My 1920s costume

There was an event on October 30th on campus that was a halloween party. They encouraged everyone to dress up and to have fun. Even before I knew the exact date of the party, I already had in mind what I wanted to dress up as. As the title suggests, I dressed up as a flapper! I couldn't wait to get decked out in my 1920s finery! For some inspiration, I went over to Pinterest (Doesn't everyone?) and started a 1920s board. It got me in the flapper mood. I even helped my roommate get dressed up too! My costume craving was strong since I have been at college, I can't exactly bring my sewing machine or have time to make an elaborate creation. So I was just itching to get to work.

My costume consisted of a sheer beaded overlay with added fringe, a knit lace dress for underneath, a vintage fur collar, knee high navy socks, t strap shoes, a cloche hat from anthropologie, statement earrings and to top it off….some bright red lipstick. I wanted to be more historically accurate compared to the party city costume kits. 

One of the iconic styles of the 20's is the bobbed hair. To get my hair to be that short I separated my hair into pieces and looped them up and bobby pinned the ends. I pinned them near the top of my head or what ever made the ends of my hair even that was peaking out from under my hat. I was able to disguise the bobby pins under my hat. I also did a similar style for my roommate. I hid the bobby pins under her white headpiece. 

To costume my friend, we went to spirit halloween store and she picked out a bright red fringe dress. To tone down such bright red, I added some fishnet tights, pulled on some black gloves and she wore grey and black t strap heels. To balance the dark tones, I styled her hair  turban style hair wrap with a sparkly headpiece and for the finishing touch, a knotted strand of pearls was added. 

Even though we didn't win the costume contest, everyone loved the Gatsby themed costumes. 

Here are my inspirations from Pinterest. 

-Callie

Refocused

Hello Blogging world! Its been too long. When I started this blog, I felt the need to try and imitate other fashion blogs, get thousands of followers, etc. I though that would make me better as a person. In fact it did not. I became upset and depressed and lost my focus as a blogger. But what was my focus?

Seeing and reading fashion blogs was inspiring to put together my outfits and I wanted to imitate what I saw. But was that what I was really passionate about? I had not realized yet that fashion blogging wasn't necessarily for me. I began doing sewing costumes on the side for my sisters ballet studio. Slowly, I became more engrossed in that and fashion blogging didn't seem as important. Don't get me wrong, I still love reading those types of blogs, but reading and actually blogging about it is 2 different things. When I put together a post, I felt like there wasn't much to say, "I got this sweater while thrifting", "This outfit reminds me of my grandpas sweater", and etc. But if I talked about sewing or historical costumes/clothing I feel that there is more to talk and to learn about. 

Fast forward a few years, my sewing career has taken off, I finished up high school and now I am a freshman in college. Its weird that I haven't posted anything, but I haven't has anything to say until now. Now I am refocussing this blog into a sort of historical costume/fashion blog, costumes I am working on etc. The name of this blog now has a new meaning, instead of a menagerie, or collection, of fashion outfits, it now reflects the collection of historical clothing and costumes that i have either made/will discuss or have inspired me. 

Welcome back to the new Callie's Menagerie!

Callie

Civil War Costume part 1

Hi! I'm back! My latest project( among many) is a Civil War dress. I have been fascinated with that time period and other historical time periods since I was young. When I was little, my Mom made my sister and I simple pioneer dresses. Mine was a blue calico and I also was given some Justin brand lace up roper boots to go with it. I thought I was so cool wearing the outfit out back in our acre of woods, playing make believe in my little playhouse. My neighbor often came down to play dressed as a cowboy. I played the damsel in distress a lot. Haha. Sad was the day when I outgrew it. Now that I am older and have skills in sewing, I thought is was about time to make a historical outfit. I bought the quilt inspired fabric from a civil war fabric line while I was on vacation. The costume is still a work in progress, but I was so excited I had to show it to you. Because I didn't have the pattern with me when I got the fabric cut ( silly me ) I was short a 1 1/2 yards. The pattern shows having a large skirt as was the style back in the day, but by not having enough fabric to make the same size as in the pattern, I was able to give a slightly modern twist to an old pattern. In the pictures above I don't have the petticoat/hoop skirt underneath the skirt so it is not poofy yet. There is even a bustle to wear underneath on top of the petticoat. Fun! One of the things I changed about the pattern is making the armhole bigger. Because I have broad shoulders it was too tight around my armpits, I cut away about 1 inch all the way around and having the 5/8 seam allowance, it feels a lot better and I have more movement. When I finish the costume I hope to have a photo shoot around some old buildings and proudly show off my hard work.

Callie

The Emerald Jewel

The spring ballet season has started and so has the costuming for our ballet companies production Aladdin. Its so exciting making things from old dresses, brocade fabrics, and treasures unearthed from estate sales or thrift stores. The first costume I made was an example of reusing an old dress and giving it new life. This costume is the Emerald jewel. She one of the many jewels that appear in the cave of riches that Aladdin is locked into, towards the beginning of the story. When I think of an emerald, especially in this setting, I think of flashy, sultry and rich colors. When I spotted this dress on the rack of kindly donated dresses for costume purposes, I knew that it would be a great base to start with. I converted the top part of the dress into a bra top. Seeing that the olive green was a bit dull, I sewed on sequins, bugle beads, and jewels to give it more depth and intrest. The tassles were salvaged from an old curtain. By adding beads and glitter glue, I was able to create a more luxurious look.  The dancer that was going to be wearing this costume is tall, and the straps that came with the dress looked flimsy with her long body. By adding chiffon sleeve/straps, it balanced out the top and added the much needed emerald green color.

 The other half of the dress was used for the skirt. I added 2 emerald colored chiffon skirts and attached them to the dress with a trim covered waisted band. I also added the same beads used on the top to the beading on the skirt. For extra shimmer, I sewed on sequins and beads to the edges of the skirts to give the appearance of being dipped.
The headpiece was my own design using a necklace found while thrifting. I used tecniques that I learned at a headpiece class taught by Tutu.com in North Carolina. Their facebook page is inspiring, just search tutu.com.

Up next is the Diamond jewel. I will post when it is finished.

Where I've been and what I've done

So I have been a busy little person this past week....making tiaras! My Mom and I traveled to North Carolina to learn the proper techniques on constructing a ballet tiara.  I used the Snow Queen pattern and added and altered it to make it unique. My Mom made the Arabian pattern. I love all of the swirls on the side of the head! The other tiara shown is the basic pattern that I made before I left to go to the class. It is incredible how light the tiara is. If you're curious the tiara wire is millinery wire shaped into a tiara shape. Next adding the crystals and shaping it to the head makes the headpiece complete. The tiara is attached to the head by sewing a piece of woven horsehair ( I haven't done that step yet ) spraying it to match the dancers hair, then by pinning it in place it will stay on your head.

We thoroughly enjoyed the class and getting inspiration from other costumers sewing tutus and costumes in the same room. Mom and I had planned to go fabric shopping and heard about Mary Jos, a 32,00 sq foot fabric store only 30 minutes away. Taking the scenic route cut our shopping time short, but I don't think there would ever be enough time to spend in there. From the trim and lace walls to the fabrics, it was magical!!! Joann's does not compare to this place! 

So I will be absent from blog land this coming week because I will be in Eureka Springs, Arkansas doing a week long piano camp. This upcoming month will be busy because after piano camp a week later I will be on a family vacation. Enjoy the photos of Mary Jo's and be sure to take the virtual tour on their website!

Of course I got fabric at Mary Jo's but I will show you what I got and even photos of the recent estate sale. See ya in a week!

Trims, trims, trims!!!

I want this lace on my wedding dress! The fern design is all beads.

The lace wall!

The 3 photos are only a sliver of the HUGE upholstery section!

Making tiaras in class!

A Gingham Picnic

Outfit details

Shirt- Thrifted Vintage

Skirt- handmade via Goodwill

Belt- Thrifted

Shoes- via Savers

Whenever I wear this shirt I think of an afternoon picnic. 
Here is a poem that describes a beautiful picnic.

After the picnic,

evidence of red and white plaid table cloths

lie on the grass,

tossed carelessly,

accompanied by bones of chicken

in empty plastic containers,

as the radio plays the lullaby,

for two people cuddled up in a fetal position,

sleeping in the open air, trusting and naive,

and in love,

on a lazy, summer afternoon,

as the wind moves their hair and tablecloth slightly

while the sun goes down, over the fields they lie in

after the picnic.

Written by Madi Rose via Helium.com

This outfit is also my first completed thrifted outfit. I usually have some kind of thrifted or vintage item on my, but to have all of the pieces be thrifted.....it is an accomplishment for me!

My new favorite item to buy is

Vintage swimwear!

Even though I have been to the pool once or twice this summer! haha!

This red cotton beauty came from an Estate Sale

The last trip to Saver unearthed this treasure!

My favorite 2 dollar swimsuit from Starr's Moving sale!

Vintage Tie giveaway winner!

The winner is DogsMom!

She wrote

My Favorite is the one you call Purple and Green, 

but I'm not sure where the green is. 

It is the tie in the middle picture above 

Congrats!

A Guest post from SockMonkeyandGee

Hi everyone! Here is a guest post from the lovely Gee of SockMonkeyandGee blog!

How did you come up with your blog name? 

I had the hardest time coming up with one and so I started to think about all the nicknames I have had and Gee was my family nickname and then sitting next to me was my favorite stuff animal from childhood..my sock monkey. So, Sock Monkey and Gee was born! :P

Your photography is so beautiful, do you have any tips? 

I wish I did. I have a cheap camera and am a horrible photographer ..I do not use one of those wonderful DSLR camera's or anything.  Thankfully my husband take my pictures when he can. The only thing I would say is, when posting on your blog make sure you use big pictures so people can see what you are wearing and make sure they are not dark. I always take my photos outside. You can never look bad in natural light. 

What is your favorite fashion era? (50's, 60's etc) 

I would say the 60's. All the patterns and colors are so beautiful. I wish I lived in the 60's sometimes or wished my mother kept her clothes from the 60's! :P

If you could indulge yourself in a food, what would it be? 

It would be a tie between mac n' cheese and bagels and cream cheese. I obviously love carbohydrates and cheese. haha

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

Paris ... hands down. I want to spend many hours wandering around in The Louvre 

If your house was burning and you could grab only 1 clothing item, what would it be? 

My wedding dress. It is irreplaceable.

What blogs are inspiring you right now? 

Oh goodness, a lot of them. Here is a few.. The Hummingbird Girls, Here's looking at me kid, Busy Bee Lauren, Steffy's Pros and Cons, Lost in the Haze, etc..... 

Dont forget to enter my vintage giveaway! I pick a winner this Saturday the 23rd!