We have had SO many people ask us about Kathleen's costume, I asked her to put together some
information about the different costume pieces. Here's what she came up with:
Kathleen's Marion Ravenwood Costume
My shirt and shoes were lucky vintage finds on eBay. My shirt has a "Made in India" side seam
tag , but it looks like the previous owner snipped out the manufacturer's tag. My shoes likely
came from Sears since they have "The Shoe Place" printed on the inside.
My pants were made from Simplicity costume pattern #5359. This is the second time I have
made these pants. The first time, the waist was too low, the legs were too baggy, and the cotton
material was too stiff. This time I altered the pattern to raise the waist and trim down the legs.
The fabric was a type of polyester called "peachskin". The third time may be the charm for
styling. This time I will be using out-of-print McCall's costume pattern 9559.
My "sash" or "belt" is more like a cummerbund and snaps in the back. I made it from an older
Victoria's Secret Shawl ~ the fabric is burgundy velvet burnout. To keep it in place, I actually
sewed it to the waistband of the pants.
The Blouse
General Blouse Info: Many people believe that Marion's blouse is Romanian in origin.
A site showing all of the folk costumes of Romania
http://www.romanianmuseum.com/Romania/RomaniaFolk.html
The also have a couple of books on folk embroidery
http://www.romaniandolls.com/books/002art/noWeb/art03folk/art03folk.html
As previously noted on COW, Romanian folk costume info can be found at
http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaPortul/
Blouse Sellers:
Euro seller: X trade
http://www.costumes.ro/folk_blouses.htm
Ebay:
Direct search for "Romanian Blouse". These are usually in the $100 range
because they are considered collectible folk art.
Search in the category: Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Vintage, Women's
Clothing. Do a Title & Description search using "embroidered blouse," "boho
blouse," and "boho top." Some sellers will refer to this type of blouse as
Ukrainian, Gypsy, or even Mexican
Blouse Patterns:
Folkwear pattern #103 Roumanian Blouse
http://www.folkwear.com/103.html
The Pants
Pants Sellers:
Ebay:
Direct search for "red harem pants". You will find a lot of these but since they
are primarily meant for bellydancing, the waist will be very low.
Also try "red gypsy pants" or "red genie pants". There will be fewer listings, but
you may find a vintage pair with the higher waist and triangular/yoked waistband.
Pants Patterns:
1. Simplicity "gypsy" costume pattern #5359
2. McCall's Out-of-Print pattern #9559
Costume Pattern Genie and Egyptian Goddess, with "yoked" waistband
Try Ebay or a vintage pattern seller.
The Sash
Fabric Sources:
Fabric Stores – ask for velvet burnout
Ebay:
Search under the category: Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
Then do a Title & Description search using "burnout scarf" "burnout shawl"
"velvet scarf" "velvet shawl" etc.
The Shoes
Shoe Sellers:
Ebay:
Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Women's Shoes,
Then do a Title & Description search using "red espadrilles" or use the shoe
finder and choose "red", your shoe size, and "Platforms, Wedges"
Also try at:
Chadwick's
or
Amazon
We hope this helps in the elusive search for Marion's gear!
Tom & Kathleen
