This blog is on vacation

Four weeks off work and it feels wonderful. I’m now taking son, cats and lots of fabric to the summerhouse in the archipelago outside Stockholm for two weeks. After that we may go to Paris. Internet attendance will be spotty. I hope you’ll have a great July!

Just because it’s much more fun with pics in a journal and because I just had one sent to me, I thought I make a little post about the importance of proper underwear. You may remember a post about my pierrot and how much better it looked with well-fitted stays and a bum roll. Now I can show you the difference between no pocket hoops and with pocket hoops.

This is my velvet wrapping gown worn over stays, but no pocket hoops.

This is the same gown, still worn over stays, but now with the pocket hoops underneath. I think it looks so much better- the gown come “alive” somehow, don’t you think?

(Photo taken by MetalMarianne, though I have fiddled a little with the contrasts)

17th century smock

I’ve been mulling of the 1660’s smock in Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion 4. As the original is believed to have belonged to Catherine of Braganza, it’s lavishly decorated with cutwork and other embellishments. I’m not a queen, however, and I don’t aim to make clothes that luxurious, so I want a plain smock for my 17th century gown. However, the cut is exactly what I want. It has an oval neckline, which would fit well under a gown from the period and it doesn’t have the usual triangular gores, so I think it will be fun to sew it as well. I haven’t seen any smock made after this pattern, though I’m sure it exists. Has anyone seen one?


A. The body of the smock. The broken line indicate that its folded. The oval is the neckline, with a split down the front.
B. A strip of cutwork (in the original) about 8 mm wide. You can’t see it, as it’s tiny, but it’s supposed to be folded too, at the top.
C. Sleeve. The broken line indicate that it’s folded. Gathered and sewn to B until the dot. In the original the end of the sleeve is cartidge pleated into a cuff.
D. A rectangular piece of fabric that has the same function as a triangular gore. The top is cartidge pleated and sewn to the bottom of B.
E. Underarm gusset
F. Neckband. It’s slightly shorter than the width of the neckline, so that has to be eased to the neckband.

Note that I haven’t bothered to make the measurements correct, this is just a diagram of the shape of the pattern pieces and where they will connect with each other. I hope it’s understandable. Yell if you want me to explain more.

I have got some linen gauze that is very sheer, whish I think will look quite lovely. I’m not going to have a cuff and instead fold up and pin the smock sleeve to the gown’s sleeve. At first I planned to omit any embellishment, but I’ve found some lace made out of linen thread that my grandmotehr have made. It’s about 1cm wide, so I think I will use that for pattern piece B. It’s not made from a 17th century pattern, but it’s handmade and I always try to incorporate something from my grandmoter in everything I sew. Usually that may mean just the thread (I inherited boxfulls) but I’m always happy to find use of something else from her stash. It’s gong to be completely hand-sewn, purely for practical purposes. I use my machine to attach pattern pieces and then finish everything else by hand, but this fabric is so sheer, that it will be more of a hassle to try to use tha machine and to make it look good, than doing it all by hand. Not weighing much and also washable, makes it a perfect project for me to drag around this summer and sew whereever I want.

Oh stupidity!

The silk has arrived and it's lovely. Gorgeous. The striped taffeta has exactly the colours I hoped it would have. It also have 8 inch wide stripes. 8 inches! And is only my own fault for not noticing- I read 8 centimetres. Why I don't know, as I spent quite some time re-counting inches and years to centimetres and metres so I would order that right lengths. So I knew perfectly well that all measurements was in inches and yards and I have only myself to blame.

http://www.puresilks.biz/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=156

I think its salvage as the stripes are so wide- I could "cut and paste", but not for a robe battante. I'm not that crazy. But I think it would be prefectly possible to do a jacket and a petticoat out of it. That wasn't exactly what I was planning to do and the only "little jacket" I have plans for has it's fabric already, and I won't change that. So another little jacket? One can't have too many I suppose, but I've no idea what kind of model to do.

Is it too much of me to once again ask for ideas? I know I just did for the wool cape...

Fabric!

All the silk I have ordered are on its way to me! Cloudy grey taffeta for Janne’s banyan. It will be lined with pearl grey satin and will, in fact, be reversible, like this one:

Of course there will be a night-cap too, and a matching waistcoat, probably in the taffeta. I have also ordered striped taffeta in grey and white to make a robe battante for me. We will be a very colour-coordinated couple in the 18th century mornings. I really love the way the striped are matched in this picture, so I will try to get that.

And, despite me saying that I shouldn’t just buy fabric until I’m going to need it, I’ve ordered some lovely shot taffeta in blue and green. I’m not going to tell you what I want to do with that, not until that project is actually started…

Talking about projects, I have a little too may, I know that. The problem is that I haven’t given up on any of them, but I feel I do need to finish a little more of them. Moving un-earthed the candy-pink taffeta which I had quite forgotten about, so I think I shall try to finish that first. The petticoat is all but done apart from one row of green and the mock-up for the jacket is pretty much finished, so that really shouldn’t take so much time.

What I would finish first, if I only could, are my stays. I STILL haven’t found the left-over fabric for the shoulder straps. It’s very annoying! I promise, it will be in the very last box I unpack! Probably along my indoor slipper, shich I haven’t found yet either.

What to do with this?

Years ago I made a red cape that was wearable, but that I never felt quite pleased with.

Now I have been given a brown cape that is much nicer, so I suddenly have one cape too many. And it was just the cape I wasn't pleased with, not the wool and its lovely red colour, I know have quite a loit of wool thta can be wade into something else. The question is, what? A jacket of some sort, but I feel a need of ideas on what shape and century its going to be. Any ideas?

The 18th century me

As I threatened in my previous post, here is the result after playing with my stuff from Ageless Artifice, helped along the way with some Titan Oxide and a few other small details...


Ageless Artifice doesn’t do white make-up, but the common thing in the 18th century was to apply a pomade and then rub in the white pigment into it, that is what I did. I applied it with my fingers as that was the easiest way to get the colour even. It’s pretty hard work to get it even. It leaves your face quite glossy as the pomade is so fat, but that’s just as it should be. Beauty ideals change and instead of glossy hair and matte face that is the norm now, back then it was the other way around. Titan Oxide is very similar in colour to the white lead used in the 18th century, but is harmless. It didn’t come along until the 19th century, but I ignored that anachronism for the sake of health.

In the 18th century you often used the same red for both cheeks and lips, but I used the liquid rouge on my cheeks here and the red lip salve on my mouth here. I applied it all with my fingers, but I think that a doe wand would be excellent for the rouge. I have that for my lip stain from Body Shop. (A doe wand is an applicator you often get in lip gloss. It's a little spongy, so it soak the liquid up very well, but release it on pressure.)I built up the rouge quite a bit, so it would show. Here you can see what it looks like when you use the red lip salve on booth face and mouth.

And here the rouge in the same way.

I also used talcum powder on her face instead of Titan Oxide, which just gave her face a lighter tone (it doesn’t show much on the photograph.)

To finish of my face a darkened my eye-brows with burnt clove, which is rather effective and applied a mouche. I punched it out of black paper and applied it with some gum arabicum. I also powdered my hair. I’ve used talcum powder before, but rarely, as it makes my scalp itch something dreadful within minutes after applying it. Talcum powder is very white, but the perfumed powder was more oath-coloured. The difference when applied was very slight, but the powder gave a softer colour. Also, it didn’t make my scalp go mad, which is a big plus!

I much confess that I’m quite pleased with the quick and dirty Rococo hairdo I did. Before the powder I worked some of the pomatum into my hair to give it something to stick too. Then I applied the powder with a big powder brush. That works well, but you need a light touch, or you work the powder too much into your hair.


It isn’t a very good comparison, as the light is so different, but this is my hair powdered with talcum powder.

And this is the colour my hair has without powder.

It’s also a good example on how my 18th century make-up usually looks like when I use modern cosmetics. Pale, but not white base, white powder and pink stain on my cheeks. I sometimes use that on my lips too, but sometimes I use lipstick, that depends on my mood.

I‘m pleased with the result, but it’s the white make-up is very impractical. It smears very easily and what it comes into contact with, it sticks to. Fat and white pigment isn’t easy to wash off. I took a shower and then I had to wash my face once again to get it clean. It also quickly settles into every line and wrinkle and shows them up excellently! So I will continue to use modern base and powders at my face as the risk of me ruing my silk gowns with white make-up is little too big for my taste. However, the rouge and lip salve have been, and will be, used. And I rather think I will powder my hair a little more often now.

A review on Ageless Artifice

Last year I was tipped about Ageless Artifice, and bought two products to use in my lecture on 18th century beauty. I was very pleased with them and they made me want to try other of the products. Now when I finally have, I thought it could be of interest to other re-enactors to have a review over period products.

I felt so inspired when I got my parcel that I had to do a full make-up using “the right stuff” as far as possible. As this post got pretty long, I will make another post about that.

The company and the products
Ageless Artifice is a company that make reproduction beauty products. They recreate recipes from Ancient Egypt to the 19th century, though with two important omissions. No toxic products and nothing that is endangered. If possible, they use organic. They pack their products in containers that looks very period and reflect the time frame, alabaster jars for Egypt, wood for medieval and the 17th century. The 18th and 19th century is packed in round metal boxes. Liquids you get in small glass bottles. You also get a little card with the name of the product and the company printed on one side and the original recipe and its intended use on the other.

They ship worldwide, but make sure you go to shipping and read up on shipping costs, as you need to add that amount of money as Paypal doesn’t. Being a bit absent-minded I forgot to do that the last time, which bring me to their customer service, which is excellent. Within hours after placing my order I got a mail about the shipping and when I had paid it, again within hours, I got a mail that my order had been sent. It took six days (counting the time zone difference) from placing the order to receiving it and then it had shipped from USA to Sweden! First time I purchased I had a couple of questions and they were answered promptly and friendly then too. I paid through Paypal but it is possible to download an order form and pay with a check.

I ordered just about all the products of the 18th century, except those I already had. Here is what it looked like fresh out of the package.

You can see part of the hand-written note that said that as I seemed to have all but one 18th century products, the uncoloured lip salve, it had been included too. Very nice!

Pomatum

This is simply almond oil and beeswax and you can get it unscented or scented with jasmine or cinnamon and cloves. I thought unscented would be a bit boring and dislike jasmine, so I ordered cinnamon and cloves. It’s very nicely scented, not too strongly. It is, obviously, a very fat cream and rather solid in the box. However, if you scoop it up, it quickly becomes runny from the heat of your hands. A little goes a long way here! It’s advertised for dry hands and this is what I will use it for, but in the 18th century you put this on your face, so I had to do that just to try. It felt very nice on my skin and my face felt very soft even after I washed it away, but this close to my nose, the scent got a little overwhelming. If you want to use it on your face, take the unscented cream. I have a friend who makes a similar cream for her face and swears to it and she has very nice skin.

Rouge and lip salve

The rouge and the red lip salve was what I purchased last year, so they have been used. The rouge is a liquid, actually brandy and what gives it its red colour is red sandalwood, brazil wood and alum. It’s a bit tricky too apply and you don’t need much, so practice a little. Better to start faint and build up the intensity in layers, but let it dry in between. If you have ever used a modern stain, then it’s very similar. The red colour is very warm in its tone. As you can see from the pic, you get it in a little glass bottle. The bottles ships with a screw-on cap, but you get a cork stopper too, which makes it looks more period. As my rouge gets to travel a bit I use the modern cap, but if you just going to have it standing on a shelf, the cork looks much prettier.

The lip salve gets it colour from alkanet root and is colder in its red tone. It doesn’t stay put in the same way as the rouge as it has the same base ingredients as the pomatum, almond oil and beeswax. However, it does give a very lovely rosy colour and I like it very much. Your lips will stay very soft and if you just want something that gives a little shine, then there is an uncoloured version too.

It’s hard to photograph samples, but this gives you an idea. The rouge is the more orangery red, while the lip salve is more pinkish. You can also see the difference in intensity where I have applied the rouge several times to just once.


Perfumed powder

Arrowroot scented with orris root, rose, lemon and cloves. Perhaps that sounds overpowering, but it’s really a very subtle and lovely scent. If you don’t like to wear perfume, this would be a good alternative, I think. Adverts be used on your body, but I used it the 18th century way, in my hair, with good result. I’ll talk about that a little more in my next post.

Lavender water and Hungary water

I was very sceptical to order this as I’ve never, ever come across a lavender scent I’ve liked. However, I’m a bit mad about perfumes , so how could I resist an 18th century perfume? I’m very glad I ordered it, because it smells wonderful! Not quite as subtle as the perfumed powder, but still not a “loud” perfume. I love it and I think I have finally found my period solution for the next 18th century party, as I’ve so far haven’t liked other reproduction scents on me much.

Hungary water is scented with rosemary. I liked the scent, very refreshing, but on me it faded very quickly and I couldn’t detect it at all after an hour. However, that could just be me, Scents react to your body chemistry and some scents may be very strong on you when it isn’t on others, and the other way around.

Both waters are definitely unisex. It was popular in the 18th century to use the same perfume as your loved one, so now you have the opportunity! I think they would work very well as an after shave for the gentlemen, as they are alcohol based and not too strong in their scent.


A powder to clean your teeth

Yes, you did clean your teeth in the 18th century, but toothpaste wasn’t along yet. Tooth powder was what you used then. You simply dip a wet toothbrush in the powder and brush away. Or rather, don’t dip, but sprinkle a little on the toothbrush instead- much more hygienic. This toothpowder contains dragon’s blood (a resin) and cinnamon. The cinnamon may sounds very weird, but it actually have antiseptic properties, so it isn’t as far-fetched as it may appear. It felt a bit strange to brush your teeth with it, though. It doesn’t foam as toothpaste do and you may need to sprinkle a little more powder on your toothbrush after a while, but my teeth felt very clean after, albeit in a rather cinnamon bun-y way. The cinnamon leaves your mouth a bit gritty, though, so you may need to rinse your mouth a bit more careful than usual.

Myrrh tooth powder
Similar to the other tooth powder, only this has myrrh in it instead. That taste bitter, so there’s some peppermint oil in it too. This makes sit taste much more like ordinary toothpaste and this powder dissolves completely, I rinsed with water more out of habit than by necessity. It left a very clean feeling in my mouth as well.

Which tooth powder to choose is a matter of taste buds, but if I were somewhere with limited amount of clean water, the I would go for the myrrh powder.

Bone-handled toothbrush
Natural bristles in a bone handle. I’m not sure what natural means here. Traditionally it meant swine bristles, so perhaps that is it. It’s not a very comfortable brush as its large and the bristles very stiff. However, it does the job and now you can brush your teeth in public at the next 18th century event and not be ashamed. Well, if you want to brush your teeth in public that is...

General opinions
Am I pleased with my purchases? Yes, definitely. I think it’s great that you can buy reproduction beauty products. Even if you can make this stuff yourself, with more or less ease, I find it easier to be able to buy it. They did sell pomatums and powders in the 18th century too, so you don’t have to make it all in your kitchen to be period. I haven’t quoted any prices and I know what is considered affordable vary, but for me they are definitely affordable. Everything I have tried form Ageless Artifice have been well-made and of good quality too. Being all natural they may not keep as well as modern products that are filled with stuff to make them keep forever, but just use clean hands and applicators (you should with all beauty products anyway) and I don’t think you will have any problems. My lip salve was purchased nine months ago and it is perfectly fine.

Will I purchase again? Yes, definitely. I have my eyes on the 17th century Damask powder and perfumed water and there are some 19th century products I would like to try too. And I’m very curious new products.

I hope you have enjoyed my review. Perhaps I should add that I’m not in any way endorsed by Ageless Artifice, this is my opinion of them based on what I have purchased.