Tea Party

[mala_14]

It was the Lady Detalle's birthday, so we had an 18th century chemise gown tea at Green Spring Gardens. It was a lovely venue in a historic building. I didn't want to have to deal with making a chemise gown, so I did a white voile round gown, which I figured was appropriately pastoral. So many gorgeous ladies in their many variations of the gown! It was really interesting to see the different takes of what is essentially the same thing.

I loved all the sashes! This is just walking to the building from the parking lot.


My gown ended up being just a touch too scooped out in the neckline, so I kept having to pull it up in the centre front. Wearing a fichu or having a tucker would totally fix this and I do plan on making a suit of ruffles in the future to avoid this problem. I wore my Dames a la Mode necklace and earrings plus a beautiful sash and buckle borrowed from the Lady Detalle. The sash was really the perfect shade of pink. Reminded me of the portraits of children from the end of the 18th century like this and this.


The back of my dress is cut en fourreau. Here's a picture by In the Long Run Designs, who was nice enough to do some mini photo shoots of people when we were wandering about the grounds after the tea. :)


There were some great flowers and they really attracted the butterflies. I saw this little guy and managed to get a couple of shots before he flew away.


And here you can see us milling about on the lawn with the historic building in the background:


After this, we headed back to the Lady Detalle's house and hung out, ate more food, drank champagne, and watched a couple of movies. It was great! The next day we had a photoshoot with the Lady Detalle's jewelry and then went out for a bit of shopping and then I headed home.

The costume things that I picked up for me: 2 yards ivory silk satin (a great find in the remnants) and a bunch of olive lightweight satin (burn tested when I got home and it's a synthetic) to make a Game of Thrones handmaid dress both from Fabric Place Basement, ivory silk stockings from Colonial Williamsburg, a fun brooch from Cold Harbor Antique Mall, and, from the Lady Detalle, a gorgeous deep plum silk chiffon dupatta with stunning goldwork embroidery, a couple of silk remnants from her stash, a pair of (real!) pearl earrings, and a pair of black glass intaglio earrings with black glass dangles.


The Lady Detalle's work room makes you want to buy things like CRAZY! So many pretties. Pictures really don't do her things justice.

Comments

[atherleisure]

That looks like such a good time. I'm glad you had a good trip to Virginia.

[mala_14]

Thank you! It really was a great introduction to a new part of the world for me.

[nuranar]

It looks like such a wonderful time! Great shopping, too. How did you do in the heat?

[mala_14]

It really was! Thanks! Most of the time it was alright because we were moving in and out of air conditioned places. I had one day of being a tourist in DC (post upcoming) not in costume, and because I was outside walking for a while, that was a bit much. I was a sweaty mess and had a bit of a headache from all the sun. ;p But other than that, good!

[howlgirl]

I love all the sashes too! What a fun event.

[mala_14]

Everyone was so pretty! It was a lot of fun meeting people and getting to hang out.

[blackcat452]

You look lovely, it really is the perfect pink!

[mala_14]

Thanks! I think I need to find some silk in that shade for my stash.

[theladyrebecca]

You all look so perfect and gorgeous! I love seeing a bunch of chemise-type dresses together.

[mala_14]

Thank you! Me too! All the variation was so neat.

[elizabeth_mn]

That looks fabulous! Everyone looks so flippin cute and your hair is perfect. Love all the little gorgeous things you brought home!

[mala_14]

Thanks! I'm so glad I practiced the hair beforehand. I can now make a passable 1780s hairdo really quickly (so long as there is a cap to throw on top of things). I'm pretty excited about all my new belongings!

[padawansguide]

So fun! I'm sorry I had to miss it! :-) You all look great!

[mala_14]

Thanks! I'm sorry you weren't there too. I'm also jealous that you have so many awesome costuming friends to have fun events with! ;p

[m_of_disguise]

Everyone looks so floaty and ethereal! And you definitely brought home some good finds. :D

[mala_14]

Everyone was lovely! It was great! And thanks, I thought so too! :D

[wandabvictorian.wordpress.com]

Another nice event! And another nice dress! I wish our group was as big as this one! So many pretty dresses to look at and admire!

[mala_14]

Thank you! Yes, it would be nice if we had some more people to do something like this once in a while, even if it was just the few of us regularly.