Costume College is coming up fast

It's starting to hit me that Costume College is the first week in August and I am so behind in my sewing. This post is about figuring out my priorities and sticking to them instead of going off in every shiny direction.

First off is my Gala dress. The Gala is the night that everyone shows off their most schmancy pants dress. There isn't really a particular time period, so the sky is the limit. I am a poor little church mouse (lapsed), so I am going to use the very understated orange and blue silk fabric I won in the Greater Bay Area Costume Guild raffle.

Now would be a good time to put on your sunglasses

Is going to be a 19th century transitional dress. From the mid-1860s to the early 1870s, fashion was starting to change from the huge crinolines or hoops of the Civil War period to the 'Baby got Back' bustles of the mid1880's.  Crazy wild colors and plaid were around at that time, analine dyes (the first chemical dyes) had been invented and the Victorians went buck wild for them.So we are going from this:

"Someday, I hope to become a toilet tissue disguise"

To this:

Which is pretty fabulous actually

The dress I'm making will fall somewhere in between. I'll be using Truly Victorian Patterns.

Truly Victorian 202 Grand Parlor Skirt

Truly Victorian 303 Side Drape Overskirt

Truly Victorian 416 1875 Ballgown Basque

Hopefully we'll end up with something like this:

Only, you know, orange and blue plaid.