My 2012 Costuming Blog Short List

2012 was the year I committed to blogging about my costuming adventures, and it was also a year of discovering many of the fantastic costuming blogs that I now follow.  I wanted to feature a few of my favorites in my last post of 2012, but I was finding it hard to narrow it down.  Finally I decided to do my top ten blogs that I have discovered in the last year which have less than 50 followers.  (Some of these blogs don't have their followers listed, so may have more than 50.)  

An American Seamstress - A lovely costuming blog that also has excellent reference links and a library of costuming/pattern books  

Arachne Attire - A very cool costume blog with an emphasis on Victorian and 18th Century fashions

Before the Automobile - A beautifully photographed blog full of gorgeously detailed costumes and wonderful construction techniques

Classic Costume - A very informative resource full of tips on laundering your costumes, definitions of different fabrics, weaves, and dyes, construction techniques, etc.  

Crazy About Costumes - A versatile blog with a wide variety of costuming interests

Damask Rose Diaries - A relatively new blog with some beautiful handmade corsets

Evie's Tea Room - An adorable vintage-inspired blog

Thread-Headed Snippet - Not only is the blog title a reference to one of my favorite book series of all time (Anne of Green Gables), but the writing style always cracks me up.  

Serena Dyer - The blog of a dress historian, with lots of good academic information

Starfish Lace - Another versatile costuming blogger who writes in both French and English

A Costuming Christmas

I got some awesome Christmas presents this year!  Among my favorites are three costuming-related books:  

The first two were on my Amazon wishlist, but the third one I had never even heard of!  It's very cool, with patterns and instructions for recreating iconic looks from Rita Hayworth to Madonna, as well as more modern variations of those same styles.  I can't wait to start on my vintage-inspired wardrobe!

I also received a new camera, which I used to take the above photos.  I had desperately needed a new camera, as my old one is very old and the batteries no longer hold a charge.  It is also so old that they don't make that kind of battery anymore.  :p

I also got a huge surprise gift - a new pair of American Duchess shoes, stockings, and buckles!

And last but not least, a sonic screwdriver!

I have to say, my friends and family are awesome.  :)

A Christmas Caroling Capelet

Or at least the start of one.  :p  I had to turn this red-checked wool into something adorable and snuggly.  There wasn't much to start with, but I did have just enough to eke out a little capelet, such as I would imagine a Christmas Caroler wearing in the 1890s.  Here is my progress so far:

The trim is flat navy braid, just pinned on.  I'm planning to line it in solid red, and I'm debating if I want to add a collar or not.

Some inspiration images:

Victorian Post Cards

This recent post on vintage Christmas cards reminded me:  A few years ago I received a beautiful Christmas present from my aunt - a framed collection of vintage post cards.  She made one for all the members of my family.  Here is mine:

She had discovered a whole treasure trove of these cards that one of our ancestors had received from his friends and saved for posterity - and here they are over 100 years later!  She had them all framed for display in these beautiful double-sided glass frames, so that we could see both front and back of these delightful pieces of history.

One of mine was a birthday card, one was never written on but is clearly a Christmas card, and the third seems to be a "just thinking of you" type of greeting.  This last one is the only one with a post mark, and it's dated 1909!  How cool is that?

Also, apparently Decorah, Iowa was such a small town 100 years ago that you didn't actually need someone's address to send them mail - just their name.  My sister lives there now...  Maybe I should give that a try.  :p

Speaking of Vintage Gloves...

In my new Etsy shop, you can see several pairs of mid-century gloves that I am selling.  They came to me buried amongst a treasure trove of vintage slips and nighties (the bulk of which will also go on Etsy as soon as I get them photographed) in a cardboard box labeled "old slips."  There's no telling how long they were packed away and forgotten, but some dye that transferred from one pair to another suggests it was several years.  I did not list the damaged gloves for sale, and I also kept a couple of pairs for myself because they were just so darn cute!  So here you will see my vintage gloves NOT for sale.

First is a pair that did not come in the box with all the rest - in fact I don't remember where I got them.  I've had them for years, and suspect they may have been my mom's at some point.

Etsy Shop is Open!

A Sartorial Statement is now on Etsy!  I have listed 20 pairs of vintage gloves, for a start.  I will also have vintage nightgowns up in the next few weeks, so keep checking back for more goodies!

Here are some of the gloves I've listed:

Happy Shopping!