Medieval Marketplace

We recently went to Medieval Marketplace, an SCA shopping event at a local park. We took Laura with us, so I dressed her up. She happened to fit perfectly into my old green kirtle. I made this kirtle in a rush right before Gulf Wars the year I joined the SCA and suddenly needed a week's worth of garb. Anyway, I think it fits Laura better than it fits me now!

I wore one of my newest dresses, my green and purple/pink/whatever-that-color-is-called cotehardie/kirtle, and my boyfriend wore his newest cotehardie. My frilled veil is also new, and I the coif he is wearing is fairly new as well, all made within the last year. (I just haven't edited my photos of these garments yet because I am lazy! Okay, because I am busy...)

I do wish there weren't cars and modern things in the background. I am so jealous of European SCAdians and other reenactors who live in Europe and get to go to events at real historical locations!

American McGee's Alice

I've neglected my blog! I've been so busy!
I created this blog with the intention of posting mostly historical stuff, but the fantasy seems to creep in more and more. It IS a big part of who I am. (:

And on that note, here is a cosplay I did of American McGee's Alice from the haunting video game based on a twisted Alice in Wonderland. The model is not me this time, it's Lauren Brooks. This costume is also featured on Fairytale Vixens, as well as my own website.

And you can see more of my photos here: http://www.faerie-queen.com/american-mcgees-alice/

Embroidered Hood

I decided it was time to make a new hood to go with my standard late 14th-early 15th c. ensembles, this time with dags. I had some neutral brown wool that was perfect to match the color scheme I like to wear. I lined the hood in linen. I put gores in my hood this time, something I had not previously done for this type of hood (only for a smaller, more fitted one). I like the gores! As a result, this hood is slightly more fitted than my previous similar hoods.

The embroidery was done by Lady Cecilia - the same lady wearing the blue dress in my previous post. I found an early 15th century example of a hood motif and drew a very similar pattern for her to embroider. Using her excellent skills, she produced the following result!

You can see more pictures of this hood here: http://www.faerie-queen.com/embroidered-hood/

Blue Renaissance Dress

I made this dress for my friend, Lady Cecilia. She wore it for the first time to Great Western War, so yay, pictures! This is a pretty versatile 16th century Renaissance dress, or kirtle, worn throughout Europe. It is a single (lined) layer, worn over a chemise that she made and embroidered herself. The single layer helps the dress to be climate-appropriate for southern California summers - and springs and falls. In addition, I built some support into the bodice so Cecilia does not need to wear her corset, once again cutting down on layers and making it easy to get dressed!

You can see more on my website: http://www.faerie-queen.com/blue-renaissance-dress/

Halloween Faerie

For Halloween this year, I was almost at a loss for a costume! Aghhh, I know, I wear costumes all the time! Anyway, I found some inspiration from one of my all-time favorite faerie artists, Amy Brown. I put this fun Halloween-themed faerie costume together using elements that go with my fashion line - corset and dress, combined with Hallween faerie accessory items. I also made the hat, bat necklace, and wings.

More photos are here on my website: http://www.faerie-queen.com/halloween-faerie/

16th Century Kirtle

This is my first non-corseted 16th century kirtle. It's probably pretty obvious by now that I make a lot of 14th and 15th c. kirtles. While I've done some 16th c in the past, this is normally the century I skip in reenacting. Well, I've recently found some 16th c. dresses I really like, so I wanted to start by making a versatile kirtle. I made it lace on the sides so it will never pose an issue with the various styles I want to do.

It's blue linen, lined in natural linen.
Please forgive my t-shirt. I just really wanted to put on the kirtle as soon as I finished sewing it! I have a couple of chemises in my closet.

Velvet Belt

I've been looking at a lot of extant 14th century belts lately. I want to do a hardcore project involving pewter casting, but I know that's going to take me a while to gather all of the supplies, and I want a belt now! So I cut a piece of black velvet, which I happened to have lying around, and fashioned it into a belt. The silver pieces are all mass-produced filigrees I had previously purchased for fashion-type jewelry projects. They are stitched on to the belt, and the gems are glued on top. There actually is now a buckle, but the photo was taken before I purchased it. So yeah, updates forthcoming on the finished belt, also worn with dresses!