Weekend in Williamsburg
Feb. 11th, 2020 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mandie_rwWith mah bestie! We went very light on the planning this weekend (what, doesn't "show up with clothes" constitute planning?), but it's a good time of year to just putter around Colonial Williamsburg with no plans, as there isn't a whole lot going on. We saw some old friends, met some new ones in person (waves to penwiper ), and realized just how much the costuming community is in a different place than when we were starting out. Like, Robin's on Instagram much more than I am so she recognized a few more people, but me? It was a whole lot of "well that person over there looks vaguely familiar...?" Objectively I know very well that it's just different now, not better or worse, but in practice I have a hard time not shaking my cane and yelling at these damn kids to get off my lawn, because back in MY DAY we wrote dress diaries, etc etc.
Friday we drove down through some very unpleasant weather - seemed like everyone did, no matter which direction they came from! Thankfully it improved the further south we went, and apart from being very windy Friday night, had nice weather the whole weekend. Til we drove home Monday and it started raining once we got north of DC! Ugh.
The actual programming that CW had for their alleged "Fashion Days" was pretty minimal - we went to a shoe lecture on Friday and a "dressing 18thc people" lecture on Sunday that were enjoyable and well presented but very basic. Like CW was trying to lure in the exact type of people who showed up, but then had programming that was more geared toward Johnny-go-public who has never seen what those people wear under their funny clothes. Most annoying was that the milliner/mantua-making trade shop was closed all weekend! Um...for your Fashion Days weekend? That makes total sense.
Robin and I stayed at the Powhatan Resort, and Jenny-Rose joined us as well. It was a little further out from the historic section than might be considered ideal, but we couldn't argue with the price! ;) (Her in-laws let us use their timeshare, so...free.) We dressed Friday night to go to dinner at Chowning's, which was nice and not super crowded.
Saturday was the market hosted by Burnley & Trowbridge, with Dames a la Mode and Redthreaded and a couple others. They were absolutely SWAMPED when we showed up at 12:30, so we waved hello and peaced out, as neither of us needed anything and we enjoy the feeling of not suffocating. Apparently it cleared out a lot in the evening, but we hadn't realized they were open as late as they were, or we might have stopped back. Ah well.
Gloria coordinated a promenade at 3:00, for everyone who had showed up in costume to come and meet up and get pictures, which was nice (and exactly when I realized I don't know ANYBODY in this hobby any more). After that, we stayed in town because I wanted to see the organ concert at the church, which turned out to be cancelled because "DEATH". That's what they scrawled across the schedule pinned up outside of the church! Cancelled due to death! Ooookay then. So we showed up to Gloria and Maggie's social and were only actually social with Gen and maybe two other people who happened to pass by. Well, I had my seat and didn't want to give it up!
Sunday it kind of seemed like the three of us (Gen, Robin, and moi) were the only ones dressed up, which was funny. Jenny-Rose headed out Sunday after brunch, which Robin and I were invited to, with all the famous successful businesswomen (and I still just feel grateful they tolerate me well enough to not throw me out when they notice I'm tagging along!). We puttered around the historic district for a while, but decided to change before a low-key dinner at Panera (hey, it's a tradition for post-mortems of costume events at this point! and I really just wanted a soup and salad dinner) with Gen.
We did have a bit of a funny little interaction with Zack of Pinsent Tailoring, who CW brought over to be their Local Celebrity For The Weekend (and honestly then didn't seem to know what to do with, as all I know that happened was a meet and greet, that we decided to forego for reasons that will become apparent shortly). We were in the Cheese Shop grabbing lunch on Saturday, and were sitting at the little tables by the door, where some other people were eating as well, when Zack came into the shop, clearly a man on a mission...and one of the women (in civvies mind you) who spotted him literally SQUEALED with excitement, at an octave that probably would have made a dog howl if one had been close by. "OOOOOOOO look look looooook! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!" He looked at Robin and I first, probably since we were the ones in 18thc dress, and as we did not want to be mistaken for any kind of squealers, we shook our heads, raised our eyebrows, and pointed toward the real culprit...whereupon he tipped his hat to the squeaky one and kept going. I would indeed love to meet him, as he's friends with people we know to be Good People (and obviously makes amazing clothing), but after that, it kind of felt like the meet and greet would mostly be populated with that kind of high-pitched squeaking, and he already looked harried, so...maybe next time.
(I did accidentally make eye contact with Zack on his way out the door of the Cheese Shop as well, with two bags full of wine bottles, on his way to provide for everybody stuck at the crowded market. He said something like "Well, I've got the supplies," I grinned, held up my beer, and said "Godspeed," and he said, "THANK YOU" and zipped out the door before the squealer at the window could notice he'd appeared again. Really it was the bags of wine for friends that made me sure he's somebody that's cool to hang out with...LOL.)
So, yes, Williamsburg was a fun time. I don't know if I'll want to make the Fashion Days a yearly thing for me unless they do more for the programming, but the price was right and the company was good, and that's all that matters!
Side note: with some reflection, I also think that there was a bit of a split between Robin and I, and a lot of the other people we met in passing, because we've been doing this forever. We've got outfits, we've got accessories (even if someone left her bag of cap ribbons at home, ahem), we didn't put a lot of prep work into this. Robin did make new stays, but she needed new 18thc stays anyway, they weren't just for W'burg. Whereas a lot of the other people made outfits specifically for this event. It was a big exciting thing for them, so they had a lot to talk about and share with each other. Whereas for us it's just like "....well I picked up this stuff and brought it with me?" "I made this in...2017? Details are fuzzy?" Plus out of the costumers we've known for years and been to many events with, only Maggie and Gloria were dressed; the others were busy running businesses or helping to run businesses!
I don't know exactly if these observations have a point, just that they are observations and things change! It's okay, it's what they do. And hey, even if everyone else I know leaves the hobby eventually...I also know where Robin lives and she can't hide from me. ;)
Flickr album here.
penwiper ), and realized just how much the costuming community is in a different place than when we were starting out. Like, Robin's on Instagram much more than I am so she recognized a few more people, but me? It was a whole lot of "well that person over there looks vaguely familiar...?" Objectively I know very well that it's just different now, not better or worse, but in practice I have a hard time not shaking my cane and yelling at these damn kids to get off my lawn, because back in MY DAY we wrote dress diaries, etc etc.Friday we drove down through some very unpleasant weather - seemed like everyone did, no matter which direction they came from! Thankfully it improved the further south we went, and apart from being very windy Friday night, had nice weather the whole weekend. Til we drove home Monday and it started raining once we got north of DC! Ugh.
The actual programming that CW had for their alleged "Fashion Days" was pretty minimal - we went to a shoe lecture on Friday and a "dressing 18thc people" lecture on Sunday that were enjoyable and well presented but very basic. Like CW was trying to lure in the exact type of people who showed up, but then had programming that was more geared toward Johnny-go-public who has never seen what those people wear under their funny clothes. Most annoying was that the milliner/mantua-making trade shop was closed all weekend! Um...for your Fashion Days weekend? That makes total sense.
Robin and I stayed at the Powhatan Resort, and Jenny-Rose joined us as well. It was a little further out from the historic section than might be considered ideal, but we couldn't argue with the price! ;) (Her in-laws let us use their timeshare, so...free.) We dressed Friday night to go to dinner at Chowning's, which was nice and not super crowded.
Saturday was the market hosted by Burnley & Trowbridge, with Dames a la Mode and Redthreaded and a couple others. They were absolutely SWAMPED when we showed up at 12:30, so we waved hello and peaced out, as neither of us needed anything and we enjoy the feeling of not suffocating. Apparently it cleared out a lot in the evening, but we hadn't realized they were open as late as they were, or we might have stopped back. Ah well.
Gloria coordinated a promenade at 3:00, for everyone who had showed up in costume to come and meet up and get pictures, which was nice (and exactly when I realized I don't know ANYBODY in this hobby any more). After that, we stayed in town because I wanted to see the organ concert at the church, which turned out to be cancelled because "DEATH". That's what they scrawled across the schedule pinned up outside of the church! Cancelled due to death! Ooookay then. So we showed up to Gloria and Maggie's social and were only actually social with Gen and maybe two other people who happened to pass by. Well, I had my seat and didn't want to give it up!
Sunday it kind of seemed like the three of us (Gen, Robin, and moi) were the only ones dressed up, which was funny. Jenny-Rose headed out Sunday after brunch, which Robin and I were invited to, with all the famous successful businesswomen (and I still just feel grateful they tolerate me well enough to not throw me out when they notice I'm tagging along!). We puttered around the historic district for a while, but decided to change before a low-key dinner at Panera (hey, it's a tradition for post-mortems of costume events at this point! and I really just wanted a soup and salad dinner) with Gen.
We did have a bit of a funny little interaction with Zack of Pinsent Tailoring, who CW brought over to be their Local Celebrity For The Weekend (and honestly then didn't seem to know what to do with, as all I know that happened was a meet and greet, that we decided to forego for reasons that will become apparent shortly). We were in the Cheese Shop grabbing lunch on Saturday, and were sitting at the little tables by the door, where some other people were eating as well, when Zack came into the shop, clearly a man on a mission...and one of the women (in civvies mind you) who spotted him literally SQUEALED with excitement, at an octave that probably would have made a dog howl if one had been close by. "OOOOOOOO look look looooook! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!" He looked at Robin and I first, probably since we were the ones in 18thc dress, and as we did not want to be mistaken for any kind of squealers, we shook our heads, raised our eyebrows, and pointed toward the real culprit...whereupon he tipped his hat to the squeaky one and kept going. I would indeed love to meet him, as he's friends with people we know to be Good People (and obviously makes amazing clothing), but after that, it kind of felt like the meet and greet would mostly be populated with that kind of high-pitched squeaking, and he already looked harried, so...maybe next time.
(I did accidentally make eye contact with Zack on his way out the door of the Cheese Shop as well, with two bags full of wine bottles, on his way to provide for everybody stuck at the crowded market. He said something like "Well, I've got the supplies," I grinned, held up my beer, and said "Godspeed," and he said, "THANK YOU" and zipped out the door before the squealer at the window could notice he'd appeared again. Really it was the bags of wine for friends that made me sure he's somebody that's cool to hang out with...LOL.)
So, yes, Williamsburg was a fun time. I don't know if I'll want to make the Fashion Days a yearly thing for me unless they do more for the programming, but the price was right and the company was good, and that's all that matters!
Side note: with some reflection, I also think that there was a bit of a split between Robin and I, and a lot of the other people we met in passing, because we've been doing this forever. We've got outfits, we've got accessories (even if someone left her bag of cap ribbons at home, ahem), we didn't put a lot of prep work into this. Robin did make new stays, but she needed new 18thc stays anyway, they weren't just for W'burg. Whereas a lot of the other people made outfits specifically for this event. It was a big exciting thing for them, so they had a lot to talk about and share with each other. Whereas for us it's just like "....well I picked up this stuff and brought it with me?" "I made this in...2017? Details are fuzzy?" Plus out of the costumers we've known for years and been to many events with, only Maggie and Gloria were dressed; the others were busy running businesses or helping to run businesses!
I don't know exactly if these observations have a point, just that they are observations and things change! It's okay, it's what they do. And hey, even if everyone else I know leaves the hobby eventually...I also know where Robin lives and she can't hide from me. ;)
Flickr album here.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-12 01:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-12 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-12 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-13 04:03 pm (UTC)I have lots of thoughts on the whole landscape of things changing. I have definitely struggled with it. Partly because "change" and partly because I struggle a little with social anxiety in situations with a lot of new people. I feel stupid just going up and introducing myself. I mean, I was (co)hosting that party, and I felt totally out of place. And I knew more people than you did. It was just crowded and loud and it just wasn't my comfort zone.
I do miss the old LJ days and the way it allowed people really get to know each other in a non-superficial way - but the truth is I don't have time to make dress diaries the way I did either.
I think there are multiple ways to use Instagram and not every account is curated. I don't have much use for "influencers" and I don't really need/want a huge following. So I use to see what my friends are up to, and it's a place where there is far less politics/depressing stuff than Facebook. So that's how I use it.
I both love and struggle with photography. On the one hand I made most of my stuff before good photography existed, so it's really nice to get quality photos of things I spent a lot of time with. On the other hand, there is no being lazy with make-up and hair anymore. I forgot lipstick and regretted it. So there's that.
On the plus side, while yes there are a lot of new people, many of them are really really nice, and I've enjoyed getting to know them. I spent the francaise dinner a few years ago being totally intimidated because I didn't know anyone anymore. And to be fair, I was getting over being sick and wasn't up to forcing myself to socialize. But since then I tried to make it a point to get to know some of those people, and I'm really glad I did.
Funnily, Chelsea (redhead who was in regency) is someone I've actually known since the old timey Star Wars Jedi Council Forums days. There's a couple other Williamsburg locals who are also really nice.
I'd be more than happy to introduce you next time. It'll help me get past my own hangups too if I have a mission to introduce someone other than myself.
I don't know if any of that is helpful, but it's definitely something I have been thinking about, and I'm trying to get out of my own head at these events. I'm not sure I succeeded this past weekend very well with that.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-13 04:12 pm (UTC)Maybe we need something like a speed-dating event for costuming friends. 5 minutes each to talk to the other person about anything OTHER than costuming so that you find out what other interests align. :)
no subject
Date: 2020-02-13 06:40 pm (UTC)Oh, I'm not worried about "people" - but my own vanity, balanced my lack of time/energy.
Oh, speed dating would be a great idea! We had too many people/too loose a schedule to do that at the party, BUT I love this idea and we should totally figure out a way to do it.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-14 02:50 am (UTC)I am HERE for wearing a face full o' slap if it makes you feel comfortable. :)
I've been pondering this - maybe some sort of oversized name tag with spots for conversation starters like an interest, a hobby, and a current fandom or something like that?
no subject
Date: 2020-02-14 04:23 pm (UTC)I almost never wear makeup in real life because it's too much to bother with, but for high res photography, I feel like it makes a difference in how much I like the pics! :-)
I think all those ice breakers could be really useful!
no subject
Date: 2020-02-15 03:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-28 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-13 04:07 pm (UTC)It was a little bit of an odd feel for me as a costumer, too. I've been costuming for ages, but only got into historic stuff recently, so it's this weird mix of being totally ancient and a complete newbie. And of course I don't know anyone outside of Dreamwidth, and it was a little hard to invest in meeting new folks when I know I'm not going to move in the same online circles to get to know them better, even though some of them seemed pretty cool. Rargh.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-14 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-13 10:42 pm (UTC)Anyway, I enjoyed your write-up, even if the event itself was a little meh. I would so love to make it out to Williamsburg for a costume weekend at some point. I still kick myself that I lived there for a summer before I knew historical costuming was a thing!
no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 04:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-28 09:08 pm (UTC)I do miss the LJ and blogging community we used to have, but I have also appreciated the ability of social media to spread historical costuming to people who would not have thought to do it. I think it is why it has become bigger in POC groups, for instance. I like Instagram as a way to share some of the many photos Mike and I were already taking anyway, so there is that too.
Anyway, it had been far too long since we'd seen you, and I was very happy that you came!