Tag Archives: historical costume

Less than four weeks out from the tour!

All the checklists are crossed off, the tickets are purchased, and our group is set to cross the Pond and enjoy our time in beautiful England! I’ll be blogging about the tour each day if all goes well (and the Internet connection is reliable!), so be sure to bookmark the blog to “follow” us through Wiltshire, Hereford, Exeter, Somersetshire, and London. It’s going to be a fantastic journey!

Okay, I just have to share some festival video links!

Several of our ladies got into these videos, though you have to know where to look to find them. You’ll enjoy the clips anyway! BBC News story on World Record for Most People in Regency Dress (Click to view.) Video on YouTube about the Promenade: Video of Bath Minuet performing!

The Baroque Dance Demonstration

I hadn’t planned originally to attend this event, but I am glad several ladies talked me into it. Bath Minuet (a group of vintage dance enthusiasts) was scheduled to perform several 17th-18th-century dances at the Pavilion across the Avon, followed by a one-hour English Country dance that anyone could join in. Since I had no plans to dance, I didn’t dress up, but the other ladies put on their ballroom finery, which was gorgeous!

At the Fashion Museum in Bath

ow, at the outset, I have to apologize for how dark most of these photos are. It’s not Lindsay’s fault at all. The Bath Fashion Museum has a fabulous collection, but, unfortunately, its displays are just about the worst when it comes to overall layout and, most especially, good lighting. You spend most of your time squinting into glass cases that reflect your own image back better than they showcase what’s inside. Yet some displays have lighting so bright that you have problems with overexposure. Suzi has refused on principle to visit the museum for years–LOL! But, all griping aside, the collection is lovely, and I hope in future they improve the layout and design.

Saturday in Bath: Jane Austen Everywhere!

After the overcast, chilly Friday, I didn’t have high hopes for good weather on Saturday, but I sure prayed for it! Lo and behold, we awoke Saturday morning to streaming sunshine and warming temperatures! As the day went on, we were treated to bright blue skies, gorgeous white clouds, and balmy temps in the 70s. It was amazing–a perfect day for the opening of the Jane Austen Festival and Grand Costumed Promenade.

But why study historical costume? (Allow me to wax philosophical!)

While we were in England, I had two different people (both of whom I met while on the tour but who were not in our group) ask me why we’d bring over a group to study clothing, of all things. Weren’t there far more important things we could have devoted our time to? Clothing just seemed, well, frivolous–lacking any real depth.

Naturally, I beg to differ. And so allow me to give you the philosophical underpinnings of my lifelong passion for the study of historical fashion (particularly women’s clothing) through the centuries.

To tide you over…

I know, I know, I promised to post the rest of the pictures in the middle of last week. 😛 But events conspired to prevent me from going through Lindsay’s stash until yesterday, and now she has 90 photos to put into JPEG format for me. So you’ll just have to be patient a little longer!

In the meantime, I’ve got links to blogs and photo albums from several of the other ladies on our tour. They all took a wide variety of wonderful photos, so ENJOY!

Wednesday in Greenwich

Our entire group got up early to head to beautiful Greenwich for our day there. Most of us wore full Regency ensembles and took pictures against various period backdrops, including the famous Colonnade at the Royal Naval College (used in numerous costume dramas, including the recent “Little Dorrit,” where it served as the “Cirumlocution Office”).

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