1780s Chemise Gown

So, I really seem to be a lot about the 4th quarter of the 18th century these days – and there’s more to come!

Back in the spring I crossed another style off the wishlist: a 1780s Chemise gown (aka Chemise a la Reine, Robe en Chemise, etc):

Plum & Chartreuse at the Portrait Gallery (+ A New Hat!)

Back in mid-August I had the opportunity to participate in a really great experience. My friend Gloria (of In the Long Run) and her husband, Mike, organized a meet-up of historical costumers and photographers at the National Portrait Gallery here in DC for an afternoon photoshoot.

photo by Justin Schneider

There were 8 of us in costume (from left to right: Gloria, Stephani, Glynnis, Me, Nastassia, Tarisa, Taylor and Maggie) and 3 photographers (Dan, Justin and Mike). So we split into 3 groups of costumers and each group rotated through the photographers for about an hour with each, taking turns getting photographed. And what costumer doesn’t love an opportunity to get good photos of their hard work in a beautiful setting?!

Costume College 2018

This is now so late that it’s almost redundant to post but for the sake of posterity I’m gonna post it anyway.

Also, I’m just gonna come right out and say it that I really sucked at taking photos at Costume College this year. I had all these grand plans of being so engaged, introducing myself to lots of new people and taking lots of photos of everyone. But I also taught 2 classes this year (my first time teaching at CoCo) and experienced some annoying technical difficulties with them. And the added stress of that was just enough to rob me of the extra mental energy this hardcore introvert needs to be socially outgoing. Ah well, lesson learned for next time!