Hi my names Ellie and I'm pretty new to garbing. I have a fuchsia pink tank top with swirls on it,hot pink leggings, a crystal necklace, a hair fall, and wings. Also I'm waiting for a light pink liberty bodice and matching square skirt. You can tell already I'm not really going for accuracy (hence the pink), but I feel like somethings... missing. I guess I getting OCD about this, because I'm out of school for summer, but what can I do with little money to make my costume better.
Actually, the color pink in very accurate for pretty much anything - the ancient Egyptians had pink. The Romans had pink - madder is a red dye that can be diluted to pink and has been around for thousands of years. All anyone needs to do is go into any art museum to see how long pink has been around.
That being said, since you are going for a fantasy character, I'm not sure why you would be concerned with color anyway.
Have you looked at Amy Brown's art work for inspiration? Or maybe Nene Thomas'?
Thrift stores are AWESOME for fabric finds and for vintage looking clothing you can easily modify for any fantasy event. They are cheap too. I just got a pair of pink silk curtains for under $5 to make a new dress out of. Even if you can't sew, you can find lots of broomstick skirts, peasant blouses, and scarves that will help. Just do a search for your local area.
Figuring out your Faerie character will HUGELY help you figure out your details. What is your Faerie name? What type of Faerie are you? (Your "talent" if you will.)
You are pretty in pink so I think cotton candy, bubblegum, flowers... So maybe a Sweets Faerie named Sugar. From there you can find tokens for the littles- such as candy. Anything cutesy and fun and sugar-coated looking would add to your garb and character. LOTS of glitter, too! =D
No, please, no glitter. Glitter is associated with bad things in the real world simply because it gets EVERYWHERE. And you will find glitter years from now from that project you did. Unless you want to be remembered as the girl who got the glitter everywhere and it took forever to get out of everything, I would not do it. Even then, don't.
Especially 'glitter bombs'...please don't.
Don't glitter bomb patrons, and please don't run around giving kids a sample of 'fairy dust'. You don't know what they will do with it.
You can use makeup quality glitter on your skin... sparingly. Most of the super fine, club glitter (.99 cents a bottle at Sally Beauty stores) will stay where you lightly dust it on, as long as you don't use too much, and it makes a nice accent to body paint if you like that. It's what the face painters use.
Stay away from craft glitter. Period.
You need something to wear on your head or in your hair. Something that accents your pink costume, maybe with faux crystals and ribbon? Check out this thread:
http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php/topic,17170.0.html (http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php/topic,17170.0.html)
Gina
Eh, glitter haters gonna hate! Faeries are sparkly and have fairy dust, just be smart about using it! Under no circumstances are glitter bombs appropriate or acceptable. Be wary of giving glitter covered hugs to anyone in Nobles or leather (both of which are terribly difficult to get properly clean.) If you want to share your fairy dust with any littles, I suggest asking the parents first- then give just a TINY bit in the little's hand, have said child close her (or his, of course) fist to make a wish, then turn away from everyone and blow the wish away. If you are a glitter covered faerie, stay out of any shops that sell hats or garb or fabric anything! Big wing are fun and look cool but remember to have them aim more towards the back of you instead of out to the sides so that you are less dangerous for "winging" people (it can hurt you, too!) Be prepared to interact with LOTS of children, you may need to have a little story for them about who you are, what you do, who your faerie idols are. Some Faeries play music, some blow bubbles (also something to keep away from others' garb!) Some have tokens to pass out, some grab sticks or rocks off the ground, sprinkle a little fairy dust on it and present that to the child. Again, once you figure out your Faerie character your garb additions will be so much easier! Bells, feathers, sparkly gems-the more the better for most Faeries! :)
Also, you may get a little more Faerie love and help down in the Fairy Ring section of this forum. :)
Excellent suggestion Lady Fae!
The other fairies can help you get started. If there are any at the faire you will be going to, it's nice to let them know you are coming, so you can hang out with them.
I agree about the glitter thing- I would hate to spend hours and hours on creating something to have someone glitter it. I should probably add more glitter to my wings, they're kinda plain. I've already decided on being a rose fairy- though the sweets fairy idea sounds fun. Thanks for all the suggestions and the warning about glitter bombing.
For a rose fairy, I would say get lots of fake roses from the dollar store! You can make a head wreath, add them to your wings, make belt / sash covered in them. A nice addition to any fairy are latex ears.
Think about all the senses - how should a fairy sound when they walk? Perhaps some wind chimes hidden somewhere on your person? Perhaps bells?
What is a liberty bodice?
Sometimes when it feels like something's missing, it's because an ensemble lacks contrast. If everything is pink, it might be hard to focus on anything, giving your garb a lack of definition. Try adding accent elements of a much darker color--deep, deep wine, dark velvety or glossy green, etc. Not too many, and not everywhere (you don't want to go too far in the other direction and look crazed and cluttered!), just a touch here and there to help the ensemble "pop."
Studying other fairy garb, either in artwork as Isabella suggested, or photographs of costumes, can help as well.
Have fun!
Faeries like to carry all sorts of odd and interesting things with them, or attached to their belts, or... hair... or even their shoes. Just tiny things that someone might notice when they're entranced by the lovely rose faerie!
Oh... and you might want to be very subtly scented like a rose, also. VERY subtly... so that someone would have to be fairly close to notice it. Otherwise you might set off lots of allergies, and that would be no fun! :)
Quote from: Rani Zemirah on August 28, 2013, 04:58:06 PM
Faeries like to carry all sorts of odd and interesting things with them, or attached to their belts, or... hair... or even their shoes. Just tiny things that someone might notice when they're entranced by the lovely rose faerie!
Oh... and you might want to be very subtly scented like a rose, also. VERY subtly... so that someone would have to be fairly close to notice it. Otherwise you might set off lots of allergies, and that would be no fun! :)
Yes, allergies are EVIL.
For a subtle scent, keep your outfit in a drawer/bin/something else that is box shaped with a sachet of rosebuds. (I've seen them for as low as $5) The clothing will pick up the scent of the rosebuds.
Do not use a perfume spray. That will certainly set off allergies. If you want something a bit stronger, try one drop of rose oil on your wrist.
Quote from: isabelladangelo on August 28, 2013, 05:26:13 PMIf you want something a bit stronger, try one drop of rose oil on your wrist.
This is an excellent suggestion--it will be natural, subtle but strong enough to be noticeable, and most important, authentic. Nothing beats the heavenly aroma of natural essential oils. But go easy on them! (like perhaps a light mist on a handkerchief).
Quote from: gem on August 28, 2013, 03:33:29 PM
What is a liberty bodice?
A liberty bodice is a bodice with little or no boning
To others, I have a rose crown, a vial of perfume oil, and a hair twister. Should that be good?
A very easy and versatile accesory to make is a clip. Just take some cheap fake roses (or pretty much anything else light - I just did this with sand dollars for an ocean-themed outfit) and hot glue alligator or single-prong hair clips to the bottom with a bit of felt to keep the glue from getting on the other half of the clip. (Your layers should be rose-hot glue-top of clip-small square of felt-bottom of clip.) Then, you can put your clips not just in your hair, but also on your dress, your belt, your bags, anywhere you think a rose might be nice.
As for glitter, it's only a problem if it's loose. You can make "glitter paint" with glue, water, and glitter, and then decorate anything you like as long as it doesn't need to be washed. Once the "paint" dries, you only see the glitter, but it stays on well.
What are you doing for shoes? I find shoes really complete an outfit, and make it look more like your character than just someone dressed up like a character.
Quote from: elthefairy on August 28, 2013, 06:21:12 PM
Quote from: gem on August 28, 2013, 03:33:29 PM
What is a liberty bodice?
A liberty bodice is a bodice with little or no boning
To others, I have a rose crown, a vial of perfume oil, and a hair twister. Should that be good?
Actually, that sounds bad. ;) What you described is a vest, not a bodice. A bodice has boning in it to keep you where you need to be and gravity at bay. Also, without boning, a bodice will roll up and wrinkle in odd places - like a too tight vest.
As long as you are going to a fantasy based faire and not a historical based faire, I'd go with a billowy blouse and dye it pink, red, or green.
Something like this (https://www.etsy.com/listing/155927086/gypsy-blouse-tank-lace-cream-ivory?ref=listing-shop-header-2)
Or this (http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/parker-open-shoulder-silk-blouse/3125605?origin=category&resultback=626)
Tie a scarf around your waist. I think something with a loose knit, maybe in green like this would work (http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAL-GREEN-SOFT-CROCHET-KNIT-FRILL-RUFFLE-SCARF-Warm-Winter-Fashion-NEW-/151098236974#vi-content).
I'd keep the vial of perfume oil at home. Some people can be very deathly allergic to perfumes. Imagine what would happen if that vial broke? You will bump into things and you will drop things. Like I said earlier, one drop of oil on the wrist will probably be okay but no more than that.
I would agree with Isabella about a perfume oil. There is a difference between a perfume and an essential oil, and often it's the perfume that will set off allergies, where essential oils (which are natural oils extracted from the plants they derive from) won't bother anywhere near as many people.
And a very faint, wafting scent is much more intriguing than being bombarded with an unnatural perfume-y smell. It will sell the rose fairy far more effectively than any sort of overwhelming scent would, and there is really nothing quite as lovely as the scent of natural rose oil.
As for the "things" you carry... you will find things here and there that "speak" to your character, the more you develop her, and will want to hang them on your person here and there... and in time you will have many fun and interesting things to play with as you wander about the village, interacting with others. Lots of times a small "prop" can open a doorway to communication with others, and facilitate exchanges that might never have happened if you hadn't been carrying around that strange looking stick, or the shiny stone, or even the pretty scrap of ribbon! If you go to youtube and google faeries you are bound to come across video footage of several of the more well known Faire frequenting Fae... and if you watch them interact you will often notice that they are using something as a focal point for the exchange. You will also see that they usually have a number of small pouches, or pockets, or things tucked in their sock, or a sleeve, maybe... or under their hairfalls... and they are all simply things to play with, that help them to find ways to play with humans.
I'm not sure if you are familiar with Twig (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un4Iw3QwNVs#)... but if you watch her at play you will notice that she often does this type of thing... and she always has a wonderful time with it! :)
While not accurate for the Renaissance era, liberty bodice were called just that. They came about in early 1900s to be worn in place of restricting corsetry.
Quote from: Jade on August 29, 2013, 06:08:50 AM
While not accurate for the Renaissance era, liberty bodice were called just that. They came about in early 1900s to be worn in place of restricting corsetry.
A true liberty bodice looks a little like the basic faire bodice, or a vest with a laced front. It's not meant to be tightly laced, just fitted. It don't think it's meant to support the ladies either, unless you are very small chested.
A little oil of roses on your wrist would be perfect to smell the part.
My not-quite-12-year-old granddaughter just got her first bodice (thought it is more of a waist cinch) with very light boning. Cheap on-line - she ordered herself (Dad's permission to use card, otherwise, all her research and choice) - it's pink, candy pink, back lacing, front hooks.
PUTTING IT ON - HA HA HA HA HA
She wiggled and squirmed trying to get it fastened (and it was LOOSE), til I told her to lay flat on her back on the floor and fasten it that way. Like a pair of really, really snug jeans.
Then she found out about POSTURE and why all those old fashioned paintings had people sitting straight up. She lasted about 1/2 an hour, then out of it.
I wore girdles back in the day. Same concept of pulling/pushing stuff where it did not want to go.
Oh, also, she knows she cannot wear it outside of the house without a high neck, sleeved blouse under it. After a three-sided look in the mirror (wearing just bodice and bra) she does not want her Dad or Brother to see her in without a full-cover up. That's kind of the fall-back for her to figure out what is too grown-up for her to wear. Makes it easy - no arguments.
Quote from: Jade on August 29, 2013, 06:08:50 AM
While not accurate for the Renaissance era, liberty bodice were called just that. They came about in early 1900s to be worn in place of restricting corsetry.
Yes, sports corsets or medicine corsets came about in the late 19th C but they still had boning of some sort (cording or thickened straps of fabric) and were meant to hold a female shape, not hold it in. They often had elastic. The Liberty clothing company was known for it's freer fashions but they still very much had structure- it was often hidden on the inside of and otherwise loose looking gown. This is what a liberty bodice looked like in the 1900s (http://museums.leics.gov.uk/collections-on-line/GetObjectAction.do?objectKey=273998) - still a lot of boning. Yes, in the modern age (1970s, Liberty was still making what they called a bodice) they didn't have boning but, by that point, it was a bodice in the sense that all dresses have a bodice/torso section to them. Just as our modern use of the word chemise is nothing like the 16th century usage of it. Spaghetti strap tank tops were called chemises before the mid 90's.
Quote from: PollyPoPo on August 29, 2013, 12:43:03 PM
After a three-sided look in the mirror (wearing just bodice and bra) she does not want her Dad or Brother to see her in without a full-cover up. That's kind of the fall-back for her to figure out what is too grown-up for her to wear. Makes it easy - no arguments.
She was raised well, and with an appropriate sense of modesty for her age.
Too many preteen girls adopt the 'hooker look' the minute they enter Jr High (around here they still don't allow that kind of clothing in Elementary school).
I know some 12 year olds that dress like Bratz dolls; high heels, leggings and see through tank tops with lacy bras in full view. We won't even describe the heavy makeup, nails and hair.
Hubby said it makes him uncomfortable to be around children who dress like that; he says he spends his time watching the other men to make sure they aren't checking out the little girls in an inappropriate way.
Once a father of a daughter, always a father.