From: Gretchen Miller Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 17:20:41 -0500 (EST) Subject: H-Costume Digest, Volume 70, 3/11/94 The Historic Costume List Digest, Volume 70, March 11, 1994 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 For archives of this digest, send mail to close@lunch.asd.sgi.com Thanks and Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------- Topics: More bios Question: Corset Supply Sources Question and answers: Getting Coins for Costume Answers to Victoriana Source questions Sources for "Fair Winds" patterns More Pattern Evaluations Info on Medieval Miscellanea ---------------------------- From: MSCHSSLR@vax1.tcd.ie Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 13:32 GMT Subject: Netiquette and Query Hello, all. I've actually been hanging around for a while, and have even sent in a couple of messages, and have just now realized that it would be polite to introduce myself (I promise that this will not be a full- length bio!). You'll have to excuse my heretofore uncouth behavior-- I'm new at this! Really, my life has been much the same as yours, if the bios I've read are any indication, so I won't go into detail. I've been costuming since age 5 and sewing since 8. I have never been in the SCA (!), but it probably won't be too much longer till I join! Costuming has always been my obsession, and like you, I always have at least four or five projects in various stages of completion. I study at Rice University, Houston, Texas, trying to get a history degree while being constantly involved in theatre productions. Currently I'm in Dublin, Ireland studying drama for a year, and I'll return to Rice next year to finish my history degree...see what I mean about projects in the works?! That brings me to my question: does anyone know of companies--mail- order or otherwise--that stock corset materials (spiral steel, heavy broche, busks, etc.) and other unusual underpinnings (like wooden hoops and the like)? I'm especially interested in companies that are in the Southwest, since that's closest, but if it's mail-order, it doesn't matter too much. Thanks very much. I have really enjoyed being on this mailing list--ya'll are great fun to chat with! Melanie Schuessler I'm nobody-who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there's two of us-don't tell They'd banish us, you know -Emily Dickinson ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 7:13:15 -0700 (MST) From: WITHERSPOON@SUU.EDU (RHIANWEN) Subject: Need coins for costume... To: h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu I am seeking to purchase a quantity of foreign coins for use on a Middle Eastern costume, and have not been able to come up with a source for them here in the U.S. The coins need to be 19-20 mm in diameter (or 5/8") (somewhere around the size of a U.S. penny or nickel), and gold- or copper- colored. They also need to be *cheap*, as I figure any shipping is going to be very expensive. It doesn't matter what country they're from... Does anyone know where I could purchase the coins here in the U.S., or would be willing to ship them to me? I'm going to want 400-500 of them, and would be willing to send an International Money Order in advance... If you can help me with this, please send e-mail... Thanks! Tonie Witherspoon SCA: Rhianwen Morgaine ferch Aelhaearn ---------------------------- Date: 10 Mar 94 23:07:00 EST From: "Gina Balestracci" Subject: victoriana help In answer to Annie's question about heirloom stuff: Sew Beautiful and Creative Needle are actually really good sources if you can draft patterns. In my capacity as "Auntie Gina" top all my friends' kids and nieces and nephews, I'm often called upon to create elaborate christening gowns and communion dresses, and yes, the ones in those magazines do tend to be a bit saccharine. I take _lots_ of photos of victorian clothes in museums and historical sites and refer to them to draft new patterns or alter existing patterns. Small city and county museums tend to have good collections that are on exhibit of these sorts of garments. With the larger museums, unless they're having a specific show of what you're looking for, you'd need to ask to see things one at a time and sort of know exactly what you're looking for. Also, don't overlook small museum collections of antique dolls. I copied a really cute edwardian sailor dress from an old bear. Martha Pullen's books are loaded with good, although artsy, photos of victorian whites, so even if they aren't discussed in the text in excruciating detail, the photos are usually clear enough to give you a good idea of how the garment is constructed. I made a christening gown that she had a picture of that was from the Bethnal Green Museum in London. All I had to work from was one photo and a line drawing that showed some of the detail. I altered the Vogue christening gown pattern to suit my needs. My gown, although intentionally not identical in all details, looked at least as good as the museum piece, and it was historically accurate in style. gb ---------------------------- From: close@lunch.asd.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: Re: Patterns Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 08:14:18 -0800 (PST) > Does anyone have the address for Fair Winds Patterns? I've admired their > designs, especially the 1914 "Mabel" design, and I think I'd like to get my > hands on it. The woman who does FairWinds patterns used to sell directly out of her home in West Hollywood. After coming up with the current six designs, she decided to retire and move to Texas. Since the move, she no longer sells to the public but she does sell to the big pattern distributors like Raiments, Amazon Dry Goods, Campbells, etc. Ordering through them is the only way you'll get her designs, now, and all three companies stock all six of her patterns. -- Diane Barlow Close close@lunch.asd.sgi.com I'm at lunch today. :-) ---------------------------- Subject: Re: Need coins for costume... Date: Fri, 11 Mar 94 08:53:18 PST From: Walter Nelson I have a good source for phoney coins, made specifically for belly dancing costumes. They are cheap, but they don't look quite as good as real coins (they are also much lighter of course). Walter Nelson walter_nelson@rand.org ---------------------------- From: close@lunch.asd.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: Re: victoriana help wanted Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 09:06:27 -0800 (PST) > In answer to Annie's question about heirloom stuff: > Martha Pullen's books are loaded with good, although artsy, photos of > victorian whites, so even if they aren't discussed in the text in > excruciating detail, the photos are usually clear enough to give you a > good idea of how the garment is constructed. I agree. Martha Pullen's books are excellent sources of material for the Victorian as well as the Edwardian eras. They are NOT the same as the Sew Beautiful magazine stuff. The books present many historic garments as both photos and drawings. Often the text will describe exactly how the garment was made, giving you lots of help in duplicating it. The one complaint I've heard, over and over, about Martha's books is DO NOT TRUST HER DATING. She's lousy at dating a piece of clothing. This is especially true in the new _Heirloom Sewing For Women_. Yes, do use her books to find reproduceable clothing, but use a museum or other text to date her stuff, so you can reproduce the right thing for your year/era. -- Diane Barlow Close close@lunch.asd.sgi.com I'm at lunch today. :-) ---------------------------- From: nomadmt@aol.com Date: Fri, 11 Mar 94 13:13:32 EST Subject: coins & pattern evaluation One of the dance troupes here in California uses religious medals instead of coins. They are quite inexpensive. And very few people notice the difference! Many cities have religious supply houses (check the yellow pages). The medals have better weight than the fake coins, which tend to be rather flimsy. While I'm here, I also pass on my opinion of the Aziza patterns..... First, they are not accurate in the historical sense - for example, the seam in the sleeve of the ghwazee coat is in the wrong place. Second, they run small. Third, they are easy to use. I am still using mine, even with the problems I have with them. (This will change if I ever get around to buying a copy of Tilke!) Margo Glenn-Lewis nomadmt.@aol.com life is never what you expected...... ---------------------------- Date: 11 Mar 1994 11:01:28 U From: "Blake, Roberta" Subject: Bio i've been enjoying this list since november. since then, i've: -- taken the SJCLO costume dept. tour -- become acquainted with some very nice h-costume people -- attended CC12 -- seeded a costuming book collection with 15 or so neat books -- purchased some historic patterns, muslin, etc. -- and positioned myself to begin _practicing_ garment construction. unlike many of you, i have not been sewing since the age of 8 (or even 38). i didn't take home ec in high school. i was never involved in theater. i do not have a history degree. i was never in the SCA, nor do i intend to be. however, i have always appreciated the color, cut, texture, style, fit and details of clothing. until recently, i just would rather wear them, and admire the work, rather than feel compelled to sew it myself. now, i want to research the history of the garment, and then to *build* it (in addition to wearing it), and find some satisfaction in the sewing process itself. (why does this come off sounding like some sort of new-age therapy?) BTW, i've enjoyed incorporating wearable vintage clothes (dresses, blouses from the art deco period) into my wardrobe (read mostly jeans) since i was a teen. thanks to everyone for the helpful information, this is a great list! ...and i'll keep you posted. ;-) roberta ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 11 Mar 94 11:26:16 -0800 From: CJ Smith Subject: Re: Need coins for costume... If it really doesn't matter what country they're from, French 10centime pieces meet all your requirements. The 10c piece is worth maybe three cents US and is gold-colored. They're about nickel-sized if I remember right (but thinner than a nickel). I've got a few rolls of them somewhere at home, but if you need a large number, try a bank that does money changing; they might be willing to sell you a mass of their coinage. Good luck! How are you going to drill holes through all of those? My wrists hurt just thinking about it! --CJ ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 15:14:31 -0500 (EST) From: Gretchen Miller Subject: Fwd: Mediaeval Miscellanea Patterns Update A letter of interest from rec.org.sca on Medieval Miscellanea patterns. ---------- Forwarded message begins here ---------- >Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 13:18:14 EST >From: Lisa A. M. Tyson >Newsgroups: rec.org.sca >Subject: Mediaeval Miscellanea Patterns Update Over two months ago I called Mediaeval Miscellanea and left a request on their answering machine for information regarding their patterns. I had given up all hope of ever hearing from them until I received the following in today's mail, which I am typing directly from the letter in front of me, for your information. Medieval Miscellanea 6530 Spring Valley Drive Alexandria, VA 22312 (703) 642-1740 "Dear Customer, Thank you for your interest in Mediaeval Miscellanea and our products. At the moment, we are not selling the jewelry, books and other products we have usually carried, and we are not selling our patterns directly to the public. Below is a list of two companies who do sell the jewelry, plus 6 of the companies who are carrying our patterns and do mail order. We are keeping your name on file, and will notify you about new patterns and other products. We are continuing to design new patterns (our Women's German Puff- and-Slash, c. 1500-1545, is now in stock with the dealers below). Jewelry: North Shore Gifts The Cottage Works 4857 Alcyn Dr. 12 W. Willow Grove Ave, Box 186 Racine, WI 53402-2507 Philadelphia, PA 19118-3952 (414) 639-5927 (215) 242-8849 Patterns: Amazon Drygoods MacKenzie-Smith 2218 East 11th Street 9600 Business Park Dr. Suite 2 Davenport, IA 52803 Truckee, CA 95734 (319) 322-6800 (916) 587-5974 Campbells House Morning Star RD 1 Box 1444 11246 S. Post Oak Rd. #217 Herndon, PA 17830 Houston, TX 77035 (717) 425-2045 (713) 729-7990 Raiments Alice Stephenson 3216 Villa Knolls Dr. 2734 Mountain View W. Pasedena, CA 91107 Tocoma, WA 98466 (818) 791-9195 (206) 565-2893 If you do contact one of these fine companies, please let them know we recommended them to you. If you sent a check with a catalog request, we have ripped it up to prevent accidental cashing. We are also designing and selling Period Pavillions, as well as used ones. If you would like a copy of our free Pavillion catalog, just call or drop us a note, we would be happy to send you one. Best, Coryn Weigle" === ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== === === Mediaeval Miscellanea carries a wide range of patterns and jewelry. I would recommend contacting the above companies regarding prices for catalogs or consulting the Costuming FAQ published in this forum. I have not yet made one of their patterns but I have two which have provided wonderful historic documentation in the packages. Their patterns are not cheap and I would recommend tracing the original tissue pattern pieces onto a more durable transparent tissue (such as a heavy duty gift wrap tissue available at most department stores in the gift wrap section). Having started with Folkwear patterns which use a heavier pattern paper, I am aghast at the toilet paper fragility of other commerically available patterns (ahem, my sewing abilities are best described as 'toddler' at this stage, but I'm getting better at tracking down these patterns). I hope this will help.If anyone has any recommendations for patterns, costuming and accessories, particularly mail order catalogs, I would appreciate a description to add to my local shire newsletter. I'll give you full credit if I pass the information along to people in verbal or written form! Yours In Service, Lady Brynn ---------------------------- From: Zach Kessin Subject: Re: Need coins for costume... Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 15:27:40 -0500 (EST) > > If it really doesn't matter what country they're from, French > 10centime pieces meet all your requirements. The 10c piece is worth > maybe three cents US and is gold-colored. They're about nickel-sized And I've been told they will work for subway tolkens in Boston too. (Note this is not a legal use of them, and I dont recomend it) --- Zachary Kessin zkessin@cs.brandeis.edu For a good Prime, call: 29819592777931214269172453467810429868925511217482600306406141434158089 ---------------------------- Date: Fri, 11 Mar 94 12:32:33 -0800 From: CJ Smith Subject: Need coins for costume... > And I've been told they will work for subway tolkens in Boston too. > (Note this is not a legal use of them, and I dont recomend it) Right, that's why I have a bunch of them. I bought a purseload when moving from Paris to Boston. Unfortunately, Boston's been updated. :-) They don't work in the newer turnstiles. And I'm in CA now anyway... --CJ ---------------------------- Subject: Re: Need coins for costume... Date: Fri, 11 Mar 94 13:06:14 PST From: Walter Nelson Banks don't handle foreign coins. They only handle paper money. If you come back from your trip with a bunch of foreign coins, you can't change them. You just found yourself with a bunch of souveniers. Walter ---------------------------- End of Volume 70 -----------------------