My garb

Some of us never grow out of playing dress up. Here are some pictures of my garb which I made, didn't make, and various other accoutrements. I'm not usually a clotheshorse, but when it comes to garb, I always want more, more, MORE!

No, I don't have enough occasions to actually wear all this stuff, especially the non-medieval stuff, since I can't wear it in the SCA -- I just want them, anyway. The truth is, it's cheaper than that designer shoe addiction that is stereotypically plaguing women these days.


This, for example, is my real corset. My first one was a cheap, flimsy thing that didn't do its job-- now this one really shifts my liver! It is custom-made from The Other Woman and is Victorian in style, made of black satin. I am wearing it with a crinoline, which is also authentically Victorian in style. I'm not sure about the fan, since it is made of plastic, but it may be structurally correct. This look is what I call "Victorian Parody"-- the structure of the clothes is authentically Victorian, but the color black is not period for unmentionables, and especially wearing these as outerwear. This effect is emphasized by my stylized eyeliner. It worked even better when I had my eyebrow ring.

In the close-up, you can see I have a beaded velvet reticule (small bag) and black satin opera gloves. The Victorian era is one of my favorites, both in history and in clothing. Cracker Jack!


I made this one and I am very proud of it. I modeled it off of what Ophelia wore in the film version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I couldn't find a picture, or else I would link it. It is made of a cobalt silk blend (Ophelia wore off-white in the film, but I wanted some color). Close-ups show the beadwork, made of seed pearls, and the trim in pale blue grosgrain ribbon and midnight blue silk ribbon, which I used to trim the cuffs and neckline.


I made this contemporary dress after being unable to find one with the criss-cross back I was looking for. It is magenta iridescent silk. Here I am wearing it at the Freedom to Marry ball in February, 2006.


Wow, I didn't realize how much these pics would resemble each other. Anywho, as you can tell from my name, Vincenza, my persona is Italian Renaissance and these gowns reflect that. The green velvet one is made by John Dillon, who also designed the turqoise linen one, though I sewed that one myself. Both are worn over linen chemises, which he also made (this is Medieval underwear). Both of these gowns are a &^*&%! to put on, especially the green one. Well, it's worth it to be a Renaissance Woman.


For a long time, I shied away from wearing any garb that wasn't of European origin for fear of looking patronizing, but I've worn this to the apparant approval of Indian women. This is a purple silk sari I got off of eBay (SCAdians always seem surprised when I tell them that) worn over a violet choli I made with John Dillon, who also helped to make the other cholis here. I am wearing a magenta scarf over all.

This is my mantel, worn over my turquoise ren dress. I saw a similar item that I loved at Pennsic, but balked at the $150 price tag. I made this out of a dark teal silk noir and embroidered it with autumn leaves. Took forever.
And some close-ups of the leaves. Some people think the Japanese maple is marijuana.
Here is my Japanese garb. I made the outer kimono, a furisode, out of green satin; the inner one is a Japanese vintage kimono, which I didn't make.

This is Turkish, which I wear for Middle Eastern dancing (yes, I know that Turkey isn't in the Middle East, but the dances are categorized together). I dyed muslin violet for the dress proper. The vest is magenta silk trimmed with a turquoise ribbon. The jacket is a silk/cotton blend-- I absolutely love that fabric! John Dillon says that these items need adjusting, but they came out pretty well considering that I was pretty much winging it.

Halloween costumes