Eleanor Vivian

The phonograph - What I've collected so far

2009-05-28T20:45:30Z

Since I really need to have good music to be happy I've tried to find some artists/songs that somehow fit into the big Steampunk picture in my mind.

From what I've read so far, Steampunk music is as well defined as Steampunk fashion - in other words, the rules are more like guidelines anyway, thus many genres may contribute to create the soundtrack for a productive day in the lab, or a dangerous journey to some mysterious caves in Southern Africa.

Here's a list of some of the artists that make my day, in autobiographical order:

The Dresden Dolls: Heard them play as support for the Nails and loved them from the beginning. They convinced me that Cabaret, and Dark Cabaret in particular, as a genre is just what I need to hear in 95% of all possible moods.

Amanda Palmer: The Dolls' frontwoman's solo project, and just as hot.

Voltaire: Mr. Voltaire produced a song, 'Stuck with you', together with Amanda Palmer - that's how I found out about this project. Cabaret, too.

Vermillion Lies: Again via Amanda Palmer, two sisters, even more Cabaret.

Vernian Process: labelled Darkwave as well as classical -> yesss.

Unextraordinary Gentlemen: I think I found them at cdbaby.com. This is called post/steam/synthpunk, and I recommend listening to 5 Tales From God-Only-Knows, their first EP. Do it. Now.

Abney Park: I think everyone agrees on this band being Steampunk. Earlier genres included Industrial and Gothic rock which I don't mind either.

Coppelius: German band directly from the 19th century, playing Kammercore (they remind one of Apocalyptica).

On my watch list, amongst others:

Rasputina
The Clockwork Dolls
The Clockwork Quartet (yes, yes, it's becoming hip and gears are flying in all directions. It's still good music)

And there is still more - so much to listen to, so little time!

The phonograph - Music meme

2009-05-28T19:48:20Z

1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List 5 songs that begin with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions.

H

Amanda Palmer - Have to drive
The Dresden Dolls - Half Jack
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
Haggard - Herr Mannelig
Eden weint im Grab - Heimwärts ins Licht

Some more because it's fun

Pain - Hate me
Goethes Erben - Himmelgrau
Dido - Here with me
The Smiths - How soon is now
Placebo - Hang on to your IQ

The wardrobe: 1880ies petticoat

2009-05-24T18:36:56Z

My underskirts look a bit sad without a petticoat. Thus: TV170, view 3 to the rescue.

I used 4m of white striped fabric (some cotton/linen mix) and followed the instructions precisely (tucks, gatherings...). The only exception was to add 5cm in the front and 15cm in the back part because my bustles are rather large.

During sewing a thought occured to me: 6 meters are a small distance to walk, but a long hem to sew.

PS: Yes, sometimes I actually finish projects. This petticoat took me about 16 hours distributed over four days.

The wardrobe: Fishtail

2009-04-30T15:30:24Z

During a 3-hour session of P&P and Noir I managed to finish a black fishtail skirt I've had lying around for ages. Now it has lots of nice fake fur and I wore it for Walpurgis Night.

For a garden party I added a shrug.

Social life: Technisches Museum Wien

2009-02-15T19:33:03Z

Ladies and gentlemen,
an afternoon well spent at the Technisches Museum Wien.

A reproduction of Babbage's difference engine, air ships

and gears

Needless to say I'll be there again soon.

The wardrobe: 1885 bustle

2009-02-06T10:35:43Z

After one year of frequent discussions with Mme. Kupferfeuer I am now ~~brainwas~~ convinced that bustles have a certain je ne sais quoi but I want to know what it is - so I made one.

As pattern I used the Mantua Maker 1880s bustle. Of _course_ I had to pick the years where the bustles were at maximum size :) This is one huge steel-eating crustacean - hence the working title: Zoidberg.

On the material list I had 2m of cotton twill, 10m of steel boning (13mm wide), 5m of lacing and black band as casing for the steel. I wanted white but did not get any and I was too impatient to search further, so the bustle reminds of a zebra from the inside. I like animals so that's not a problem with me.

Pics to come, since Zoidberg is accompanying Mme. Kupferfeuer to a historical soirée :)

Social life: Walking in Baden

2009-02-06T09:58:10Z

We've planned to go for a walk in the rose garden in Baden near Vienna, and I'm not yet sure which outfit I should finish for this occasion - the striped dress or the linen dress.

The wardrobe: Falconer's glove

2009-02-06T08:48:55Z

I'd like to finish it in 2009.
At least it's only one glove, so no worries about symmetry :)

Material: black and red leather, wires
Sketch: <to come>

To do

Sewing gloves
apply red leather patches
age leather
attach wires and similar stuff

The wardrobe: Corset home

2009-01-03T16:04:11Z

One small step for me, but hey! at least something gets finished. Today I started _and_ finished two single-buttoned corset homes, to keep the preciouses safe and warm beneath two layers of linen.

The wardrobe: 1885 striped dress

2008-12-05T12:47:36Z

Didn't I say that stripes look neat? I bought 6m of nice black striped fabric two weeks ago.

After some tossing and turning it has been decided - white underskirt, striped overskirt and two bodices (one with high collar and one without ;) )

DONE
TV 362 1884 striped wash overskirt. I cut the apron so the stripes meet in the front (which they DO *yay*), and added lining since the striped fabric is rather flimsy - and I had to improvise since I didn't have enough black cotton for the lining. I simply applied netting to the upper back of the skirt, success! After some hours of peaceful working and watching Back to the Future III (which contains some nice late bustle dresses and one belle epoch outfit) everything is finished save eyes.

TV 261 white underskirt, sans le pouf but with decoration. I'm using white cotton/linen fabric which is impossible to iron. Inspired by Mme. Kupferfeuer's sewing neatness I even made welt seams :)

Remaining

TV 460 1885 striped cuirass bodice, with a bit of lace at the sleeves to complement the stripes. I've made a mock up of the cuirass bodice, status: the front looks a bit strange. But that could be the flimsy fabric's fault. Anyway: no pain, no gain I thought and started sewing the striped fabric, lined with black cotton. I found a nice description with pictures on how to cut striped fabrics. She's right - it's not possible to keep the stripes straight on all pieces - but I tried my best and I think it looks acceptable (pics to come).
The next step will be fitting (my favourite activity *eww*)

PS: Consciously deciding which size to wear is a rather strange feeling - but you have to do so when using those patterns. When I try really hard I have a 24'' waist (stop booing already, you professional corset wearers :) ), but I'll rather stick with 26'' lest I die of hunger or asphyxiation.

The wardrobe: 1887 evening outfit

2008-11-17T13:15:46Z

The historical soirée (February 7 2009) is over and the bodice wasn't finished in time, so I had to borrow a dress from Mme. Kupferfeuer. This dress here will be finished somewhen this year when the red silk finally arrives and my frustration subsides.

The other ladies looked fantastic!

In Victorian Fashions I've seen a wonderful evening outfit described as velvet and lace, with a particularly nice overskirt: pouffed in the back and two separate gores in the front (here is a picture I took from p.188 of Victorian Fashions by Stella Blum, Taschen Verlag).

The underskirt will be TV261, made from red silk instead of lace because it's cheaper. The silk has arrived and I've bought cotton yarn to match the colour.

The overskirt's pattern is self-made - the picture does not show the backside, so I was free to use my imagination. The particular velvet I used seems to be not too bad - it has "Niedieck" printed on the seams and from some googling I concluded that this is not the worst of brands. Besides, on the picture it looks like the back is not draped overly elaborated. I've cut two rectangular pieces (40x120cm) for the skirt front and one rectangular piece (120x150cm) for the back. After some calculations and lacing of the corset I made the front pieces smaller (24cm, without seam allowance), lined the pieces, gathered the 120cm of the back piece and made about 5 meters of silk piping. I've cut a 25'' waistband and sew three silk bands with which to drape the back. And I've spent an hour at Mme. Kupferfeuer's brooding over how to actually drape the thing. <pic to come> And I've bricked my sewing machine with all the layers of velvet so I had to resume to hand sewing some parts.

TV416 for the bodice. It's the wrong period, but some of the outfits shown in Victorian Fashions have the same low neckline, so I'm going to use it, period. And it's all about the waistline anyway, isn't it? Early bustle had a higher waist than late bustle, if I am not mistaken.

Dress decoration: I was thinking red flowers and pearls. The silk flower shop (yes, Vienna has such a thing) is closed during February, but I'll look around online for silk roses.

To go with it we have a nice fan: voilà

and a small bag.

Jewellery: bohemian garnet necklace and ring. Now I only need to find some I can afford which is nearly impossible.

The wardrobe: 1888 bustle

2008-11-11T21:23:20Z

Since some twill is left from making the Zoidberg, I made a small Mantua Maker bustle - the 1888 version.

After a pleasant afternoon spent at Melwen's, the thing - I think I'll christen it Shrimp since it's so teeny tiny - is ready for being adorned with several meters of steel. - Since yesternight Shrimp has a heart of steel, a waistband, a flounce and is officially declared 99% finished.

The bookshelf: Salome, by Oscar Wilde

2008-11-10T14:04:16Z

Nice illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley.
If somebody is interested in how I came to know about the illustrator Beardsley I'll be happy to tell the story :)

The wardrobe: 1880ies coat

2008-11-10T12:07:57Z

Truly Victorian has released a new pattern, for a late bustle coat. Needless to say I love it and had to have it. No idea yet how the final product will look like, but one can never go wrong with sombre colours and trimmings on the trimmings.

Note to everybody: this pattern (unlike the other TV patterns) has no SIDE part, only BACK and SIDE BACK ( I mention this because I spent one hour running through the flat looking for the supposedly missing pattern piece).

Progress: I made a mock-up which will have to tried on over a bustle and skirts, but it all in all it does look promising.

The wardrobe: Bustle surprise

2008-10-10T15:52:30Z

Well - another bloody corset crossed my path and did not escape my hunting instinct - black leather, what else is there to say.
The corset is no longer in Memphis. It arrived yesterday and looks w00t.

I'd like to wear it with a bustle and sew a red underskirt and a black leather overskirt to go with it. It will not fit over the Mantua Maker bustle but I could always wear it under the bustle.

DONE

Red blouse

TODO

Underskirt: I found a nice red-black fabric for the underskirt.
Overskirt: The hunt has been successful - I found a shop in the city with affordable black fake leather and carried home 4 meters.
Accessories: that will be the fun part :) falconer's glove, instrument belt and leather whip

The bookshelf: Victorian Fashions

2008-09-27T15:59:34Z

I ordered Victorian Fashions and Costumes from Harper's Bazar by Stella Blum to get a better understanding of this period's fashion.

The only drawback of this book is that the illustrations are not coloured, but from the description given one can easily get the necessary information to design similar outfits.

The wardrobe: 1899 ballgown dress

2008-09-26T14:21:02Z

Along with the winter dress I'd like to have something for sunnier days. Before I start I need more ideas about the "authentical look" of such an outfit.

Skirt: don't know yet
Bodice: TV490 1892 Ball gown bodice: I think TV460 can be easily modified for the bodice.

The wardrobe: 1885 late bustle linen outfit

2008-09-26T13:57:41Z

Welcome, welcome - to my first victorian work in project.

I'll make a first version from linen since I have lots of it in dark red and white available. I researched a bit in the net and found an amazing white linen coat to go over a bustle. It's an original so I think I don't have to hide a carefully sewn linen outfit - they did use linen for elaborate garments after all. In any case it convinced me that I should use my linen carefully and make several pieces (overskirt, cuirass bodice, tail bodice) to get some practise, test the patterns and end up with some nice things which can be combined to different outfits. And the very first step will be to browse through Victorian Fashions to find appropriate types of embellishment.

DONE

Underskirt: TV261 1885 Four-gore underskirt, "avec le pouf", from dark red linen (I have enough linen and it doesn't show the dirt as much as lighter colours). I applied netting == adding a layer of something tulle-like to the back. Thanks to Kupferfeuer the drapery and thus the skirt is finished - I just need to find my hooks-and-eyes-bag :)

TODO

Overskirt: TV362 1884 Wash Overskirt, just the apron, from white linen. I was thinking of adding embroidery to the apron's hem.
Bodice: TV462 1883 Tail Bodice, from white linen. It's a really strange sizing system but many people say it worked for them. I I'll use red accents on white fabric. The interfacing will be cotton twill, and the lining simple soft cotton. Boning has arrived.
Bag: to do
Head: to do

For the next version I'll take a look into a fashion book of the period to get a feeling which accessories, colours and fabrics might work. In any case I found very moderately priced heavy black cotton jacquard and now I possess 8m :) Then there are 5 meters of cream-colored velvet. And I must say, needle stripes also look very neat (made by Mme. Kupferfeuer).

The wardrobe: Field work

2008-09-25T15:23:02Z

For my biological field work I dearly need something practical. Planned are black trousers, a black vest and a red blouse. Furthermore a jacket, a belt for my instruments, protective leather gloves and spats.

Trousers: cut and partly sewn
Vest: pattern drafted from a corset I own and tested on lining fabric.
Blouse: Fabric ready, looking for a pattern with short sleeves
Jacket: cut and partly sewn
Gloves: leather ready, found pattern and will test on lining fabric
Belt: leather ready, looking for enforcing second layer
Spats: black fabric ready, playing around to get a good pattern following this how to.

The bookshelf: Dracula, by Bram Stoker

2008-09-25T15:12:22Z

I shall have to read this soon.

The bookshelf: The war of the worlds, by H. G. Wells

2008-09-25T14:45:39Z

The bookshelf: The sleeper awakes, by H. G. Wells

2008-09-25T14:42:39Z

I shall have to read this book soon.

The bookshelf: Awakening, by Kate Chopin

2008-09-25T14:39:31Z

I finished it recently and liked it very much. Kate Chopins infamous novel Awakening I found to be very touching, and I liked the selected short stories contained within this edition as well. Each one offers glimpses into the life of another woman living in Louisiana around 1895 and sheds light on different aspects of life, especially the constraints women encountered.

The bookshelf: She, by H. Rider Haggard

2008-09-25T14:33:40Z

I shall have to read this soon.

The wardrobe: 1899 "Sci Fi" dress

2008-09-05T08:53:01Z

I simply fell in love with this outfit. The lines of the jacket (the high collar and the front seam runs diagonally across the body) remind me of the uniform of a science fiction badass overlord :)

As soon as possible I'll start making patterns for the skirts and maybe I can wear it next winter :)
Basically I want to have seen some authentic patterns before I start this project, just to get an idea of how this dress could have been cut.

Lots to decide:

Material: dark red wool?
Pattern for the bodice? (the skirt should be simpler)
Accessories?