! (And you can see the back of my newly decorated hat.)Now you can see the front of my hat.This was ride number two. I was practicing my princess wave.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.We, the young set, might not have been dancing, but that didn’t stop other people!If you’re going to wear matching bathing suits, you must take pictures on the beach!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?).From the back.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!
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!
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 ceiling of the ballroom!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!More Charleston!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! (Moreadequate! 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…
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!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.
Here we are, a third and final installment of posts related to my recent Titanic-themed weekend. You can read more about my tea gown and matching hat as well as my evening gown in previous posts. I think I’ll limit my commentary to captions. Here we go!
The weekend began with a casual Steerage Ball with a light and charming atmosphere.Saturday afternoon was a formal tea to relax after a morning dance workshop.Fabulously dressed people were all around!I do love flounces, in any period.In lovely whites, a staple of the Edwardian wardrobe.There were picturesque photo opportunities, of course.And the men were just as fabulous looking as the ladies.The weather was lovely and some people took the opportunity to talk a walk outdoors.While others took advantage of a less strenuous opportunity for enjoyment indoors.Saturday evening was a formal dinner and grand ball.So we all donned our finest finery...And after dinner, danced the night away to live music.There was a balcony and staircase that added serious elegance to the room.Dancing, dancing, dancing...Of course, a girl must rest sometimes, and why not with a fabulous fan? The room did get quite warm.This backdrop was just lovely, and so perfect for pictures!Picturesque!Pictures were taken in abundance.At 11:40pm (which is when the ship hit that ill-placed iceberg) we took part in a moment of silence to remember those who were lost followed by a haunting final waltz to the melancholy melody which was the last song played by the band as the Titanic sank.On Sunday, I was able to wear my 1913 walking suit and hat on the Museum Stroll. I wore the blouse and skirt to the Steerage Ball, with a wonderfully simple, yet very Edwardian coiffure, but of course I didn't get pictures of that... oops. There were fabulous outfits all around, but it was difficult to get pictures given that we were spread throughout a museum!
All in all, a lovely weekend full of fabulous clothing, beautiful music, and wonderful dancing. What a recipe for amazing memories!
I constructed this 1780s ensemble to wear to various 18th century events. If you remember, I decided in the beginning of September to construct a robe a la anglaise and accompanying undergarments. Most of my commentary can be confined to captions (which also allows me to include more photos, so that is exciting!). Enjoy!
I attended the Sudbury Colonial Faire with friends: Carly and KatyWe found a nice woodsy background to take pictures of our outfitsAnd it’s imperative that you look at the camera sometimes!We took in the sights (mostly that meant watching the fife and drum units)The vendors were also dressed in period clothing, but most of the spectators were not: we were asked many times to have our photo taken with random people (and then even more random people snuck in to take cell phone pictures that they didn’t ask permission to take!)Ooo, this is a good one because you can see the pleated trim on my bodice(warning: inside joke coming) Jenny, you will appreciate my pumpkin picture! Happy fall and happy birthday!We found this really adorable garden that was so inspirational for more pictures!The garden has a bench that is perfect for a quick break and a few photosWe traded cameras so that we would get pictures of ourselves on our own cameras! Genius!Then we saw this lovely section of the garden and had to take more picturesThere was this great dried branch on the ground that was a perfect picture prop!I made friends with the bust on the brick wall and he was accessorized with the dried leavesI really enjoy shadow pictures, but this is especially great because you can see my silhouette!We were lured out of the garden by a glimpse of this fabulous pond!And upon closer inspection, the pond had a picture perfect bench just waiting for us!So of course we all had to take turns being picturesque on the benchIt was a lovely setting!We finished up the evening by joining more friends at a ball
Wohoo! My 1780s stays are complete! I think they turned out quite well. They certainly resembles my inspiration image. You can see that image and read more about the construction of these stays by reading this previous post.
Finished frontI used 1/4" linen tape for the lacingThe lacing holes are hand sewn eyeletsSide viewSide front view
I made the chemise as well. It is just a simple linen tee shape without set in sleeves. It is mid calf length and has a low neckline in front and back.
Soon I’ll post pictures of the finished 1780s exterior garments as well!
Quinn, taking a short break from dancing at Ochre Court
Well, I am exceptionally delayed in posting about this event (it was in August), but I was inspired today to remember how fabulous this was and to reminisce… So here we are! I was able to wear Annabelle, my latest 1860s dress to this event. You can read more about this dress by clicking on this link. I have to say, I did receive one comment that I looked “like Scarlett O’Hara.” Whee! That is really a dream come true for me… you know she does wear a white flounced gown in the movie… I intentionally did not make a gown just like hers (for one thing, mine does not have red trim).
The mid-18th century ball at Ochre Court was just one event hosted by the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers during Newport Vintage Dance Week 2011 in Newport, Rhode Island. And yes, that is the Newport of fabulous historic mansions! (Newport Vintage Dance week was included in the New York Times’ Evening Hours by Bill Cunningham on August 21, 2011. Click on this link to see Mr. Cunningham’s wonderful pictures of various Newport Vintage Dance Week events!)
Aside from repeating (many, many, many times) how absolutely fabulous this event was, I don’t have a whole lot of commentary. Thus, my commentary will be confined to captions, so that way I can include a lot of pictures! Yay! I hope that you are able to look at these and be transported to this historic mansion full of hoop-skirted ladies, distinguished gentlemen, and elegant music.
This photo comes courtesy of my friend, Carly. This is the main ballroom at Ochre Court.Front stairs at Ochre Court.Ascending the red carpeted stairs to the upper levels.Ochre Court main ballroom upper levels and ceiling... Beautiful!!!Looking down on the main ballroom at Ochre Court.Oh look! There I am, watching the dancers below!Look! There's someone taking pictures! (Look at the fabulous detail around me!)Ah, now you can really appreciate the intricate detail!Time to descend the stairs and dance!And here are Terri and Carly, also descending the stairs!Dancers at Ochre Court.More dancers at Ochre Court.Dancers in the dining room at Ochre Court.Strike a pose by one of the enormous fireplaces!Carly in front of the fireplace.Taking a breather in the library at Ochre Court.Would you care to dance? Ochre Court main ballroom.One more scene at Ochre Court.Saying good bye to Ochre Court at the end of a fairytale night.
The Quintessential Clothes Pen 