My outfit is finally coming together! After the disaster last night with the galleon in full sail dress I found my beaded dress. I did have a moment of panic that I might have sent it to the charity shop on the last purge…I was very relieved to see it. I bought this dress for about £20 from a seconds shop in Otley, we were going on our first cruise and I needed some evening wear. It actually weighs a ton due to all the beading, so it probably wasn’t ideal for my luggage weight limit! I only wore it the once and it’s hung in my wardrobe ever since.
…and now is it’s moment to shine!
I needed some accessories; I found some full length beaded gloves which I’ve probably had nearly 30 years!
I found a beaded bracelet and ring (for after the gloves come off!!) Not sure of the etiquette here!…or is this one bead too many!
I needed something for my hair. I went rummaging in my trims drawers and found a short length of black feather boa, just about 12″ I cut it in half, twisted some wire round it to give it some support and also added some wire which I had wrapped round a pencil to make a spiral, it’s a lovely deep purple colour.
I went rummaging a bit further and found this…
It’s beautiful, I know it came from the sewing box of a friends mother, looking at it it could almost be a 1920’s head dress. It’s heavily beaded with long flat beads down one side. It has a large button/ bead at each end with black beads dangling down. It’s gorgeous. It is shaped as if to go round a head, I’ve just got to work out how to wear it as I haven’t got the ideal hair style for this type of head-dress, it just seems a shame not to wear it having found it! At the moment I’m thinking of folding the wide beads under so it’s just on my forehead, rather than half way up my head which just makes my hair stick out on top!! I need to get some hair grips and have a play before Saturday.
I’ll still have something on for me-made-May as I’ll travel in my velvet cape which I made about thirty years ago. I’ll let you know how it goes!
thecraftycreek 
For your head piece, try some bobby pins (American term, but hopefully you know what I mean as I don’t know the British term!). Or some small combs gently sewn onto the ends and hidden underneath curls. Etiquette am not certain of, for wristlet & ring. Try searching with “downton etiquette” or some such is my best guess.
This dress looks gorgeous and those gloves are exquisite. Have fun at the posh party!
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We call them Bobby Pins in NZ too, but hair pin or slide might be the UK name…
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Thanks, Naomi! Will try to remember those.
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You are going to look so 20’s, it’s all going to come together. Reminds me of my girls’ senior years. During “Homecoming” week, all the seniors get to wear togas…silly, but a tradition. Everyone else is buying sheets to make “togas,” and mine finds out how to make a real toga, and with a couple of cuts on a length of scrap fabric laying around, looks like the real deal! You took what you had and will look very authentic…others will drop a bundle of cash and still look like a costume! 😍
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I remember toga parties, they were all the rage in the 1980’s…memories 🙂
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I can tell you’re all excited about dressing up, now that’s you’ve found the dress. A shame your flapper dress didn’t work according to plan.
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Etiquette: if the gloves have buttons at the wrist, you unbutton and peel back just the hand part for eating at the table, rolling and tucking the empty hand so it sits like a roll on the back of your wrist. If the gloves have no buttons, you remove them for eating. The bracelet and ring would normally be worn over the glove. The head band is worn low over the forehead, just above the eyebrows, with the feathers like a cockade on the right side of your head. To hold it on, I’d recommend some dark elastic, threaded through your hair so it’s invisible.
Finally, a use for the History of Costume part of my degree!
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Now that sounds an interesting degree to study! Thanks for the rules of etiquette, I didn’t know there was a rule about which side your feathers went on 🙂
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To be honest, most of the rules went out of the window in the 1950s. Originally it had to be a full plume, and was fixed at the back. Then they started being a lot less prescriptive, and plumes were fixed at one side or another. Oh, the useless stuff I retain, when I so often forget important things…
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please please please, may we have a photo of you in full regalia. I love that you have all these things just in rummage space. I couldn’t just rustle up an outfit like this. You are going to look am az ing!!!
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Very in-pc but a fox stole would go brilliantly with this. A friend of mine recently gave me two vintage ones to sell for her – I have no idea why and I’m not going to – but one is black, head, legs and all which would go perfectly with your outfit if only there was not a risk you might have paint thrown over you or something. Personally, I couldn’t bear to keep looking down and seen those little feet dangling there 😦
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I wouldn’t fancy the dangly feet either. I’m totally against the fur trade, but I also partly think it’s a shame the true vintage ones can’t be worn as it seems even more of a waste of a life for them just to be hidden away in wardrobes.
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‘un-pc’ – drat you.spellchecker!
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You have some really beautiful things. 😊
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Your going to look stunning! It sounds like you’ve had a lot of fun pulling this outfit together. Enjoy the evening!
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I think they used to wear the rings and bracelets over the gloves…
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Love your post! Those are some great pieces you have featured, very pretty! I just wrote a blog on the history of 1920’s fashion. I would love if you read it and gave me some feedback ( I am a new blogger), it would truly mean a lot. Great post!
xoxo,
Taite
http://www.primpedandproper.com
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