Getting down to crunch time.

I finished the petticoat last night, and I was able to put on the whole shebang on this morning. I'm not terribly happy about how it's all fitting and going together. I'm forging ahead, however. I'll find out on the day whether I feel like wearing it or not. I really wish my stays fit better, I think that would solve a lot of my angsting. :(

Anyway, I went on to the less angsty stuff:

Here's the false front.


I decided at the last second to change hat plans, and go for something along the lines of some sort of combination of these, (only with a poufy cloth top)


Here's the hat all trussed up for shaping.....(It's 102 degrees outside, so I'm hoping it won't take too long for it to dry and I can get going on the rest of it.


I went round to every craft store I could think of to try to find another straw hat for a backup in case I ruin the ONE I have. (Seriously, I used to have at least five!! Where did they all go?!)

I found some pretty awesome feathers, tho...

Make-your-own buckle....the cheapskate way! (Or, "making the best of what you have!")

I decided I wanted a buckle for my hat, and all I had on hand was some silver ones. I really wanted gold, since silver would look quite out of place on my outfit, so I ransacked my sewing room to see if I could find anything that would work in a pinch.

I had this large oval cabachon pendant lying around, and decided it was the perfect shape


I snipped off the pendant-y part with a pair of clippers. (I could have filed down the nubs a bit, but since it would be in my hat, I decided it wouldn't be that noticable.


I dug around some more, and found some gold-toned craft wire....


I wrapped the wire vertically, going through the conveniently spaced holes, and then wrapped around again to give a bit more bulk and stability. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but since it'd be covered by ribbon anyway, I wasn't that worried about making it beautiful.


Ta-da! Buckle!


And here it is on the hat....

Feeling better about the fitting...

I was so bummed this morning when I put everything on - nothing seemed to fit right! (I'm sure my mood didn't help out too much, but still. I wasn't happy.)

Anyway, on a whim, I decided to try on my other set of stays, and OMG. I feel SO. MUCH. BETTER. It's flatter in the front than my other pair, so the silhouette isn't quite right, but the overall fit is better. Huh. Odd. Anyway, without further ado.....here are some quick shots! (The polonais-ing was done quickly, and I'll actually get something better worked out than a couple of pins shoved into my bum!)


I still am unsure about the need for a petticoat. I think I'll survive without one, but it would probably be nice to have one. Tomorrow after work, I'm going to go to the local beauty supply store to see if I can get something to help beef up my hair. I think my budget is $15.00 or less. Oh how I wish I had a wig to go with this gown....I really don't want to have to futz around with my hair on the day!

here are the shoes that I'm going to try to deck out to look more 18th c. They're not quite the right shape, but they're closer than anything else I've got on hand.


So. Left to do:
-figure out hair
-gussy up shoes
-find/purchase stockings
-figure out polonaise tapes

Shoes, shoes, shoes!

Remember these guys?

I did the same process for the hat  buckle for these shoe buckles.  I decided to do a bow instead of a latchet, I don't feel like I have enough skillz (or patience) to go through the process of covering the entire shoe.  Anyway, back to the 'buckles'....

I messed around a whole bunch trying out different styles and fabrics.  The gold silk looked kinda silly with the gold buckle, and the ivory silk would get lost in the petticoats, so stripes is was.  I like the double-bow look that I ended up with!  It's actually one bow that is gathered and tucked under.

Yeah, they're not the best thing in the world, but they're better than tennis shoes!  ;)  Check out those sexxay jammies....heh.