A New Blog!

For ages, I've wanted to create a second blog for my antique clothing, and today, I finally did!

The Fashionable Past--Antiques!

The first post is on an 1880s evening bodice that I wrote about for Your Wardrobe Unlock'd. An easy start!

I do have a sizeable antique clothing collection, and it's full of fascinating information. Most of the clothes are wonderfully ordinary, and all of them have loads of interesting construction details. My collection ranges from the 1790s to the 1920s.

I am going to try to be good about updating (I know, I know, I still haven't posted all of the Williamsburg wardrobe here!). Photographing, measuring, writing, do take time! I think my new anglaise took less time than the average article on an antique. But it is summer vacation in four days, so we'll see what happens!

1866 Geneva Hand Fluter

The dress I'm working on for the historic masquerade at Costume Con has a fluted collar. The logical thing to do? Buy a second fluter on eBay! Why a second? The first is the crank sort, but I don't have the heating rods.

Here's a demonstration of it and a picture of the pleats I made the other night. Those have since been turned into a ruff-like collar :)

The video is probably a little longer than it needs to be. Except for the part where my pot holder gets too hot and I toss it aside, it's awfully repetitive. Still, authentic 1860s sizzling sounds!

1866 Geneva Hand Fluter from Katherine on Vimeo.

And an update--I heated both the top and bottom of my fluter in the oven. A friend heated the top and bottom of hers and the top, well, melted. As in molten metal. I think mine may have been a different material? But be careful!!!