Victorian circus

Fraulein Frauke Presents took place Saturday and being in good form I stitched on my costume to the last minute. The theme, if you remember, was Victorian circus and I went as a line dancer, complete with a small parasol.




You may notice that the bodice is not green as planned, but purple. That is because I found that I had too little of the green silk- one of the dangers when you buy fabric first and make the pattern after. Luckily I have a lot of cotton sateen that I inherited from my grandmother, so I could make a last minute change. I also managed to go down with a temperature for two days so my sewing got behind schedule. So I’m sort off pleased with my costume. I like the colours and I do think that I have managed to evoke a Victorian feel to it. I’m pleased with the yellow fringe that very nicely took up the colour of the parasol.

However, the fit could have been a lot better. I fitted it on myself with no help, apart from J placing a few pins after my direction. The back was a bit too loose and the bodice was a bit too snug around the hips. It would also have benefitted from a crisper lining and a few well-placed bones. The plan is to evolve the bodice into an 1880’s ball gown, but it will need some re-work for that! As usual I had great fun. The guests had really outdone themselves; I really think that more and more people dress up after the current theme for every new event. It is also such a nice club. Everyone is so friendly and I have never been to a place where you get spontaneous compliment by strangers. And I have always loved masquerades and now I have reason to think up new costumes several times a year.



Klara the Lion, who won price for best costume and Pimpinett. The other winner was a wonderful bearded lady in a striped bustle dress.

The best costumes won a bottle of champagne, but other good ones got a free drink. And I got one! And so did Betty who looked really great as a snake charmer with a truly Victorian Cleopatra-flair.

The rather limpid latex snake. There were other snakes around, but no one as big as Betty’s!

A rather bad picture of the smallest animal on the party. My friend Ragnar had captured a ferocious rhino and caged it. Unfortunately it drunk too much beer and fell of its peg.

A few pictures of the fitting process. I drafted the pattern myself, using a bodice template in Patterns of Fashion as a guide. It evolved a bit as you can see.

Planning a Victorian circus outfit

Fräulein Frauke Presents is less than a month away and I have at least decided on my costume and bought the fabric. Now I just have to sew it together. I have decided to go as a line dancer, happily noticing that they look rather sturdily built in the 19th century. I plan to make a version of this costume- a boned bodice with a pair of short and puffed bloomers.




Emily Schadel



Leona Dare

Poster for Leona Dare

Miss Farrinton

Nice colours, yes? Dupion silk from Cheap Fabrics, the green for the bodice, the rose is for the bloomers.

The bloomers ought to be pretty easy to make, but I do worry a bit over the bodice. I must make a pattern myself; there is no getting around it. I strongly suspect that I would need to alter a bought pattern so much that it will probably be easier to make it from scratch anyway. I hope I can get it to fit properly, though.

The Trapeze Artist Standing on Her Trapeze by Jules Garnier

I also need to get a small parasol. Can’t be a proper ballerina without a parasol, can I?

Speaking of line dancers, if you want to know a little about a real Victorian ballerina, read the tragic story about Elvira Madigan and her lover Count Sparre at Rags of Time.