1911 Shocking Pink Dress

Another dress on display this past weekend was this pink dress.

The under dress is a shocking pink which is toned down with a white sheer over dress.

It is trimmed in piping and self covered buttons in the shocking pink, and with lace inserts.

Up close and on its own, it seemed a bit over powering but some how in a crowd and at a distance it is pretty special.  Unfortunately there was some major damage to the back of it which has been (rather badly) patched.  There are smaller moth holes further up so I wonder if there was not more chewing done on the bottom piece.

The two medallions on the back are a bit funny!

My dogs are barking…again

Yesterday, I went to volunteer at my other Doors Open event.  Saturday’s event was on concrete floors and yesterday’s was on marble…hence the sore feet. I was helping the Costume Museum of Canada with their pop up exhibit at the Millennium Center.  See last years event here.

The theme this year was 1911 and 1969.  The Millennium Center started out its life in 1911 as a bank and finished its run as a bank in 1969.  In 1970 it was saved from demolition and began some basic restorations to its exterior and the main lobby area.  It is now being used for catered events like weddings.

Just like last year, I will be featuring some of my favorite dresses.  There are not a ton of them as I do not care for the 1960’s at all.  I’m not mad for Edwardian but it has elements of Victorian so I can like some of it quite a bit.

Here is an over view photo of the 1911 side of the room.

In the front is a mint green evening gown which is all hand sewn. Here is a better view.

The color is not my favorite but the details are nice.

The hem is very pretty.

But here is what really caught my eye!

The neckline is to die for!

 

My dogs are barkin’

This weekend is Doors Open in my home town.  The historic buildings open their doors to the public at no charge, allowing them a glimpse inside of buildings they may have passed by all of their lives.  I help out at two venues for this event.  Yesturday was the Vaughn Street Jail.

The old jail was built in the 1880’s but currently stands gutted and empty except for some storage spaces and a handful of offices.  There is a group of the old cells still standing in the basement.  But, the jail’s most interesting features is all of the famous and infamous characters in my city’s history that have had connections to that jail.

In spite of being gutted, the jail is one of the most popular sites because the organizer has arranged a bunch of volunteers to do mini skits and vignettes representing some of these historical figures (some of the skits are done in the remaining cells, which is the very popular finale to the tour).  Last year I played a very respectable female doctor with a bit of a religious and feminist bent.

This year, I wanted to “stretch myself as an actress” so I volunteered to be one of the “girls” of a well-known madam…Minnie Woods.  I actually had a ton of fun with this.  I was going against character but being IN character AND costume gave me the freedom to say and do things I normally wouldn’t!  It was very empowering.  When ever I am biting my tonge and holding in things that I want to say, I should tap into my inner harlot!

Being in those shoes for over 10 hours on a cement floor is the reason my “dogs are barking”.

In Canada, in the past, a lady of the evening was paid with $2 bills.  Because of this, it was considered to be in very bad taste to hand a respectable lady a two dollar bill.  Which is why I put mine in a very strategic place.