Thought I'd go ahead and throw my most prized costume into the mix here in the new arena.
I really need to get new pics, but I've been picking pieces of it apart to upgrade them, so I've never gotten around to it. I do plan on remaking the suit soon, because I'm a little nuts.
A little info on this project.
Hat: Made by Tim Bender TP&H Trading Co. -- Hats by Tim Bender
I had to source the beaver felt myself,which was a pain, but I got it and Tim made me a hat based on pics. His work is gorgeous. Simply Stunning. He specializes in Victorian era hats and if you have any interest at all in hats, you should check out his site. Prices are very reasonable. Cheap for custom even.
The tie Pin I got from eBay. Pretty much just like the one in the link below. but it has an antique gold finish instead of silver. It's a Romanov Double Eagle pin, often simply a Russian or Imperial Russian Double Eagle pin, but you have to try different search parameters (I just used "Double Eagle Pin" to get this one)
RUSSIAN DOUBLE-HEADED IMPERIAL EAGLE SILVER LAPEL PIN | eBay
The Cane is Factory X Cane of Dracula. I got mine online for around $50.00. Looks like they're getting harder to find though.
The Gloves were a pair of light grey kid leather gloves from a seller called Damco on eBay. I mixed a solution of watered down black leather dye in a pot and actually soaked them overnight to make them darker. I always meant to purchase a darker pair when the seller had them available, which he did. Now it seems he no longer has them. Le sigh.
The Shoes are Stacey Adams ankle boots. The ones everyone uses for period reproductions. I have a pair of grey spats that I wear over them. I left them black as I have no good reference on his shoes, though I've been told they are grey as well.
The Glasses were a search. The trick was finding a pair of pince nez that were the right size. His are large. The lenses are around an inch and a half tall. Once you find that, the lenses are easy. I got some blue acrylic sheeting and used the old lenses as a pattern to cut it on a scroll saw and bevel the edges on with a dremel.
I have since learned that the glasses were frameless, and have purchased a new pair to redo them. Going to take a awhile to get to it, but here's an image the craftsman who made them for the film linked me.
The rest was all hand made.
Shirt - I wasn't happy with any of the shirts I could find, and his looked to have a sheen to it. So I made mine out of white silk twill. I prewashed the silk so it wouldn't shrink if I ever wanted to wash it again. And overdyed it in Pearl Grey and Black to get that charcoal grey tone.
Cravat - I'm always on the lookout for more accurate fabric, but the current is a printed silk that I built into a quick rig. I also found this in white and dyed it to match.
The suit - Made with a 13oz confederate wool flannel. This thing is thick and warm. But the fabric drapes beautifully. The coat pattern is based on the Laughing moon frock, but had several alterations to get it to this shape. The pants are a hybrid of a pattern I hand drafted and the McCall's Civil War pattern. All hand tailored in my bedroom.
I recently purchased a dove grey heavy gabardine that I plan on remaking the suit with. Still heavy, but not quite as heavy as the current suit.
Vest - Started out made of a silver silk Taffeta. The whole thing is hand drafted and tailored by me. Then I noticed some shape inconsistencies and decided to redraft it. Made the second one out of the wool, thinking that I made a mistake with the taffeta. Now I'm remaking it again in the original taffeta.
The original wig came from wig america, using my theatre discount. I wouldn't recommend it though. Skin tops suck. It was a cheap for a human hair wig though, and served me well, although uncomfortably.
I recently contracted a wig maker to make a custom fit wig for me. Set me back about $350.00, but I now have a wig that isn't terribly uncomfortable to wear.
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