The Ladies TeaStop in and grab a quick cup of tea! All sorts of ladies issues are disscussed here. Both Ladies and Gentlemen are welcome to join in the conversations.
HC's Lady- Given the circumstances of your entry into the exciting world of reenacting, and having to put together your dress at the expense of the ol hubby's natural tightwaddedness, i do believe that a little remedy of the sort that Samgrant runs in his signature (at the bottom of his posts) is most proper and entirely warranted and that you might the first aspect of it to some success. Trusting you will come through to the best, ed
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
Hc Lady,
Glad to another Lady has come to your rescue from us non knowing men lol But Jenna is correct you'll need to look at what you want to personafy.
There are a few Civilians in my area who portray displaced civilians and use a big ole heavy coverlet and make a shebang and sleep on the ground. While thoses in my unit. have more of the comforts of home in a tent. Find ehat works for you and go with it.. well within reason. lol
Will you be camping with military or seperate?
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Jenna,
Thanks for enlightening me, I never doubted the colorful dresses, but more like the style and I see now after looking over the "Oh the Dresses thread" it varied through out the film.
To me "GWTW" leads you to believe that the whole south was nothing but plantation homes. Which we all know wasnt so . Hey even mammy got herself a petticoat : ) And tourist from across the pond come to Georgia looking Tara still today.
BTW: did Any of you know that Cammie King who played Bonnie Blue Butler in "GWTW' was also the voice of Faline in the Walt Disney's Bambi.
back to the subject.
What about the dresses in Cold Mountain and Gods & Generals?
I always see my my 3rd great grandmother as Ruby.. for some reason specially during the flogging roster scene.
I would think though that the "Work dress set up" would be better suited as something to start with would be more inexpensive correct or are they all about the same?.
Regards,
Steven - "Civilian in training"
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__________________ Steven Noel Cone Living Historian and Battlefield Preservationest
"Silver Spring Mess" ; "Citizens of the Bonnie Blue" ; "46th Tn Inf. Co. K"
A work dress costs less because it has less fabric. Usually only 4-5 yds of fabric where a real "belle of the ball" dress can have any where from 7-9yds plus trim and whatever else you decorate your dress with. So yes, a camp dress is the cheaper way to go, but you can do a very nice frilly dress pretty cheap if you A) Make it yourself B) go to rummage sales and thrift stores. You can find some way cool deals at those places. It's amazing what a table cloth can make. I had found two really large rectangle cotton table clothes at a Goodwill one time, $1.99 a peice for them, and when you measured them out you ended up with 6yds of fabric! You can't find that kind of deal even at Wal-Mart! A friend of mine now has a skirt and a vestie made out of it and it is the sweetest looking outfit you have ever seen!!! Bedskirts, like the eyelet lace once, are great for slips and for trim on the dresses. I am currently in search of three king or queen size ones that I can make a flounce dress out of. And they are pretty easy to come by. So there are ways of getting a really stunnind dress from unusal things that you just wouldn't normally think of. Keep an eye out for drapery panels in cotton, they work great for skirts. And old wedding dresses can be transformed into stunning ballgowns. But make sure you take the zippers out.
Google Fanny and Vera. They are two re-enactors from California that have a web site and have some very helpful hints on how to achive a look without spending a fortune.
Steve, I have not seen Cold Harbor at all, but had seen Renee Zelwiger's outfit, and the only issue I had with the pants, which I guess (oh gosh her name escapes me, the her co-star) dones in the end. They would have probably also had some sort of short wool skirt on over those pants. It would have given then a touch of feminity to their pants. Now, not having seen the movie, I can't say what the sercumstances were for the pants.
But have fun with your dress, and as much as silk may call to you, I would only wear it if you knew that you weren't going to be by any kind of fire or cooking. It does not clean up well. It makes for great ballgowns, but our silk is not constructed the same way as it was then and for some reason is more fragil then it was 140yrs ago. Cotton breaths better and can be cleaned easily. And in the north, sorry, was more readily available after the war got underway. And speaking of which, if someone asks why you are dressed so fancy, you represent the woman before the war took it's toll on the south.
But as I can see from your hubby's post, it's nice to see that he can see beyond the sepia tones now and will concure to let you have a frilly dress.
A work dress costs less because it has less fabric. Usually only 4-5 yds of fabric where a real "belle of the ball" dress can have any where from 7-9yds plus trim and whatever else you decorate your dress with. So yes, a camp dress is the cheaper way to go, but you can do a very nice frilly dress pretty cheap if you A) Make it yourself B) go to rummage sales and thrift stores. You can find some way cool deals at those places. It's amazing what a table cloth can make. I had found two really large rectangle cotton table clothes at a Goodwill one time, $1.99 a peice for them, and when you measured them out you ended up with 6yds of fabric! You can't find that kind of deal even at Wal-Mart! A friend of mine now has a skirt and a vestie made out of it and it is the sweetest looking outfit you have ever seen!!! Bedskirts, like the eyelet lace once, are great for slips and for trim on the dresses. I am currently in search of three king or queen size ones that I can make a flounce dress out of. And they are pretty easy to come by. So there are ways of getting a really stunnind dress from unusal things that you just wouldn't normally think of. Keep an eye out for drapery panels in cotton, they work great for skirts. And old wedding dresses can be transformed into stunning ballgowns. But make sure you take the zippers out.
Google Fanny and Vera. They are two re-enactors from California that have a web site and have some very helpful hints on how to achive a look without spending a fortune.
Oh I agree they can be done cheaply, But being that Ms HC is new to this and may not be a seamstress, or have the time to spend on doing it.
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Steve, I have not seen Cold Harbor at all, but had seen Renee Zelwiger's outfit, and the only issue I had with the pants, which I guess (oh gosh her name escapes me, the her co-star) dones in the end. They would have probably also had some sort of short wool skirt on over those pants. It would have given then a touch of feminity to their pants. Now, not having seen the movie, I can't say what the sercumstances were for the pants.
I hope you mean Cold Mountain instead of Harbor : ) Ms Kidman perhaps? Don't really care for her to much..
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But have fun with your dress, and as much as silk may call to you, I would only wear it if you knew that you weren't going to be by any kind of fire or cooking. It does not clean up well. It makes for great ballgowns, but our silk is not constructed the same way as it was then and for some reason is more fragil then it was 140yrs ago. Cotton breaths better and can be cleaned easily. And in the north, sorry, was more readily available after the war got underway. And speaking of which, if someone asks why you are dressed so fancy, you represent the woman before the war took it's toll on the south.
I can see that but wont really fit in if all the rest look like displaced civilians in the group : )
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But as I can see from your hubby's post, it's nice to see that he can see beyond the sepia tones now and will concure to let you have a frilly dress.
Jenna
He does seem to be coming around : ) I have some civilian pants and shirt, braces that I made myself already have a jean wool vest now I just need to figure out what i would like to portray, if i choose to be one.
steven
__________________ Steven Noel Cone Living Historian and Battlefield Preservationest
"Silver Spring Mess" ; "Citizens of the Bonnie Blue" ; "46th Tn Inf. Co. K"
I had always thought that someone from the US Paton Office would be cool, or the Confederate equivilant. There was so much that were "firsts" from the war that there would be an endless array of items of which to talk about and some of the pattons I am sure can still be found on line and printed for display purposes. Politicians and bankers are way over done. OUr own civilian group has aquired a gentleman who does table weaving. He has a table loom and is planning on bringing it out with him.
Yes, I meant Cold Mountain. Too many things going on in my head, and thank you, Nicole Kidman is who I was thinking about.
Even if you can't sew, and yes, have to buy, shop around. There are plenty of bargins out there. I have to get my two dresses back from my mom's house and get picture of them to post for sale, cause I am not looking for a fortune for either of them. But ebay is a great place to buy from, but watch your quality and check their feed back. There are allot of really dumpy frumpy outfits on ebay. But if you can sew, then you are set for sure. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know how to sew now! What a bill that would be with 11 dresses!
even for the novice. Many cdv's do show shirtwaists and skirts with a large belt around the middle. According to Who Wore What (that great book which I am betting you have) this look was coming into vogue late in the war. I would bet sewing a hoop skirt would yourself and buying a nice reproduction blouse would save one plenty of $$$. And the advantage is a blouse is a lot easier to wash separately from 6 yards of skirt! (Unless you go the detachable collar and cuffs route).
__________________ "Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn them to your advantage." - R. E. Lee
A hoop skrit can be bought for between $35-$65 and is much easier to put together then a hoop cage, which is rather expensive to make.
No I don't own "Who Wore What" cause it is full of allot of false statements! I have looked it at and thought I would buy it just for the pictures, cause what I have read in it pretty much went against allot of my own personal studies. For example, the shirt waists. They talk in one section they talk about how older women NEVER wore shirt waists, that that was reserved for only young girls. And yet further along in the book they show a picture of an older woman wearing a shirt waist. Another example is zouave jackets, again the same thing. For I have several cdv's that I have printed up that have older women wearing zouaves. I also have a picture of a woman whom looks to be in her 30's wearing a short sleeve dress and the back mark had been New York, so it's not just the southern lady that wore short sleeve dresses.
Sorry, I'll get off my soap box, but yes, a very cost effective way to get a starter outfit together is by a shirt waist and skirt, but there are allot of ladies out there who do that, which is not to say that is a bad thing, cause they are easy to move around in, but I love to wear my fancy bodices and skirts!
After 2 years, I am still wearing remade washdresses- but have learned alot!!! Thanks to Jenna and many others.
Some tips:
watch your fabrics - if you never get near fire and dont plan on getting dirty, it does not matter much - otherwise: NATURAL FIBERS. I love wool for aprons and such, cotton extinguishes fairly easily, silk will get "burn holes". Nylons and polyesters melt and can do a great deal of damage.
Enjoy your hoop - remember STOP-DROP-ROLL does not work with a hoop - it just fans the flames - you need to collapse the hoop and smother. Hopefully with help - a damp blanket works well.
I will NOT get onto a fire safety soap box with out encouragment - so dont ask if you dont want to know!
There are a bunch of good websites for reference. I like Elizabeth Stewart Clark - but just like Fanny and Vera and "Who Wore What" - use many other resources and read with a grain of salt.
If you want to learn about "hardcore" - try the Authentic Campainger. It was a great introduction to me to "some other ways of doing things", and enlightened me to some of the things our "guys" do when they go without us. (I alway wanted to know why DH took the canvas wool-lined horse blanket to events - turns out he used it as a ground cloth and slept inside when it was cold - and it easily rolled up to store and transport. When asked - he said it was better than a tent).
Also - like Jenna - I have some clothing I would like to part with. Unlike Janna's, mine is from a lower economical class.
And - no matter how well dressed or if you are skimping on fabric - skip "gored" panel skirts. Using 2 - 4 rectangular sections connected at the selvages is much easer to do, and so is hemming before adding the waist.
Miss Amy
P.S. Miss Jenna - do you have an easy way to explain the difference between a "men's shirt", a "modern shirt", and a "shirt waist". If I understand it - the 1st 2 have long "tails" which tuck in and the latter ends at, and is somewhat fitted to, the waist?
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