From: Gretchen Miller Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 19:02:46 -0500 (EST) Subject: H-costume digest, Volume 4, Nov 18, 1993 The Historic Costume List Digest, Issue 4, November 18, 1993 Send items for the list to h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu (or reply to this message). Send subscription/deletion requests and inquiries to h-costume-request@andrew.cmu.edu Note: This is the second digest I've ever produced, so it'll be a few days before the format stabilizes. Please bear with me until then. Thanks and Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------- Topics: Costume Con 12 announcement (repost) Book list Specialty Pattern Cos (Formerly Folkwear peeves) Betty Kirke's book on Madelaine Vionnet ICG Chapter Listings Still More Biographies Period Cotton Fabric Source Books on Sale Question about period shoe soles Question about boys dressed as girls/women in Elizabethan Theatre ------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 21:18:31 PST From: tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov (Troy J. Shadbolt) Subject: CostumeCon12 flyer (repost) since many people asked for it: The Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild =Dreamer's of Decadence= present CostumeCon 12 the Twelfth Annual Costumer's Convention February 18-21, 1994 at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel Santa Clara, California ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ** Science Fiction & Fantasy Masquerade ** ** Historical Masquerade ** ** Dealer's Room ** ** Exhibits, Panels, Workshops, Demos ** ** Friday Night Social, the Space Platform Xanadu! ** ** Future Fashion Design Competition ** ** Fabric Design Competition ** ** Doll Contest ** ** Art-to-Wear Juried Exhibition ** ** Folkwear Single Pattern Contest ** ** and many, many others! ** ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* CostumeCon is, in a nutshell, an event for anyone and everyone who has an interest in the art of Costuming. Pricing Structure: Until December 31, 1993 ICG Members: $45.00 others: $55.00 January 1, 1994 to At-the-Door: ICG Members: $50.00 others: $60.00 Single-Day tickets will be sold at the door. For more information, contact: e-mail: tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov *******(print out below this line as an order form)************** Please reserve ____ spaces for CostumeCon 12. Enclosed is $____ to cover ____memberships at the current price. I understand that memberships are not refundable, but are transferable. Each ICG member may purchase 2 memberships at the discounted rate. Other memberships must be purchased at the non-member rate. Children rates: under 12 FREE. 12-16 HALF-PRICE. Please check ___ if bringin children under 12 and number ___. Name(s)______________________________________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________ City/State/ZIP_______________________________________________________ We require a phone number for contact ( ) - . Make checks payable to GBACG/Costume Con 12 and mail to: Costume Con 12 5214-F Diamond Heights, suite 320 San Francisco, Ca 94131 do not write in this area: $_____ DT____ CN____ ABA____ TR____ DB____ MN____ this is the internet form by Troy Shadbolt. ********************* Troy J. Shadbolt tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov ********************* ----------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 21:20:14 PST From: tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov (Troy J. Shadbolt) Subject: Book List this is a partial list of my book collection: The Greater Bay Are Costumer's Guild Dreamers of Decadence Books of Interest to Costumer's _Antique Sewing Tools and Tales_ Barbara D. Gullers, Gullers Pictorial Partnership (1992) $45.00 _Kimono:Fashioning Culture_ Liza Dalby, Yale University Press (1993) $30.00 _Couture...The Art of Fine Sewing_ Roberta C. Carr, Palmer/Pletsch (1993) $34.95 _Infra-Apparel_ Richard Martin and Harold Koda, Harry H. Abrams, Inc (1993) $29.95 _the Costume-Maker's Art: Cloaks of Fantasy, Masks of Revelation_ Thom Boswell, Lark Books ISBN 0-937274-58-5 $34.95 ********** Troy J. Shadbolt tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov ********** ----------------------------------- From: Dave Uebele Subject: folkwear and other speciality patterns Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 22:43:29 PST Its funny to hear everyone complain about Folkwear patterns. I've used other smaller pattern companies that make Folkwear look quite good. I haven't bought a Folkwear pattern since Tauton Press aquired them, but I have made the victorian bib front shirt (its the shirt for my 1860's formal), several versions of the river boatmans shirt (including getting married in one version), Kinsale cloak, and shirts of the Ukrain (sp). While I agree the instructions are not up to pare with the big pattern companies, their instructions are better than patterns by "Heidi Marsh" or Past Patterns. After a few early projects using Butterick and Simplicty patterns, Folkwear was one of the first patterns I used. I mostly learned what I needed to know to get each project done. I generally ask my mom to explain what steps in the pattern meant until I went to school where I usually puzzled it out on my own. I remember Folkwear instructions to be pretty good for the most part. I've also encountered pattern comapnies with wonderful instructions and yet the pattern did not have the right cut to it. I don't personnally think that trying to do period correct costuming with some of these smaller pattern companies is a good first time project for someone with no experience and no one to ask questions. A lot of these outfits seem to assume that the person constructing the garment has some experience (to say the least ;-). Are there smaller speciality pattern companies that are on or close to level of instructions of the large mainstream pattern companies? -- Dave Uebele daveu@cisco.com (415) 688-7856 ----------------------------------- From: DGC3%RatesComm%FAR@cts27.comp.pge.com Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 16:47:22 PST Subject: re:Request with a bio tacked on.. Yes, Kirsten, there are lots of historic costumers in the Bay Area. The Greater Bay Area Costumers' Guild is very local to Northern California. I just forwarded collected information about this newsgroup to 20 costumers this morning. They will be subscribing soon, I hope. Thanks to Troy for posting about Costume Con. The GBACG has sewing circles around the Bay in various people's homes, plus occasional seminars, and events like dining at the Pelican Inn by candlelight in Elizabethans [last Thursday], or our open house at Preservation Park [last Saturday]. But Costume Con is the event of the year. Do not miss this one! For more information about the Greater Bay Area Costumers' Guild, send email to Agnes Gawne, Membership Chairman, at 74150.375@CompuServe.COM. Danine Cozzens Internet address: dgc3@pge.com (Capsule bio: Too busy with events (I help with English Regency dances, Costumers' Guild events, etc.) and day job to sew at the moment, but hoping to try my hand again soon on the great mound of fabric I have accumulated. What a great newsgroup!) ----------------------------------- From: J.A.Bray@bnr.co.uk Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 10:23:38 GMT Since everyone seems to be doing bios. here's mine: I did all the standard little girl textile things from dolls clothes to weaving on lumps of card with zig zag edges, to the inevitable A line skirt. I enjoyed making things like old english smocks and enormous flowing capes but didn't really have anywhere to wear them (not that it stopped me). At university I was recruited into a dark age reenactment group (not the SCA) by one of the members who had fond dreams of me sewing all his clothing. I didn't make him anything, but I did make wear and sell replica dark age clothing, shoes, pouches, belts, scabbards, braid.... Most of the stuff I do now is tenth century clothing which is as accurate as I have time for. That varies from hand finishing the bits that show to weaving my own cloth on a warp weighted loom. Some day when I have the time I want to start out with a fleece and a spindle and end up with a dress, (so far I've only managed a belt). Sometimes I get frustrated that I can't find the right strap end or hook for a costume. So lately I've started experimenting with casting my own fittings. (If you haven't guessed by now I've got a mind like a grasshopper, I tend to jump about from one project to something else and back again all the time) Mostly I work out my own patterns based on a mix of archaeological finds and folk garments, though sometimes things end up more as guesswork than anything else, when remains of thousand year old textiles are scant. I am fascinated by the way a piece of costume can be traced down the ages sometimes going for hundreds of years unaltered, sometimes evolving into something completely different. I'm a hoarder and collect books, papers, patterns and raw materials to the point where the house is starting to burst at the seams. I'm always on the lookout for more ideas (I like the sound of the folkwear pattern companies, I've not run across them before.) I'm hoping this mailing list will make it to news group status as my mailbox is going to get overwhelmed if it keeps on being as active as it is right now, but it all looks interesting so I don't want it to slow down! Thanks to whoever started this. Jennifer ----------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 10:26:14 GMT From: Susannah Gort Subject: (Yet another) bio I seem to be on the wrong side of the pond for this list, but never mind... My name is Susannah Gort and I'm the computer assistant at Warwick University Mathematics Institute, England. I did a bit of (RL) dressmaking as a kid, but didn't start seriously until I went to University. Then I started on costumes for live-action events and the occasional play. However at the beginning of this year I moved in with some re-enactors in Coventry, and naturally thought I'd give it a go. We're Living History types, so everything has to be exhaustively researched and as authentic as possible (although I still use a machine for anything that doesn't show). The group I am with is the Stafford Household, and it does events with 2 umbrella groups; Livery and Maintenance (late Wars of the Roses, up to about 1495) and Bills and Bows (Henry VIII/Anne Boleyn, ~1530s). L&M are more military than B&B, who usually do house events. Increasingly, though, we're getting Henry VII events as well. You lot seem to have it good; we have to cut all of our own patterns as there are no commercial ones that I know of, except the odd one or two in books that are designed for theatres and aren't authentic enough. So far this season I've made a couple of shifts, an 8-panel all-purpose dress from unbleached 30% linen (looks much more), a pinkish-mushroom wool overdress (1495), a French hood (one of those silly ones with a schoolboy cap built in) and a puff-sleeved jacket thing. This winter I'm making a corset, farthingale and Henry VIII dress, basically dark green wool with a peachy wool underskirt & undersleeves. I'm thinking how to decorate the underskirt; so far the suggestions are print it, paint it, or embroider it. I fancy a Tudor tree of life as the design. Embroidery sounds a bit rich, but less effort than making the tints. If anybody knows how Flemish gowns of the period (1520-30) differed from English I would much appreciate some tips. All of my kit is pleb; the linen dress with its overdress just about make middle servant rank, and the Tudor will do that comfortably. For battles etc. I just wear the linen (yes, I know, that makes me either a guttersnipe or doing penance, but most of the others in our group wear just one dress). Also I've helped various of the blokes make their kit (hose, pourpoints, doublets etc.). Susannah _______________________________________________________________________________ Susannah Gort, Computer Assistant, Mathematics Institute sjg@maths.warwick.ac.uk maaad@csv.warwick.ac.uk ----------------------------------- Subject: Betty Kirke's book on Madelaine Vionnet Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 07:55:28 -0500 From: Anne Louise Gockel Has anyone seen Betty Kirke's book on Madelaine Vionnet? It's supposed to be about $250, and when I checked the Inter-Library Loan program I was told that all libraries tha thad a copy had it in the non-circulating section. I've half considered purchasing the book, but not sight-unseen. If anyone has a copy of the book or has read it, would you supply a simple "review" for those of us who haven't had the pleasure? Does Kirke given enough information that you can actually learn techniques or copy patterns from the outfits in the book? Or does the book concentrate on fashion pictures of completed garments. Betty Kirke is speaking about Vionnet in early Dec in NYC. Does anyone plan to attend that talk? I think it's Sun Dec 4th; it was listed in the most recent issue of Threads. -Anne Anne Louise Gockel Cornell Computer Science Internet: alg@cs.cornell.edu UUCP: cornell!alg ------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 07:58:44 PST From: tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov (Troy J. Shadbolt) Subject: ICG Chapters Thought some of you might like this: =regional chapter list= current as of 11/01/93 #Costumer's Guild West# c/o Liz & Martin Gerds 8124 Loyola Blvd. Westchester, CA 90045 dues: $14.00/year #the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild# 5214-F Diamond Heights, suite 320 San Francisco, CA 94131 dues: $20.00/year #Great Lakes Costumer's Guild# 3268 Goodrich Ferndale, MI 48220-1012 #Great White North Costumer's Guild# c/o Costumer's Workshop Box 784 Adelaide St. PO Toronto, Canada M5C 2K1 dues: $12.00(can)/year #Greater Columbia Fantasy Costumer's Guild# P.O. Box 683 Columbia, MD 21045 dues: $15.00/year #Heartland Costumer's Guild# c/o Shirley Schaaf 1818 Washington Kansas City, MO 64108 dues: $10.00/year #The Lunatic Phrynge Costumer's Guild# c/o Vickie Warren 1139 Woodmere Rd Pottstown, PA 19464 #Midwest Costumer's Guild# c/o Pierre Pettinger 2709 Everett Lincoln, NE 68502 dues: $12.00/year #New England Costumer's Guild# (aka the Boston Tea Party & Sewing Circle) c/o Eastlake 925 Dedham St. Newton Center, MA 02159 dues: $15.00/year #NY/NJ Costumer's Guild (Sick Pups)# c/o Mami 85 West McClellan Ave Livingston, NJ 07039 dues: $20.00/year #North Star Costumer's Guild# (the Minnesota Mafia) c/o Sherrin Houtman 3237 Garfield Avenue South, Upper Minneapolis, MN 55408 #the People Your Mother Warned You About# c/o Animal X 7201 Meade St Pittsburgh, PA 15208 dues: $8.00/year #Rocky Mountain Costumer's Guild# 7121 South Webster St Littleton, CO 80123 #Southwest Costumer's Guild# c/o Kim Martin P.O. Box 39504 Phoenix, AZ 85069 #St. Louis Costumer's Guild# c/o Nora & Bruce Mai 7835 Milan University City, MO 63130 #Wild and Woolley Western Costumer's Guild# c/o Katherine Jepson 19 Taraglen Court NE Calgary, Alberta Canada T3J 2M6 dues: $20.00(can)/year Please note that most of the chapters are going through elections right now and the addresses may change around February. ***************************** Troy J. Shadbolt tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov ***************************** ----------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 8:56:51 -0600 (CST) From: JENNIFER CARLSON Subject: Other side of the pond and a bio In answer to Susannah Gort's comment that she may be on the wrong side of the pond: my dear lady, I do envy you for being where you are! I spent part of my summer Interlibrary Loaning several books on costume, and one them was a listing of English museums with costume collections! It was wonderful and frustrating at the same time. If anyone knows of any collections of medieval or renaissance clothing in the U.S., please post it. I'm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and exhibits of vintage clothing never come here, although we do have a National Registry of Linens headquartered here (it is concerned mostly with tablecloths and the like). Susannah may think herself "on the wrong side of the pond," but I'm in the wrong part of the country! All of the conventions and exhibits and seminars and such seem to take place on the coasts or way up in the north. Anyway, my bio: My first costume was for my brother when he portrayed Sam Adams (1776) in a school play. The outfit went together much more easily that I thought it would - I was 14 and had only been sewing for a year - and found myself fascinated with it. I found the SCA when I was 17 and have been in hog heaven ever since. I've been doing embroidery since I was six, and really love to do elaborate needlework and to hand-sew garments, although time restrictions usually require using the sewing machine. I'm especially fond of studying the small details and finishes of historical clothing, and studying accessories. Anyone have any good shoes patterns for 1550-1600? Jennifer Carlson JLC@vax2.utulsa.edu ----------------------------------------- From: "Carol E. Newby" Subject: my bio Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 11:46:26 -0700 (MST) Well, I *love* this list, though tonight is Opening Night so I haven't had much of a chance to read the other bios. I am pursuing my BFA in Technical/Theatre Design specializing in Costume Design at the Univ. of New Mexico. I work in the Costume Shop as a first hand and also as a Student Computer Consultant. I have been sewing for about 20 years (I'm 29) and have just recently gone back to school to get that darn piece of paper (and all those debts!). I'm married and have 2 kids, but I promise to keep all the halloween costume discussions on alt.sewing. :) Currently I am writing a paper for a class theorizing how a boy in Shakespeare's company would have been costumed to play a female. Any ideas? -- Carol * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Unless you are the lead dog, /\_/\ The view is always the same." > < > ^ ^ < source: bumper sticker >(_o_)< U ----------------------------------------- From: ritchiek@sage.cc.purdue.edu (unknown) Subject: Bio Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 15:10:07 EST Just popping in to say Hi and to see if I am able to post here. I tend to be email handicapped sometimes. It is not always my fault. I have been interested in historical costume for a long time but did not really get started until I joined the SCA over a year ago. My time period is fourteenth century German but I have also made a Man's elizabethan, Celtic t-tunic, cloaks ect. My next big project is going to be a silk 14th century cote-hardie type dress (I don't know the German Word for that style+ I got some beautiful raw silk for 1.49 a yard off a bargain table because it came in unmarked so they could not sell it at regular prices. Sigh-But this has to wait until I finish my Wedding dress and brides maids dresses(June 18 victorian/edwardian styles) Which I can't start until after Christmas because I need to have four horses in appropriate Caparison (thats historic horse costumes) for a christmas parade my equestrian guild is participating in. All this and I work full time/school part time too. Karen Ritchie known in SCA as Isabeau Pferdebandiger, Barony of Rivenstar ----------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 13:27:55 PST From: "Teena Tuttle" Subject: Period cotton fabrics Patchworks: 126 E. Main, Bozeman, Montana 59715, (406) 587-2112 carries reproduction vintage cotton fabrics. I quote from their Fall, 1993, catalog: "There are currently over 600 bolts in our reproduction department which span all three time periods: Pre-1890's, Turn-of-the-Century, and the Depression Era. These fabrics are ideally suited for antique quilt repairs, reproduction quilt making, or vintage clothing." They have swatches from which fabric can be ordered and have been very helpful when I have called them. Jackie ----------------------------------------- Date: Thu Nov 18 15:26:04 1993 From: i000347@disc.dla.mil (Felicia Ciaudelli) Subject: Greetings!! Good afternoon, everyone!! I'm a new subscriber, so let me introduce myself. My name is Felicia Ciaudelli, just turned 30 (10/28, to be exact), and a single mom - Joseph will be 10 on December 31st. I'm an Accounting Technician for DFAS (Defense Finance and Accounting Service) in Philadelphia. I've always had an interest in crafts of all sorts, but especially interested in Fashion, design and illustration. So far I've really enjoyed the postings!! Keep 'em coming!! Have a great day!! Felicia ;-) ----------------------------------------- From: close@lunch.asd.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: Books on sale Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 13:41:51 -0800 (PST) Open Chain Publishing, Inc., has several of their older books on sale for half price. Three of these titles might interest historic costume readers: Sewing and Collecting Vintage Fashions for $7.48. The Button Lover's Book (doing things with buttons and creating your own buttons) for $8.98. Jane Asher's Costume Book (ya, it's non-sew and mostly little kids but perhaps someone here wants that type of thing) for $9.98. Most of the other sale books are quilting and general sewing books. Add 8.25% sales tax if you live in California and add $2.50 shipping and handling for the first book and $0.50 for each additional book for them to ship it book rate. Other postal rates vary (they do UPS and 1st Class). They have a money-back guarantee and their address is: Open Chain Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 2634-F Menlo Park, CA 94206 (415) 366-4440 FAX (415) 366-4455 I'm not affiliated with them; I'm just a happy customer. -- Diane Barlow Close close@lunch.asd.sgi.com I'm at lunch today. :-) ----------------------------------------- From: ASMITH@charlie.usd.edu Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 16:59:38 -0600 (CST) Subject: queries@minibio first, my questions. Where can I get an Amazon Dry Goods catalogue? What were shoe soles made of in the years 500-1200? Are there any good modern substitutes for said materials? When will this be changed to a newsgroup? (It is making me nervous to get this much mail) bio: member of SCA as of this year, theatre costuming, special interest in wool, spinning and weaving. ----------------------------------------- From: "Carol E. Newby" Subject: looking for help for paper Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 16:02:12 -0700 (MST) I think I mentioned in my bio earlier today that I am doing a costume related research paper. (I don't remember, it's been one of those days) Anyway, the paper is about how boys/men would have been dressed to portray girls/women in Elizabethan England. If any of you know of good sources to point me in, please point away! I think I have enough to get the paper going, but I'd really like to impress the professor with what's available via computers. Thanks -- Carol * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Unless you are the lead dog, /\_/\ The view is always the same." > < > ^ ^ < source: bumper sticker >(_o_)< U ----------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 15:59:29 -0600 (CST) From: "Lee Forgue" Subject: Yet another bio... Boy, am I glad this list finally got started... My name's Lee Forgue (SCA Eilis O'Boirne) and I live and work in Berkeley. As you can tell from the previous sentence, I'm active in the SCA. That's currently the main focus of my costuming, and I mainly do Saxon-Norman stuff -- in fact, a friend calls me "Queen of the Comfy Camping Clothes". My daughter does later-stuff, primarily Germans. However, in the past I've done Edwardians, Victorians, Regencies, Ren-Faire, etc. My mother's second cousin (but we called her Aunt Connie) was a seamstress and early member of the ILGWU. There was always a sewing machine, and I had the most stunning dresses built from the left-over fabric she brought home from her job at the Dior atelier in New York. (Everyone envied my doll clothes!) My mother was one of those natural seamstresses who can cut a garment (ruffles, pleats, and all) by throwing the fabric at the scissors. I didn't learn to sew until my late 20's, and my early lessons came from a male friend from Trinidad. BTW, has anyone else heard about the warehouse that opened recently out on Hegenberger near the Oakland Airport? My daughter and a friend were out there the other day and got some "Originally $100+ per yard" brocade for $14/yd. If people want it, I'll get the address and post it. --- Lee Forgue (eilis@haas.berkeley.edu) -----------------End of Volume 4------------------------