Things are getting hairy

I'm sorry, but most of my blog post titles relating to my wigs are probably going to have really cheesy titles.

Yesterday I got some more work done on Wiggy, my Christine Daae wig. I've been working on the hairline for a total of 3 none consecutive days so far and I'm almost half way done. When I first started ventilating I had a hard time with getting the hairs and the hook in the right positions. But I've noticed that I'm a lot better and faster now than I use to be. Practice my friends. Practice.

You may not notice it, but I traced out my hairline on the lace of my wig with a pencil one time when I had it on. I thought I was doing myself a favor, and total forgot that I had my hairline traced out on my wig head. When I tried to get rid of the pencil markings with an eraser I found that it didn't want to come out. I'm still figuring out how to take care of that, but learn from my mistake and don't use a pencil on your lace.

When I tried on the wig I noticed that the hair in the lace front didn't extent all the way down to my ears on the ends of the lace. So I have a big square inch area on both sides of the wig that I have to fill in, as you can see in this picture.

That's about it for now. My work hours are being cut back right now and I'm hoping to take that extra time to work on my sewing since I haven't had a lot of time for that lately. Hopefully I'll have some good stuff to share soon.

A Couple of Updates {Plus a Question for Y'all!}

Ah, where to begin. Okay, so I got a job and started on the 2nd which is great because it means I'll be making more money and will have a bigger costuming budget. The not as great part is that I work between 12 and 4, 4 days a week which takes away some of my time that I would spend on costumes.

So my costuming progress may be a little slower. Although this week I have gotten a bit done on my Christine wig! Which brings me to my next 'update'.

I took a break from working on this because I ripped out 7 wefts and replaced them with the new long wefts only to realize I stitched them in too tight making it so the wig didn't fit my head properly. So I had to rip out all 7 of the wefts and stitch them back in again.

But I got it done and that's the important part, right? I also found it's much easier to do your wefting with your wig on a wig head. Before I just held it in my hands and hair was getting all tangled and in the way. It's much easier to do it on a wig head.

The wig I got was curly and the new wefts are super straight, so when it's down it looks ridiculous! I braided it before putting it on to get a look at the length, and this is what it looks like. Sorry for the poor quality, it was dark and I didn't want to wait 'till the next day to get a picture.

The braid is almost a yard long!

I'm doing some curling tests with some left over wefts to find the best method for curling this thing, I tried putting it in foam curlers and then using the hairdryer to get it warm. But it didn't really work. So now I'm trying it with boiling water.

I also want to find out how long the curls will last. I've heard that synthetic hair will hold curls for a long time, which would be really nice! So once I find the method I like I'll be testing that.

Okay, the last thing is actually a question for all of my followers. I've been thinking for a long time about starting a costume vlog. I haven't come across anything like that before and think it would be kind of cool.

I've never done a vlog before and have thought about doing it but I don't think I would have enough to put in for my everyday life. But I would have a lot more content if it were a costume vlog because it's something I'm really passionate about.

So what do all of you think? Should I give it a go?

Victorian Undergarments

I (mostly) finished my Victorian under garments. YAY! I'll probably need another petticoat and I still need to get some longer ribbons for my chemise and 2nd petticoat drawstrings. But I'm off to a good start!

So the last few weeks I've been working on a second petticoat for over my Truly Victorian bustle. I drafted my own pattern based on Truly Victorian 107, which surprisingly turned out really good since I pretty much drafted the whole thing with math (which I'm not very good at).

The chemise and drawers were drafted with a tutorial from The Sewing Academy. I ended up putting a drawstring neckline thought so I could adjust it for the Wishing Dress neckline.

I also finished my first corset! I drafted it with this tutorial. Over all I think it turned out pretty good for my first completed corset. The back has a bit of space but I think that's because I laced it myself. I could definitely get it tighter if someone else was doing the lacing.

Things are "Bustling"

Sorry, I couldn't help myself with that title. ;P

Last week I made my first bustle petticoat. YAY!

As I mention in my previous post, I went and bough the Truly Victorian 101 Wire Bustle pattern and wire. After the pattern arrived I went to Joanns to get fabric. I used a plain white cotton and ended up getting 10 yards because I had a 60% off coupon plus I want to make a chemise out of it. The pattern only needed a little over 7 yards though.

I have to say, it was the best pattern I've ever used! I've avoided patterns as much as possible, one because they're expensive, but also because commercial patterns can get kind of confusing. Well, that was not the case with this pattern! Sure, there was 1 or 2 things that I had to read a couple of times to understand what I needed to do, but other than that it went really smoothly!

Here's the bustle before I made the ruffle overlay for it.

And the finished bustle.

 

I think I may have read the pattern wrong because the ruffle overlay didn't cover the first bone. Unfortunately i didn't realize this until after I had sewn it on and hand stitched the sides down. I think I'm just going to add another ruffle to the top to cover it. It'll be an easy fix.

 

Even though the pattern says that with the ruffle overlay you don't need another petticoat, I'm still going to make at least one more petticoat to get the silhouette I want for the Wishing Dress. I still haven't decided on a pattern yet.

Bustle and Petticoat Mock Ups

A few days ago I went to work on figuring out how I wanted to do my bustle for the Wishing Dress. Becuase I'm cheap, I started out by trying a pattern from Jean Hunnisett's Period Costume for the Stage and Screen. I copied out one of her bustle petticoat patterns and put it over top of a basic pillow bustle I made a while back.

This was the end result.

I also took another pattern from the book for the mock up of the skirt. I didn't gather it in the back like it was supposed to be since I didn't know weather I would end up using that skirt pattern or the bustle underneath. So it's just kind of pinned in the back.

After much consideration I've decided to make a bigger bustle, and one with wire in the back. This was partially to get the bigger bustle but also becuase I'm afraid that after I put the weight of the skirt and the waterfall bustle it will kind of crush what silhouette I have. Having a bustle with wire will give both a bigger shape and also give it more support.

The pattern I ended up going with is the Truly Victorian 101  Wire Bustle. I also purchased the wire for the bustle from Truly Victorian, which is really convenient because it'll come already cut and to the proper size. I won't have to worry about finding wire, then cutting it, and then finishing the tips. Plus it's pretty cheap. Which is always a great thing, especially since I think I'll end up spending a lot on this costume.



I can't wait to get the fabric and for the pattern to get here so I can make it!

Costume Analysis {Christine Daae}

This post is going to be a costume analysis of Christine Daae's "Wishing Dress" from the stage versions of Phantom of the Opera. I want to do a second post sharing my favorite reproductions of this dress, becuase I've found so many amazing and helpful links! But because this post contains a huge amount of photo's already, I'll save that for another day.

First off there have been so many different productions of Phantom of the Opera (which from now on I will reference as POTO) since the Original Long Cast back in 1986. Even though each production's dress is different, they are all very similar. For the most part they're all identical except for things like trims and slight differences in material.

I came across this website which has reference pictures from all the different stage versions of POTO. I went and actually printed out almost 100 pages of reference photo's at the library via this site. I've gone through all the different version to try and pick a version I like best and reproduce that one. But beucase they were all so similar I decided on just basing it on the newer US version and taking pieces from the other versions that I liked better and add them.

My research book.

Original UK version.

When I was looking through my photos I found something interesting in this photo. Along the bottom of the skirt are seven lines going around the skirt. At first I couldn't figure out what it was, but I have a theory. I believe this photo was taken during a dress rehearsal and the skirt wasn't finished yet and I believe this may may be the underskirt.

Original UK Version.

You can see there's a bit of a difference on the detail of the vest part of the bodice between the original UK and the newer UK versions.

Newer UK version.

There's a more tassels/fringe on the German version, which I personally don't care for.

Germany.

Mexico, Spain, Brazil, and Argentina.

I love the bustle on the newer US version! Isn't it gorgeous?!

Newer US Version.

Newer US version.

If you look at the center of the apron part of the dress you'll see a seam and how the fabric is angled in so the pattern creates a "V".

25th Anniversary Special

 In this one it goes straight. No seam in the center. I think this is the only version that they did that with. I think it looks better in the other versions myself.

I believe this is from the newer US version, but I'm not sure.

Australian version.

 This is a great view of the skirt without the train. To save fabric they used their lining fabric on the part of the skirt that's covered by the over skirt/apron. Definitely a good thing to know!

Not sure which production.

Here's my list of the things that are difference in the various productions and which versions I will be using as a reference.

Collar and Cuffs Details - Newer UK

Neckline - Newer US

Apron - Original UK or 25th Anniversary version.

Bustle - Newer US

Wig - Newer US, Germany, or 25th Anniversary

Now lets talk patterns. I've searched high and low for decent patterns for dresses from around the period. Here's what I found.

For the corset I'm planning on using Truly Victorian 1880's Corset. For the petticoat I'll be using either Truly Victorian's 1870's Petticoat, or their Victorian Petticoat. I'm still undecided. And I still haven't figured out what I'm going to use for the bustle, but I'll probably keep it simple and just use a bustle pillow pad. I'll figure that out once I made the mock up.

For the bodice I decided to go with Truly Victorian's Ladies 1880's Dinner Bodice, which I purchased on Ebay since I couldn't find it on the Truly Victorian website. It'll need a bit of modification on the front, but it's the closest pattern I've found.

I still haven't found anything for the skirt. If I have to I'll draft my own pattern. And for the over skirt/apron I think I'm just going to draft it myself.

And the bustle. I've heard the style of bustle/train called a waterfall bustle, but I haven't been able to find any patterns or tutorials on how to make it. If anyone knows of anything even remotely similar, I would love to hear from you!

Shoes. I would love to purchase American Duchess's Tavistock boots. I've wanted a pair of these since she first announced she was working on them! But I doubt I'll be able to afford them so I'm going to be keeping an eye out in stores and places like Ebay for something suitable.

The hair. Oh gosh. To get a wig that long is going to be hard! I haven't done much shopping around yet, so I can't say what I'm going to do yet.

A Look at 1880's Undergarments

I recently saw Phantom of the Opera for the first time a few weeks ago, and it's sort of become another obsession both as a musical and because of the amazing costumes! Just to clarify, I'm talking about the 25th Anniversary special, not the 2004 movie. While some of the costumes in that were spectacular, the movie as a whole wasn't that great.

My favorite out of all of Christine's dresses is her blue dress more commonly know among costumers as the "Wishing Dress".

I'm going to write up a more full overview of the dress later, but right now I want to focus on what would be underneath an actual 1880's dress.

Now, since this is a stage costume it probably doesn't have historically accurate underpinnings. But when I make this dress I want to make period accurate undergarments. I figure that the closest era for this dress is between 1885-88 based on some research I've done. I don't know a ton about the later Victorian era since in the past I've been mostly interested in the 1860's.

Starting from the bottom and working our way up. First off is the chemise.  A chemise would be worn underneath the corset and tucked into the ladies drawers. Even though they were never seen by the women wearing them, some were very elegant.

Ca. 1887 made of Cotton via The Met. 

Ca. 1880's made of Linnen via The Met.

Next is everybody's favorite, the corset! In the 1880's ladies waist's got even smaller than before.

Ca. 1885 via The Met,

Ca. 1880 via The Met.

Ca. 1885 via The Met.

Next we have split drawers. These would be worn over the chemise to add a little bit of modesty underneath the dress. I've actually gotten to wear a pair of drawers from the early 1900's, and I have to say they're kinda fun!

Ca. 1885 via The Met.

Ca. 1887 via The Met.

It's not necessary, but over top of the corset women would wear a corset cover.

Ca. 1880 via The Met.

Ca. 1880's via The Met.

The 1880's was also the return of the bustle. For the most part the skirts would be flat up front and all volume would be in the back. There was a lot of different ways a lady could get the right silhouette. There were crinoline styles, petticoats with bustles built into them, petticoats with ruffles in the back for a smaller bustle, and other 'bustle builders' such as bustle pads.

Ca. 1885 via The Met.

Bustle petticoat via Vintage Victorian.

Ca. 1880's via The Met.

Depending on the type of bustle, there was usually another petticoat added over top to give it a nice and lush look instead of being able to see the framework of the cage or bustle.

Ca. 1880's via The Met.

Ca. 1880's via The Met.

Ca. 1880 via The Met.

So that's about it. It was tough work getting dressed back in the day!