Jane Austen Evening 2011 - Menswear Recap

The men pulled out all the stops this year at the annual Jane Austen Evening! The ladies looked lovely, as always, but I thought the men really stepped it up. I've got a few pictures to share of the dapper men - but I missed quite a few, there were too many good-looking gents!

And first, what you've all been waiting for...drumroll please...

Chris in his suit! Here he's got on his tailcoat, waistcoat, shirt and cravat. You can see the little ventilation hole in the shirt that he insisted on leaving open lest he die from the heat. The 1930's pants were a big hit - lots of men were wearing modern pants, and he even got a few compliments on them.

 The annual meeting of the Tolerant Husbands Society. This Society is also open to any male friends or brothers that one might be able to bribe with cookies.

Look at the fabulous fit on this outfit! You have to be confident to wear it, that's for sure, and he was quite snazzy. I like the shirring at the sleeve cap. 

I snuck a back view - since he was gracious enough to pose for the front, I figured it was okay. :o) 

Another Chris! This gentleman sews his own clothes (maybe sometime I can get mixed up and bring him home instead of mine? Nah, we'd just fight over the ironing board or something). He's the mastermind behind this Royal Naval uniform that I've drooled over many times - I was so excited when I saw him walk by and had to go over to introduce myself!

I got a closeup of his neckcloth, very impressive! Chris said he used rice starch on his cravat, and Lauren realized that he used the Perfect Pleater for his shirt ruffles. I found his post on the rice starch on the Regency Society of America message boards, where he is a frequent poster, and I'm sure would be willing to answer any questions you might post. I'll probably pop over with a few of my own!

 Undoubtedly the cutest young gentleman at the Ball. Look at those stockings!

These next two outfits might be my favorites of the night, for sheer ingenuity. These men were accompanied by lovely ladies who deconstructed and repurposed thrifted suits, and turned them into incredible regency wear. What a great idea! you get all the fun of making cool collars etc, without having to make the icky welt pockets! (And they were quite well-done too - it wasn't until I was told *the secret* that I saw how they were remade!)

Another repurposed Regency suit, and the fine lady who made it. 

Showing where she pieced the tailcoat together - cut a little off the front, add it to the back, and voila!

And here ends my menswear recap...don't worry, I know I still owe you a review of the waistcoat I made, and probably a couple other things... :) If you want to see the tasty cookies from the event, pop over to V is for Vintage and say hi!

Girly Stuff

I'm trying to keep most of this blog relating to menswear, but since most of you who read it are women, I figure you won't mind a little girly stuff. :)

Last weekend a girlfriend and I went shopping for fabric for our dresses, and we both scored! Fabric, trim, gloves, shawl, and purse (we both already have shoes). I haven't had such a productive shopping trip in a LONG time - having a second pair of eyes definitely helped. Love the LA garment district!


My loot displayed for our hubbys to admire...

Melton and Hymo and Canvas, Oh My!

As we get deeper and deeper into the year, the next Jane Austen Evening looms closer and closer...so rather than working on the coat, which should be my priority, I've been stalling and working on the other (easier) parts. I think Chris might be getting worried that he'll be coatless, cause he's been nudging me back to working on it. He'd rather have a tailcoat than trousers...to each their own! ;)

We set a shopping date to go to B. Black in downtown LA this Saturday. I'm hoping to get everything in one trip because their hours are a little limited so going back several times would be a pain. This means I need to figure out how the darned thing goes together, so I can get the right stuff - easier said than done!

I've only found a couple resources that describe Regency men's coat construction. To Cut a Regency Coat offers descriptions of the inner construction, and Men's Garment's 1830-1900 has a couple pages and a diagram. Not much to go from, but it's a start. Oh! And Lauren has progress shots of her tailcoat in this blog post.

What I've learned is that these garments were less heavily tailored than jackets today - no shoulder pads, self facing/lining at the front, and only a canvas or linen stay at the back neck (the back is unlined). The front skirts were lined with a contrast fabric.

I'm a little panicked, but lists make me feel more in control. What am I missing?

Shopping List
Wool Melton for Body & Front Facing
Contrast Fabric? for Collar
Lining (cotton?) for front skirt & maybe sleeves
Hymo for front interfacing & front shoulder
Collar Canvas for collar interfacing (I already have some, or else I wouldn't be so spendy!)
Undercollar Felt
Twill Tape for roll line
Thread
Buttons (self-covered?)

Can I just say how glad I am that I'm skipping making Halloween costumes this year?

Jane Austen Evening 2010

Last year I discovered a lovely event near us called the Jane Austen Evening - you dress up in Regency period clothing, drink tea, and dance the historical dances. This particular event has been happening for almost 20 years now, and is stronger than ever from what I hear. I signed up for it, and my wonderful husband was willing to join me. (I made sure they had plenty of cookies - I can usually get him to go places that have cookies.)

In the weeks prior, we attended dance lessons and I made a "gown" to wear. Since it was our first time attending, we didn't want to spend money on clothes for him until we knew if we wanted to continue, so he wore a vintage 1930's tux. 

Jane Austen Evening, Pasadena, 2010

We loved the event - lots of dressup goodness for me, and lots of cookies for him. So we're going back next year, and the year after that, and after that, and so now he needs a tailcoat. And breeches. And a cravat. We have none of these things, and I sew very slowly, so it's a good thing we have many years for this project!

I'm going to use this blog to document putting his costume together. My new year's resolution this year was to learn tailoring, so after procrastinating all year I'm throwing myself into this huge project. I doubt it will be finished in time for the 2011 Ball, but I'm hoping that this blog will help keep me focused on making progress.

And hopefully soon the awkwardness of this first post will be happily buried under many weeks of posting. :)