From My Closet - The Better Dresses Vintage Blog

Winona Ryder takes aim at my recreation of her dress.

Recreating the Archery Dress from "The Age of Innocence"

The Archery Dress from the 1993 film The Age of Innocence, beloved by many, is my all-time favorite movie costume. It’s utterly beautiful. Sweet but not overly so. And the juxtaposition of deadly keen marksmanship and delicately cascading white ruffles? Divine. ...
Read more
Regency fashion plate with Spencer

Making a Regency Spencer From a Modern Jacket

... I count a Spandex-laden, polyester-lined, all-the-wrong-seams Regency jacket as a step in the right direction. It anticipates a return to the mask-free dress-up events I so enjoyed in "The Beforetimes" ...
Read more
Typical edwardian hats.

Recreating an Edwardian Hat

... Sure, you could buy an antique hat. But this was more fun. It's not difficult and requires no advanced sewing skills. It only takes time, patience, and a few supplies ...
Read more
Liza in 1876 does 1776.

Time Warp... and Weft (Part 2)

... sometimes, the anachronisms we see in costuming -- whether by a wardrobe-department pro, a museum docent, or an amateur reenactor -- may not be quite so... calculated ...
Read more
The Atlanta Time Travelers at Biltmore Estate

Exhibit Visit - "A Vanderbilt House Party - The Gilded Age" at Biltmore Estate

... used original photographs and family records to faithfully recreate the clothing worn by George and Edith Vanderbilt, their family, houseguests, and servants ...
Read more
The Time Warp, from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Let's Do The Time Warp ... and Weft

...Examples of costume designers playing fast and loose with history -- for any variety of reasons -- abound ...
Read more
For New Year's Eve, a 1920s Dress From a 1980s Top

For New Year's Eve, a 1920s Dress From a 1980s Top

... I found this sparkly 1980s top at an estate sale. It looked like the beginning of something ...
Read more
More Regency Regalia: Cobbling a Costume for a Jane Austen Event

More Regency Regalia: Cobbling a Costume for a Jane Austen Event

... I set about completing the outfit. I needed a purse, a hat, and a pelisse or spencer ...
Read more
Belle Poule

Go Big or Go Home: Trimming an 18th Century Hat

... What I discovered was that just about anything goes. Ribbons, flowers, birds, feathers, fruit, wheat. You name it ...
Read more
Wearing our cobbled bonnets

Making a Regency Bonnet

... Always looking for new dress-up opportunities, I contacted JASNA to see what Atlanta-area events might require head-to-toe Regency finery ...
Read more
The No. 1 Ladies' Costume Designer - BDV Interviews Jo Katsaras

The No. 1 Ladies' Costume Designer - BDV Interviews Jo Katsaras

... JK: I think clothing is your first aura, it's what the world sees of your personality ...
Read more
Continue shopping
Your Cart

There are no items in your cart