Jane Austen Festival 2019 at Locust Grove

This time I’m the one looking beyond the antique glass at the Promenade of festival goers below.

It’s no secret how excited I get for costumed events and the Jane Austen Festival at Locust Grove in Louisville is like my Superbowl. Last year I went as an observer but this year, I went in costume and loved every single second of it. In the past year I’ve made so many new friends around the country and it was my first time meeting many of them in person. So many conversations started something like “I know you… but I don’t know you, but I know your instagram!” Thank God for social media and the good it can do in creating so many friendships for such a niche hobby.

For the sake of getting these photos up onto the blog, I’m not linking to each person’s blog or social media right away but if you see yourself and would like that - please let me know! I’ll update them as you contact me! And feel free to snag any image you want with a photo credit in your post (I’m @jessicajquirk on Instagram!)

I can’t wait to see all of my costuming babes next year at the Jane Austen Festival!

Sara and I pose for a photo - follow her here on Instagram.

Jenn and Jessica of Penny River Costumes.

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Time Traveling | Jane Austen Festival circa 1810

It’s mid July which means it’s time for the Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, KY! I went last year on a whim and it’s what sparked my interest in historical costume. Before this I’d made historically based costumes, but nothing very researched or accurate. Now that I’m in… I’m all in! You’ve seen my 1780s looks here and here, but let’s jump forward in time to the early 19th century! Let me tell you all about it!

Short Sleeved Gown

This dress is based on an extant gown from the Fashion Archives and Museum of Shippensburg University and was found in a family attic in Pennsylvania. Could you imagine finding something like that? I would lose my damn mind! The pattern for this dress is made by Fig Leaf Patterns and I actually tried this style on at last year’s festival, so I knew it would fit! My original plan for my Jane Austen dress ended up being a huge bust, but this style came together easily in a few days!

Shorter sleeves are typically an evening look, but knowing how hot it can be in Louisville, I decided I’m ok with wearing it for the daytime. Plus - THOSE SLEEVES! They’re the feature that drew me to the pattern in the first place and in a cotton batiste fabric, I think they’re perfect.

Under the gown I’m wearing my corded stays (which may skew a little later than 1810, but not by much), a regency style petticoat (which is almost like a short bodice attached to the skirt - otherwise it would be difficult to keep up at the empire waistline) and a chemisette (which was patterned from the American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Fashion. It’s partly for modesty (strangers don’t need to see your cleavage, girl) and partly to keep the sun off your delicate skin. Interestingly, showing some skin is appropriate in the evening when amongst one’s peers. So for dinner I’ll take off the chemisette, change my hair, scarf and jewelry but wear the same dress.

Accessories

All of my accessories are homemade, from my costume box or from the thrift store. I blocked and trimmed my hat (video here)using silk and velvet ribbons from Let’s Sew (which is my all time favorite fabric store in Evansville, IN) plus a faux snapdragon I had in my stash. The style isn’t an exact copy but I used fashion plates from the era to get inspiration. The necklace was something I made waaaay back in the day that I found in my basement! Ditto with the scarf - it was something I had on hand and has an Indian style print which was very popular in the early 19th century. My broach was 25 cents at a garage sale and my gloves are from the costume box. On my feet I’m wearing white ballet slippers, also a thrift shop find, but as we speak the paint is drying on another pair of flats that I may wear for the actual event.

One of my favorite accessories is my little pocket edition hardback book… which is actually my iPhone case! I made it myself by cutting out the interior of the book to fit my iPhone and Adam drilled a hole for me where the camera lens goes (which he actually did right after we took these photos, so there’s not an actual pic of that - sorry!) So now I can look like an accomplished lady reading in the shade of some great oak tree while I’m actually updating my instragam with photos from the day!

I’ve said this before, but there’s something about wearing historic garb that really makes me feel like me. I’ve always loved history and especially costume history and I cannot wait to spend the day with ladies and gentlemen who share the same passion. I’ve been corresponding with so many folks over the past few months that I get to meet in person tomorrow and although I’m a wee bit nervous, I’m also really excited. These are my people, this is my world. Let’s time travel, darling.

Time Traveling | 18th Century Dinner Party

Over the weekend I felt like a straight up royal, all dressed up in a 1770s pink silk gown. Adam and I drove to Ohio’s oldest hotel, the Golden Lamb, for an intimate dinner party with guests dressed in their best 18th century ensembles. We had such a great time and loved meeting historical fashion enthusiasts! And seeing their gowns and suits close up was a thrill! Many thanks to our gracious hostess Amber, who organized our event!

Let me tell you about my look from head to toe! I loved every single step of this project - researching the history, finding inspiration, sewing and especially wearing it. If you’d asked me a year ago if dressing up in Georgian finery would be my favorite hobby… well, I probably would have believed you. I love it!

I started getting ready for the night by putting on my sleeveless shift and embroidered stays. These were the only items that went over my head and I wanted to have those on before I started my elaborate hair style. I worked with 3 day dirty hair which had already been powdered a couple times. I divided my hair into a front and back section and to create the height and used a skein of yarn (thanks for the tip Yunna!) and pinned my hair over it and directly behind it. Once I was happy with the coverage and height (covering all of the yarn can be a tad fiddly), I pulled my remaining hair into a low bun. Then, I clipped in a hairpiece that had been previously wet set into five curls. Adam helped me pin those curls over the edges so the base of the hairpiece was invisible.

After a vigorous spritz of hairspray, I lightly powdered all of my hair. The photos don’t quite capture the coverage, but it looked awesome! Some might wonder - why was grey/white hair a trend in the 18th century? From my research I believe it first started with the use of wigs by royalty in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many believe it was to cover the baldness brought about by STDs (seriously) and then evolved into a fashion trend. White wigs were the most expensive and thus the look of white hair became most fashionable. Pastels blue, pink and purple powders were also on trend. A tax levied on hair powder at the end of the 18th century helped it fall out of style. I really look forward to expanding my knowledge of historically accurate hair styles but I really loved what I came up with for this occasion!

For makeup I simply powdered my face, did a berry colored lip and used the same lipstick to dab onto my cheeks. I did a quick swipe of mascara and was done!

Before I put on my gown, I dressed in additional layers to add more volume under my gown and petticoat. First, a simple white quilted cotton petticoat worn with a false rump stuffed to add more fluff to the back of my dress. Then I tucked my sheer fichu into the top of my stays (which can also be tucked into your petticoat at the waist… but I needed my bodice to lay perfectly flat and didn’t want any of the fichu edges showing underneath!) At this time I also had on white stockings and my American Duchess Kensington buckled shoes.

Next up - the gown! I used six yards of pink silk to make both the petticoat (underskirt) and gown. On the petticoat there is a 7” ruffle with scalloped and pinked edges sewn to the hem. The dress has ruched sleeve cuffs and trim around the neckline and center front opening. At the neck and sleeve edges I also placed a narrow sheer ruffle. The matching petticoat, also called a ditto, is intentionally short - those Georgians loved to show a little ankle!

At my waist I have a 2” wide band of brocade silk, which actually came from my grandmother’s wedding dress (see her wedding photos here). Me, my sister and all of my girl cousins have had a piece of her dress for our weddings (I wrapped mine around my bouquet). I was rushed on what to use and wanted silk so I asked my mom if there was enough of this fabric at home to make a simple belt. She stitched it up for me and handed it off as we headed out the door for our road trip. No, it’s not perfectly 1770s in motif but it looks great, it’s special and perfect to me!

Lastly I pinned on a corsage made of springy faux flowers. I’ve seen this in a lot of portraits and illustrations and I love the way it add dimension and color to my overall look.

And that’s it! We had such a wonderful time and I’m already on the hunt for a venue closer to home so I might host something similar in the future!

Inspired By | 18th Century Pink

If we’re friends on Instagram, you may have seen some photos of my weekend journey time traveling to a historic hotel in Ohio with Adam for an 18th century dinner party (yes, it was amazing!) Before I share those photos, I wanted to break down my inspiration for the project and share some images that guided me through my most recent costume adventure!

When I saw the photo above left, I knew I wanted to re-create a similar gown. My first historical project was for a daytime event and made from Red chintz and blue stripes, so for a dress of the same era, but for the evening, I wanted to go 180 in terms of materials. Both are Italian style gowns, but as you’ll see soon, the end look is quite different! So the photo on the left - that’s the main image I kept going back to when thinking out this costume. I love the lush sheen of the silk, the matching petticoat and trim, the soft sheer fichu (neck scarf) and the beautifully arranged floral accents. Six yards of a pink and cream shot silk (one color running each way) later and I was ready to make the 18th century evening gown of my dreams.

As I prepped for the event and tried to nail down styling, I decided to re-watch one of my favorite costume films of all time - Sophia Coppola’s 2006 Marie Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst. Fun fact - I was very excited to see this film when it came out and was actually on a work trip to Paris when I saw it in theaters there! It was even a week or so before it debuted in the US. If you follow my stories you know I am the kind of person that gets a lot of JOY out of things I love, so just imagine what it was like to see this movie on my first trip to France! IT WAS AMAZING!

But back to the film! I was rewatching and noticed the dress - my dress - or at least the dress I wanted to recreate. A little googling later and a very fun tumblr called Recycled Movie Costumes and I realized the original inspiration dress above was originally created for Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. The practical side of me loves that this gown got multiple lives in different movies (also worn in a Royal Affair). While my gown isn’t a screen copy of the one you see here, it definitely captures the feeling. It’s also pretty historically accurate while still letting me feel like I got to make some design decisions. Guys! This was a dream project and I’m already imagining how I might rework the dress for future occasions!

For my hair I also turned to inspiration images - some modern (like the editorials at the top of this post) and some from portraits of the time like the image above and to the left. For my hairdo the main elements I knew I wanted to incorporate were feathers, flowers, shape and powder. Creating a somewhat similar look too a lot of trial and error, but was majorly worth it. I felt like it was pretty historically accurate but I still felt beautiful wearing it.

I also ended up buying a rose gold wig and styling it time and time again only to end up powdering and poofing my own hair instead - a last minute decision I’m really happy with in hindsight. I will say the wig I bought was amazing quality and not expensive, so I hope I have the chance to wear it another time.

So that’s a little about how I got inspired for this project and this week I’ll share some photos of myself all decked out at the event! It was raining cats and dogs, but Adam worked his magic and got some pretty shots - I can’t wait to edit them and show you!