All posts tagged: talks

Ramsay to Renoir Fashion History Talk, 18/8/2018, Richmond, Nelson

Ramsay to Renoir: I’m coming down to Nelson for a fashion history talk!

Published by The Dreamstress

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll be in Nelson on Saturday the 18th of August to give a charity talk on behalf of Life Linc. Life Linc is a fantastic charity that provides very low cost professional counselling within Nelson & Tasman. Mental health support is a cause that is particularly close to home for me.  A few years ago I struggled with a period of extremely severe depression.  At the time, I had very little disposable income.  Heavily discounted counselling through a charity helped me to cope with the depression, to identify what was triggering it, and eventually to find a way move out of it.  I’m incredibly lucky to have been able to keep a reasonably even keel since, but it’s because of the tools I was given in counselling: I’m aware of what my triggers are, what I need to be happy and balanced, and know how to re-set myself if my emotions start going pear shaped. Because of my own experience, I know how incredibly valuable counselling can be, and …

Five for Friday: Questions I’m bound to be asked at a talk

Published by The Dreamstress

Whenever I give a talk there are certain questions I can be almost certain I will be asked. How long does it take to make one of these dresses? A long time.  A long, longtime.  But it does depend on the dress.  A Regency, even hand-sewn, can go together in 12 hours.   I actually counted with the tea gown, and it took between 32-40 hours from draping to hemming.  The Ninon dress was much longer, thanks to all the hand-sewing and bodice boning.  The Japonisme dress would have been relatively quick, were it not for the hand-appliques obi motifs.  Are the dresses (and corsets) uncomfortable to wear? Chiara in Ninon said “Yes!” much too enthusiastically to this question this time, much to my chagrin.Certainly cramming all five us into a car for the ride from dressing to Premier House didn’t help with the comfort factor.  I like to say that they are ‘differently comfortable’.  Like a suit isn’t the same as jeans, but you wouldn’t necessarily say uncomfortable.  How do you sit in them? …

In the dressing room

Published by The Dreamstress

The photographs from the dressing room from Saturday’s Grandeur & Frivolity talk demonstrate more than ever how indebted I am to all my friends for their wonderful help and support with these events. Sarah of Capital Adventures (e.g. Diana Villiers) was the official photographer and took the photos. Mrs C of the Hectic Eclectic did the amazing hairdos.  And the poor sweetie wasn’t feeling well, so she didn’t even stay for the performance. Joie de Vivre and Shell were super wonderful and did a bunch of evil, evil handsewing, which I ended up not even using because my lovely mother in law and my sister, the Naiad, showed up in time with the backup dress.  And then my mother in law sewed the last of the buttons on my 18th century men’s breeches.  I owe those four majorly! Madame Ornata let me use both her pet en l’aire and her (barely!) finished polonaise, which she had to hem in the dressing room. Bianca the mezzo-soprano let me put her in a scratchy wig and stays …