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Companion YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/CGMl021fKGY
Heart surgery. That is my answer when anyone asks how I became interested in costuming. Not my heart. This gentleman's heart.
His mother was an amazing cook, so much so that she was Steven Spielberg's caterer when the 1985 drama The Color Purple was filmed in North Carolina.
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With all that wonderful food and family genetics prone to high cholesterol, Patrick had quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2005 and our lives changed. Patrick had grown up with the American Old West movies, television shows, and music and we had spent wonderful time with our horses in both Illinois and North Carolina. Patrick and his father were both in the military where firearm knowledge and use was required. So it was an easy transition for us into a quieter lifestyle and a new hobby of a competitive target shooting sport focusing on the American Old West. The sport also required specific costumes be worn from the specific category and era of the competition.
What enjoyable times we had and what fantastic memories we created! With all that wonderful opportunity to costume, and a partner willing to share the costume fun, I began to sew. And sew. And sew. And sew.
A Victorian Lace Vest
Time to fast forward to the summer of 2024. There was a bucket list adventure on the horizon and I knew exactly what I wanted to sew. My search led me to a new pattern by Wearing History. From the Archive Couture collection, AC117, 1908 Lace Vest, remastered from a period original from La Mode Illustree.
I purchased the pdf pattern, downloaded, printed, assembled, added seam allowances, and cut the pattern pieces.
A back, front, and front lace overlay.
Cotton remnants in both black and white.
A lace remnant for the front overlay.
Some odd bits of trim.
The waist needed quite a bit of adjusting and I did that with the addition of a piece directly under the arm between the back and a portion that extends into the vest front.
Two pieces are cut from the black cotton.
The fronts are cut from the white cotton.
The black lace overlay pieces are cut.
The darts are sewn in the lower fronts.
The lace overlay is pinned to the front, gathered at the side seam as indicated on the pattern, and then basted inside the seam allowance.
The center back seam is sewn.
The backs and fronts are attached at the sides and shoulders.
The black and white cotton is cut for the fronts and backs for a lining.
The lining is sewn and then sewn along all outside edges to the exterior with right sides together.
The seam allowances are trimmed and clipped and the vest turned right side out.
The seam allowances of both the exterior and the lining armhol are folded in and the exterior and lining simply whipstitched togetherby since trim will be added later.
Although the pattern description is 1908, I will use this vest for a Victorian impression with my 1898 Walking Skirt. In true Victorian fashion the trims have to be opulent and plentiful.
The edge of my lace remnant had a beautiful design and I wanted to use it as inspired by the pattern illustration.
I gathered the inside edge and tested what might make an acceptable impression with the inches of trim I had to use.
A few buttons left over from a previous project cover the gathered center and blend well with the beading on the lace.
There was enough of the lace edge to create 7 trims.
The different trims are pinned, changed, and repinned to the vest until I find what I like. Then all trims are sewn to the vest. For ease in closing the vest with the lace trim down the front, I considered several options but in the end I sewed snaps.
The Finished Vest
A finished project deserves a celebration and today it's Miss Vickie's Sea Salt & Vinegar Chips. Yum!
An American Old West Convention
An annual event for the sport we had joined was the SASS Convention in Las Vegas in early December. In 2010 The theme was Celebrating Tombstone, The Town Too Tough to Die.
It was my first costuming convention and it was wonderful! Classes, seminars, entertainment, and the most amazing marketplace.
There was a fashion show which showcased the range of costuming for this sport which included the parallel Victorian era and American Old West.
There was a Saloon Night and a group of us had planned to be entertainers from the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone. I was Carrie Cardinal (since I was from North Carolina and that is our State Bird) and my friends didn't recognize me in my strawberry blonde wig. I presented my skit and costume and was completely shocked when I was honored with First Place!
I wore this gown (my first Victorian gown, won in an eBay auction, and the first hat I ever made) to the tea and was so thrilled to meet these lovely Tombstone ladies.
The Convention gave me an opportunity to wear the first Victorian ballgown completely sewn by me inspired by an 1888 illustration in Harper's Bazar.
I entered the costume contest for the evening and then had a perfectly incredible time at the dinner and dancing at my very first Victorian Ball. It was incredible! And then I was honored with a 2nd Place win!
While mining for these photos I realized I was attentive to details even then.
Sleeve bow beaded detail.
Bag with leaf detail.
Shoes with leaf detail taken from the gown fabric.
I had also sewn a day option for the ballgown underskirt and created a hat.
With so much opportunity to learn, to create, to meet people in such a welcoming hobby, to have hours and hours of fun and laughter, to dance, and to learn about the history of the American Old West, all combined to solidify my love for costuming.
The Tombstone Adventure
So when my friend Amy suggested we travel to Tombstone, Arizona in the summer of 2024 I was thrilled! I hadn't traveled to that part of the country and it was a bucket list adventure. Off we go!
I'm in awe of the majestic landscape!
Amy has set us up to stay at the Hotel Tombstone. It is on Allen Street with a private balcony overlooking the street and is directly across from.....The World Famous Bird Cage Theatre! We are staying in the Madam's Room with direct access to the balcony. Am I thrilled? You bet!!
Amy and I spend our first hours in Tombstone walking the boardwalk along Allen Street enjoying the relative space and quiet of a non-event day. The history and architecture are of a time so recent in the past, yet so telling of the struggle and strife of that period of the settling of the American Old West. We ride the stagecoach and are given a thorough tour and telling of Tombstone. We lunch where many have in many years before us. We share a moment behind a bar that we wish could talk and tell us all the tales. We attend a re-enactment of the shootout and the base for a favorite 1993 movie named after this town.
The next day the sunrise is glorious! But I've learned from the day before that I'm not accustomed to this intense heat and we take the early morning to enjoy coffee on the balcony. It's also time for me to wear my skirt, blouse, and lace vest, with the hat and boots from my horse riding days which has traveled with me for several weeks already cross-country in my stagecoach now called Southwest Airlines.
The late 1800s Victorian Era and American Old West. Two parallel but extremely different times in history.
The World Famous Bird Cage Theatre
I'll share links of the Hotel Tombstone and the History section from the Hotel Tombstone website which is a great summary of the people and events that make the town of Tombstone so important to understanding this period of time. The Bird Cage Theatre opened on December 26, 1881. Over the years the silver mines brought people and prosperity to the area. Through a series of events causing the price of silver to decline, the Bird Cage Theatre closed in 1892. Today it is a museum and true time capsule of the lives of the lawmen and lawless in a fascinating time in the growth of the American Old West.
The Hotel Tombstone website will tell you about this gent, Ed Schieffelin, who founded Tombstone in 1877.
Another gent whose name might be familiar, Wyatt Earp.
Original wall coverings behind a protective glass.
You know I would have to study the parasol and reticule. Right?
Items in the glass case were found in dressing rooms in the 1940s when some work was being done on the rock foundation of the building.
The Black Moriah. Tombstone's original Boothill hearse. New in 1881 with sterling silver and 24 carat gold trim.
Down the stairs to the lower level where we see the table that held the 8 year and 5 month long poker game.
A lower level area of the building left as it was found many years after the 1892 closure. Barred from entry.
Leaving Tombstone
We stop at the Tombstone Epitaph to pick up the daily news.
Our last stop in the 21st century, as many who came to Tombstone in the 19th century, is Boothill Graveyard.
This Boothill Graveyard resident bids Amy and I farewell with memories of an extraordinary summer adventure!
Happy Trails to You!
And Thank You! for being here!
Jeanette
Historical Sew Monthly
Challenge: May 2024 New Clothes from Old
What the item is: Lace Vest
How it fits the Challenge: The vest uses offcuts of fabric and trims unused in previous projects.
Material: Cotton and beaded/embroidered net.
Pattern: Wearing History AC117 1908 Lace Vest
Year: 1908 but worn as an earlier Victorian impression
Notions: Thread, buttons, snaps
How historically accurate is it? The pattern is remastered from an original in La Mode Illustree. The closure is used for convenience and not accurate.
First worn: Trip to Tombstone, Arizona
Total cost: All fabric and trim used are left over from previous projects. $5 for the pattern.
