wardrobe building

Regency Capsule Wardrobe Tips

By Angela Grimes Squeeeeee! You have just purchased your subscription to the Regency Week or Weekend you have always wanted to attend! Of course, like bees in a new hive, images of gowns, bonnets and the like buzz and hum in your head! The fabric stash is begging to be rifled through. Etsy and eBay need to be explored!  But […]

DETAIL

Putting Together a Western Outfit

By Christopher Erickson GBACG Board Member-At-Large Putting together a western or cowboy outfit can be something that can easily be accomplished utilizing items already in one’s wardrobe or cheaply found at any store or thrift outlet. OUTFIT SPECIFICS Shirts can be any dress shirt from a linen or poplin-style fabric. The material should be a bit rougher and less refined. […]

DETAIL

Victorian Seasonal Traveling Ensembles

Article and Photos by Niz Hadid Editor’s note: Niz has a sewing side business called House of Tinkers. I recently completed and sent a collection of dresses for a YouTube channel “Black Girl in a Big Dress.” The idea I had was basically supplying everything you would need for a season traveling abroad during the Victorian era. Some of the […]

DETAIL

$50 No-Sew Dickens Era Challenge Part 1: The Base Ensemble

Hold on to your bonnets for a 2 part blog post on my $50 No-Sew Dickens Ensemble! Showing that you don’t have to sew or spend much to look fabulous at Dickens!

DETAIL

Clothes Make the (Victorian) Man

by Rydell Downward. Updated from the original publication in the September/October 2010 issue of Finery. The Victorian era spans the years 1837-1901. Fashions changed continually and drastically over that period, so there isn’t any one “Victorian” style, but there were consistent principles throughout the era. The ideal men’s silhouette was highly structured, stylized and unnatural to the modern eye; it […]

DETAIL

Accessories for the Regency Gentleman

by Chris Bertani, First published for the September/October 2013 issue of Finery The English Regency is a long period of time. Although technically it only covers the years when the future George IV ruled as a proxy for his father (from 1811 to 1820), the Regency period is often considered to encompass the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars as well […]

DETAIL

Regency Accessories: What you need beyond the dress

by Virginia Solomon, First published for the May/June 2013 issue of Finery The fashionable Regency lady would not feel her dress is complete without the appropriate accoutrements that will make your ensemble part of the Bon Ton. There are many accessories you could add to your ensemble for different occasions; here is an overview of the most vital of Regency […]

DETAIL

Short Gowns: the Revolutionary T-Tunic

by Cynthia Howell, First published for the July/August 2012 issue of Finery Puzzling about what to wear to the Revolutionary Picnic? Are you uninspired by the gowns in your closet? Are you looking for an interesting project to use up a few spare yards of fabric? Would you like to be fashionable and functional? Look no further than the short […]

DETAIL

Mad Style

by George McQuary, First published for the July/August 2010 issue of Finery The “Age of Optimism”, 1960-1963, was the last gasp of formality in everyday men’s wear. During the Eisenhower and Camelot/Kennedy eras, men wore slim two- or three-piece suits, slim-fitting white shirts, skinny ties with tie bars and pocket squares. Art Deco-era suits can easily pass for mid-century, as […]

DETAIL

Dressing a Lady for Dickens Fair

by Sally Norton, First published for the November/December 2007 issue of Finery Many practical Victorian ladies had two separate bodices for many of their gowns. Both bodices would be made out of material that matched the skirt. This is the perfect solution for those of us wishing to attend an elegant tea and a Victorian ball. One bodice will have […]

DETAIL