Month: September 2012

The ‘Deco Mermaid’ beach pyjamas

Remember the ‘Deco Echo’ blouse I made back in February? You may even remember the pants I was wearing with it as a 1930s beach pyjama set. I didn’t tell you about them, because, well, they weren’t actually finished. And by not actually finished I mean ‘something that I’m terribly ashamed to admit was held on with safety pins’. Yeah. I confess. I was so rushed in the run-up to Art Deco weekend that I didn’t manage to get the everything remotely properly finished, and the pants were one of the items that were terribly put together, terribly badly finished, and just not OK. (see example below) But with a 20s/30s challenge coming up on the Sew Weekly and a trip home to Hawai’i I had the perfect opportunity to actually make my beach pyjama pants properly. My inspiration for the garment and the look was the beach pyjamas that were so popular at beach resorts in the 1920s & 30s. They are such an elegant, practical garment, but not what we usually expect from …

Mark your Calendars! Steampunk and Tea coming up

Published by The Dreamstress

Mark your calendars and plan your trips to Wellington dear readers, because in addition to all the fabulous classes I’m teaching, there are some exciting events coming up for me in the next few months. First, on the weekend of October 13, Wellington is having its very first steampunk convention ever: AetherCon. In addition to workshops and fashion shows and contests and exhibitors and lots of other fun stuff, I’m going to be giving a talk on the intersections of Steampunk and history. I’ll be talking about the fashion tropes, where they come from, some real people behind the personas and lots of other fun stuff. And then, of course, there is a Steampunk ball! Swoon! Moving to the end of October, from the 25-28th of Oct, Full Swing is hosting Wellington’s annual Swing ball (and workshops and competitions and vintage shopping tours and other fun stuff): Windy Lindy. This year’s theme is Blitz Ball, so it’s the perfect opportunity to dig out your best ’40s gear! Don’t have the perfect ’40s dress? Well, you’re …

Unexpected treasures: antique textiles at the Honolulu Museum of Art

Published by The Dreamstress

When I go on a trip, I like to look back over my images when I get back and see what the first image I took was: the first thing that inspired me to pull out my camera and commemorate it. This is my first photograph from my recent trip to Hawaii: It’s an 18th century shoe in the textile store at the Honolulu Museum of Art. I love this. It’s so typically me: the first thing I wanted to do on Oahu was go to the HMA, and the first thing I immortalised was a 250 year old shoe — not the usual Hawai’i image at all! I’m lucky enough to know the director of the Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Art), and he really wanted me to meet the textile curator and tour the textile store. Was I interested? Are you kidding! Of course! I thought the HMA textile collection would be very Hawai’i focused — all Hawaiian quilts, vintage holoku, kapa (barkcloth) and woven …