A little bit of magic

My lovely friend Tam posted an image today from Faerie Magazine which I loved and encouraged me to follow the Magazine on social network.  It reminded me of a time I used to buy the magazine  

and really, REALLY wanted to go to the Faerie Festival (I still do btw, I just think my little Cherub is too small at the moment). I think part of my desire to go is obviously due in part to their awesome Glamping Yurts.

So, looking over some of their images, it got me thinking of that other side of myself and my look.  That romantic, medievalist, Pre-Raphaelite side that I initially was going to indulge when I had no social life and hardly left the house so need not think of the practicalities of always wearing batwing sleeves and floor length skirts all the time.

Stream of Consciousness like, I thought about one of my favourite shows at the moment, Once Upon a Time and more particularly Snow and Charming (played by Big Love Alumni Gennifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas).

Particularly Snow, who traditionally would never be a character I would feel some commonality with, but this version of Snow...let's just say, I understood all too well why Archie needed to have a talk with her.

Anyway, the costumes, in The Enchanted Forest are lovely. Like this Tudor inspired lilac silk gown Snow is wearing in this picture. 

Post reenactment review - Whitby

Arrrgh, I am so fat.

The sojourn in the back of beyond and then pregnancy has left me busting out of my reenactment kit.  Funny enough when I first made it, I was still carrying a lot of baby weight from  my first pregnancy so it was huge.  I lost that weight and had to make everything smaller and now, well it was tight, lets just say.....

So besides knowing that I need to get back on that healthy wagon, what can I say about the weekend and, more importantly, did I finish my baby's outfit?   Yes I did and she looked very cute indeed in it. 

Wish I had a picture but my phone is stupid.  However, like last years baby shift, the chances of her fitting in it for next years (hopefully more busy) season would be slim.  So, I had better gain some better skills at making this kid more creative outfits, though I do say a little linen gown and a chemise is not all that shabby for a little baby.

My view of the battle

Don't be fooled, it was a pretty small battle, I managed to watch it whilst simultaneously sitting with one breast pulled out of my very tight stays to nurse.....of course any sane woman would have made herself some sort of front lacing bodice but...as we all know, I am not sane.

The banquet....oh dear, well that was a dud, oven broke, food very, very late, food bad quality and a lack of organisation meant I was not best pleased.
However, I cut a fine figure in a Tricorn it seems, as I was caught in the background of some Jack Sparrows kissing picture..

There were three Jack Sparrows at this bloody thing

The late night, tight kit and a life long desire to visit Whitby  (due to its Dracula associations) meant that on Sunday I put my usual goth lite outfit on and went down to the Abbey

Not only is a beautiful ruin with a wonderful history, but there was a Dracula play running and it was the last day...it...was....AWESOME!!!!!!

Acting was first class, it was incredibly funny, especially their little improvised vignettes when something unexpected happened.  Oh they were brilliant.  I am very fond of this sort of entertainment anyway and following a story around the grounds of a ruined Abbey is my idea of first class fun!
Play over, the Babe and I had a picnic, we spread my cloak on the ground and had, bread, cheese, banana and some chilli crisps looking out over the bay on the cliff side of the Abbey.

After lunch and a wriggly baby put back into her buggy, I did the audio tour...ooh baby fell asleep for her main daytime nap...huzzah!!!!!  I went for Tea Time in the Abbey Cafe run by the YHA.
Now I have just noticed that there are some Tripadvisor people who did not like the Cafe and rating them down because the price was high and the service slow.  That is a shame because they had, perhaps the best Carrot cake there that I have ever tasted....ever! I also went in after lunch so there was no queue and although coffee and a cake at just under £5 is expensive, it is comparable to London prices so I did not find it overly so. But I guess people from the Shires might be crying a river at that point.  Who cares the cake was AMAZING!!!!!!!!

Gift shop time, was looking for some sort of toy suitable for a baby since The Babe had been so amazing all weekend she definitely deserved something, found a whistle, a bit of Rock for my niece (please note Americans, Rock is a candy, not something found on the ground) and a Dracula key ring.
I took my Pirate hoarde (harhar) towards the till but....wait...what is that?  Some strange beverages?
never one to pass by a drinks cabinet I stopped to look at the English Mead's and Elderflower wines which I can easily obtain locally but...what is that bottle there?
The cute young beardy man who worked in the shop offered to pour me a taste.  He said it was a love it or hate it liquer, I was hoping to hate it, I really can't afford to spend money on booze as it cost me so much money this weekend so far but damn it, I loved it, I really, really loved it. 
So I brought it.

Are you kidding me, it is made by French Monks, of COURSE I had to buy it.

After a long, long walk down a winding cliff side route with the farmers wife (can't take the infamous 199 step cliff stairs because of the buggy) I went to town.  This English seaside resort was much more classier than some others I have been too and certainly beats the socks off its Lancashire equivalent, Blackpool. 

I went on a boat ride, it was a 40% sized reproduction of the Bark Endeavour, Captain Cook's ship that he used to sail the year long journey to Oz and NZ. I learnt that none of his crew got scurvy though, good for them that they had such good teeth when they went to steal the land of the Native Islanders.....Oh well, guess they got him in the end though.
BTW, my first adult boyfriend was one of his descendants.   I don't admit that often though because he was cray-cray!

After that lovely boat ride (only £3 for 25 mins) the little babe and I ended our time at the The Angel Hotel, a Whetherspoons pub, for dinner where she feasted on her favourite, chips and mayo.

Lovely day, I have nothing negative to say about Whitby at all.

Oh no wait...far too many chips shops fry their chips in beef dripping, which is disgusting, but very Northern so.....well c'est la Vie.

Silverware and Sewing

I don't know why, I impulsed brought a couple of silver knives and spoons at the market last week, they are heavy and lovely FAR too big for tea time but....I wanted them anyway.

So of course I only just started my sewing today...ooops, I need to be finished by Thursday afternoon as I have a guest over in the evening.  Strangely enough I am not worried, there is only SO much you can make for a toddler.  I am a bit worried about her feet being cold though. Wonder if I can fit in some booties?

When tradition and worldview collide.....

It would be fair to say that most of the people I know are not religious and yet they are the most ardent celebrants of that most Christian Festival of Jesus's birth.
Now I am not going to discuss how to have a splendid vintage Hanukkah or some such, that was already covered by our lovely Glamorous Vintage Housewife, Bethany over on her blog

(As an aside, I really do appreciate how much more they incorporate a Holiday 'Season' that includes other religions, over here we don't really have that and sadly, that means a lot less appreciation of diversity. )

But  instead I am going to talk about how my deep seated Victoriana self is triggered at Christmas, let it just be known that there isn't a version of 'A Christmas Carol' that I have ever missed!  This season to me speaks of Plum puddings, wood fires, parlour games by candlelight, and, of course lovely, lovely Victorian frocks.

When my daughter was little, we took her to the Rochester Dickens Festival that happens every year, I went dressed up in my rather proper green bonnet, green velveteen jacket (with black trim) and Campbell (I think) Tartan skirt (hooped petticoats).  I was disappointed by the half hearted costumes by some of the locals but I must admit that most people were very well dressed!  I even met three lovely Rochester ladies when I was running my Victorian group.

So what happens when you love THE most traditional of Christmas imagery but do not celebrate it yourself?

I still have not found the best way to handle this conundrum, but until I find it, I will just keep enjoying my Dickensian scenes

And enjoy whichever new version of A Christmas Carol I happen to come across every year!!

Woohoo, Tate Exhibition opens!!

Today the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at Tate Britain opens.

I am SO excited, I have not seen many of the paintings in the flesh so to speak, so I am very excited at seeing them, will go in full Goth Victoriana, just because I CAN!!!

Inspiration

I am fresh from watching all the political intrigue in  The Borgias, as much as I liked the show for its storyline (I preferred it to The Tudors actually) I spent more time admiring the drool worthy women's attire which is a style which the artistic set chose to imitate with their Artistic reform style.  I remember experiencing the same sort of clothing crack after Ever After came out but never could see the point in making anything because I always had costume to make that was appropriate for the period I was reenacting.  There was never a point in costuming just for the sake and alas, British women of the time wore much more structured clothing.

My costume experience

My first re-enacting experiences I portrayed a working woman during Restoration times, my costume was very simple, a wool bodice and skirt over chemise and stays and of course, period appropriate stockings and shoes.

Working women clothing pretty much stayed the same for hundreds of year with little variation so I used the same costume for re-enacting the Georgian time period also.

I also made a silk Georgian banqueting dress, which I wore for the annual Georgian Bath ball.

Later, I would make a more complex Regency style gown from La’ Mode Bagatelle Regency wardrobe that I used for Napoleonic re-enacting, I made a travel working dress in brown linen (won’t show the dirt will it?) and I boned petticoat in blue linen.

Victorian costume I made was a (very badly constructed) corset, hooped petticoat, early period bodices, fancy silk bustle skirt and over skirt, tartan skirt for hoop dress and very late period navy poplin travelling outfit.

I have quite a few antique pieces and vintage accessories also but I don’t tend to wear them.

So, I am pretty excited about doing something that isn’t a different time period but a totally different style.  Artistic reform was worn by the wives (Elizabeth Siddal) and models of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and later Arts and Crafts aficionados’ like Jane Morris, William Morris’s wife and PRB Model.

They were not fans of the restrictive corsetry and frippery of the clothing at the time.  Having worn such clothing myself I can attest to its restriction, which actually looks very nice but it is difficult to be active and relaxed whilst wearing such clothes.