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Thankee!
FABRICS & COLORS:
Some of the best fabrics to use are wool, twill, serge, cotton velvet, satin, taffeta, cotton, and linen.
Colors were rich and varied – garnet, plum, moss green, gold, gray, beige, brown, blue, and black. Fabric patterns were interesting and fun, including plaids, prints, paisleys, stripes, herringbone, and tweeds.
DO NOT use fluorescent or modern-looking colors or prints, and avoid obvious polyester fabrics.
THRIFT SHOP COSTUMING:
You don’t have to be a great seamstress to make a good costume for the fair. Many costumes can be created by adapting clothing found in thrift shops and used-clothing stores. Have fun hunting!
Women – Petticoats can be made by cutting off the skirts of 1950s evening gowns or any long, full-skirted dresses. White, long-sleeved blouses that button up the front or back are great. Look for knitted or crocheted shawls. Lace doilies make great day caps – just add ribbon and some silk flowers. And don’t forget gloves!
Men – Find baggy pants and taper the legs down or remove the cuffs. Buy an old vest and square off the bottom by folding under the points. Adapt white shirts by cutting off the fold-over collar right at the top and finishing off the edge. A sack coat can be made by shortening an old overcoat to fingertip length.
Movie and Book Sources for Costuming
The Dickens Christmas Fair takes place in a very specific time period. Corsets were the foundation garment of the time (for women and men a like) and the Bonnet for women and the topper for men was a staple in every proper gentlepersons wardrobe. The Dickens fair takes place in what is known historically as the industrial age. Crinolines and many, many starched petticoats held up the voluminous bell shaped skirts that were in fashion. We do not allow the high umpire waist of the 1820’s-30’s and we do not allow the high bustle of the late 1860’s-80’s. The reason for this is, Charles Dickens is the headliner in our fair, he is up and walking around greeting guests as they enjoy our show. We want to maintain a time in history that he was alive as an adult.
There are many books and movies that are excellent sources for costume manners and accent of the time we are portraying. There will soon be a recommended books and movie list on our website at www.Dickensfair.com with links to Amazon.com for both performers and guests to utilize. Below are the lists themselves for a trip to the library or a trip to the movie rental store.
- The story of Adele H. (French movie about british events. subtitled)-Women’s garments and military costume.
- Christmas Carol {Patrick Stewart} -Fabulous for all classes.
- Black Adders A Christmas carol (BBC)-worth seeing anyway.
- Oliver!- The cheesy musical. The first part of this movie has an excellent crowd scene watch it for just that.
- Oliver Twist {Elijah Wood} (Disney). The color palette is excellent for The Dockside area, or Mad Sals.
- BBC Mini series David Copperfield- A baby Harry Potter plays young David, very good movie and source for visuals.
- Nicholas Nickleby (2002)- A wonderful movie full of approvable costume ideas and colorful characters. Highly recommended for this fair.
These movies are a sampling of what is visually required for the theatrical look of the fair. You may also get mannerisms and accent from some of these movies.
Corsets: highly suggested - mid 19th century styles, over the bust
Hoops or Crinolines: the circumference of your hoop should be no more that 95" - 110". With the streets of London being so populated these days hoops that are any larger are becoming dangerous!
Dress: Fabric in both the bodice and skirt match, long sleeves or mid-arm length with white undersleeves, no zippers
Skirt , jacket and blouse: Full bell shaped skirt, the Zouave jacket was popular at the time (black, red, blue green) and was worn with a white collarless or peter pan collar, front buttoning blouse.
Colors - jewel tones, NO BLACK (unless Mr. Dickens wrote you in black). Plaids are wonderful, again in the darker jewel tones, & patterned cotton fabrics are also acceptable - (Please let me see the swatch BEFORE you start sewing!) Adding a petticoat over your hoops will keep you from committing that dreaded fashion faux pas of hoop lines showing!
NO BUSTLES.
Indoor headwear: This past season saw an explosion in the dainty and attractive head coverings known as days caps. Made of lace and adorned with all sorts of ribbons and bows they are the ideal item to cover your hair while indoors. An extra bonus is that they fit nicely under your bonnet - no need to remove them when you sally forth on the streets of London.
Outerwear: A cape or shawl works nicely to show that you are outside, and along with gloves and a bonnet or hat you will be right in the height of London fashion. Please - no top hats on women - of ANY size.
What is the deal with bonnets anyway? Bonnets are one of the quickest ways to convey that we are in fact portraying another time and place to the patrons. They are the preferred headwear of London this season.
- 02:25:52: You could hear from an old friend today or meet a new one, but... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 17:35:37: You two shoulda twittered aforehand so i'da known you were coming, @lalafifty5 @liann7o7
- 17:37:50: @thats_ms_dragon you still have talent shows? we cut that funding ages ago...
- 17:38:42: @thats_ms_dragon if admin ever realized that there was a disconnect between them and staff, we'd be in an even bigger mess.
- 18:45:50: @nicoleseiffert last name? yeah, he's one of the new teachers. i dont have any geo classes this year but yeah i can help.
- 18:46:07: whats the kids last name? ward?
- 19:04:41: @nicoleseiffert np, i dont know anything about him 'cause we've not had a dept meeting yet.
- 19:09:20: yeah but dont have myspace
- 19:09:43: er, that was for you, @nicoleseiffert. yeah, got link, but dont have myspace.
- 19:10:33: but not worried 'bout it, @nicoleseiffert. I help whoever asks, really.
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- 02:27:20: The New Moon highlights your 4th House of Roots and encourages... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
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- 02:21:37: In the midst of this very busy period, you are able to slow do... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 20:51:28: @misslucero man, voice is STILL screwball. Ugh.
- 20:54:10: @Prtybttrfly check with aunt dawn?
- 21:20:06: tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired
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- 02:22:24: Someone's unexpected behavior might rattle your foundations to... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 22:12:25: can already see I'm going to have trouble keeping up with this during school times - had to backup hella to catch up with ya'll!
- 22:17:12: @senraven just saw the question re:weekend. All figured, though.
- 22:30:12: last thing you need is to be hurting any more, @thats_ms_dragon!
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- 00:07:14: ugh. work on saturday - was late (I was tired!), then laundry/family/etc. Caught up on eureka, though. GOOD SHOW!!!
- 00:08:07: then sunday, lazed a bit, family time, then work. then classroom setup, then home and cleaning. now late to bed. work by 7am -forever.
- 01:07:56: can't sleep - the beauty supply store is getting some construction work done and I keep hearing drills and pounding and loud crazy noises.
- 02:21:07: You are tired of supposedly responsible people misleading you ... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 02:40:09: I am so tired but they've started up a steel-cutting loud as hell saw. Intermittently, and just enough time in between to ALMOST sleep.
- 20:32:29: @misslucero ...was boring!
- 20:32:49: @grantimahara Which song was that?
- 20:33:04: @xeeyore42 congrats!!!
- 20:34:21: @billprady Lewis Black is gonna be on an ep? AWESOME!
- 20:34:33: @labelleizzy Congrats!!
- 23:18:37: syllabi done, worksheet will wait until the morn because I am ded. sleep now. tomorrow is another craaaazy day!
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- 02:23:11: You have important things to do today, whether your current ro... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
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- 02:19:55: You would rather focus your attention on the good news than ac... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
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- 01:26:43: Although you can get a lot done today, it's difficult for you ... More for Taurus http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 18:08:22: @Prtybttrfly robotics meeting. And we've got competition in a bit over a month, so we're entering "build season" minimode.
- 18:10:23: @cortneyofeden I want! I have no idea when I'll see you next, or how to get it, but I want science kit!
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- 01:37:58: My Daily Twittascope - You are not likely to veer off course today, even if an alternate route looks better than th... http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 21:23:11: busy busy. just got home, oh, 1/2 hour ago-ish? Ugh! Work @ 7am, again. Well, from now on, really. Mon - saturday, 7 am, w00t. not.
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- 14:42:02: horseriding was awesome. back to real-world crap, though. shower, late lunch, then tutoring.
- 15:06:40: @Neuroptik78 i'd only ever done it twice before - both WAAAY long ago. but yeah, I agree with ya!
- 15:29:48: @worthyadvisor sucks!
- 15:38:09: @worthyadvisor ha, that doesn't sound right. Meant sucks it's cancelled/sucks had to work!
- 15:39:05: @Neuroptik78 totally! You're an experienced rider, too. There's gotta be places that are, rather, "rent a pony" types.
- 17:09:47: My Daily Twittascope - The Moon's return to your sign today is a sure indication of your changing feelings. But odd... http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 21:34:28: @neuroptik78 we should totally do that sometime. like, when i have money for that kind of luxury fun.
- 22:04:25: @worthyadvisor which author?
- 22:51:12: @worthyadvisor hmm. Trying to think of which ST books correspond to my mental library with that name.
- 23:38:30: bedtime. work @ 7 am...
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- 00:12:38: @original_mikz haha, that happens sometimes at my place...wit hthe street strays!
- 00:12:54: @zpdiduda totally agree!
- 01:38:04: laundry is done! bedtime!
- 08:00:10: up, about to jump in the shower, then off to another union meeting
- 09:26:25: at union mtg, but can't start because we have no quorum.
- 10:08:09: meeting w/out quorum - can't vote, but they want to discuss what we can. Bleh.
- 11:10:02: @billprady I finally watched part of an ep of bigbang - it's so much fun. A ballet? Only if sheldon wears the tutu.
- 11:10:23: What did you do now, @LaLaFifty5?
- 11:14:48: VEA has a facebook group. Hee!
- 20:10:12: @nicoleseiffert didja check out postsecret and fandom secrets? They're hilarious-sometimes SAD hilarious.
- 20:20:08: @original_mikz FUBAR was a military term before it was a geek one. :)
- 20:22:01: @nicoleseiffert I guess in @grantimahara's pix, the blonde girl is the one taking over for kari. Aww, I miss kari!
- 22:06:08: new haircut. bangs - even long ones - are strange!
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- 23:11:14: @nicoleseiffert you're still on about that? I showed you the fabio thing hella long ago!
- 23:12:35: @jennafermac how was the game?
- 23:13:34: @nezmotek I read ya too, even if I don't respond. I feel the same about my twitterfeed, too.
- 23:15:18: @LaLaFifty5 I am from vallejo, then!
- 23:27:34: @jennafermac lol, at least you had fun!
- 23:28:51: @nicoleseiffert, you should really follow @grantimahara
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- 02:00:03: still up, ugh. guess napping after I got home for a couple of hours is a bad thing in terms of sleep schedule.
- 02:08:01: My Daily Twittascope - Your friends might be acting very strangely today, or perhaps they are just demanding more i... http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 02:11:47: @cyan_blue me too!
- 03:43:56: can't sleep, must dye hair. Crazy.
- 07:49:18: tweets are showing up at wrong times now. hmmm.
- 17:17:50: just got home from family dinner, so much union crap to deal with. and going to be tutoring every day this week! i shall be busy!!
- 18:50:52: so tired...all day today! and yesterday, too - weird!
- 23:59:50: ugh, too much to deal with tomorrow. meeting, tutoring, laundry. directions, get gas, data entry. sleep.
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- 02:12:14: My Daily Twittascope - It's challenging for you to control the strange energies that seem to be turning your day up... http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 12:23:34: @missk_LJ I just got fastrak, too. MUCH quicker bridge crossing.
- 12:27:11: @thats_ms_dragon Ooh, those kind of commetns (from kids or students) make me more strict and more likely to deny them stuff. Hellz naw!
- 13:13:10: Linkage for you, @nicoleseiffert - http://bit.ly/t1uJT
- 14:12:49: @thats_ms_dragon yeah, thats good, but even when theyre joking I get the same reaction. I think it's cause it seems so rude(even as jokes).
- 14:14:28: another link for @nicoleseiffert - http://community.livejournal.com/fandoms
ecrets/ and http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
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- 00:18:00: LOLZ, @nicoleseiffert. office.wtf?
- 00:18:48: @nicoleseiffert crazy, girl.. don't you know I hire people to do mine?
- 01:14:44: hey, @nicoleseiffert - you free for lunch today? By that i mean lunchtime-ish.
- 01:20:15: That sounds really good, @worthyadvisor - we'll have to have that at next scifi night!
- 01:22:10: @senraven supposedly, we have a rare "family dinner" that day. Which means no dice. School season kicks everything into high gear, lol.
- 03:25:17: hit the wall working on the syllabi for classes. oyasumi, world. @nicoleseiffert, place of your choosing in either amcan, vjo, or low napa
- 03:25:52: @nicoleseiffert but timewise i was thinking about 1,130ish? that work for you?
- 03:27:00: twitter was being twit-like earlier. tried to post the same thing for like, 20 minutes. timed out each time/broke twitterscreen. Guh.
- 11:33:28: @senraven next weekend is the one when school starts - i can maybe do something for a few hours but not like that. I'll be busy otherwise
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- 00:32:08: @zpdiduda Lucky!!
- 01:50:49: My Daily Twittascope - In your mind you have a clear path to success now. Others might place you in a leadership po... http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 12:31:35: cleaned a bunch last night. went to bed WAAAAY too late. Languished this am, and then cleaned for the last hour or so. Now time to get
- 12:32:09: out of this place and off to work!
- 18:11:31: Starbucks is a very productive place, isn't it @nicoleseiffert ?
- 18:35:37: tutoring went well. now get to search through tons of books to find the material for my modeling class, ugh. damn district.
- 21:19:00: I typically get awake Tea venti size, and sit with it. Chai @starbucks is trop cher, @worthyadvisor!
- 22:11:56: cleaned up a bit, starting to shift things into "go to classroom" bags now. good focus!
- 23:15:28: @nicoleseiffert You'd be 2x as old. See, now you're x years older, with x years of looking back in regret. So, 2x.
- 23:28:46: Dude, http://vimeo.com/5917285. About a minute in. FTW.
- 23:46:01: The modeling class is for kids who were in 9th and failed geom, OR got F/d in alg 1 last year. So, a whole bunch of 10th graders who ...
- 23:46:46: thought they were all that until grades slapped 'em in the face, and a bunch of kids who've given up. 3 sections worth of the mix.
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- 01:47:51: My Daily Twittascope - Your unwavering commitment to take charge and do things your way can turn a positive trait i... http://bit.ly/vbrIa
- 14:44:48: @senraven friday is no good, and i think that will have carryover to most of saturday.
- 15:18:10: alrighty, got quickbooks working. off to tutor, then back to work. yay - ish. Which is, not yay. But busy, though!
- 17:26:53: Some rum for @CaptianRobert !
- 17:29:53: Wow, @bjay. Now, does he act like the dour potions master, or look like him at all?
- 17:38:11: ok, need to be working on either QB or writing lessons. People, keep me off - I mean on task!
- 17:52:27: Train wreck, @nicoleseiffert. It's a train wreck that I can't look away from. Creepy!
- 18:54:35: ok, going to try focusing better somewhere else. Keep getting distracted here.
- 23:16:49: tired of fighting with numbers. bedtime, or fanfic. Cleaning first.
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