WandaVision - "Naughty" 1990s Agatha

WandaVision snuck up on me in a big way. I was glad Wanda was getting more screentime, but I hadn't seen much promo material before the show aired and I had no expectations of getting invested in it, let alone recreating any costumes from it. Then Agatha happened.

It really *was* Agatha all along!

While the show has some issues that really don't sit well with me and definitely spoiled my overall enjoyment, I immediately fell in love with Agatha and the problematic elements didn't damper that. I initially planned to do her 1950s dress from the first episode (and that's in the works), but I quickly found myself theorizing and researching *all* of her costumes (and currently planning to do them all, but we'll see how that goes). On mostly a whim, the first I ended up doing was the most gratuitous—it only has about 30 seconds of screentime, if that—but also the easiest: her 1990s purple velour "Naughty" tracksuit from the opening credits of the seventh episode.

I myself have an edgy velour rhinestoned tracksuit, so it was super relatable. And as I'm still in a costuming rut, something easy to make and comfy to wear was also appealing.

Because the costume felt so indulgent and was meant to be a laid-back project, I didn't want to invest a lot of money in it, so I got a tracksuit second hand and some cheaper (but still beautiful) clear resin rhinestones. The lettering could really be done with any uniform size, and that may be how they made hers, but with only blurry references it's hard to tell. So I got 6mm, 5mm, 4mm, and 3mm to give it some variation.

I made a digital template/stencil of the lettering from screencaps and tweaked it to account for perspective. I don't do much digital work in costuming, so it was fun to use a new tool, even for something basic. I sized it based on standard 8.5x11" printer paper and did some (awkward) mock-up tests, and it ended up being pretty perfect.

Using the template as a stencil, I lightly painted the letters onto the pants with silver Jacquard fabric paint. Referring to both the template and screencaps, I started gluing the largest 6mm rhinestones in the places that looked the most prominent, then went down in size filling in more of the letters. I mostly used the larger sizes for the bulk of the letters, and used the smaller sizes to fill in gaps between them and smooth out edges. This gave the letters a really nice shape. I used E6000 for the gluing based on tutorials by the shop I got the rhinestones from, and it worked great. A wax pencil was also very handy.

This was my first time rhinestoning (?) fabric and it was so much fun. I'm already thinking about doing a second Agatha tracksuit but experimenting by filling in the letters with just tiny 2mm or 3mm rhinestones for a more uniform look. 

There are a few wonky spots where I painted outside the lines or had to remove and reglue rhinestones and left some residue, so I might try to disguise that with some purple paint. The tracksuit I bought also fits a little odd—despite being a matching set, the pants are just this side of indecently tight but kind of perfect that way, but the jacket is a good size too big in comparison. So I may take the jacket in so it fits a little more tightly like hers. But it's completely wearable and overall I'm so, so happy with how it turned out.
 

I already have a white t-shirt to wear under it, and I'll likely improvise the shoes with some generic sneakers (I do have an old pair of Reeboks that might fit the '90s aesthetic). This would be a great opportunity to skip a wig because my hair is the perfect color, but it's also too short right now. I'm in the process of growing it out so I may wait and see if it's long enough by the time I have a reason to wear this.

I have no definite idea when or where that'll be. At the very least it needs a photoshoot. A friend of mine does a wonderful Wanda (in many different incarnations) so when I fell in love with Agatha I told her I'd be her evil counterpart, and she was so excited when she found out I was doing this costume specifically. It would also be fantastic for a lazy day at a con or for staying in costume but being comfortable during post-con evening shenanigans. I may even be bold enough to wear it in Real Life.

As silly as it is, I love this costume and I'm super glad it was my first completed costume build of the year (and of the pandemic!).

Stay tuned!

*Tagging this as "historical costume" feels so... ugh. Not just because it doesn't feel like historical costuming or look like any of the other historical sewing I do, but also because I lived through the '90s and thinking of that as "historical" in any sense is jarring. But for the sake of accuracy and tagging continuity...

Hamilton - King George Crown 2.0

He said "you'll be back" and he was right.

My King George crown has been done for about two years now, and even right after I finished it I thought about the inevitable version 2.0. I've been staring at the crown for all that time but never had the motivation to jump back into it. I'd kind of moved on, both to other parts of the King George costume and just other projects entirely. But with the show being released in film format last summer, I got the bug again and started finally making steps towards version 2.0 with some specific upgrades and changes: template size, gold surface, and rhinestone details.

The main problem with the original template for the horizontal fleur-de-lis and cross band was the length. It was too long for the 24" sign I used as the base material, so the cross in the back had to be cut from a separate piece and glued in which was a little unsightly. The finished length was also longer than the band on the base hat which was about 23", creating a gap between the crown piece and the hat and widening the profile. It made the whole thing a little bobble-headed and oversized on me.

So for 2.0, I remade the template in a few different sizes. I liked the size of the individual fleur-de-lis and crosses themselves so I wanted to just shorten the length of the piece rather than completely scale it down. The only place to do that was in the gaps between the fleur-de-lis and crosses, and on the last template I basically removed that whole gap.

The finished length was almost exactly 24" and it didn't disrupt how the fleur-de-lis and crosses sit next to each other (they weren't squished too close together) so it worked perfectly.

The other, and even more problematic, big issue was the gold finish. I went through so many paints on the first version before finally settling on the Montana Gold chrome. It looked pretty dang good, even though I botched the primer and didn't get as clean a finish as I could have. But it didn't take long for the finish to corrode with fingerprints and what I can only describe as oxidization. That's because I didn't seal it, which at the time was a trade-off for not dulling down the bright finish. It's been frustrating to see the paint darken and dull, but I was able to make peace with it after deciding that first crown was a prototype and knowing I'd do an improved remake. But I don't want to use paint again, at least not spray paint, so that puts me back at square one for the gold again.

One of the first gold tests I did way back on the first crown was an adhesive vinyl/mylar sort of stuff.

At the time time I scrapped it because I couldn't get it to behave how I wanted on the curved strips: it lays nice on the outside of the curve, but on the underside the edges buckled and wouldn't stay adhered even with notches cut. But I'd loved how amazingly reflective it is. This time I played with it a little more and figured out some ways around the earlier problems, and decided that was what I'd use for the second crown.

Good color, amazing surface, pretty resilient stuff considering I've had the same sheet of it for at least six years (if not longer) and it hardly has a blemish. (The scratches and dimples on this test piece are from not cleaning the plastic surface before applying it and intentionally scratching it to see just how resilient it is.)

But then I started really comparing it to the finish on the stage-used crown instead of just hyperfixating on "ooh, shiny!" and I realized the stage crown has more of a soft finish.

Still super gold, still smooth. But it's not like a mirror. So now I'm rethinking the surface again, which continues to be the biggest challenge to this whole prop. Next step will probably be getting samples of some adhesive vinyls that are a softer, kind of brushed gold instead of mirrored to see how I like that finish. I'm also thinking about finding someone who can cut the pieces out of brass for me.

The other and most superficial upgrade is all the little bits and bobs on the crown, namely rhinestones and metal filigree stampings. What I used the first time worked really well, but there was room for improvement. I bought all the rhinestones in silver settings rather than gold, figuring they wouldn't show or I could just paint them along with the rest of the crown, but gold settings would be better (especially now that I'm not doing any real painting). Some rhinestones ended up a little too small based on my size estimates, and others I realized after more research were the wrong shape. I also wanted to add some of the filigrees that I'd skipped the first time.

So:
-5mm red cabochons and 18mm clear cabochons on the top cross -> flat-back rhinestones. The rhinestones aren't necessarily more accurate, but they match the faceted design of all the other stones so the continuity looks more aesthetically pleasing to me.
-4mm round clear individual rhinestones on the ball -> 6mm rhinestone sparse chain. The larger rhinestones better match the proportions, and the sparse chain includes the gaps between stones.
-4mm round clear rhinestones on the gold squares -> 4mm and 5mm on the squares that have oval gems, and just 5mm on the plain squares. The 4mm rhinestones kind of got lost next to everything else and the finished result looked a little more subtle than is accurate, so the 5mm will be more sparkly and ostentatious. 5mm doesn't quite fit on the edges around the oval gems, so those will stay 4mm.

-Add the setting under the 13x18 red oval rhinestones on the vertical strips. Don't know why I skipped these.

-Large cluster of 3mm and 4mm rhinestones around the 8mm clear rhinestones on the fleur-de-lis -> just three 4mm rhinestones on each side of the 8mm trio.

-6x12 navette clear rhinestones on the crosses -> 5x10 clear rectangle rhinestones. The rectangle shape looks more accurate and has a slightly larger profile so again, more sparkly and ostentatious.
-18mm round clear rhinestones in center of crosses -> 18mm square rhinestones. The square is more accurate.
-Add the rectangular filigrees to the edges of the crosses. I don't know why I skipped them last time.
-Use larger clovers and add the flat-back gold pearls around the 18mm rhinestones in the cross centers. Just more accurate. I have two options: the filigree clover which is larger and open (just wire-work, not a solid piece) or the plain setting which is solid and smaller. The solid setting is more accurate and will be easier to glue neatly, but the wire filigree has cleaner edges.

-Add extra square filigrees at the top of each vertical strip. I skipped them before because I thought the curve of the strip would be too extreme to get the filigrees to lay flat enough. This time I'm just going to make it work.
-3mm round clear rhinestones -> all removed or replaced with 4mm. Some of the 3mm were ultimately unnecessary, and the others were too small to be appropriately noticeable.

There are also some other incidental changes to materials and construction. Getting rid of basically all painting meant the ball at the top has to be shiny gold already, so I'm switching to a gold Christmas ornament for that. I'll also be adding patches of black fur to the white fur trim instead of coloring the fur.

Since I've done this once before and was pretty pleased with the result despite mostly having no idea what I was doing, I'm pretty confident in this second version.

Long Beach Pirate Invasion 2019

2019 recap continues!

After a mixed bag experience in 2017 and skipping 2018, I made it back to Pirate Invasion in 2019. We did modified Jack Sparrow and Pirate!Norrington last time and enjoyed it, but this time we went full historical with our chemise dresses. They've served us well as French aristocracy at Labyrinth and French and American middle class at Huntington Beach Revolution, and were reinvented yet again for pirate shenanigans (before we wildly distressed and weathered them for French Revolution Zombaes 2.0; this was actually their last pristine outing).

Back in February as I was prepping for HB Revolution, I did a poll on Facebook asking which side I should support. After getting the clear majority vote for America and wanting to make my ancestors proud, I decided to do an American impression. But Anglomania was always kind of in the back of my mind, so I decided Pirate Invasion was the perfect chance to finally go British. And pirates are cool and all, but I'm Royal Navy trash, so here we are.

First and foremost, this meant getting to make the Horatio Nelson portrait I wanted to do for HB Revolution.

Via Royal Museums Greenwich

Except that didn't happen. And that was really the first in a long line of failures for this event.

Most of the outfit was recycled from HB Revolution—all the undergarments, dress, hat, neckerchief, sash, shoes—and I just made tweaks as needed. The petticoats got a proper hem, both shorter and cleaner and actually finished. I used similar jewelry but swapped out a few pieces to be a little more flashy (I was aiming for a slightly more aristocratic impression, and this is a much less historically accurate event). For the hat, I just added the obligatory feathers and extra ribbon I never decided on when I first made it, and used some hatpins.

I was undecided on shoes for a while. I love, love, love my Kensingtons, but they're a little rough on my feet, especially when walking on hard surfaces (at HB Revolution, walking on the grass was a lot less fraught than on the paved paths). They really need to be stretched, but I haven't got to that yet. And of any historical-esque event I do, this is one where taking shortcuts with footwear for comfort is definitely a guilt-free option. But failure #2 was deciding to wear the Kensingtons anyway, because I have too much pride and my whole ensemble was accurate and stylish enough I didn't want to compromise. Wearing the Kensingtons wasn't a complete disaster, but the discomfort was definitely distracting at times.

We ended up being probably some of the most historically accurate costumed attendees there, which was a strange experience. At cons I usually fall in the "average to good" quality category and at reenactments I feel like I'm probably somewhere between passable and good for accuracy. But we got a lot of compliments, and I think it had to do with being (humblebrag here) good quality and detailed and also standing out aesthetically from the more stylized Ren faire steampunk-ish crowd (no shade; I love those costume genres too). I even got maybe the best compliment on one of my costumes yet: "You look right out of a painting." She went with Vermeer when Gainsborough would have been a little more on point, but I'll take it. On the flip side, two people complimented our "cosplays," someone said "Oh wow, I love the Regency," and I accidentally got into a spat over the timeline of the chemise dress (our respective insistence on worn before/during/after "the Revolution" was all just a misunderstanding over which revolution each of us was talking about, but she wasn't very gracious about it). So you win some, you lose some.

There were some bad and kind of sketchy experiences with vendors and event staff that really put a damper on the whole experience, funnily enough right at the beginning and end of the day. Everything in between was pleasant enough. And ironically, despite the event usually drawing a somewhat rowdy crowd, all the attendees (and in fairness, most of the vendors) we interacted with with were pretty excellent. I really can't say whether I'll be back for a while. There's not a lot there that's a big draw to begin with, and some of these experiences left a bad enough taste. Time will tell.

Stay tuned!

The Great L.A. Air Raid 2019

(I'm slowly slogging my way through the backlog of events from the last year that I never got around to posting. Bear with me.)

V for victory, y'all. Big Brother Churchill is always watching. (Sweatshirt by the incomparable SoCal WACs.)

One of my costume goals for 2019 was a proper 1940s ensemble for Air Raid. What I threw together last year was cute and comfortable and not completely inaccurate, but it also left a lot to be desired. I wanted to do something more accurate and more stylish for the second outing.

I have a few pairs of 1930s-1940s heels but they all need repairs, so I didn't have shoes ready to go that worked well with a skirt or dress. I also didn't have the time or inclination to make pants unless absolutely necessary. So the plan was to shop around for pants in hopes of finding something.

Ultimately the whole look was mostly my stuff with just a few new pieces, which is always kind of gratifying. From my closet I used my go-to faux pearl necklace, black pleather low-heel oxfords, a red probably-1980s-does-1940s blouse, a vintage 1950s(ish?) black beaded cardigan, and a vintage 1950s-1960s navy blue swing coat. I added a vintage grey fur collar from the stash to the coat and also did some much-needed repairs on it. A trip to La Bomba on Retro Row got me a pair of vintage blue wool U.S. Navy uniform pants miraculously in my size, and I got a fantastic vintage-looking brass stamping airplane off Etsy and turned it into a brooch. It got a lot of compliments and was a great low-cost jewelry piece to add to the collection. As usual, my hair was improvised with pin curls. My whole look was heavily inspired by a 1946 photo of my grandmother and great-aunt, looking absolutely fabulous in trousers and fur-collared coats.

And I'm not saying my grandfather was Indiana Jones, but...

Unlike last year, we also stayed until the dance was over. The MPs herded everyone out of the fort and it was amazing.

Then we went to the after-party on the Queen Mary, and walking around the halls and decks in period clothing and seeing everyone else dressed to the nines was an amazing bit of time travel. The Observation Bar was completely overcrowded with suits and gowns and uniforms and the scene was right out of a wartime photo.

This all prompted a low-key photoshoot to take advantage of the atmosphere, and it was a lot of fun.

An anonymous Marine crashed our photos in the stairwell...

But I approved!

Off by a few decades, but of course I had to squeeze in some RMS Titanic nerdiness.

And some spooky shenanigans.

Stay tuned!

HB The Revolution 2019

(I'm slowly slogging my way through the backlog of events from the last year that I never got around to posting. Bear with me.)

Going to the Huntington Beach Historical Society's annual Revolutionary War event, The Revolution, was so much fun in 2018 that going back wasn't even a question. With chemise dresses and full undergarment sets already done, conveniently being able to go in costume was just a bonus.

I did a poll on Facebook asking which side I should support: American/French or British? A few scallywags voted British, but the overwhelming majority kept it patriotic. To be honest, my major inducement to do a British impression was because I wanted to wear a miniature portrait of Horatio Nelson c. 1781, and can you blame me?

Captain Horatio Nelson, by John Francis Rigaud, 1781, via Royal Museums Greenwich

But I did ultimately decide to go American if only to appease my ancestors.

Most of my ensemble was already done from making French Revolution Zombaes in 2018. I reused the chemise dress, sash, and most of the undergarments. To account for winter weather, I got a thicker long-sleeve shirt (cut down to elbow-length) for a new shift. To transition the costume to daywear and make it more appropriate for a middle class British North American colonist, I made a second petticoat in blue, a matching neckerchief (based on one made by The Dreamstress), a new hedgehog wig, a Gainsborough/portrait hat, and a miniature portrait of George Washington. I also wore some other vintage/antique jewelry - earrings, bracelet, and rings - from my stash. Most significantly, not wanting to wear and hide sneakers again and without any decent alternatives, I gave in and bought the American Duchess Kensingtons in oxblood I've been lusting after for ages, with the James buckles. They're admittedly a little difficult for me to wear with my foot/joint problems, but I still love them.

The hat.

With the old French Revolution Zombae wig, not the new wig

The George used in the mini portrait.

By Pierre Eugène Du Simitière, 1779, via Princeton University Library

It was chilly and breezy, not unusual for southern California in winter but definitely cooler and more blustery than the year before. (We were lucky to be there on Saturday, as on Sunday it straight up rained.) Being in thin cotton dresses, a few people asked if we were cold, but with full tights, two petticoats, stays, and a decent weight shift, we were actually quite comfortable even into the early evening when we left.
I forgot to bring cash and the library's ATM was broken so I miraculously left without any books from their Revolutionary-themed sale. I bought about 10 last year and still haven't read any of those, so really this was no big loss, though I do regret missing out on the 1776 film soundtrack record. We did find a Franco-American alliance cockade that my friend got to go with her French-inspired ensemble.

We met some fantastic people throughout the day. A photographer duo asked if they could take our photos and very kindly sent us copies after.

We also wandered into the tent of an artist who was set up selling his work and taking photos of the event, and he sent us some candid shots as well.









All in all it was a great outing, and for being my first real attempt at historical costume at a historical event I'm really pleased with the result. This will definitely be a new staple in the costume/event catalog.

1780s Continental Army Gainsborough/Portrait Hat

Guys, millinery is hard.

The Huntington Beach Historical Society's annual American Revolution event was back in February, and I'd been planning to attend in costume for a long time (definitively since I finished my chemise gowns in August, but theoretically even since last year's event). I had last year's French Revolution Zombaes dress and undergarments as the base, but I needed new accessories for a bit more historical realism and less theatricality. A hat was a major part of that.

I used a lot of historical portraits and illustrations for design inspiration. Dames a la Mode's Hats From History is a great source, and this portrait in particular was one of my main starting points.

Abigail Adams Smith, 1784 via Hats From History

It took me a long time to come up with a theme and color scheme that wasn't too theme-y. I was making this for a colonial American impression.  But red, white, and blue gets real match-y real fast. I ultimately went with Continental blue, buff/white, and gold. Classic, aesthetic, and patriotic without being PATRIOTIC.

I used American Duchess's Amazing Craft Hat (Part 1 and Part 2) as a reference for construction, starting with a straw craft/gardening/? hat and reshaping the brim to give it that curve in front and back.

By chance as I was thinking about fabric options, I found navy blue silk track pants (???) and a black tulle-lined evening gown for dirt cheap at a vintage store sale. So I cut large circles from the silk and both the light and heavy tulle and stitched them together, gathered it, and glued it to the crown. (I chose not to cut the crown off the hat itself so the fabric would have a little more support if needed.)

Like actual real 100% silk track pants

  I had zero ribbon, so with my Continental theme in mind I got a few blues, gold, and off-white.

The red was an alternate waist sash idea that got scrapped and returned.

I layered some of the ribbons together and stitched/gathered those to create a trim for the crown, and did black bias tape around the brim edge.

This was the ribbon testing phase. On the hat itself I liked the right side with wider blue ribbon better, but the left looked better when worn with the white dress.

I was going to get some hatpins but ran short on time, so I did some ribbon ties at the sides instead. It's a little fussy and deformed the hat shape a little, but there's (kind of) documentation for it and it kept things secure. For future upgrades, I'll definitely be getting hatpins and maybe leaving the ties just as security but not having any real tension on them.

And that was the bulk of it done.

With my French Revolution Zombae wig, though I didn't actually wear them together.

In action at The Revolution

Just in the past few weeks I busted the hat back out for some upgrades.

Part of the reason I left it plain in February was because I couldn't decide on feathers or extra ribbon (bows, cockade, etc.). So I finally figured out a grouping of feathers I liked and made up a neat little beribboned cockade on the fly.

The cockade is a scrap of the same silk as the crown. The thin ribbon is the same from the trim around the crown, and the wider ribbon is the same as the ties. The button was from the stash.

I also tacked down the center top of the silk crown to the straw beneath to combat some problems with wind billowing the lightweight fabric too much. And I found some short hatpins in the stash. I still want a single long one that can go straight through the crown, but one of these on each side is fairly secure (if a little fiddly).

It's still not quite right to me somehow. Maybe it's still not frilly or ostentatious or large enough. But it's definitely an improvement and I'm really loving it.

Hopefully I'll get some more decent photos of this thing being worn at an outing next week.