All posts filed under: Miscellenia

Yet Another Underbust Corset

Remember how I told you about the process of developing an underbust corset, and how I went through a lot of prototypes to get my formula just perfect? That means that I made A LOT of underbust corsets. I’ve given some away, torn some apart and recycled the pieces, but still have quite a few to show you. I really love this one, but I’m still tempted to call it the ‘Not Another Underbust Corset’, because I’m afraid that is really how I felt making it. It’s made of vintage post WWII synthetic brocade, which was called ‘Kyoto silk’ at the time to make it sound a bit fancier. The fabric was a gift from my honorary aunt Artie. The piece was just big enough to make the corset. It’s lined in a fabulous printed houndstooth craft cotton in aqua and black. I love the contrast of the bold lining and the delicate pastel outer. The houndstooth lining was a fairly recent purchased, picked up at a 50% off sale at Arthur Toyes. Like all …

Island maid, or what I learned this week

Published by The Dreamstress

I guess this is the week for quirky confessions. Yesterday I told you about my ignorance regarding the Prisoner of Zenda, today I’m going to tell you about my geographical ignorance. You see, I have never in my life been more than two hours drive from the ocean. Really. Never, ever. I am an island girl. I was born and grew up on Moloka’i, Hawaii, an island so small that you could drive from end to end in less than an hour. And then, all you could do was turn around and drive back. Then I went to school in the SF Bay Area, where I was never more than a few minutes from the ocean. Once we drove inland towards Sacramento as part of a birdwatching excursion for an Ornithology class, and that was as far as I ever got from the sea. After university, I briefly worked in New York City, and that’s just another island. And, of course, now I live in New Zealand, which is also an island, albeit a much …

Friday Reads: The Prisoner of Zenda

Published by The Dreamstress

OK, first off, I need to start this post with a confession. I found out about the Prisoner of Zenda from a comment on this blog. Yes, up until a few months ago I had never heard of it. I don’t know how I (historical literature obsessed freak that I am) managed to miss it. It’s had eight film adaptions after all, launched an entire literary genre (the Ruritanian romance) and added the term ‘Ruritanian’ to our language! Once I realised the dreadful gap in my literary knowledge, I was determined to fix it. No luck at the Wellington Public Library, no luck in any bookstore I popped in to in NZ. And then, in a secondhand bookstore just down the street from ThreadDen in Melbourne – success! And, best of all, it was the only book in the shop that wasn’t Au$20 (really, I thought that books were exorbitantly expensive in NZ, but Oz is even worse!). So, here is my copy of The Prisoner of Zenda, read from cover to cover …