"Show 'biz"

I am a pretty busy student, from September to June my life is taken up by school, from August to November and March to May all my free time is taken up by Field Hockey and Crew respectively. But what about that middle stretch? The long winter months? My life is taken over by "show business"! I am the head of my school's costumes crew and from October to March I costume three or four High school shows back to back. That's right, not just my (all girls school) shows, but our brother school's as well!

Our designs for the original costumes from our Spring Show, a 1920s 12th Night

Now I can see the finish line, I've done three shows and tech week for the final show fast approaches. This last show is one for our brother school, it's Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, a childhood favorite of mine. I'm having so much fun working on it, I especially enjoyed making the dreamcoat (in two days cough cough)! I wanted it to have a full circle skirt so it could do this trick:

and I wanted it to have chevroned stripes on top kind of like this:

So I made this!

Ignore me and my wet hair doing homework in the background.

There are 8 skirt panels, all the stripes meet in chevrons at every (!) seam, it is fully lined in gold lamé and it fits great. Yay I'm so happy with it, it turned out great and the cast and Director love it! Now..... I just have to make all the less fun ensemble stuff.... )-:

Enjoy the kooky fun of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat!

A White Regency Gown

The Regency has always been one of my favorite social eras and not just because I love Jane Austen. Recently I reread Pride and Prejudice for my English class and I was inspired to make more Regency dresses. I see a pattern in my sewing, I love lots of fashion eras but I always end up making more Regency dresses and 1920s dresses than anything else. Why is that? Probably because they are beautiful and yes... probably the most simple construction to do on the fly. 

Anyway I was inspired by the classic white regency look of Lizzy's Netherfield Ball gown from the 2005 film version. 

So I scrounged together enough fine Italian cotton from an abandoned Chemise a la Reine project and started working. I made a simple cross front that gathered and pins or hooks into place. Then the skirt, which sort of drops down in the front, is secured by hooks at the waistline. I took some casual photos the other night, but I really hate being photographed in costume so forgive me if I look uncomfortable or awkward!

My mother put a painting filter over one of the pictures

And then my dog Charlie interrupted

The dress is very simple but very sweet in person. I was restricted by not really having quite enough fabric, but I think I made do! The dress is 100% cotton and completely hand sewed! I'm very pleased with the results and I look forward to wearing it. I also worked on a red taffeta regency dress, but I don't have a good fabric for the under dress so I shelved that project.