Williamsburg Holiday Promenade

What could be more fun than a group of historical costumers getting together in Williamsburg to take photos?  Especially at the end of December, with all of the holiday decorations in the historic area.  It was so much fun!  Cold, though.

Back Row: Jessica, Katy, Taylor, Gloria
Front Row:  Jenny-Rose, Samantha, Elliot, Leia, me, Carolyn, Sara, Aubry

Gloria organized the whole thing, and her husband Mike took photos of us all day long.  All of the watermarked photos are courtesy of Mike and Gloria - thanks guys!

Gloria also lent me this awesome cap for the day!  

I had wanted to wear something new (I had grand hopes of finishing my gown from the Burnley & Trowbridge workshop I attended recently) but ran out of time.  Instead, I added more trim to my Gold Francaise and wore it along with my Pink Mantle and matching muff, and new blue wool mitts:

I felt very elegant, especially after Gloria's cap covered my rather messy attempt at hair.  And I was in such well-dressed company!

It was a cold day, but fortunately not windy or rainy or anything.  We all stayed wrapped up in our cloaks for much of the time.

It's rather amazing that we got anywhere at all, moving as we were in such a large group.  There were lots of tourists who wanted pictures of/with us!

We posed for one group photo with everyone, and afterwards Mike and Gloria took individual shots of anyone who wanted them.  

I took off my mantle for these, to better show off the gown.  It was rather amazing how much warmer I was with it on!

My earrings are by Dames a la Mode

It's so nice to finally have all of the trim on the gown that I'd originally planned!  For this outing I added the serpentine lines of pleated pinked trim to complete the circles on the petticoat and the skirt of the gown:

Four of us - Samantha, Katy, Carolyn, and myself - broke off from the main group to take a carriage ride which we'd arranged beforehand.

Purely by chance, we were riding in the same carriage that Queen Elizabeth rode in when she and Prince Philip visited Colonial Williamsburg!

The photos from the carriage ride itself are mine:

After a quick pitstop and some emergency sewing:

We rejoined part of the group for more promenading and posing:

And some more individual shots in front of the palace - a must!

Oh, and some selfies:

This is the shot I got:

We also had a dinner reservation, so after our palace promenade we walked over to the tavern.

These photos of us walking across the lawn are some of my favorites!

We had time for a quick stop at the Milliner's shop:

Samantha's calash matched the one in the window!

We got just a bit of a sunset before our dinner reservation:

We ate at Shield's Tavern, which was lovely and atmospheric.

Everyone looked so radiant in the candlelight, but it's hard to get that to show up in pictures!

This was my best attempt.  Granted, I was using my phone:

After dinner, several of us were attending a concert at the Palace!  I can't think of a more delightful way to end an evening.

On the way to the Palace, we stopped for some firelight portraits by one of the cressets on Duke of Gloucester Street.

Then on to the Palace!

No photography was allowed during the concert, but Mike got one shot before it started:

Afterwards, I changed at Samantha's house before driving home.  I was emptying my pocket hoops...

Yes, I carried my water bottle around all day...

What else have I got?  Doggo is very interested.

Oh, right - my leftovers from dinner!

How did I fit all that in there?  

Time Lord technology, my dears!  

Here is everything I managed to fit in my pocket hoops - minus the water bottle and leftovers:

Kind of wish I could wear them around everywhere - I'd never have to carry a purse!

2017 Trafalgar Ball

This past October saw the return of the Trafalgar Victory Ball!  We were unable to have one in 2016 due to scheduling conflicts, so it was nice to get back to dancing.  The ball was once again held at the Country Club of Petersburg, which is a lovely venue.

I wore my favorite "This Old Thing" - my Green Sari Open Robe - over my Sheer Striped Gown.

My necklace and earrings are the jade jewelry set Brian got me in Japan, and my pearl bracelet is Dames a la Mode

Brian the Engineer wore his Black Wool Tailcoat, Purple Velvet Waistcoat, breeches (which used to be trousers), shirt, and linen cravat.

Two of our lovely hostesses, Megan and Heather

There was much dancing, of course!  

I am proud to say I made both of these tailcoats!  

We were delighted to have Mr. Charles Steplively return as our dance master!

More photos of the evening can be seen on my Instagram, under the hashtag #rsvvictoryball2017 - and a couple of videos!

Williamsburg Garden Party

Now that I'm seeing ads for this event again this year, it's about time I blogged about last year's Garden Party!

I know I jumped at the chance to dress to the nines and attend a party at the Governor's Palace, even though I was eight months pregnant at the time!  I once again wore my Gold Francaise over my maternity stays (which I finally finished binding!), pocket hoops, and several petticoats:

My friend Stefanie, who lives near the historic area, graciously allowed me to change at her house, and took these couple of photos for me.

I was pretty pleased with how well the Francaise still fit over my baby bump, and I managed to coax a halfway decent hairstyle into existence:

Jewelry by Dames a la Mode

The evening began at the Williamsburg Inn, where a special reception for Garden Party attendees was held with hors d'oeuvres prior to the main event.  I met up with some friends from the Francaise Dinner and made several new friends throughout the evening!  (And honestly, I do not remember everyone's names, so I am not going to attempt to caption these.)

There was a raffle (or was it a door prize?) for a carriage ride from the Inn to the Palace, but I did not win.  They had a shuttle bus bringing guests to and fro, but a few of us opted to walk as it was a fine evening and the historic area is so picturesque.

Awaiting our turn to be escorted though the Palace:

The Garden Party itself was held in the gardens behind the Governor's Palace.  There was music, dancing, a play at one point, a speech by Thomas Jefferson, drinks, and desserts.  I spent most of my time mingling with other guests, taking photos of pretty gowns, finding places to sit down, and stuffing my face with yummy desserts! 

It kept threatening to rain (in fact the event was very nearly canceled/postponed) but never did.

So many pretty gowns!

I love the gardens at Colonial Williamsburg.

At various times throughout the evening, I had different people take some photos of me in my gown - I can't remember who you all were now, but thank you!

Much pregnant. So belly. Wow.

I really love how the back of my gown looks!

New friends!

There were also fireworks, but I got no (decent) photos of them.  I did Instagram a bit throughout the evening, with the hashtag #williamsburggardenparty

We got a little bit of a sunset:

And then it did start to rain, right as the party was wrapping up.  A few of us die-hards ended up walking through a light sprinkle to Chowning's Tavern, where we waited out the rain with some food and revelry.  My one disappointment with the event was the lack of actual food for the ticket price.  The desserts were delicious!  But not very filling.  Then again, I was pregnant...