A sneak peek at my next costuming project...
I had mentioned in the podcast before that for my next costuming project I would be trying to make a bustle gown in a far less expensive fabric, quilting cotton! Using this rusty red and black quilting cotton as a stand in for the "calico" cotton of the past, I'll be making a bustle gown more befitting of the area I live in now as it was back in the 1880's perhaps. Based on the red-ish hue and the bug theme we've had going so far, I'll be nicknaming this project the Carmine Gown.
Of course Colorado didn't become a US state until 1876, and the nearest town to where I live now would have been Littleton Colorado, which wasn't incorporated as a proper town until 1890 with a population of just 245 people. Even Denver was a young city then, and most people were flooding into Colorado in search of gold or silver in the Rocky Mountains. Here in Littleton there were a few ranches and a large flour mill, but the Santé Fe railroad didn't reach Littleton until 1888. Of course before colonizers and miners arrived in Colorado, the area was populated by several indigenous groups including the Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne. I'm distracting myself from sewing with research, as I hope to include some history in the upcoming costume construction videos.
The first general store in Littleton opened in 1872, so a woman of the time may have been able to buy fabric there to make a day dress like I will be contracting. It may not end up a fine enough gown to wear into Denver society, but surely it would have been plenty pretty enough for the ranches and boom towns. This was once the "wild west", a time I haven't actually learned much about before, as growing up in California on the coat I learned mostly about the Spanish colonization of that area instead. As I research this gown and local history, I look forward to learning more about not just Colorado's history, but the history of the south west region in general as I am about to drive through so much of it.
And seeing as I had never seen many western films either, I watched Tombstone for the first time last week. And I watched most of it again this week...Kilmer's Doc Holliday was just as badass as promised so I simply had to watch it again for all the great dialog! The real Doc Holliday actually died in Glenwood Springs, which I will be driving through on my trip out west. Do you have a favorite western I should watch next?
Comments (47)
Open Range is a phenomenal film. And the original True Grit and tbf the remake too.
This is great and I love this fabric and I can't wait to see what you make with it. As a calico enthusiast I have several fabrics like this in my stash. I made an edwardian shirt with one of them (I know, a bit anachronistic, but I just loved the pattern and thought the fabric worked great with it), and i am super happy you are using something similar!
Thank you Laia! I wouldn't mind a shirt out of this fabric if I have enough left over. It depends on how many pleats I add 😅
Hi, How exciting, a new historical project. I'm really looking forward to learn about the "Wild West" through your research. I don't have a position on your choice of fabric but I trust it'll look amazing when the the dress is done. I freely admit that I'm no movie buff and the only vaguely Westerns I can remember are Blazing Saddles, and even more vaguely Silverado from my youth. I guess that they had something going for them as I still remember them. Yours, Ann
Thank you Ann!
1. so haPPY YOU'RE DOING MORE COSTUMING THANK YOU 2. Does this mean...you're gonna....redo that corset??? n make a video??? 3. I want to see you do Tudor/16thc Venetian gown so bad. I feel like so many details in that period of fashion would suit you so well and every time my brain produces an image of what I THINK you would make or even the color palette you would use...... I cry. I....Cry.....
Thank you Kacie! Alas I am not going to be doing any corsetry this year. Part of it is that every video on YouTube seems to be about corsets these days, and I just don't want to even see the word corset again at this point...I need a break 😂 Elizabethan stuff perhaps one day maybe, I like me some waist definition!
This project sounds fab, and I’m excited for your reset change aspect, too! I can’t say I’m a huge fan of westerns, but I watched Pale Rider (a 1985 Clint Eastwood number) with my dad and remember it being pretty good - ghostly metaphysical intrigue abound, and still not sure I fully understand it all these years later!
Thanks Nancy! I used to think I didn't like westerns, until Westworld changed my mind. I started with sci-fi westerns like Westworld and Firefly, then realized I liked the genre more than I'd first figured!
I can't wait for this project! I love Unforgiven, was my dads favourite too xo
Thank you Beverley!
How 'silly Australian' of me is that the first western i thought of was Back to the Future pt3?! hahahaha
Haha, that counts! I love BTTF Part 3! :)
The Magnificent Seven (1960) is absolutely fantastic! Also I'm 100% convinced that it and its Japanese predecessor (Seven Samurai) had a HUGE influence on A Bug's Life. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is another good one. It's not really a western per se but the musical Oklahoma is a lot of fun and the costumes are lovely. Adolescent me was absolutely enthralled watching the number where all the gals are dancing around gracefully in their beautiful petticoats and corsets (it sounds weird when I say it but it makes sense in the scene 😆)
I have seen Seven Samurai, and goodness has it inspired many and many a film that came after it for sure!
oh yes, I LOVE all the history to go with the gown! I'm seriously excited for that!!
Thank you Lorena!
I cannot wait to see the makeup look you're going to pair with this! I'm also really interested to see how a light to midweight fabric will tolerate bustling. I can 100% recommend the 2010 remake of True Grit. The costuming is lived in and rough around the edges, the dialogue is nuanced, and the entire story is narrated by and centers around a young woman - it's also just a gut punch of emotions and generally excellent.
Thank you! The hard bit is getting my hair to look at all "Victorian" which let's face it, it's just not ha 😅
I agree, this will be great, can't wait! You mentioned Doc Holliday and that reminded me of Tombstone, AZ, site of the OK Corral. I was there in 1994 during Spring break and our family loved going inside Big Nose Kate's saloon, which was occupied primarily by sensible, elderly people in sensible shoes, slow drinking beer and looking at all of the western knick knacks on the walls (cowboy boots, wagon wheels, etc.) I was 15 and yet I fit right in with the folks. I remember there was a lady in jeans, black western shirt and a big cowboy hat singing "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Right Myself a Letter" in a kind of soft and depressing way. Oh, I loved it! I am also reminded of Route 66, which I've always wished I could have travelled. My Mom used to sew me pillowcases out of Route 66 fabric. As for movies, Johnny Guitar is a somewhat odd western with Joan Crawford as the lead. The theme song to that, sung by Peggy Lee, I believe, is really hauntingly beautiful.
Thanks Penny! I'd love to be touristy and visit Tombstone and other similar towns, but Tombstone is rather far away down there, so I'm not sure I'll ever be in that vicinity 😂 I will be trying to drive a bit of 66 in northern AZ on my way from the Grand Canyon to Palm Springs. I'll have to check out Crawford's outfits for some inspiration!
Red with black accents/detailing? I already like it. Cool that the name re-enforces the insect theme and burning the edges of the sketch gives the project a certain atmosphere already.
Red and black are just such a good combination ❤🖤 I felt like I had to keep the insect theme going also yes, since the opportunity was there, though I don't actually want to think about crushed bug coloring too too much 😅
I just got a length of the same fabric for an early 1890s day dress. Can’t wait to see how yours turns out.
For some reason this print just kept catching my eye!
As a quilter, sewing student of yours and San Diegan....there are just as many quilt shops here as there are Denny's restaurants. I am totally in love with this fabric ! I can't wait to see what you create!! You are such an inspiration and hope that your travels are safe and enjoyable! BTW....have you seen the series Why Women Kill? both seasons focus on some or all late 40's and 50's costumes and are amazing besides what pisses women off enough to...ummmm.... do some damage
Thank you Margo! I have not seen the show at all I'm afraid! I'll have to try and stop buy some of these quilt shops next time I'm in San Diego, as my grandparents still live there so I visit every few years.
Godless on Netflix, for sure. Highly recommended, great costumes and story AND has queer representation.
Strongly agree, I watched it last year, but maybe I will watch it again!
Very excited for this project. I love how you're planning to incorporate history into it!
Thank you Malaika!
"....I'm your Huckleberry..."
"That's just my game." 😍
HBO's Deadwood
I'm on episode 3 so far...so I'm working on it!
Super excited to see what you have in store for us! Red & black = my 2 favorite colors! :) I really enjoy seeing more everyday type clothing that a more "average" everyday person would wear. I love 3:10 To Yuma (the 1957 version is better, but the 2007 version is good too). I like The Magnificent Seven (1960 version!). I like The Searchers (the 1956 version). Gosh, I hate remakes haha!! I like Stagecoach. And any of Clint Eastwood's "man with no name/dollars trilogy" movies, plus The Outlaw Josey Wales. Also, Clint's Unforgiven (1992). I like High Noon (1952). Shane from 1953 is a good one. For a fun, crazy, modern "sort-of" western, I love Desperado (1995). Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid is a classic. If you want some 80s & 90s fun, Young Guns & Young Guns II have always been faves of mine. That's a good starting list :)
Thank you for all these recs Mel! Plenty for me to catch up on! I might save a few to watch while I drive through the west too 📽
This will be a fun series...especially with corresponding history! Recently, I bought "High Plains Drifter" at Goodwill. Clint Eastwood....I know....but it was a good film never-the-less.
Thanks Rob! Also, 😂, I'll check it out!
Have you ever seen Silverardo? I haven't seen it on years but I remember liking it at the time staring Kevin Kline, Keven Costner, Danny Glover, Patricia Arquette, and John Cleese...
I have not so I shall check it out!
Yes very exciting! Look at those bodice details, this is gonna be fun!
Thank you Caitlin!
I love that fabric! I think it will be perfect for you purposes.
Thank you Ronda! I browsed every cotton for ages trying to pick one 😅
I'm so excited for this!!
Thanks Dee!