I've rediscovered my passion for crochet in my hunt for Victorian accessories and trims. Pictured are the cuff length lace for the "Wealthy Victorian Woman" or WVW costume. Not shown is the long section that will be used on the bodice.
After starting the blocking for A Christmas Carol, I've found that I'll need a minimum of 2 costumes. Three would be ideal, though. First, I need a WVW costume for the opening scene in the Royal Exchange.
Also needed is either a "Middle Class Victorian Woman" (or MCVW) costume for the street scenes, or at least accessories that will tone down the WVW costume. What I do about this costume depends on how much sewing time I have after finishing the WVW and LRERW costumes and when I figure out if I have enough time between scenes to do a full costume change or not. There is only one very short scene between my first and second stage appearances, so I suspect it would be a very quick change - oi.
Lastly, I need a "Late Regency or Early Romantic Woman" (LRERW) costume for the Christmas Past Fezziwig Ball scene.
I have started the LRERW costume. It is going to be a very simple Regency-style dress, in a dark olive green color, with a gold colored sash and ecru lace trim. The goal of this dress is to quietly fade into a muted background, against which Emily (Scrooge's love interest) will shine in her brighter, more brilliant costume.
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about when I mention terms like Regency or Victorian, here are some links that show the transition from Regency (1797-1825ish), to Romantic (1825-1845), to Early Victorian (1837-1860). Since Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 1843, most productions are costumed in the late 1840's/1850's time period. Our production is more in the 1860 time period. Depending on how far back you put the "past", you can end up in either the Regency or Romantic period. Frankly, these are some of my favorite costuming time periods. There is a lot of political and social reasons for the changes in fashion during this time and it makes for a fascinating historical study . . .
Okay, the History Geek in me is showing. Better stop before I put you all to sleep.
2 comments:
Put us to sleep? Heck no! Fascinating stuff and I LOVE seeing how you're bringing it to life. Also cool how your black lace inspired some suggestions re: a friend's quest for goth lace accessories as a xmas gift for a mutual friend.
You're right - I have no idea what to say! My little brother (9 years younger), was a history geek as well. He and his wife love to do the re-enactment/camp stuff, where you go in period. He sewed a tent when he was 16 years old. He's very good at period military clothing. He's also very quick to tell me when I have mis-identified a historical piece of clothing!
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