A long overdue NorCal update!
Back in early September I made my second ever trip to the Northern California Renaissance Faire.
I really enjoyed my first visit --the location, with it's larger more northern trees, reminded me of Canadian Faires-- and I was really looking forward to going again.
Hoping for a cooler event (compared to the SoCal Faire) I added a couple of layers to my waistcoat ensemble and drove the 5 hours north!
Unfortunately, I keep forgetting that September is NOT fall in California and the day we went it was unseasonable warm at 113 degrees.
We lasted about 2 hours.
But the day was not a complete loss! I did get to meet and briefly chat with the lovely Scarlett Harris--my costuming double and fellow Late-Period enthusiast!
She took the only photo from that day (which I have shamelessly stolen!).
Apart from the heatstroke it was super fun and I really hope to make it out again next year.
And now I've finally gotten around to photographing the ensemble!
On the economic ladder this is somewhere between the two previous version of this outfit... more merchant class than the first, but not as fancy as the second.
This one is all about the accessories!
The hat is a Truly Original, which I'd been eyeing since I bought my first one (so at least 2011) and happily it was still available! Having snapped that up, the rest of the outfit was based around it.
I liked the overall silhouette of the lady on the far right in this detail of "The Thames at Richmond, with the Old Royal Palace" (Fitzwilliam museum, early 17th century) and wanted to try for something similar.
At some point I also decided to add the capelet. I don't really have any documentation for it...there are some in the Hollar prints, but they are longer and the overall aesthetic was different.
At first I thought about lengthening the partlet in The Tudor Tailor, but in the end I just modified and old Butterick cape pattern (mostly just by shortening it significantly).
The capelet is made of blue camel-hair wool, lined in grey linen and top stitched in grey silk thread around the edges.
The leather accessories (belt & purse) were made by Karl Robinson. It was VERY difficult for me not to buy up all his belts in this style...and I still might!
The necklace is a narrow strand of red coral beads.
I'm also wearing a much larger bum pad/roll in my NorCal photo, but I switched to a smaller roll which I like much better and I think I'll stick with it from now on (the silhouette was starting to get a bit 1830s and --not surprisingly-- it made my butt look huge!).
Overall I'm super pleased with how it turned out, and it might be my favourite iteration of the three!
Too bad I'll only be able to wear it once a year, at the Nottingham Faire in November (which is actually Fall).
And now --to make up for the lack of earlier documentation-- here are a bunch of photos!
