This week I met up with my mum for a day out (our first in AGES!). After getting some delicious cakes to fill us up we headed over to Glasgow’s Scotland Street School Museum. This was the first time I’d visited and I have to say it’s a really nice museum. It’s essentially an old school building, which as my mum pointed out, was almost the exact same layout as her primary school in Glasgow years ago. She could have probably given me a guided tour without much trouble 🙂

The main reason for our visit was the Bathing Belles exhibition showing “200 years of swimming in Glasgow” I was quite excited to see some Victorian, Edwardian and other vintage-y swimwear but I was slightly disappointed in the number of pieces they had on display. It was quite a small room, and wasn’t used to its full advantage really. There were plenty of photographs and stories which were fun to look at but it didn’t really go into much depth about anything. It felt a bit like an introduction to history exhibition rather than something more focused.

One even more disappointing factor was the video display that was showing home movie footage and the like of open air beauty pageants but didn’t bother offering any information as to time and place, which kind of made the whole thing pointless.

However I did take some photos of the pieces on display and thought I’d share some of my favourite!

A wonderful late Victorian two-piece, I am determined to replicate this one day for myself.

This is a gorgeous set made of silk. I think it was late Edwardian, when it was fashionable to wear “Beach pyjamas” also when it was still considered indecent for woman to show a lot of skin.

     

Both examples of 1950s swimwear, I absolutely love the darting in the suit. I’m also convinced that we have a bathing cap like that sitting in our loft somewhere that used to belong to my grandma.

Now we get onto the knitted swimwear. We have something similar to the first one at my parent’s house that once belonged to my grandfather. And as my brother once said “you can’t beat a nice bit of knitted swimwear”

             

I also love the colour choices of the second one, salmon pink with maroon. Yikes!

I love the structure in these older pieces. Before nylon and Lycra were used, the dressmakers still needed to use darts and seams to shape the outfit to the body. This piece is definitely for showing off your beach body, even if you were just sunbathing in Prestwick on summer holidays.

In other news I’m almost finished the bodice and sleeve sections of my regency gown. I’ll be attaching the sleeves tomorrow. I’ve also found the fabric I want to use for my front fall breeches, so I’ll hopefully be getting that in the next week or so. This also means I can move on from the toile and finish my blog posts about the toile!!

I’ve also started listing a few of my pieces on eBay and I seem to be getting a bit of interest so that good 🙂 Anyway I hope you enjoyed my jaunt into Glasgow.

Until next time

See you in the future ♥

I’ve been working on loads of kids Halloween costumes this week all of which will hopefully be listed by next weekend. 🙂 I have a knight costume, pirate costumes for both boys and girls and I’m thinking of maybe a princess costume to go with the knight.

Haven’t really done anything more on my regency gown or with my regency pantaloons but when I finish these kids things I’ll get right onto them.

For the gown, I just need to do another fitting and a couple of pattern adjustments then I can start using the final fabric.

I’m still looking for a fabric for the pantaloons, I’m thinking some kind of brown or maybe dark green or blue wool or twill. I think I need to do a bit more research into colour and fabric before going out to buy anything.

In other news my mum just got her university results and has officially qualified as an Art Psychotherapist. Going back to uni was such huge thing for her, and she had to deal with some pretty big health issues smack bang in the middle of the course. But she persevered, worked crazy hard and did it. I’m so crazy proud of her, and I’ll be buying her celebration cake very soon!

We have my cousin’s wedding this weekend which should be really fun. I love hanging out with our extended family and I always feel like I never get to spend enough time with them. Plus it’ll be the first time introducing the Viking boy to the extended family so that should be exciting.

There really wasn’t much of a point to this blog post other than a need to write something. I’ll do an update on the pantaloons soon, as I still have to go through the waistband process.

Last but not least, I have an interview appearing in the Glasgow Evening Times soon. It’ll be available in the paper and on their website. I’ll be sure to post a link up when it appears. I even had a photographer round to take some shots of me to go with the interview so I’m quite excited to see what it turns out like 🙂

Ok I’ve kind of run out of steam now so until then

See you in the future! ♥

I figured 2 weeks was enough of a gap before giving you another update on how my front fall breeches/pantaloons are doing!

I haven’t really done much more than make up the toile. I realised that with Halloween coming up soon I should really get on with some costumes for the shop. I’ve been working on both a Knight’s outfit and a little pirate one.  I’m going to be photographing and listing these tomorrow along with my men’s regency shirt and another bonnet.

As well as working on those I had a photographer from The Evening Times round on Thursday for the spotlight interview I did for their business column. That meant going a little overboard in gutting the flat and reorganising my studio. I even shampooed the hall carpet and washed the living room windows (inside and out). In the end he was here for about 10 minutes and didn’t see anything of the flat other than the living room/studio but never mind! The interview should be out this Wednesday and I’ll be linking to it on my Facebook page when it’s out 🙂

Ok on with the pantaloons!

I finished last time with the bearers stitched on ready to cut the falls.

Hopefully you can see it (although it’s really pale – I should have used contrasting thread)

But the stitch line attaching the bearers to the front is about 1/8 inch from the cutting line for the front fall. This will obviously create a gap but the binders will cover this anyway 🙂

So I promised a photo blog of my attempt at front fall breeches/pantaloons and here it is!

In this part I’ll discuss the pattern, a bit of the history of the design and the first attempts at assembly.

I used a pattern from “The Cut of Men’s Clothes 1600-1900” by Norah Waugh. I love this book; it gives really clear and straightforward versions of historical patterns along with an overview of clothing from each era and lots of comments from contemporary sources. I’m also planning at some point to buy a copy of Waugh’s other book “The Cut of Women’s Clothes 1600-1930”.

The pattern I used is from 1795 and features one leg seam on the outside.

When I first saw this pattern I was entirely confused by it. Although I have made 18^th century breeches in the past they were from a theatrical pattern so had an inside and outside leg seam. Instead of trying to grade up the pattern to fit my model the first time I decided to just do the standard pattern size in order to find out how to make them.

According to Waugh, pantaloons evolved from breeches and became more popular during the 19^th century.

So my first task was to draft the patterns, I was a bit confused at first by the fact that the binders and bearer  were drawn into the main pattern.  One of my only complaints with Waugh’s books is that there are absolutely no instructions or guide in how to assemble the patterns. I understand that as these patterns are based on historical pieces and advancing in tailoring mean that it might be difficult to give cutting guide, I still wish there was at least some instruction 🙂

I had hoped that after drafting it the construction would come clear but it wasn’t any more helpful to see it full size haha

The thing that threw me is that once assembled the outside leg seam curves out instead of round as in later trouser patterns

But I persevered and started working out how to attach the bearers. When making up the final pantaloons I’ll be using lining but for this trial I just folded over and top-stitched the seam allowance.

At first I attached them and then couldn’t work out how to cut the fall while leaving them in place. It also turned out that I was trying to attach them on the wrong side!

But then I figured it out, I think it’s going to be tricky to do it without having loose threads and rough edges showing but if I can do it with jet pockets I can do it with these!

This is what the bearers look like before the fall is cut 🙂

Ok that’s it for this time! Next post I’ll go through the front fall piece and binders.

See you in the future! ♥

I know it’s been a crazy long time since I blogged but I’m back and I have things to share!

Last time I mentioned I was getting a new ankle foot orthotic. I was worried that the space design might be a bit childish but in the end it turned out really nice. It has a huge uplift, which it didn’t have last time so I also need a tiny uplift in my left show to balance me out. So in the end it adds about an inch onto my height.

I’m getting used to it now. It was a bit of a nightmare in Canada as it was so hot and I have to wear knee length socks with it so it doesn’t rub. This means it feels like I’m wearing winter boots in the middle of summer and with the weather in Canada getting up to 30°c with 80% humidity it wasn’t always appealing to wear it but I persevered even when I got a huge mosquito bite just at the top of the where the splint sat, so it rubbed like crazy.

I’m also getting used to people staring at my leg, especially when I’m wearing a skirt or shorts as its plainly visible. I can understand why people are curious because it is this big plastic thing strapped to my leg but not like a cast for a broken leg. I haven’t encountered any negativity yet which is nice, just curious glances, which for the most part I ignore.

I’m currently henna-ing my hair so I figured while I wait I could write a new blog post! Yay!

Although since I hate using the rubber gloves my hands look orange and the places where the henna has spilt onto my arms look like they are covered in bruises, oops!

So update,

I’m going back to Canada in less than a month. My friends are expecting their second baby so I get to spend a month spending time with some of my favourite people; play with my adorable god daughter and her gorgeous baby sister or brother. Also it’s summer there so I might actually get a sun tan or maybe a little colour by getting slightly burnt (totally by accident of course).

After roughly 10 years without one I’m getting a new foot orthosis. I still haven’t decided quite how I feel about it to be honest. I’m trying to stay positive because I know that in the long term it is a good things but I also remember how much I hated wearing one when I was younger, and the separation it caused between me and the rest of my classmates at school. I was never bullied over that but it was always a reminder that I was different and that I couldn’t do all the physical things I might have wanted to. I struggled in physical education, sometimes being left to do my own physio exercises.

On the plus side however I’m getting new boots for free from the hospital because it is stupidly difficult to find shoes that fit with an orthosis. Also this time I got a choice of colours or designs to have on my splint. When I was younger, it was the basic hospital opaque white so I had to decorate it myself with stickers and paint. Although since I am extremely childish still, I chose to get space and stars as the design. I may at some point paint some things onto it anyway like the TARDIS or the Enterprise.

.I’m hoping it’ll look something like this, and while I’m pretty sure it won’t be as spectacular, a girl can dream.

As far as business updates go, I finally got my 19^th Century Men’s shirt and cravat finished and listed on Etsy. I also have my romantic corset toile almost finished and ready for a fitting. My plan is to eventually have both a male and female Victorian outfit finished and photographed. I’m trying to be as historically accurate as possible so research takes up about 40% of the process I really miss doing academia so I love doing that much research for these pieces.

The shirt is made from 100% cotton. I used hand stitched buttonholes, partly for accuracy and partly because I prefer to do them by hand. The cravat is 100% silk black and white check. I found it in a remnant bin in a fabric shop and fell in love, I wish I could make a full Victorian gown out of it, but it would be sooo expensive 😦

My initial inspiration came from the 2011 Jane Eyre film. I wanted to create a couples wardrobe. One of my all-time favourite things is men’s period costume so starting Etsy gave me the perfect chance to try another 3 piece suit, which I haven’t done since college. I’ve also always wanted to try doing a Victorian women’s piece, since at college we focused on 18th century things. But then I saw Jane Eyre and well look at the pretty!

Then came North and South, and well you can tell from my previous post I am somewhat enamoured with this book and series.

 

I don’t think I’ll have time to do much more of the outfits before I go to Canada but I’ve at least made a start. I still need to decide on the fabric for my gown. I would like to have it somewhat matching or at least complimentary with the man’s outfit but I might just do it with a bit of detail like a new cravat or handkerchief. I’m leaning towards a mainly black or grey look for the man’s one but I could be flexible.

I think I’m starting to ramble now so I better finish up also my henna seems to be dripping down my neck so it may soon be time to wash it out.

See you in the future! ❤

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So I started this post on the 25th March and am only now getting a chance to finish it. Oops.

I think setting this up as a monthly blog at first might allow me an actual fighting chance of regularly updating.

Anyway, let’s move onto the interesting bit.

This weekend has been lovely. My wonderful friend from university came to see me, shockingly it’s been almost 2 years since I saw her last (our graduation in 2011) so we spent a lot of time catching up, reminiscing and most importantly fangirling. As the boy announced late Saturday night we are very loud together. And we are. I loved being able to completely relax and fangirl and squee and ramble about how much I love minute details such as Lizzie playing with Darcy’s tie in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries or the looks given by John Thornton to Margaret Hale in North & South.

Part of being a costume designer, and film and tv graduate means I’m always on the lookout for such details. Not only is it my passion but it’s also my training. I love rewatching films that I love and picking up on new details every time. I’m taking North and South as the example since it was one of the most recent films I watched (for the umpteenth time) while the first few times I watched this it was for Richard Armitage and this wonderful end scene but now when I watch it I keep seeing this:

The inner sleeve of her gorgeous striped pagoda sleeve jacket (and matching skirt) is spotty. Grey chiffon with tiny black spots. A wonderful match to the grey and black stripes without being too monotone. It also shows the amount of thought, detail and research that has gone into these costumes. It would have been so easy to use plain white cotton or chiffon but this tiny little detail shows the talent and artistry of Mike O’Neill.

         

This series is also an extremely good example of how class changes clothing. While Mr Bell, the overall owner of Marlborough Mills (also Margaret’s and Fredrick’s god-father) is often flamboyant and expensive, this shows his higher position in society. This shows in his outfits both at Mrs Thornton’s dinner and his visits to Oxford and Helstane:

Or here in Oxford, compared to Mr Hale’s sombre black, Bell is cheerful in multi-coloured checks.
We again see these colourful checks when he visits Helstane with Margaret.

The Hales are, in slight contrast, much more sombre in their clothing, not just because of Mr Hale’s position as a clergyman. They are lower than Mr Bell in society, but still much wealthier than the Higgins’ or Bouchers which is noticeable.

Here, Margaret is giving some of her old and unused lace collars and dress details to Bessy, who helpfully points out “And what would I be doing with so so grand as that?”

You can also see the Higgins’ place in society based on Nicholas’ clothing. He predominately wears a loose shirt with a waistcoat, clearly old and somewhat frayed. These clothes show wear and tear, they show a hard life, and they show that for this family, or for families in similar circumstances they make do with what they have.

The Boucher children also feature as an example:

And last but not least is Mary Higgins. She is seen in roughly the same outfit throughout most of the piece. Her woollen shawl is used both during mourning and for warmth and comfort during the winter months.

The details of the costumes range from the most obvious: Nicholas never wears a cravat, whereas the cravat is used as a bonding piece between Thornton and his mother during one point, to the extremely subtle – the stiffened starched perfection of Thornton’s shirts and jackets compared to Nicholas’ well-worn and dishevelled clothes.
This is one of the reasons I love this piece as it shows a really deep understanding by Sandy Welch and Mike O’Neill of both the nuances of Gaskell’s novel but also what clothes can show us in terms of class, wealth and pride. But it is also an excellent example of how costumes can be used to help successfully adapt novels to film and television. 

Basically I am a huge costume and history geek and this was a good example for me to geek out for a bit 🙂

Hopefully I can start updating this blog more regularly from now on, but until then….

See you in the future ♥

I’ve been keeping a blog in some way for the past 7 or 8 years now, but I always reach a point where I’m too busy to update regularly or a find an exciting new project and forget about that lonely little web page gathering dust in the corner.

As for the rest of this website I will be adding more to it as I go along so I hope you all stay along for the journey! 😀

So there isn’t really a point to this post apart from the fact I finished watching The Fades this morning and wanted to have a bit of a flail about how epic it was.

I know, I know you’re all sitting there thinking “But Rhona, The Fades were on months ago” and you’d be right unfortunately I only managed to see the first 4 episodes of the 6 part series before disappearing off to Canada, meaning I had to wait all this time before managing to get a copy to finish watching the show.

And the only words I am able to form are Oh Holy God. (Ok I had a few more choice words than that but this is supposed to be a family friendly blog)

I love this show for many reasons:

First, the fact it’s this tiny little show hidden away on BBC Three where barely anyone noticed it. This is one of the reasons I am so fond of the BBC, yes they release garbage like Strictly Come Dancing or Top Gear BUT every once in a while they come out with little gems of almost independent works like this. It makes me appreciate the value of the licence fee, in providing original programming without too much commercial interference or agenda.

Second, is Daniel Kaluuya. Not only was he really cool on Skins (and a staff writer….how epic is that) in this he plays the ultimate geek/narrator. When he plans to save the world (or at least his chances of hooking up at a school dance and later his best friend) his first response is to use the lessons he’s learned from Star Wars. I only wish I had a best friend like that at school, someone with that kind of wonderfully geeky knowledge.

And Finally, I actually love the costumes of this show. The details of each character’s clothing are highly telling of the type of person they are. Neil is about loneliness and self-reliance, while Paul is the geeky little kid given too much to handle.

I noticed that as the final episode arrived and Paul grew braver but also more burdened his costumes became darker, and more subdued (ok to be fair he’s covered in blood in this one but my point still stands)

It’s this attention to detail which always made me want to become a costume designer. The old adage goes that if you are a writer, you need to know your characters inside and out, even if not every detail comes out on paper/screen but the same can be said for the costume designers. You need to have an in-depth knowledge of the characters to understand why this or that character would wear a particular thing at a particular time.

Also, as a side note I love Paul’s purple/red jeans.

This has been a fangirl flail post.

See you in the future! ♥

This week I am blaming the lateness of my blogging on staying up until 2am watching Father Ted and then Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone with the boy.

Still, it’s Monday and I am here to brighten it up for you 😀

First up: My shops is officially relaunched! you can see some of the products on the Etsy tab to the right of this post under my profile. Or just hope over to etsy itself and have a peek! Wednesday’s Child Is on Etsy and for a limited time only enjoy an extra 10% off your entire order with the code “SHINYSHINY12” (without the quotation marks obviously) Just my way of saying thanks for sticking with me during my inability to blog and my stress filled month trying to get the shop up and running again 😀

Next, I need to give you something fun to brighten your day. The video I’m linking you to is fairly old in internet terms but is, in my opinion one of the greatest things on the internet ever and is the sort of the thing the internet is made for 😀

So without much further ado I give you: A Muppet’s Bohemien Rhapsody

Enjoy and I’ll see you all soon! 😀

♥