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The life, creations and adventures of a history student.

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Everyday 1910s

My absolute favourite period of history is from 1890-1920.  So much happened in those years.  I also greatly enjoy the clothing of that time, particularly from the 1910s.  So, I have been browsing the net to see what is out there for costume patterns and such, and came across this:


http://www.vintagedancer.com/how-to-make-a-titanic-swim-dress-on-a-budget/

I also realised that my style of dress in everyday can in some ways mirror the fashions of my favourite decade.  (Vintage/Retro is super easy right now, but the whole Edwardian Era doesn't translate to modern day as well)
So today I tried to imitate the "Kimono Style" of the early Teens, but in a modern way.  Here is how it turned out:

It was terribly difficult to get a clear picture of the entire outfit, I may try again sometime.
I tried this pretty tunic over top of one of my long dark brown skirts, and it turned out to look pretty good.
 So basically, I have been wearing dresses (or tops) with Empire waists, with belts, and layer things either over or underneath.  They still look pretty modern, especially when the dresses aren't too long.  I also wear stockings, my oxford shoes or button up boots to add to the look and accessorise with my watch necklaces and vintage looking necklaces and wear vintage hair accessories too.  It is great fun trying to find ways to bring in historic style into my everyday clothing!

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Pondering Titanic and Tea

So, I am currently working on a paper for a the History of Canadian Popular Culture from 1850.  I am writing about tea and its implications on Canadian society.  It is proving to be interesting, as I am drawing from etiquette and respectability as well as imperialism and the popular notion of Canada as being "British Canada."  Hopefully I get a coherent paper and an thesis that makes sense - and perhaps I will drink more tea, as it seems that writing about tea fuels the desire to drink tea.

Also, my parents sent me reproduction newspapers about the sinking of the Titanic.  I got them last night and have not had the opportunity to look intently at them.  I did notice in my skimming though, the disparity between the different newspapers and their reports on the same incident - one paper claims that everyone on the ship was safe, and that other ships will be coming to the passenger's aid.  More papers proclaim the number of dead, although the numbers vary greatly from 800 to 1800.  I find this altogether very intriguing.

Monday, 30 January 2012

Edwardian Inspiration

I was watching a show on the Edwardian manor houses yesterday.  They showed some fabulous period footage and, of course, the people's clothing gave me inspiration.  I am typically not that great at drawing my ideas for costumes (or lets face it, anything), but it happened to work out for me last night.   So, here are my costume inspirations, that I would love to one day have the time and resources to create.




Sunday, 22 January 2012

A Creating Spree


So, I did not get to create a fantastic Edwardian gown over the holidays, there will be time for that in the spring.  Instead I made a few small projects.

I made some fun earrings, and a cozy head band, using some of my favourite colours.  

I bought some peacock feathers and gave a go at creating my own earrings. 
I added some lovely peacock coloured crystals.

I also crocheted a headband for the mildly cold winter days.

I added a "flower" and buttons to make it more fun.

The pattern for my dress.
I spent this past weekend in creative bliss... first with cookies and wafers, and then finally sewing together my 1950's style dress Saturday afternoon.  It is a bit large, but I can fix that later; I am super excited to have finally finished it!  It can be worn jumper style or not, and looks casual with my knee high boots and dressy with my heels.  Versatile and very cute.
The Finished Product. 

Thursday, 15 December 2011

Desiring to Sew

I dislike that University offers so little time to do much else besides study (although friends and facebook and tv can be a distraction, bad Kesia).  I really want to sew right now, but I have to study and pack because I have finals and I move tomorrow.  I also don't have my sewing machine or any fabric here, so that kind of stops me too.

So here are a couple of pictures I have found for inspiration when I do happen to have the time to create:

I have been in love with this Worth dress forever.



This said it was from 1910 - Something like this would be wonderful for work.





I have been having a mild obsession with peacocks recently - and then I found this!
So lovely.  Can't wait!

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

About Me

Well, I decided to start a blog.  And surprisingly the most difficult part was deciding what to call it.  I didn't want something simple like Kesia's Blog, or Thoughts or what not, but I new that I was probably going to write about my job at a living historical village, my sewing endeavors, museums and history.  And then I came up with my title - and after submitting it thought I may have gone a bit overboard with the tacky blog name.  Oh well, I find the tackiness of it rather funny, and hopefully this blog will somehow bring in the ironies that I find during life.

So a bit about me - I am currently enrolled in a BA degree in Canadian History with a minor in Museum and Heritage Studies.  And I absolutely love it (most of the time, we will see how I feel next term with 3 History courses and 2 Museum courses)!  So I am sure the ideas, issues, and interesting things that come up in classes will make their way onto this blog at some point, especially since I was doing a journal for my MHST class last term and am not ready to give that up yet.

I grew up in a prairie farming community in Central Alberta, and am now living in a big city by the mountains.  Sometimes I feel claustrophobic - the big buildings and tall mountains want to eat me.  I do love the mountains though.  Growing up in a small town, I often feel as though I grew up in a different era.  I have distinct memories of the grain elevator in my hometown from before it was torn down, and can remember the loud siren that would call the volunteer fire department for an emergency.  (And I am just approaching 20 so I fell kind of lucky to have these stored in my brain.)  I went home at harvest time and could smell the wheat in the air, and boy was it great!  My mother was my teacher and we walked the five minutes across town to school together, and my grandparents live across the street.  All these things were important influences on my upbringing.

Another incredibly important influence in my life has been museums.  My father is a curator at an agricultural and transportation museum, and my brother and I spent a lot of time there.  I have thus gained many ridiculous skills for my resume - butter making, bread baking, flailing and winnowing, grain grinding, tractor driving, sickle chopping, Model T driving.  These wonderful skills have offered me the opportunity for me to work my dream job at a living history site.  Best job ever!  So, this will probably come up an awful lot too, as it is a lot of fun and I sometimes have crazy ideas that I want to implement to make myself even closer to my ultimate goal of living in the past for one year.  (I am thinking of Victorian and Edwardian Farm and that Quest series.  Amazing.)

I also love to sew, sing and bake.  They are my creative outlet, so expect lots about this.  I love to bake cupcakes, and I have been enjoying testing recipes form my old cookbooks.  I took voice lessons for many years and have a Gr. 8 with RCM, and right now I sing in an Early Music (Renaissance, Baroque, Medieval music) Ensemble and have been having fun learning music from the 1900s at work.  I love creating historical clothing, but I want to get more into retro and vintage inspired clothing that I can wear everyday.  But costumes will always be my passion.  I have recently acquired a dress form and am in the process of picking out a name for her.  I like Elenore and Dora, but have been leaning towards Mabel (I do however, love the name Mabel and worry about using it on a dress form when it would be a great name for a kid.)

I think that is all for now, as I need to do some studying.