Retroscopic retail therapy
So what do you do when your whoppy big bonus gets decimated by payroll taxes, swiftly followed by a large car repair bill, a large vet bill and husband out sick all week with no hours or sick pay....and hey, look - it's income tax season!
"Hang on, Newts, it's Retail Therapy Time!"
So I've been drooling over the Retroscope Fashions website for months, wanting to pick up a few anchor items that can be worked into a number of different steampunk outfits and versatile enough to work in other settings, possibly inspiring me to start sewing again. But as these things tend to happen, the minute I'd clabber together enough cash, BANG, they'd be out of my size and I'd have to wait and hope that I wouldn't go broke over the month it usually takes to restock. This is my second time around on that particular cycle. Time to get it out of my system. They have my size! I has my credit card!!! :::wibble::: (!)
So I settled on the long black cotton bustle skirt. They have also the same skirt in three colours in satin, but satin = static cling = sticky-uppy hair + drycleaning and, to me, anyway, satin feels creepy. ("Tell your Mom I said 'Satin, Satin, Satin!')
After agonizing long and hard (it's not like I have extra cash every five minutes) and though now is still not a good time, it was time to just do it. I also went ahead and added the sleeveless pinstripe blouse to my plunder. I came close to getting the "grande dame" blouse instead, since the long sleeves would be nice at work, being that it's freezing everyday in that all-the-time-omg-my-nads-just-fell-off wait-a-minute-I-don't-even-HAVE-nads-kind of freezing that they have going on in nearly every non-government-funded building around here. But ......back to the blouse.....I'm not impressed with the fit around the armscye. Looks like it would haul the whole shirt up if she were to raise her arm. With the sleeveless blouse, no worries about the arm fit and I can throw on a nice jacket when it's cold. Versatility! I love the pinstripes and I'm feeling optimistic about the ruffles.
There are a few other things I'd be tempted to get, but I have enough raw materials and re-workables, that I should be able to pad out a respectably steampunk trousseau fairly quickly. Very nearly got a hoop skirt to go underneath, but I want to see how short the overskirt becomes after a few trips through the laundry. (It starts out at 40 inches, and is expected to shrink a bit). Then I'll try my hand at making a suitable bustle. I don't want something that's going to take up a lot of space in a crowded venue, but then again a 6-hoop would work for Civ War, Tudor, Elizabethan, Restoration and all kinds of fantasy costumes. I also learned at a very hot SCA event that a hoop skirt can keep you surprisingly cool underneath on a hot day.
Reasonably priced hoop skirts can be found on Amazon.com of all places. It's worth it not to settle for anything with fewer than 4 hoops. They don't support the skirts as well and the silhouette isn't as smooth. I found a 6-hooper at a decent price, but opted to wait and see what I have to work with when the skirt is done shrinking. Would be a shame to pay for six hoops only to have to cut one off. Another plus about the hoops is that they're adjustable to fit various skirts.
But then I could just put together something with what I already have on hand. For instance there happens to be an electric blue squaredance petticoat that I snagged years ago at a thrift store for a few bucks. I suspect that I'll end up making a light-but-strong underskirt, cut the petticoat apart at the side seams and then join them one over the other, slightly overlapped on the back of the base skirt to create a non-hoop bustle with all the fullness in the back where it belongs. And having said all that about hoops, the bustle would actually be more "correct," but hoops are easier to find, and cheaper.
As for accessories.... a few weeks ago I picked up some wingtip oxfords rather like these at DSW, but I think mine look better. More importantly, they're well balanced and comfortable enough to walk in all day. I also found a similar brown pair (square toe, smooth finish, no detailing) for a few bucks at the thrift store, so I'm all set for vintage-look footwear that crosses over nicely to work wardrobe. ...... Anyway I ordered the Retroscope skirt and blouse late last night. Should ship on Friday for delivery by the middle of next week. Eeee!
Maybe next time I find myself with an unruly wad of cash I'll finally get one of those gorgeous Kambriel jackets..... Hopefully I'll have gotten back to sewing for real by then. (OK, who am I kidding....I'll still want to own a Kambriel jacket.... Cabaret Bustle, Crystal Palace, or Shadow Filligree?) At least it will be a awhile before I'm in a position to choose.
Ahhh. ::: flop :::