Croquet At Roseland Cottage

September 8, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

The outing for which I planned to wear my updated 1815 Tree Gown was an afternoon of croquet and house tours at Roseland Cottage: a joint event hosted by The Footwork & Frolick Society and Historic New England (the organization that runs Roseland Cottage).

Roseland Cottage is a lovely pink house in Woodstock, CT that was built in 1846 by the Bowen family (you can read more about thr history of the house here on the Historic New England website). I’ve been to the house before and posted about it on the blog — in a different post about playing croquet! That outing, which you can read about in this past post, was in 1860s clothes.

A rather moody looking Roseland Cottage on the day of this year’s outing is pictured below. It was overcast, which was nice because it wasn’t super hot, but we did have a fantastic rain and thunder storm roll through halfway through the event. Lightening struck the lawn outside of the house! Luckily, we knew it was coming and were able to transition indoors to play tabletop croquet and have tea. No one was rained on!

And I was pleased, because Roseland is lovely, the company was delightful, and my updated Tree Gown was freshly revived and very comfortable!

It felt important to show off the updated back of my gown for documentation here on the blog!

Roseland has a beautiful and well maintained garden, and in addition to that, I also appreciated the cute cart (detail photo below) full of additional flowers that was situated on the lawn. It made for a wonderful photo accessory, as you can see in the photo above!

As I mentioned in my post about altering the gown (linked at the top of this post), I’m so pleased to be able to give this dress extended life!

Playing Parlor Games

August 12, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

Part of the goal of the spring outing I recently posted about was to play parlor games with The Footwork & Frolick Society at the Boutwell House in Groton, MA. This was a fun public outreach event during which we invited guests at the open house to join us in parlor games from the mid-19th century.

Many parlor games from this period are somewhat sedate and word based. Others are more active, such as passing a ring around a ribbon in a circle while someone in the middle tries to guess who is hiding the ring.

There is also a game in which a person has to go around to everyone in the room and ask for something to take on an imaginary journey. It can get a bit silly as people add items to the imaginary traveling trunk.

I didn’t participate in every game, but I greatly enjoyed observing guests having fun even when I wasn’t actively participating.

A second dress of mine made it out of the closet to attend this event, too! You can read all about the construction of Georgina (a cotton print dress from 1858 pictured below) in this past post from 2013.

Even the volunteers at Boutwell House enthusiastically joined in with our games, providing a wonderful atmosphere for guests.

I had great fun, and even laughed myself into tears trying to do a quadrille figure ‘blindfolded’ (we did it with our eyes closed). There is video evidence of this amusing attempt here, on the F&F Instagram page. Yes, dancing a quadrille blindfolded is, in fact, an official published parlor amusement from the mid-19th century!

Photo credit for the last four photos: Steve Lieman

1817 Duchess Gown in Bridgerton Style

July 28, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

The Footwork and Frolick Society hosted a Bridgerton themed ball in May! Here are a few atmospheric shots.

For this event, I chose to wear my 1817 Duchess Gown (you can read about the inspiration and making of the dress, here). I love this dress and haven’t had a reason to wear it in years. Plus, I figured the neutral color would pair well with a few nods to the colorful style of Bridgerton costumes.

In the past, I’ve had fun pairing this gown with other colors and accessories, as well! You can read another past post where I show multiple wearings together here.

The dress is a sheer striped organza, which is fun because I can show off fancy historical underwear with it! I usually wear my 1814 Vernet petticoat so that the fancy trim around the bottom can be shown off (in addition to a second petticoat to make the ensemble fully opaque.) The second petticoat is functional more than decorative, and is the one I recently posted about that needed a size update to fit properly again!. Wearing it with this sheer dress for the ball was the push I needed to make the petticoat fit really well–I didn’t want odd lines showing under the sheer Duchess Gown!

In addition to the decorative Vernet petticoat, other accessories for this wearing included clocked silk stockings from American Duchess, white flats purchased from a consignment store about ten years ago, a gold bead necklace that ties with a ribbon that I don’t wear often (I usually gravitate towards other more sparkly jewelry), and three nods to the colorful style of Bridgerton.

My nods to color included a green organza sash (that I’ve worn with this dress before–see images in this past post from 2019), green and gold earrings (from the Downton Abbey collection a number of years ago), and flowers in my hair, including some vivid pink ones. I’ve had these flowers for about 25 years and rarely wear them. They’re pretty bright! But for the Bridgerton theme they made perfect sense!

The company at the ball was charming and the dancing was enthusiastic! My Duchess Gown even had an old friend visit in the form of my 1811 Elusive Blue Gown worn by a friend! I love that these garments are getting to be worn again!

Photo credit for this last photo: Lucas Clauser

Sophie In Springtime

July 14, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 5 Comments

The lilacs were blooming in May, joyfully spreading their scent to all who passed by.

Photo credit for this photo: Steve Lieman

I was grateful to be able admire their beauty and celebrate spring with an outing in Sophie, my trusty 1861 twisted stripe cotton print dress. I made this dress in 2016 and posted about the construction in this past post.

The overcast sky didn’t dampen my spirits!

The diffused light was actually quite lovely and I enjoyed whirling around in the fresh air.

I hope your springtime held unexpected joy, as well!

Eleanor At The Boutwell House

May 5, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 3 Comments

My 1860s evening gowns have had far fewer outings in the last few years than they used to, which it made having a reason to wear one a few months ago particularly exciting!

The question was which to choose??? I wore Genevieve (my 1863 apricot-colored covered in lace and pleats silk gown) sort of recently, in April 2022. Other dresses in my historical closet that might still fit (Georginia from 1859, Annabelle from 1859, and Evie from 1864) haven’t been worn recently, but for some reason, plaid was sounding like fun… So I chose to wear Eleanor (my 1862 purple and green silk plaid dress)!

I’m still very pleased with the fabric of this dress and the way I cut the pieces to create interest in an otherwise pretty basic dress. The little details like tiny piping on the bodice, matching hair flowers, and a well matched set of jewelry (earrings and necklace from In The Long Run Designs, as well as a mix of modern and vintage brooches) also bring me joy.

I also had a lovely setting in which to wear the dress. The Boutwell House in Groton, MA was built in 1851 and is now home to the Groton History Center. The Footwork & Frolick Society partnered with them for the town of Groton’s annual WinterFest activities, which included inhabiting the house for an afternoon to give visitors a small view into activities from the period.

I enjoyed being able to wear an 1860s dress again. I’ve always loved the magic of a cupcake shaped hoop skirt–and this was no exception!

1940 Schiaparelli Inspired Dress: Finished Ensemble

April 14, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

I’m very pleased with my finished 1940 Schiaparelli Inspired Dress! The relatively simple style is set off by the pink and green sequined appliqué on the front of the dress.

This post is going to be all about wearing the finished dress. There is a separate detailed post telling all about how I made it that you can read here.

This dress is dramatic, yet simple, and completely different from anything else I have. And, it lends itself to elaborate and large hair which always amuses me.

I chose to do victory rolls, which I’ve posted about doing with my curly hair type in the past. (Not all rolls are technically victory rolls, but if they make a V there is a good argument for calling them by this name. In this case, I’m arguing that the dip between my two rolls makes a V and that’s why I’m calling them victory rolls. You can read lots more about the history of this hairstyle here, on the Bobby Pin Blog.)

The particular roll pattern and shape I chose to do was mainly inspired by this. My hair has enough volume to sustain the rolls on its own, but I cheated a bit on the teasing and stuffed the larger roll with small hair rat to help maintain the height and shape.

I’m very pleased with how the rolls turned out. They were dramatic, just like the dress and they made me super tall looking in combination with my trusty American Duchess black Seabury shoes and the columnar dress.

The V shaped rolls of hair complemented the V shaped sequins on the front of the dress AND the V shape of the back bodice with its V shaped pleats. There are all sorts of V’s in this outfit!

And, not only did I get to wear a fabulous, formal dress with large and fun hair, I was able to have a great time at Club Drosselmeyer with friends while wearing both!

(If you’re in the New England area and you haven’t heard of Club Drosselmeyer before, I suggest you check it out! I’ve been performing at and/or attending for years. It’s really special and fantastic for all sorts of people and interests. Personally, I really enjoy the live Christmas swing music, puzzles, and fabulous clothes, but there are also interactive actors, special performances, an open dance floor, and more!)

Proof Of A Regency Picnic

March 6, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

Historically clothed events continue to be somewhat sparse on my calendar, but I have photographic evidence of having gathered with friends last summer to partake in a Regency themed picnic. We were rained out of the original date and the alternate date was very hot, so we decided to mostly stay indoors. But we did go outside for a few fun documentation-of-our-gathering photos.

Did I mention it was hot? I was kind of melting. But I did really enjoy getting my 1815 Tree Gown out of the closet and giving it a wear. This continues to be one of my favorite early 19th century dresses! I still love the patterning, which creates a comfortable and elegantly shaped dress, as well as the lightweight block print cotton fabric. At least I had a cool fabric to wear in the heat!

Made in 2013, this dress has held up to 11 years of wear very well; however, I did notice that the forearms are very tight these days… so tight that they don’t let the armsceye seams sit where they should, causing the shoulders to constantly be pulling down my arm! And sadly, even with the 1/4″ French seams I originally made, they don’t have enough circumference to be let out.

On the bright side, though, I keep everything and I have scraps of this fabric in my stash. So for now, the forearms have been seam ripped and the dress is, metaphorically in the pile of things-that-need-alterations, awaiting my action of actually digging out the fabric scraps so that I can adjust the fit (it’s metaphorical because it’s actually hanging in the closet not in a pile!). This will assuredly become a When-The-Dress-No-Longer-Fits post… someday!

GBVS Newport Weekend 2023

February 18, 2024 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 6 Comments

Just as with my post about the 2022 Greater Boston Vintage Society Newport Weekend, I’m posting about an event from last summer in the middle of winter. Sometimes it takes awhile to get to posting! Well, as before, late is better than never.

This year the weather was not as cooperative as in the past. It was raining on Saturday, the only full day of the event. Nevertheless, we made the best of it, choosing to still picnic outside, but in the covered areas of the porch.

It was a bit cooler than summer usually is, also due to the rain, so we added hot tea to our picnic spread. Yum!

Who doesn’t carry around a teapot in a picnic basket?

There was a break in the rain long enough for a few outfit photos. For Saturday I chose to wear my 1928 Egyptomania Inspired Dress and American Duchess/Royal Vintage Ginger shoes. The pop of color was nice on the rainy day.

I also added my 1917 Knitted Sweater of Angorina while sitting still. You can see it in the first photo of this post.

For the Saturday evening ball, I wore my 1927 Blush Sparkle Evening Gown and black American Duchess Seaburies. It’s always neat to wear these shoes in Newport — they are designed based on shoes in the collection of the Newport Historical Society!

On Sunday, I decided to go to a behind-the-scenes tour of The Elms. As with all of the Newport mansions, this one has a grand facade and all sorts of interesting (and expensive!) details to learn about.

For example, the rounded area of greenery (below) actually conceals a sloping driveway to the basement and servants’ entrance. This is where deliveries were dropped off, as well. With the greenery growing on a lattice above this area the family could carry on without needing to see the servants or delivery people come and go.

The servants had very nice quarters on the top floor of the house. They also had access to roof space that ran around the entire house — but of course this was concealed by a parapet. Just as with the servants’ entrance, the family wouldn’t want to see the servants taking leisure time on the roof.

For modern tours, there is a platform that lifts you above the level of the parapet so you can see the view of the grounds and harbor. It’s quite lovely!

Back at the entrance, I was very amused by the shaped trees. They reminded me of mushrooms!

So instead of the usual outfit photos, I chose to take some highlighting the trees and pretending to be a mushroom! The weather had completely changed from the rain the day before! It was warm, and I chose to wear my 1953 Dot Dress with comfy Crocs flats.

In addition to the servants’ area in the basement and on the upper floor, we also toured the boiler room in the house. It’s massive, with multiple boilers! Well, I guess it is a huge house!

Along the lines of the concealed delivery entrance I already shared, this house also has a tunnel that runs from a side street to the boiler room in order to move coal without the family seeing. This is the entrance to the tunnel in the boiler room. Look at the floor! They had ways to turn the carts around and everything!

Finally, after lots of walking around the house and up and down stairs, I finished the trip with a picnic lunch by the water in a new-to-me area in Benton Point State Park. It was lovely, breezy, and the geologic formations in the rocks are beautiful.

And that’s it! After that it was time to head home to await another future adventure.

1830s Holiday Cheer

December 12, 2023 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 5 Comments

For the holidays last year, friends and I decided to have an 1830s-clothed dinner at a local historical inn. We had a lovely meal, enjoyed the company, and had fun looking around at all of the lovely seasonal decorations!

There were new vignettes around every corner, with everything from human-sized nutcrackers to animals and greenery. These owls, perched up on a rafter, amused me very much!

In another, more modern part of the building, we paused to take photos with a tree whose decorations matched my 1832 Velvet Gown and 12 Days Of Christmas bells & berries hair accessory. This dress is always fun to wear–lightweight, despite the velvet, and with a silhouette that is always entertaining.

I hope your holidays are full of joy, friendship, and gratitude!

1875 Reception Dress Photo Shoot

June 25, 2023 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 15 Comments

I was really excited to spend lots of time working on and finally completing this dress during the summer of 2020.

At that time, there was no option of finding a fabulous indoor place to take photos, so I had to make do with the outdoors. Don’t get me wrong, I have lovely photos from that short outing, but they didn’t have as much background ambiance as I was hoping to find, someday.

But last year, I had the opportunity to actually wear this dress for an activity! And I was able to convince friends to take oodles of photos so I could better document the dress in appropriate surroundings for its reception status. So now, I present many photos of this dress.

There are dramatic back views, of course.

And front views showing the bust, waist, hip dimensions I worked very hard at in the patterning stages. This is created/augmented with padding. You can read more about that in this past post.

There are also views trying to show both the front and back. A side front view, if you will. This also captures the hat very well. I wrote a detailed post about making it, which you can read here.

And a few more sitting photos, as well. These are great for showing off the train and the layers that support it (this is my past post about constructing the skirt and this is about the balayeuse that supports the skirt, if you’d like to know more).