Program-suggestion

 The villa of Ráth György is a part of the Museum of applied arts.

In there we will reenact a real event:

At the beginning of 1907, king and emperor Franz Joseph visited the villa, in the villa the widow of György Ráth, and viewed the artifacts in.

Come, let's play history together!

Futher details here. 

Weekly pattern-muster (sewing)

This one popped up in a FB group, but I have to admit, I love it very much, though I absolutely have no idea, where would I wear it.  :-) 

This is the Tecoma Blouse from Mood Society. 

If I would make this, most probably, I would make it from white linen (what else? LOL)

Coming: Reenactor musings

Ever since I thought that some more or less regular colums could come handy, I wanted to make a series about reenacting. Not sewing historical clothes, but generally (though sometimes about clothes), about misconceptions, things we get asked often, how did it started for me, and whatever else I can think up.

I will plan these on Fridays, but then I do NOT promise a post on each and every Friday.

Originally I thought to do alternate posts on Tuesdays (travel and reenacting) but in Hungarian reenacting circles Tuesday means something else (should there be a post about that too?).

I will start next week with a big topic: reenacting misconceptions: Stays and corsets. Are they the torture devices of paternal societies? 

Weekly SO

My strong opinion this week that the newest Wuthering Heights movie (the one with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi) is bad.  

Not because it is not historically accurate, not because the costumes have nothing to do with any historical accuracy, not because it is not following the book. 

It is bad. I am glad I have not paid to go to the movies to watch it, because I would be sheething with anger. 

I've seen a couple of version of the story, and I did not even hated the one with Timothy Dalton in it (okay, that might have to to with the fact that he is my celebrity crush, and I would listen to... 

no, even enjoy him reading the phonebook to me).

But this year's version just awful. 

That is it for today.

Weekly Patternmuster (Knitting- May the 4th be with you)

Due to the peculiarities of teh English language and its pronounciation  (May the 4th /force be with you) today is Star Wars day and I brough something in this theme :-)

Rebel Allience Sweater.

Short comment

 I was talking to my friend a couple of days ago, about hairstyles we are planning for an upcoming event, and I realized I've never showed you the hairstyle(s) I've tried, back in Palmanova.

So here you go:

And yes, the dress I made back in 2019 (you should not be fooled by the fact that I actually managed to post the final dress in 2020... there is a whole series about how I made it, from the idea through the fabric and pattern, etc, among the end of 2019 and early 2020 posts)... so yes, the dress is a bit too big on me, but with the sash/ribbon it is still usable. 

Photos (of course) by Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto.

Weekly SO

Coca Cola tastes different. Depending on which country you buy them, they DO taste different. I know french has more cinamony taste, italian more caramel for example, the coke in London is less sweet and the coke we bought in Ukraine is more sugary than the one in Hungary. 

Also, the type of packaging (glass bottle, metal cans and/or plastic bottles) has an effect not only the way it bubbles, but also the taste. Though you see plastic bottles on the pictures, in my opinion, the ones sold in metal cans taste the best. 

Tuesday Travel : The V and A Marie Antoinette Exhibition

I've been putting off this post, because I was thinking about how to approach it. But as I started to select pictures, I realized, I cannot do it in one post, because there were so many things, so many details, Norbert shot more than a thousand pictures for me in there. 

This will be a general overview, and I will come back with details. Details of a particular dress, maybe some story, etc.

The exhibition opened in september 2025 and within historical clothes circles the buzz started even before. Beside the renaissance, the 18th century is my other favorite period (especially fashion-wise), I was hankering to go. I have a birthday a week before Xmas, and I told Norbert, that I do not want any present for either, the only thing I want is to go and see this exhibition. Norbert gave the trip to me. <3

By the time he organized the airplane tickets and the hotel, all the museum tickets were booked. Umm. In January. We could not book a time for the end of February. However, one could buy a V and A membership, with which you can go in and take one guest as many times as you want. For one whole year to any exhibition. For about twice as much money as two tickets would've cost. Go figure. 

In my opinion, it was a not so subtle push people toward buying the membership. Which is actually not a bad deal if someone lives in London or close enough to go there more than once, but for so many people, like us, who only gone to London for a short visit to actually see the exhibition, it seems a bit like an extortion.

Anyhow, since Norbert already paid for the airplane tickets and the hotel, I did bought the membership. (And I actually used it, as it turned out an Instagram friend of mine was in london that weekend, and could take her in to see the exhibition. Yay, a small win, LOL).

Let's talk about the exhibition itself, shall we? 

It was so excited to go, so hyped up, you can see the smile on my face on the above pictures. 

At the same time, it was exhausting. For one, the exhibition was on until the end of March, and we were there only a couple of weeks before. There were so many people there (even on Wednesday and Friday morning). Sometimes it was hard to get close enough to see the details, or simply to move around. 

There were so many things to see so many details, and so many themes. Not only Marie Antoinette (MA)'s dresses, and clothes and object from that time period, but also the exhibition showed the effect she (and 18th century fashion) had on later periods, which I also find interesting). 

Entering a famous portait of Marie Antoinette greets the visitor.

There was a recontstruction of this dress in the Pozsony (Bratislava) exhibition, you can see the pictires of that HERE.

The silver brocade wedding gown is the first actual dress you see. It is a court gown that means it has a very rigid bodice and long train with a "grand pannier".

This dress is made from a so called "ikat" woven fabric, where they dye th eyarn in a particular way so after weaving the colorful bits get next to each other forming a pattern.

One of the things I learned, that I always though that a francaise gown almost always go with a stomacher front- and that is not so. The majority of the francaise type gowns at the exhibition were closed front gowns (though that might be, because they are somewhat later pieces from the period).

This pink gown was one of my favorites (no wonder I did make a pink striped 18th century gown)

The first part of the exhibition shown dresses and the general fashion before the 1780-ies, and then there was a corner where they put pieces from the later period, like the famous chemise a'la reine, a flovers english gown (with a zone front), a pierot jacket and such.

There were mementos from the last period of her life, like this caricature (there were other ones that ahowed her even more unfavorable light).

A guillotine, similar to one that cut her head (my stomach still gets into a knot when I see even the picture of it).

Her last chemise (undershirt). (I did cry in the museum seeing this one).

And then there were a few dresses from the 19th century that represented the effect MA and the 18th century had on later fashions.

This striped dress ws literally made from an older (18th century dress) and later refashioned once more to make it into an 18th c. style "fancy dress" (costume).

I never made secret of the fact than I am not a fan of the 20th century clothing, the only thing I like is the so called "Lucille dress" from the 1910's and its direct descendant, the robe de style, which actually had a pannier underneath, evoking the 18th century silhuette.

Oh, where is this silk embroidery is so familiar from? I know, I made my Robe the Style with silk embroidery...

Then there was a part where they shown, how MA (and the 18th c fashion) appeared in the movies.

Some famous MA costumes.

If you saw the 2005 Sofia Coppola Movie this pink travelling costume should be  familiar.

Katherine the Great's costume from the series Great.

And the very last part: more modern fashion desiners adapting 18th century elements to their costume designs. 

By the time we finished my head was buzzing. 

I got to the point when I simply just would not be able to process more input. 

I learned so much, I felt so much. 

As I said at the beginning Norbert made so many detailed pictures, that I thought it would be worth to revisit some of the pieces with a more detailed post. 

(Pictures: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto)