Costume College 2011
Attended my first costume college this past weekend in LA. It was a lot of fun; I learned a lot; and I have a lot of notes to transcribe into a more permanent record. Each year, costume college has a different theme for some of its extra classes. Last year, it was Victorian and its modern revival, steampunk. This year, it was Medieval and how its been reinterpreted in later times. Next year, it will deal with the 1930s and 1940s (Golden Age of Hollywood). I don't know if I'll be able to attend next year because Rory & I may well be in the midst of taking the bar/moving to Quantico. However, I would like to attend again some time in the future.
The convention was held this year at the Marriott/Warner Center in Woodland Hills, CA. Costume College has a roommate matching service, so I was able to split the cost of the room with another person. I probably could have tried splitting it with more than one other person, but two strangers stuck together for the weekend was enough for now.
Exhibit
I arrived at the hotel on Thursday via Primetime Shuttle. I settled in to the room as soon as it was ready and immediately found the exhibit area where they were showing off various costumes that people have made. Except, at that point, it was still a bunch of mannequins bunched up in the center of the room.
I introduced myself by commenting on how the woman in charge of the exhibit area, Diane, was wearing embroidery designs from embroidery library & offered to help. I met a few more people as I helped nudge and some newly refurbished mannequins around the room. I got to have a glance at the outfits as they came in & helped fetch pins for A LOT of the outfits as the mannequins tended to be 5 sizes too small for most of the clothes.
There were some Victorian outfits, a couple of embroidered capelets, a lot of really well done hats, one or two corsets, a costume based on Sally from the Nightmare before Christmas, a reproduction Worth (Kathy Hay's Oakleaf dress), a group of steampunk roller derby outfits, a few dresses based on Marie Antoinette, a 6-armed blue-skinned Hindu goddess outfit with a 'shrimptail' train, an interesting fairy with bells on the shoes, and a few other things that I'd have to check my camera to remember. One of the Victorian outfits was trimmed in a Chinese silk brocade similar to the ones my parents brought back from China. The nice thing is that the dress used it as a broad trim, so it made good use of a minimum amount of material. I may end up using mine in much the same way. The fabric is only 18 inches wide from selvege to selvege, so 4 meters doesn't go very far.
After the exhibit was well on its way, I found dinner, checked in to get my class packet, met my roommate, and went to bed.
Classes
Classes started bright and early at 8am the next day. I was able to step into at least some of the following classes (grouped roughly by theme):
*Freshman Orientation - the ins and outs of costume college before classes started in earnest at 9am.
*Original Pattern Diagrams From Picture to Pattern - it was in the same room as the orientation, so A LOT of people stayed, which maybe wasn't the best as it was a more advanced topic. A lot of people got lost and asked lots of very basic questions. This threw off the presenter so she didn't really get to a lot of meat in her presentation. Also, a lot of her techniques are techniques that I've learned in art for scaling up sketches for final drawings or were things I had encountered previously online. I didn't get as much out of this one as I had hoped.
*Flat Patterns, Round Bodies - I only got a portion of this class (had to get lunch sometime). I wish I had attended all of it. It basically dealt with how to adjust patterns for shoulder width, shoulder slope, and upper back curve before you ever cut out a mockup. It was tremendously informative for my skill level. All I really missed was info on shoulder width. I think I can probably figure it out on my own, but I would have preferred seeing the presentation in its entirety.
*Survival of the Fittest - how to fit bodices when you don't have a reliable fitting buddy to help you. I discovered that most of the methods she mentioned were ones I had come up with myself when I made my maternity gown for the Marine Corps Balls. I did learn some new techniques, but I think I may have gotten more from wandering into a different class.
*Not a Size 10 B? - I only hit the tail end of this one. It was fairly advanced and talked in depth about pattern fitting for various sizes. I only got to see some of the question and answer section, but even then, I learned quite a bit about how to fit the shoulder for an off the shoulder gown.
*Fabrics from a Galaxy Far Far Away - Lots of crazy alterations to fabrics. Some things were old hat for me (using embroidery, making lacy fabric using water soluble stablizer), others were things I've heard about but never done (dying), and some things were totally new (novel uses of the heat gun). It was pretty cool.
*Hey, That Can Be Fixed - basically made suggestions for artful ways to repair, re-purpose, or cover up , damaged sections. I paid a dollar for the handout before class, looked it over, and decided it was fairly straightforward. I then quietly excused myself to step into a different presentation. (The info was great, but based on the handout, I decided all I needed was the handout for the moment.)
*How Old is That Hat (Really)? - I only hit the tail end of this presentation because it ran long at the end of the day. I wish I had attended all of it. It basically dealt with using the lining method, the presence of hat labels, the types of materials, a fashion timeline, and whether the hat maker used more than one style of label over time to date a hat. It sounded like it had lots of new info. If they offer this again, I will attend.
*Introduction to Hat Blocking - I only stepped into the last few minutes because I needed to eat, but I wish I had grabbed the $5 salad from Starbucks and chowed it down in this lecture instead. It was really, very, very interesting. I hope to track down the handout from it. It made me want to make hats.
*German Renaissance 101 "Those Crazy Sleeves" - About 3 different construction methods/styles were covered
*Easy & Accurate Medieval Dress - or how they made clothes without a pattern, without using darts or princess sleeves, and using the bias for best advantage. Oh, and yes, how the gothic slouch is a natural by-product of making a fitted kirtle using period methods. This was presented by a guest speaker and it was most informative.
*Ladies Hoods of Early 16th Century - covered English and French style hoods and how they were probably made. I was surprised to find out that they pretty much only came in black, white, and red. The presenters only knew of ONE period painting where it matched the fabric of her gown, and she was a queen. This makes dressing for festivals much easier.
*Medieval Influences from Ivanhoe to Arts and Crafts - very good lecture on how later periods re-invented, re-interpreted, and Romanticized the medieval period and its clothing. It dovetailed nicely with another class the following day which dealt with how the Victorians and Pre-Raphelites screwed up our perceptions of what Medieval clothing looked like.
*Boning, Clip, Dip & Tip - really, really basic information. The presentation was over in 10 minutes & then people were all dismissed to go step into other classes.
*Modern Day Method for Corset Construction - a basic lecture on using the 'sandwich method' to construct corsets and a little bit on how to fit. It was short, basic, but tremendously informative.
*The Corset Unboned: Florentine Form In the Latter Half Of The Sixteenth Century - Basically the various layers they wore in 16th C Florence and how they achieved the look. How they did it historically: entirely using layers - no stays, corsets, or other contraptions. Very, very good class. This one made me want to make a Florentine outfit.
*Alternatives for Corsetry Boning - flat steel, spiral steel, cable ties, zip ties, basketry reed, cord, trimmer line, and other materials.
*Undressing the Victorian Lady - the 9 layers that a proper Victorian lady would wear from the outside in, how they were worn, and various related tidbits of knowledge. This presentation was very, very good, and it made the idea of making and wearing something from the Victorian era much less intimidating. It also made me want to buy a Victorian era watch (it hangs on a pin from the chest and the face is upside down so it reads correctly when you glance down at it).
*A Pressing Matter - a small, limited attendance class on ironing techniques. Well worth the time. I just wish I had gotten into the other timeslot, so I could attend the lecture on wiring lights into costumes. *sigh* Maybe next year or something.
*In the Family Way - maternity wear for the 1700s through Edwardian time period. I was quite surprised to find out that the teacher's reconstruction of Victorian Era stays proved to be the most comfortable piece of maternity wear she's ever owned.
The convention was held this year at the Marriott/Warner Center in Woodland Hills, CA. Costume College has a roommate matching service, so I was able to split the cost of the room with another person. I probably could have tried splitting it with more than one other person, but two strangers stuck together for the weekend was enough for now.
Exhibit
I arrived at the hotel on Thursday via Primetime Shuttle. I settled in to the room as soon as it was ready and immediately found the exhibit area where they were showing off various costumes that people have made. Except, at that point, it was still a bunch of mannequins bunched up in the center of the room.
I introduced myself by commenting on how the woman in charge of the exhibit area, Diane, was wearing embroidery designs from embroidery library & offered to help. I met a few more people as I helped nudge and some newly refurbished mannequins around the room. I got to have a glance at the outfits as they came in & helped fetch pins for A LOT of the outfits as the mannequins tended to be 5 sizes too small for most of the clothes.
There were some Victorian outfits, a couple of embroidered capelets, a lot of really well done hats, one or two corsets, a costume based on Sally from the Nightmare before Christmas, a reproduction Worth (Kathy Hay's Oakleaf dress), a group of steampunk roller derby outfits, a few dresses based on Marie Antoinette, a 6-armed blue-skinned Hindu goddess outfit with a 'shrimptail' train, an interesting fairy with bells on the shoes, and a few other things that I'd have to check my camera to remember. One of the Victorian outfits was trimmed in a Chinese silk brocade similar to the ones my parents brought back from China. The nice thing is that the dress used it as a broad trim, so it made good use of a minimum amount of material. I may end up using mine in much the same way. The fabric is only 18 inches wide from selvege to selvege, so 4 meters doesn't go very far.
After the exhibit was well on its way, I found dinner, checked in to get my class packet, met my roommate, and went to bed.
Classes
Classes started bright and early at 8am the next day. I was able to step into at least some of the following classes (grouped roughly by theme):
*Freshman Orientation - the ins and outs of costume college before classes started in earnest at 9am.
*Original Pattern Diagrams From Picture to Pattern - it was in the same room as the orientation, so A LOT of people stayed, which maybe wasn't the best as it was a more advanced topic. A lot of people got lost and asked lots of very basic questions. This threw off the presenter so she didn't really get to a lot of meat in her presentation. Also, a lot of her techniques are techniques that I've learned in art for scaling up sketches for final drawings or were things I had encountered previously online. I didn't get as much out of this one as I had hoped.
*Flat Patterns, Round Bodies - I only got a portion of this class (had to get lunch sometime). I wish I had attended all of it. It basically dealt with how to adjust patterns for shoulder width, shoulder slope, and upper back curve before you ever cut out a mockup. It was tremendously informative for my skill level. All I really missed was info on shoulder width. I think I can probably figure it out on my own, but I would have preferred seeing the presentation in its entirety.
*Survival of the Fittest - how to fit bodices when you don't have a reliable fitting buddy to help you. I discovered that most of the methods she mentioned were ones I had come up with myself when I made my maternity gown for the Marine Corps Balls. I did learn some new techniques, but I think I may have gotten more from wandering into a different class.
*Not a Size 10 B? - I only hit the tail end of this one. It was fairly advanced and talked in depth about pattern fitting for various sizes. I only got to see some of the question and answer section, but even then, I learned quite a bit about how to fit the shoulder for an off the shoulder gown.
*Fabrics from a Galaxy Far Far Away - Lots of crazy alterations to fabrics. Some things were old hat for me (using embroidery, making lacy fabric using water soluble stablizer), others were things I've heard about but never done (dying), and some things were totally new (novel uses of the heat gun). It was pretty cool.
*Hey, That Can Be Fixed - basically made suggestions for artful ways to repair, re-purpose, or cover up , damaged sections. I paid a dollar for the handout before class, looked it over, and decided it was fairly straightforward. I then quietly excused myself to step into a different presentation. (The info was great, but based on the handout, I decided all I needed was the handout for the moment.)
*How Old is That Hat (Really)? - I only hit the tail end of this presentation because it ran long at the end of the day. I wish I had attended all of it. It basically dealt with using the lining method, the presence of hat labels, the types of materials, a fashion timeline, and whether the hat maker used more than one style of label over time to date a hat. It sounded like it had lots of new info. If they offer this again, I will attend.
*Introduction to Hat Blocking - I only stepped into the last few minutes because I needed to eat, but I wish I had grabbed the $5 salad from Starbucks and chowed it down in this lecture instead. It was really, very, very interesting. I hope to track down the handout from it. It made me want to make hats.
*German Renaissance 101 "Those Crazy Sleeves" - About 3 different construction methods/styles were covered
*Easy & Accurate Medieval Dress - or how they made clothes without a pattern, without using darts or princess sleeves, and using the bias for best advantage. Oh, and yes, how the gothic slouch is a natural by-product of making a fitted kirtle using period methods. This was presented by a guest speaker and it was most informative.
*Ladies Hoods of Early 16th Century - covered English and French style hoods and how they were probably made. I was surprised to find out that they pretty much only came in black, white, and red. The presenters only knew of ONE period painting where it matched the fabric of her gown, and she was a queen. This makes dressing for festivals much easier.
*Medieval Influences from Ivanhoe to Arts and Crafts - very good lecture on how later periods re-invented, re-interpreted, and Romanticized the medieval period and its clothing. It dovetailed nicely with another class the following day which dealt with how the Victorians and Pre-Raphelites screwed up our perceptions of what Medieval clothing looked like.
*Boning, Clip, Dip & Tip - really, really basic information. The presentation was over in 10 minutes & then people were all dismissed to go step into other classes.
*Modern Day Method for Corset Construction - a basic lecture on using the 'sandwich method' to construct corsets and a little bit on how to fit. It was short, basic, but tremendously informative.
*The Corset Unboned: Florentine Form In the Latter Half Of The Sixteenth Century - Basically the various layers they wore in 16th C Florence and how they achieved the look. How they did it historically: entirely using layers - no stays, corsets, or other contraptions. Very, very good class. This one made me want to make a Florentine outfit.
*Alternatives for Corsetry Boning - flat steel, spiral steel, cable ties, zip ties, basketry reed, cord, trimmer line, and other materials.
*Undressing the Victorian Lady - the 9 layers that a proper Victorian lady would wear from the outside in, how they were worn, and various related tidbits of knowledge. This presentation was very, very good, and it made the idea of making and wearing something from the Victorian era much less intimidating. It also made me want to buy a Victorian era watch (it hangs on a pin from the chest and the face is upside down so it reads correctly when you glance down at it).
*A Pressing Matter - a small, limited attendance class on ironing techniques. Well worth the time. I just wish I had gotten into the other timeslot, so I could attend the lecture on wiring lights into costumes. *sigh* Maybe next year or something.
*In the Family Way - maternity wear for the 1700s through Edwardian time period. I was quite surprised to find out that the teacher's reconstruction of Victorian Era stays proved to be the most comfortable piece of maternity wear she's ever owned.