Red Queen Coat: Photos from the Wedding

I've been sent some absolutely lovely photos of the fairy tale themed reception-party that Helen was gracious enough to allow me to share on the blog. The bride is looking appropriately magisterial in the Red Queen Coat. Underneath it she's wearing her ivory wedding dress. I love the collar detail she's added, which gives the coat that little bit more of a Queen of Hearts theme.

Given the threatening poses (and the rather splendid axe), I suspect the words Off With Their Heads were uttered at least once. Which is as it should be.

A few more photos under the cut (including a group shot in which there appears to be more than one visitor from the Lewis Carol canon).

Prototype: Midnight Blue Winged Doublet

The winged doublet is in a midnight blue velveteen. It is lined and edged in red linen. It closes in front with eight round metal buttons with a fairly subtle Celtic cross design.

The doublet is somewhat big on the model (which is why he's wearing it open rather than closed), as it's made to our standard Large and he's more of a Medium. Hopefully I'll be able to corner the Proprietor in due course and we'll have proper photos of it. For those curious, I believe the model was attempting something of a Alas, Poor Yorrick! pose, with the somewhat pseudo-Shakespeare mindset of the day.

This is by no means a historically accurate doublet (unless you're of the looks-alright-from-six-feet-away school), but for the record, it takes most of its cues from late Tudor doublets rather than early ones. The winged shoulders echoes that those seen in this portrait of Robert Dudley and Federico II Gonzaga, but significantly less elaborate.

On a sidenote, here's some interesting modern reinterpreting of Elizabethan doublets in modern menswear by John Galliano.

To commission a similar doublet from the Mercenary would cost in the region of £75-85. This prototype of the doublet in particular is now available from Charackter Kit for £70.

More photos of the midnight blue doublet including wing and button detail under the cut.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival: The Other Human Interest Post

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Various commissions and prototypes are keeping us here busy and the Mercenary is fast discovering that artist's block (or whatever the technical term is) isn't any more pleasant than writer's block. We should have photos of some of the prototypes soon (including a doublet and hopefully a cranach dress if the brustfleck ever behaves itself).

That's about it, really. What follows is but a rambly post on Mid-Autumn Festival. I hadn't time to change out of the linen dress we were doing photos of (at Kowloon Walled City Park during the day; I happened to be taking someone around) so proceeded to wander the rest of the festivities in an approximation of an outfit from Pride and Prejudice (more on the kit in due course).

After a lengthy dinner with the extended family and an amount of moon cake bordering on the obscene, we went to see the Fire Dragon Parade and proceeded to the Mid-Autumn Carnival at Victoria Park. Most people seem to have abandoned the tradition of wandering around with paper lanterns (see photo) and instead have chosen to festoon themselves utterly with glow-sticks.

More photos of the non-flaming dragon and reflections on the festival under the cut.

Turquoise Drop Front Gown

This drop front gown is made from a coarse turquoise linen. It takes obvious cues from the gaulle worn by Keira Knightly as the titular character in The Duchess. Historically speaking we're somewhere between the chemise dresses of the eighteenth century and high-waisted empire gowns of the Regency (not unakin to this Portrait of Madame Emilie Seriziat and her Son), but I hesitate to say that this gown is itself any way actually accurate. We used some lovely but perhaps inappropriate cog-ish buttons which will probably be replaced in due course. The gown is lined in a light cotton. The dress is worn with a wide stretch velvet sash (a little on the short side, bought off a wedding shop) and a black shawl.

In terms of location, we revisit again my all-time favourite tree just outside the village, despite the occasion being significantly less elven. The sun seemed to be in a good mood and the colours came out rather more on the saturated side. We did the photos in something of a hurry before the camera ran out of battery, so perhaps better shots another day.

To commission one like it from the mercenary would cost in the region of £60.

More photos of the turquoise drop-front dress under the cut.

Red Queen Coat

The Red Queen Coat is made of a thick stretch velvet in a deep claret red. It features a giant "evil queen" collar in black brocade (that we're particularly proud of) in a very deep V-neck that almost goes to the waist, heart-shaped knot buttons and drippy "medieval" sleeves (I use that term very loosely here) with are lined in black brocade. It has lacing down the back and it's pulled rather tightly in the photos. The whole design was meant to echo the huge Gothic Coat-Dress, but the stretch velvet isn't nearly as wide and whilst huge and trailing, this dress isn't quite as giant.

It was meant to be worn over an ivory wedding gown as part of a fairy tale themed reception party. I was promised photos in due course (which I hope to be able to share on the blog), but really I'm just looking forward to seeing the little larp-safe axe that was to go with the Red Queen outfit.

This is a rather unideal photo and not even of the finished coat (in the end, we took the third pair of buttons off). The coat-dress is made for a size 16 and the lacing is pulled back considerably to make it drape on the significantly smaller dress form. But all that aside, I thought to share what has been haunting my deadline nightmares.

To commission a similar coat-dress would cost in the region of £150-170.

Gambesons, Robes and a Brown Steampunk Coat: Recent Commissions

It's been a while since the last post and it seems rather anticlimactic to begin with a post of things on hangers. Especially as almost nothing ever looks good on hangers. But there you go. Here are photos of many costumes on hangers.

Ever since the Steampunk Coat first appeared on a hanger at the Unconventional Market, I've been asked if it came in brown. After some confusion over the colour correction on the professionally done photos, I received an order for the coat in black and brown. Some explanation and an order later, the black and brown Steampunk Coat came into existence. It shares the same red-and-gold trim as the red coats and has brass fittings.

More photos of recent commissions under the cut.