In which there is Creativity
So, occasion: nedlnthred's boyfriend's birthday; a gala affair where the guests were requested to come in black tie, lingerie, or togas. Being us, we chose Door Number Two; something Moulin Rouge-inspired, perhaps with a dash of the ahistorical but really nifty courtesan outfits in Dangerous Beauty.
It so hap'd I had need to shop for corsets anyways, so I went down to Purple Passion, and they had something in my size that looked good on me, so I snarfed it. (It's claret silk with black/burgundy rose tracery.) I can't afford it, the more so upon realizing just how little we're actually getting out of the house sale (math is hard! let's go shopping!), but eating ramen is cheap and slimming, neh? But then, what to wear for a skirt? Thus I spent Saturday at Beth's, while she was making a corset from scratch, oh yes she did, figuring out how to turn my bias-flared black skirt into an Object of Greater Interest.
I took some of the scarlet silk taffeta Beth had bought for her skirt, cut it into seven 1.5" wide strips, and tacked them vertically on the skirt. Then I took some black lace (she needed the border motif; I used the center bit) and made a lace overskirt, which I swagged up along the front to match the bias flare, attaching it on each side with pink satin ribbon roses that I dug out of a corner. So that, and the corset over it, and garter belt with fishnets, and knee-high black satin boots with stiletto heels, and delicate pink-rose motif pendant necklace with matching earrings; and I did my hair in a coronet of braids with pink rosebuds from sweh's garden woven in. I am pleased to say that, for once, the end product of my labors came out pretty much as I had visualized them. It was a difficult birth, but the delivery was even mostly on time.
Lessons learnt:
1) Wow, a dress mannequin really does make it easer to faff around with what you're doing.
1a) But it's hard to faff when you don't want to be cutting your tolerably large bolt of fabric yet, since you haven't worked out how large a piece (or pieces) you will need for the task. This seems to require a level of visualization higher than my current tech level.
2) My machine-stitching skills are still kinda crap (though, in my defense, Beth's machine is not unlike a very fussy Thoroughbred).
3) Taffeta catches the light in markedly differing fashion depending on which direction you cut it in. (This caused me to waste some fabric {though it can probably be used for bindings} and about 40 minutes.)
4) I want to play more with shiny pretty things, which regrettably my usual historical efforts do not allow for.
5) I can drive an hour+ in a corset, because I am awesome.
It so hap'd I had need to shop for corsets anyways, so I went down to Purple Passion, and they had something in my size that looked good on me, so I snarfed it. (It's claret silk with black/burgundy rose tracery.) I can't afford it, the more so upon realizing just how little we're actually getting out of the house sale (math is hard! let's go shopping!), but eating ramen is cheap and slimming, neh? But then, what to wear for a skirt? Thus I spent Saturday at Beth's, while she was making a corset from scratch, oh yes she did, figuring out how to turn my bias-flared black skirt into an Object of Greater Interest.
I took some of the scarlet silk taffeta Beth had bought for her skirt, cut it into seven 1.5" wide strips, and tacked them vertically on the skirt. Then I took some black lace (she needed the border motif; I used the center bit) and made a lace overskirt, which I swagged up along the front to match the bias flare, attaching it on each side with pink satin ribbon roses that I dug out of a corner. So that, and the corset over it, and garter belt with fishnets, and knee-high black satin boots with stiletto heels, and delicate pink-rose motif pendant necklace with matching earrings; and I did my hair in a coronet of braids with pink rosebuds from sweh's garden woven in. I am pleased to say that, for once, the end product of my labors came out pretty much as I had visualized them. It was a difficult birth, but the delivery was even mostly on time.
Lessons learnt:
1) Wow, a dress mannequin really does make it easer to faff around with what you're doing.
1a) But it's hard to faff when you don't want to be cutting your tolerably large bolt of fabric yet, since you haven't worked out how large a piece (or pieces) you will need for the task. This seems to require a level of visualization higher than my current tech level.
2) My machine-stitching skills are still kinda crap (though, in my defense, Beth's machine is not unlike a very fussy Thoroughbred).
3) Taffeta catches the light in markedly differing fashion depending on which direction you cut it in. (This caused me to waste some fabric {though it can probably be used for bindings} and about 40 minutes.)
4) I want to play more with shiny pretty things, which regrettably my usual historical efforts do not allow for.
5) I can drive an hour+ in a corset, because I am awesome.