After completing my Underskirt, with all of its layers of ruffles, it was time to start on the overskirt. Obviously, this was going to need ruffles too, and I wanted to make a double apron front (like I had done for my 1870s Tartan Dress, and for my Blueberry), as it gave me an excuse to use extra trim. I used the Truly Victorian Bustled Apron Overskirt (TV305) but lengthened the back by a few inches so that I could gather it up more for more ‘fluff’, and used a shortened version of the front to create the upper portion. I added the ruffled trims to the upper portion of the overskirt before at ..read more

You will have seen my post about the hat I made for the Cherryblossom Dress, and now here is a post about the first garment completed – the very ruffly Underskirt! When I first started working with my fabric for the Cherryblossom Dress I knew that it demanded ruffles and definitely not pleats – which is so often my go-to for my projects. As I began mulling over the height/depth and number of the ruffles I wanted to use for the underskirt I looked to the internet for ideas and inspiration. I found myself stumbling across images I had looked at when planning my Pretty Princess Dress, and again b ..read more

Usually, accessories are the things we leave until the end of creating our dresses, an afterthought on occasion that we scrabble to get made on the edge of our project deadline. Oddly, however, the hat for my Cherry Blossom Dress is the first item that I have completed for this project. Probably because I got a little distracted by the arrival of the Victorian Dressmaker hat making book, and partly because I didn’t feel like I had the energy to tackle the bigger elements of the dress. And, so, here is my rather rustic, first ‘made from scratch’ 1870s straw hat. She wasn’t pretty to look at bef ..read more

Well, it feels like 2021 has been unproductive and uneventful (thanks Covid) so this is probably going to be a rather short wrap up. But, nevertheless, here it is… Events I attended a grand total of two costumed events in 2021 – my trip to Christchurch to visit Kate Sheppard House, and to Oamaru for the Unofficial Heritage Celebrations. And, one un-costumed event of note was the author’s talk for one of my favourite acquisitions of the year – Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840-1910. I’ll admit, I was pretty close to fan-girling over meeting Claire Regnault – as you can pro ..read more

Due to the Covid Restrictions still in play while New Zealand battles the Delta Outbreak that started in August, the committee organising the Oamaru Victorian Heritage Celebrations decided it was best to cancel the event for this year. A crushing blow for anyone, like me, who had been using the event as the light at the end of the tunnel during Lockdown, but inevitable as the South Island remained in limbo with restrictions in place and events being cancelled left, right, and centre. However, I decided to keep my travel plans as they were, and escape the reality of 2021 for a few days. I was n ..read more

While I was in Oamaru last month (which you can read about here) I took advantage of the beautiful and lovely Public Gardens for a mini photoshoot for the V-neck iteration of this year’s Tartan Bustle Dress. Here is a selection of the photographs It was so lovely to be able to dress up and wander about for a while, forgetting for a while how unpredictable and stressful parts of 2021 have been. And, for a glimpse of the other iterations of my 1870s Tartan Bustle Project, here are a couple of pictures that were taken during the weekend (there are more included in this post ..read more

At the end of last year I came across a cotton tartan shirting from The Fabric Store that I felt really drawn to. I bought several metres of it, with the plan to transform it into an 1870s bustle dress. Unfortunately… I got into a debate with myself and lost to the argument that an 1890s ensemble would be a better use for it. But, after making that, I still really wanted an early bustle dress so I went back online and bought up the rest of the fabric they had in stock, which has turned out to be just the right amount to create my 3 Itetation Bustle Dress. The 1890s Tartan Ensemble I had alread ..read more

Continuing on with my photoshoot at Clachanburn Gardens posts, I now bring you some of the photos of the Ball Dress variation. Unfortunately we were starting to lose the light so didn’t end up with as many as I would have liked (I never seem to get many photos of my ball dresses…) Regardless, here they are: Missed the previous photoshoot posts? Day Dress Edition Afternoon Dress Edition ..read more

Following on from my previous post showcasing some of the photos of my Day Dress at Clachanburn Gardens, here are some photos of the Afternoon version… Stay tuned for the Ball Version coming soon ..read more

A year ago I visited Clachanburn Gardens to photograph my Blueberry Dress and, for some reason, I never actually posted the photos here on my blog. I know, slack, right? Well, it’s time to remedy that and share them with you now. Better late than never, after all Clachanburn Gardens are in the Maniototo, in Central Otago. While they are in the middle of nowhere (a stones throw from where I grew up so I can get away with saying that), they are popular with garden tour groups, and tourists who stay in the area. And, they have a cute little cottage where you can stay, which I was allowed to borr ..read more