A Bodacious Bustle

One undergarment down one to go! I used the Truly Victorian TV101 pattern and it went together easily. I'm not a fan of how it tilts back but I tried just about everything to fix it and no luck so I'll live with is and compensate with the petticoat

Era: Early 1870's

Materials: Steel hoop wire, Cotton-bamboo blend muslin, poly-cotton blend bias tape

Cost: eh like $50 maybe? The wire was $32 and I bought the muslin by bolt

Time: 5 hours I think. I cut it and started sewing but didn't really do a bunch on it until yesterday

How Accurate is it: 50%. I doubt they had cotton-bamboo blends back then. Or poly-cotton bias tape. 

Beauty Blogging: Drugstore Lipstick Review

I'll admit it, I have no self control in the drugstore. I go in for hair elastics and leave with hair elastics, 3 tubes of lipstick and some sponge rollers. There's something about the huge amount of choice in lipstick that makes me want to buy them. So here's some reviews of my newest buys.

From left to right: Revlon Creme Love That Red, Maybelline Vibrants On Fire Red, Wet n Wild Purty Persimmon. So there you have it; two red and an orange

Holy persimmon-orange Batman!

I prepped my lips with chapstick and red lip liner and set to work.

On Fire Red:

Cost: about $9

The Verdict: A nice blue based red. I was a little disappointed because it looked brighter in the tube but overall a good red for evening wear. It's a bit too dark for me during the day. I went on nice and smooth, although it took two coats even over lip liner. 

Purty Persimmon: 

I didn't have any orange liner so no liner here

Cost: $3 so it was an experiment

The Verdict: Meh. I actually applied it once and wiped it off before applying again. The first application it went on really waxy and gross, and I had to press really hard. The second time around it was a little easier to apply although still not the best. I like the color but it really wasn't the tawny 30s orange I was looking for, but I guess you can't expect much from $3 drugstore lipstick. Probably reserving this one for modern outfits. 

Love That Red:

Cost: $9

The Verdict: My favorite of the bunch! It went on smooth and had a really nice vibrant color. Basically what I expected On Fire Red to be. I usually hear people raving about Fire and Ice from Revlon but I have to say I'm partial to this one. Great vintage red. 

1870s Plans+ I'M GOING TO COSTUME COLLEGE

I'll start this post off with my big news; I'm going to Costume College! I'm so excited to not wear modern clothing for an entire weekend! I'll be rooming with the lovely Breanna (of Mothball Fleet) and Chris (of The Laced Angel), and we're all CoCo newbies so it'll be a great adventure. I just signed up for my limited classes and the excitement is only building. And now I realize I have gaps in my wardrobe. Even though my philosophy for my first CoCo is "less is more", i.e. just enough really good costumes for events, I still felt like I was lacking something. Enter the early 1870s.

I love this period. I love the 1870s as a whole, but I feel slightly more inclined towards the early years. Possibly because more than half of the fashion plates from this time look like cupcakes.

All cupcakes

The most cupcake dress of them all!

Initially, I wanted to make the dress pictured above because I'm crazy. I've decided to save myself and do something more like this:

A nice, light cotton summer dress. I'm planning to wear it to the ice cream social at CoCo, so I knew the theme had to be somewhat confectionery. While ambling around the cotton section of Discount Fabrics replenishing my muslin stash, I fell in love with a blue and brown striped shirting. Having learned my lesson from the last time I took a swatch and pondered for a week (I went back and the fabric was completely gone) I bought it on the spot. All 11 1/4 yards. At least I got the roll price. Here's my initial sketch:

Note: I decided to make the entire thing in the stripe after finding that the blue was surprisingly impossible to match

To me, it feels very chocolate bonbon meets the seaside.

Onward!

-Kaila