V . 1/28/22 V . 1/28/22

A “transformation” day bodice for a Victorian dress

I'm transforming a Victorian dress from a ball gown to a day dress by sewing a second Victorian dress bodice. Watch me make a Victorian dress bodice to finish off the outfit I’ve designed for Mirah Lapidoth, the heroine of the Victorian novel Daniel Deronda by George Eliot.

V . 12/24/21 V . 12/24/21

A Victorian ball gown bodice for Mirah Lapidoth

I finished the Victorian ball gown for Mirah Lapidoth from Daniel Deronda! It was so much fun to make a Victorian bodice for this evening gown, and then wear it to a Victorian Christmas party with my friends from the on-strike cast and crew of Dickens Fair.

V . 12/24/21 V . 12/24/21

Sewing a Victorian evening gown skirt from 1865

Daniel Deronda by George Eliot is a remarkable work of Victorian literature, and the BBC's Daniel Deronda 2002 adaptation is a classic source of inspiration for historical costumers interested in Victorian dress. This Victorian skirt is the first part of making a Victorian gown for one of the characters.

V . 12/10/21 V . 12/10/21

The historically “accurate" medieval dress that's now every high fantasy costume

It's the Lord of The Rings dress, every high fantasy dress, the costume of fairies and elves, but is it a historically accurate medieval dress? Yes! It's called a bliaut, and was worn throughout Europe in the High Middle Ages. This dress is behind so many of our fantasy aesthetics, and I've always loved it-- so I chose to recreate it as a historical costume, using modern techniques and sources from medieval history.

V . 12/5/21 V . 12/5/21

1000 Years of Hanukkah in Jewish historical costume!

Let's celebrate 1000 years of the history of Hanukkah in historical costumes! Some Hanukkah traditions are over two thousand years old, and throughout Jewish history new Hanukkah celebrations have been invented. I dressed up in historical outfits from the last 1000 years to try out different Hanukkah celebration activities for each night.

V . 10/15/21 V . 10/15/21

Is a Halloween witch costume antisemitic?

The witch halloween costume : pointy witch hat, long hooked nose-- and anti-semitism?! The history of witch costumes and anti-semitic stereotypes goes back further than the witch trials to the middle ages, when Jews and witches were considered one and the same. Turns out, this harmless-seeming witch Halloween costume has a problematic history, and as a Jewish dress historian, I'm here to explain it.

V . 8/19/21 V . 8/19/21

Getting dressed in the middle ages, while Jewish

How would a medieval Jew dress? Historical Jewish fashion varied, in England, and Spain, and everywhere else. It depended on when and where they lived, how well the Jewish community was treated, and that Jew's status within their community and the wider world. We'll take an in-depth look at the historical costumes of two 11th century Jewish women : An Ashkenazi Norman English Jew, and a Sephardic Jew living in Islamic-ruled Iberia (present-day Spain).

V . 12/18/20 V . 12/18/20

What did medieval Jews wear? 13th and 14th Century Hair and Veil tutorial

Medieval women in Europe wore veils according to Christian custom, but what about medieval Jews? Jewish women in the middle ages wore veils over their hair too, and were required to wear ones with a double blue and white border in 13th century Italy. As a Jewish woman who likes medieval dress, this seemed like a great addition to the 14th century medieval hair tutorial and veil demo I'd been planning!