From: Gretchen Miller Date: Thu, 19 Jan 1995 18:47:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: H-Costume Digest, Volume 210, 1/19/95 The Historic Costume List Digest, Volume 210, January 19, 1995 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 Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------- Topics: Victorian waistlines Making fake hair Question and answer: Hispanic and mexican folk dress Handling linen before sewing Question: Making a hair piece from your own hair ---------------------------- From: "Bonnie Forrest" Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 08:12:45 CST Subject: re: Victorian waist sizes > >I'm not sure where people get the stereotype of the super-small Victorian > >waist. It was a period ideal, but in any period few people live up to the > >ideals. I suspect some lied about their measurements. > One other source for the super-small waist concept: The Amazon catalog, > while telling you how to measure to order a corset, mentions that the > 18" (or whatever) waist claimed during Victorian times was usually > the corset measurement. And, naturally, there has to be 3-5" of > extra room, so that you can pull the laces tight. You never > make a corset to your exact measurements, or you can't pull it > any tighter than "closed". > So if you claimed a 23" waist (read: 23" corset) you might > actually have a 28" waist. While I'm sure there was a certain amount of "underestimating" one's size and that the corset "distorted" the true measurements there is evidence that the waist were smaller. First of all, very young girls had their corsets (mis)shaping their bodies while they were growing. Second, some of the remaining examples of nineteenth century dresses are definitely too small for the modern "average" woman. However, for me, the convincing evidence comes from the stories my mother told me about her mother's waist. My grandmother was born in the late 80's. My mother (born 1915) remembers her father putting his hand around her waist and her lamenting the fact that she could no longer put on her wedding dress (she was pregnant when she married,BTW :->). My mother saw the dress and at a very young (adolescent) age, said she couldn't fit into it. My mother believed her mother's waist was 19" and no one could convince her otherwise. Now I understand this doesn't "prove" anything but I think it is too easy to dismiss verbal evidence. Not EVERYONE who claims to be a natural blond or an "E cup" is lying. 8*) Bonnie <>< bf2@gml.lib.uwm.edu ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 11:14:24 -0500 From: Joe Marfice Subject: Re: fake hair >Mum's going to a ball and has short hair. She's got a snood >and would like to attach and stuff it with moderately similar >hair. I know it's not historic, but you reenactors prolly >deal with it. No time to collect her own, and don't want to >pay real hair prices. Where can one go to buy switches or >other fake hair pieces? > >Thanks, >alexandra Some of our local ladies build braids from dyed, stranded yarn, wrapping them in ribbon. They use mostly a shade that matches their own color, and them some lighter threads for highlights are mixed in. The results, obscured by cross- wrapped ribbons, can be quite convincing. Something similar might also work within a snood. And of course, yes, it is historic. Pity the poor Saxon woman that couldnt grow nice, long braids, like a beautiful maiden ought! But with a little help from the drop spindle and some dye...Insta-hair! Some periods wrapped the whole braid in cloth, making the deceit even more easily achieved. | Broom, at The Lady Perrine | aka Joe Marfice | Ministerium honor est. \|/ which means "Don't check under the bed--you don't want to know." /|\ 513-222-2330 233 Perrine Street //|\\ af289@dayton.wright.edu Dayton (my fayre citee), OH 45410 ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 95 08:02:36 PST From: itf@prophet.lmsc.lockheed.com (Ingrid Chan) Subject: Patterns Books or Pictures for a Flamenco or Mexican Dress? Any good references on patterns and construction of flamenco or Mexican folkloric dresses (Regions of Vera Cruz, Narayit, Sinoloa)? Does anyone know what is the most current "Hispanic Costume" Book by Ruth Matilda Anderson and the ISBN number? Where can I purchase this book? Thanks, Ingrid itf@prophet.msd.lmsc.lockheed.com ---------------------------- From: Title-L_at_NCTSW-N92@smtpgw.nctsw.navy.mil Date: Fri, 13 Jan 95 12:35:24 EST Subject: Re: linen Erin, Linen _should_ be getting cheaper; I heard that lots of it is woven in the former Soviet Union, and their need for hard cash is driving the price down. I've recently bought cotten-linen blend 15th-century-style brocades for $7/yard, and plain-colored 80% linen in various colors at Minnesota Fabrics in the DC area (Hancock Fabrics if you're in the midwest) for $4 - $5/yd. I've also heard of a factory outlet called Clearwater Mills in South(?) Carolina where pure linen can be had for $3/yard (!). I threw mine in the washer on Gentle Action, then machine-dried it on Low, before cutting. Yes, it shrank a good 5%, it shed a lot of tiny fibers, and it wrinkled amazingly, but when I pressed it with a hot iron, the smooth finish came right back. Hope this helps. By the way, finding gown/chemise-weight linen hasn't been hard, but I'm still searching for that nearly-transparent stuff you see used for coifs. If you find it for less than $10/yd or so, please post. Lynn long-haired mice, fabric, and homemade beef jerky do indeed mix, but not in the same drawer ---------------------------- From: Title-L_at_NCTSW-N92@smtpgw.nctsw.navy.mil Date: Fri, 13 Jan 95 12:59:35 EST Subject: Re: fake hair Using hanks of real or fake hair is very proper; selling off one's hair for cash started long before _Little Women_, _Les Mis_, or _The Gift of the Magi_... I have bought two-foot hanks of real-looking artificial hair at beauty supply shops, to be used for myself (reenactment) or for real-looking manes on papier-mache hobby horses, for about $4/hank. Comes in lots of colors; you can also get matching puffs and short curls for pinning on. Some other braid ideas: For early-period/northern I stitch the premade braid, bound at either end, into a cloth or leather braid-case, leaving only the last 8" or so hanging out. The middle section of the case can be stuffed with yarn, etc and laced/stitched shut. Leave the top 4-6" open, depending on the length of your own hair; my own shoulder-length hair is braided and tucked into the top of the open tube, which is pinned/laced around the braid. The finished long braids hang below my knees and look very real. This works well for Italian Ren as well, with a different style tube. For civ war, etc it works well to just make braids, bind both ends, and pin them into a crown around the head. For a ball I'd suggest pinning them into a loose bun at the nape before putting on a snood; they tend to fall down if just bundled into the net. Hope this helps. Lynn long-haired mice, fabric, and homemade beef jerky do indeed mix, but not in the same drawer ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 12:15:41 -0500 (EST) From: Elizabeth McMahon Subject: Re: linen On Thu, 12 Jan 1995, erin k. gault wrote: > > I just bought some linen (normally 22.98/yd on sale for 6.00/yd) and I'm > planning on making a cotehardie with it. My problem is that I can't > remember if you can wash linen in the washer and dryer or do you have to > handwash is? Also, do I need to preshrink? Thanks for any help! Given that you are applying this cloth to a modern usage (in the sense that you are using it and you are use to using washing machines, etc.), I'd prewash and shrink all linens and cottons to be used in a costume. Then you don't have to worry about it getting wet and running, or shrinking unevenly. Its already taken the worst your dryer can do! Note that both linen and cotton are actually stronger when they are wet, so you do them no harm. -*-*- Beth in the office 212-741-4400 ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 95 09:50:37 PST From: "cynthia" Subject: fake hair Of course, adding extra hair is historic! You dont believe those "just before the French Revolution" hair-skyscrapers are real?! Look at the 1870 thru the Charles Dana Gibson era! There were rats in the 1940's. Why there's people at the office with wigs. Pile it on! Locally, since you're South Bay, you can try Yong's Wig shop in San Jose. They're on Santa Clara St. between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd. Plastic (acrylic) switches 6' are about $5. Be sure to take "mum" with you. They will match her hair. In a similar vein, how can you get your OWN hair made into a wig, or fall? I want to cut mine off. It would be nice to have those little ringlets attached to a small comb (or barette?) for that instant 1840 "spaniel ears" look. --cin Cynthia@caere.com >Mum's going to a ball and has short hair. She's got a snood >and would like to attach and stuff it with moderately similar >hair. I know it's not historic, but you reenactors prolly >deal with it. No time to collect her own, and don't want to >pay real hair prices. Where can one go to buy switches or >other fake hair pieces? > >Thanks, >alexandra ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 13:22:23 -0800 (PST) From: "erin k. gault" Subject: linen answers Thanks to everyone who responded to me re: washing linen. I was hoping that you aren't supposed to preshrink it because I wanted to cut it out tonight. But, I guess I'll have to wait for Saturday. At least it will be easy to wash when it gets dirty. I just remembered another question I had. If I make it into a cotehardie, will I have a problem with the back getting all wrinkly everytime I sit down? Thanks again everyone! ***************************************************************** * Erin K. Gault Evergreen State College * * Eglentyne de Gaulle College of Witt's Haven * * Barony of Glymm Mere, Kingdom of An Tir * * e-mail: gaulte@elwha.evergreen.edu * ***************************************************************** ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 16:52:23 -0500 From: Rebecca Voris Subject: Re: fake hair According to a class on Italian Renaissance hairstyles at Pennsic a couple of years ago, thread is a reasonable fake hair. You can use several different colors to match the blend of colors in your own hair. ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 95 20:28:13 PST From: aterry@Teknowledge.COM (Allan Terry) Subject: Various sources Alexandra asked where to get real-looking artificial hair. I think it is very important to get a realistic texture and an exact color match (for hairpieces). However, for the many periods when false hair was widely used it doesn't matter if the hair is bulkier most people's real hair. The best place I know for good quality at reasonable prices is His Lady and the Soldier Sutlery, at 851 Kaypat Drive Hope, MI 48628 (517) 435-3518 They sell by mail (catalog costs $2) and travel to events as a sutler. They sell sausage curls for the back of the head, falls suitable for inserting in a snood (I think they also sell snoods), and two lengths of braids. Also full wigs, a straight one and an American Colonial style. You have to send them a piece of your hair for matching hairpieces. They do a good job but will exchange if necessary. The hairpieces come marked with a code number presumably associated with a color wheel. For example, color number 10 matches my real hair. If you note down this number matching subsequent purchases is more routine. Actually, I want to sell a full wig (30" long) I bought from them which I've never worn (and which cost about $50). My hair (which is medium brown) comes down in a peak over my forehead and the wig (which is reddish blonde) does not cover it. Someone on this list suggested gluing down my hair with spirit gum then coating with makeup, but I this would look better on stage than seen close up at reenactments. Erin asked some questions about linen. Linen shrinks a lot and you need to prewash it in the hottest water the dye will stand and dry it medium to hot. I like to prewash and predry at somewhat higher temperatures that I'll eventually use, if the fabric and dye can stand it. I machine preshrink most linens, but preshrink handkerchief linen by soaking it in hot water in the sink for about an hour, then pressing it dry. Linen also wrinkles a lot and there is no way to prevent this. It gets increasingly shiny with pressing. If you don't like this you need to always press it on the wrong side. The Linen Fabric World sells several weights of linen (including handkerchief linen) in many colors. They advertise in _Sew News_ and I got their swatch books but have not bought from them. Their address is: 1246 Bird Road Miami, FL 33146 (305) 663-1577 Ingrid asked about Ruth Matilda Anderson's _Hispanic Costume 1480-1530_. As far as I know only one edition has been published, by the Hispanic Society of America in 1979. I believe it's still in print. The ISBN is 87535-126-3. I got my copy by special ordering through a bookstore. It's a great book. I don't know about flamenco costumes. I've always wanted to do flamenco and have tried it at workshops, but don't have time to do both that and historic dance. If I wanted a costume I'd approach a couple of professional flamenco dancers or teachers and ask where they get costumes. Fran Grimble ---------------------------- End of Volume 210 -----------------------