Lida Rose Corset in Action

My beautiful, beautiful corset.

What happened to you?

Looking normal…

I wore it to Disneyland, under my Cadaver Danielles outfit, for about 6 hours and it started to cave in about halfway through. I didn’t quite understand what was going on while I was wearing it, so I snapped some pictures when I got back to my hotel to try to figure out what happened (you can see my pretty petticoat!).

The back started bowing out right at my waistline, which you can kind of see in the picture. I laced it pretty loose that night, but the sides pulled it all wonky.

      

On the left it’s bowing out, on the right it’s doing what it’s supposed to.

And you can see it even better here. I still have my bum pad on underneath (which gives my some crazy hips!) but the sides are certainly not in the right spot!

And this is what it did to my waist. Not the most comfortable…

When I tried it on after making it, the sides were fine. And it was okay when I wore it around the house to break it in. Some of my theories:

1. I tied it too loose that night.
2. Too high up under my arms (it rubbed a bit), so maybe it bowed whenever I bent sideways.
3. Too weakly boned. I used zip ties purposefully, to keep it light but that might not have made it supportive enough.

Any more ideas? Insight? Wisdom? I really want this corset to be wearable in the future.

Cadaver Danielles {Edwardian Skirts}

You know these guys?

copyright harshlight

They’re the Dapper Dans – a barbershop quartet that performs in Disneyland – and for the Halloween season they transform into these guys:

copyright maddyindisneyland

The Cadaver Dans! They’re awesome – one of our favorite acts!

Which is why my sister and I dressed up as them for Halloween…well, the female version.

Getting ready.

Our skirts are made from Butterick 5970, hemmed to keep the train off the ground since Disneyland doesn’t allow costumes that drag. I plan on letting down the hem someday.

Most of our outfits were sewn at the eleventh hour – literally the day before we left – so we’re wearing everyday dress shirts over corsets. It worked! Haha.

Somehow we managed to cram all of our clothes into my carry-on, which was a miracle in and of itself. I’m wearing my S-curve corset, bustle pad, a petticoat, shirt, and skirt.

My sister is wearing basically the same thing, just an earlier corset style and she skipped bustle the pad.

I had searched long and hard for the prefect black fabric for our skirts and ended up buying some black peach fuzz at Walmart that looks really great in motion. The rippling and swishing is exactly what I envisioned!

We had hoped to get a picture with the Cadaver Dans at the party, but they apparently weren’t walking around.

So we watched their show on the river instead.

Twice.

We also did other things like ride rides (not the easiest thing in a corset), watch the parade, and try some snacks. Funny story: lots of people mistook us for employees and we were asked questions like where the bathrooms were and when the parade was. Even funnier, we knew all the answers!

By the end of the night we had had a great time and were thoroughly exhausted.

Fabric: Black peach fuzz
Pattern: Butterick 5970
Year: 1905
How historically accurate is it? Probably not the most accurate, technically, but it looks convincing!
Hours to complete: I did both in the same day.
First worn: Halloween 2016
Total cost: About $20 each

Destiny

Apparently it was fate that I would learn to sew one day.

My destiny was foretold eons ago…

Memorialized in detailed, primitive artwork…

They offer a glimpse into the dreams of a young girl…

Showing the dresses that she hoped to create one day…

Such ensembles seemed beyond her reach…

But she kept dreaming until she could do.

(Seriously, apparently drawing like these were all I made when I was little! I don’t remember doing these ones exactly, but I have fond memories of designing fantastical dresses growing up. Apparently it was destiny that I would actually create some one day!)