Her Majesty's Airship Apoidea

The Invitation

The Inspiration and Creation
Last July, our Advanced Draping class were asked to participate in an exhibit called "Pumapapel" at the Yuchengco Museum. We were each asked to make a dress made entirely out of paper. I wasted no time harassing my family and friends for newspapers, magazines and anything else they had laying around the house for me to use for my paper dress.

I had the idea of putting a story behind my design. I imagined the future as the Victorians imagined it (this time was also the height of my Steampunk obsession, by the way) With that in mind I thought, why not air travel? They would have loved that if the Victorians had it. They could fly from colony to colony. Then it hit me. BEES!

Victorian Hallowen Costume

Bees in an airship, flying from colony to colony.

So what would a futuristic Victorian flight attendant wear? She needed to be pleasant, corseted  and wearing a shortened skirt. And she needed a bustle, arguably the most distinctive look of Victorian fashion.

The only sketch that I took a picture of. I had no idea where my camera or scanner went at the time.

After consulting with Miss Ish (my History of Costumes and Advanced Draping teacher) and Sir Dan (my Illustration teacher and advisor) I started work on the Bee Flight Attendant costume.

I decided to go with this kind of bustle instead of the fabric cascade from the earlier sketch. to make it look more bee-like. 

Work In Progress - Back View

Work In Progress - Back Quarter View

Work In Progress - Front View

Work In Progress - Side View

I used newspaper (carefully torn out so only the text was used to give the corset a nice tweedy grey), craft paper that I use in school to draft my sewing patterns and Burgundy colored leather finish paper that I was lucky enough to find in a dinky little shop somewhere in Binondo. 

The Finished Product

Photos by Fold C of The Kabog.

Photo by Fold

Photo by Fold.

The Bustle. Photo by Fold.

Corset detail. Photo by Fold.

The Advanced Draping Class Paper Dress Collection

The Writeup

"Fly around the Empire in style in Her Majesty's Airship Apoidea, the latest in navigable aerostats. Tea and cake will be served by our sweet and ever gracious Honey Bees while you lounge and take in the landscape thousands of meters below. Now with non-stop flights from colony to colony."

Opening Night

Me and my paper doll. I'm wearing an old black dress and a bolero I knit from yarn of unknown origin and fiber content. 

Left to Right: Ela, Paloma, Geoff, Lyra and Trisha. Picture by Miss Ish

The tiny feature in Philippine Town and Country Magazine

There's a hustle and bustle...

As part of our lesson in Advanced Draping, we had to do a bustle. After I unstuck myself from the ceiling from excitement when Miss Ish announced it before class ended,  I went straight to my DVD collection and watched Bram Stoker's Dracula. I knew exactly the kind of bustle I wanted to drape for this class. It was Mina Harker's dress embroidered with Laurel leaves.

I am going to make this dress someday.

I had to pause and rewind this scene so many times to figure out how to drape the skirt. I was still thinking about it until bustle day. Then the solution hit me like a ton of bricks five minutes after class started. Funny how things just fall into place at the last minute, or in my case, five minutes after the deadline.

I made a little dumpling shaped pillow/bustlepad/neck support for long car rides so my bustle would be supported on my dress form. It's wonderful that you can see how foundation garments really give you the silhouette of the era (or something close to it, at least)

I used muslin, twill tape and a ton of pins. The poufs at the back were not as hard to do as the swags in front. I would have wanted to do the pleated underskirt as Mina wore in the movie, but I didn't have time to make all those pleats.

I had a bit of fun with it after I got the poufs I wanted. Then Miss Ish wanted us to make sleeves. I picked Leg of Mutton and after looking at pictures in class, I decided to drape a Demi Gigot.

I added pintucks as an afterthought.

In the background is Trisha doing something fabulous.

Poufy on top, fitted at the bottom. Is this some kind of mullet for sleeves?

P.S. I just remembered that I did make a taffeta version of this gigantic bustle.

It's shiny blue blob on the right. Yes, I know it's a crapstastic picture. Shurturrrp. (The red coat-like thing on the left is mine as well) I WILL get better pictures, I promise.

IT'S ON!

I just bought two really cute patterns from Sense and Sensibility Patterns and BurdaStyle. I just fell in love with the two patterns that I had to have it. Right that minute. Good thing both patterns come in PDF, right? You can print it in your own home and tape it up yourself. No more waiting a bajillion years to get it in the mail! YAHOO!

BurdaStyle's 10/2010 Full skirted dress with cut-out bustline

Sense and Sensibility Pattern's 1940s Swing Dress

Now to find the appropriate fabrics, lining and other notions. I can't wait to get on my Juki and sew new dresses! That is, after I get all of my responsibilities done (OMGCLIENTSSSYAY) I am tired of wearing jeans and looking like I just stepped out of a hellish pit of unruly five year olds. NO MORE JEANS! RAWWWR.

Still working...

Taken with my Blackberry. Ahh, I love the contrast of technology and old-fashioned crochet.

Work on my grandmother's unfinished Marguerite bedspread continues. I had taken a break from it when Connor was born and worked on it a little bit at a time when he started walking. I recently rediscovered it and now find joy in following it's puzzle-like written directions. In my mind, it's like a crossword puzzle, or sudoku, only I have a small hook and very thin cotton yarn. It's complicated for sure, but very fun and satisfying.


I am nowhere near finished though. This bedspread may take a lifetime for me to do, but I'm not worried. I just hope that the person I will hand this down to (my son, a future daughter or a grandchild) will love it and look after it long after I'm gone. 

Nuts About Lace

Something like this, perhaps? I realize it's more like beaded fabric, but I have scalloped lace that behaves similarly. Dress by Adrianna Papell... I think.

I just realized that I have been hoarding a lot of lace. Now that lace is on the top of the trend cycle, I'm gonna have to figure out what to do with what I have.  I also love the back detail of this dress:

Dress by Jim Hjelm

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. I love lace. I can't wait to see the dresses those yards of prettiness transform into.

The Failed Empress Theodora Barbie

After the Egyptian project, we had a Toga party so that took care of the Roman and Greek part of the lesson. After studying about chitons and fibulas, we went on to the Byzantine era. The project for this part of the course was a mosaic which I did, but sadly did not photograph. I did another project for the heck of it, and that was the Empress Theodora Barbie.


The Empress Theodora is the Emperor Justinian’s wife and his ruling partner. Some historians depict her as vulgar and insatiable, shrewish, calculating and mean-spirited; others depict her as not only beautiful, but intelligent, witty and amusing. However historians see her, it is undeniable that Theodora is the most recognizable symbols of the Byzantine Empire. She represented the prosperity of their rule by combining the influences of the East and the skills of Byzantine artisans in jewelry making, embroidery and weaving (having developed a special form of fabric called samite)


MATERIALS USED: CRAPTASTIC, smiling tanned Barbie with hard to style hair, Chinese brocade, Black Satin, plastic gems that came in small packs of ten, assorted beads, assorted faux pearls, gold lace and trim, hot glue gun, fabric glue, Elmer's glue, needle and thread.


t took me two days to make the clothes for the doll. I had gathered the fabric and materials the day before. I picked Chinese brocade with a geometric, mosaic-like pattern (as opposed to flowers and butterflies) and black satin. It was sheer luck that I was able to find lace in my stash that resembled the gold embroidery on the hemline of Empress Theodora’s paludamentum and the gold, crown-like trim above it. 


Drafting the pattern of the dalmatica was easy enough. Cutting the brocade was difficult for me, as someone with only rudimentary sewing skills at best (at the time) After much tucking and folding, the dalmatica fit the doll decently, I had to sew the dalmatica on it though. At the time, I had no idea how to put on any fastenings. The doll’s paludamentum was a little easier, I drafted a circle, cut a smaller circle in the middle and cut the fabric, following the paper pattern.


I used fabric glue for the gold embroidery lace, while the other trimmings were stuck on with hot melt glue. I styled the doll’s hair in braids wrapped around her head and made a crown for the doll out of gold trim.


This project drove me crazy. Styling Barbie's hair proved to be a lesson in futility. I had no idea that she came with a layered cut (serves me right for getting the cheapest Barbie in Toy Kingdom) There was hair everywhere and anytime I got one side right, the other side would self-destruct.  Having lost steam with her hair, I did the rest of the work (like the her dalmatica and paludemantum) rather half-assed. 

*GRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN*

You can see all the hot melt glue strings.

The Egyptian Collar for History of Costumes

My first project for my History of Costumes class was to make an accessory inspired by Egypt. Our teach encouraged us to use unlikely materials and to make it look as true to the period (in this case, as true to the age) as possible.

Theda Bara as Cleopatra

Egypt’s Culture is so rich, so vast and spans several centuries that choosing a particular adornment was a daunting task. I wanted something distinctively Egyptian in form, but also very wearable. I also wanted to veer from garish adornments that have been copied and sold by tourist shops and featured in too many books and websites. I had the idea of making something an Egyptian common woman would wear. It could not too fancy, as her socio-economic status would not allow it. After several exhaustive Google Image Searches, I found this:

Broad Collar Egyptian Necklace from the 12th Dynasty.

One of the most notable and distinctive jewelry worn in Ancient Egypt are collars. They are also called usekh. They are heavily jeweled necklaces, created with beads made of glass, precious stones, gold, and a glazed pottery called faience. These beads were strung on multiple strings of varying length that were then bound to a ring around the neck to make a wide, semicircular collar that covered the shoulders and chest of the wearer with bright color.

Making The Collar

            In 1999, I was presented with a bracelet made of safety pins and glass seed beads as a gift. I loved it so much that I wore it until the elastic that held it together disintegrated. As I was searching for possible methods to use to construct the collar, I encountered the pins in an old jewelry box. The construction was fairly simple: string beads on the business side of the safety pin, close it and make about a fifty more. Then string both sides of the pins together using elastic cord.

For more information and step by step instructions: “Make a Safety Pin Bracelet” About.Com. http://frugalliving.about.com/od/craftsgifts/ht/Pin_Bracelet.htm 

The construction of the collar is a more complicated version of the safety pin bracelet, but certainly feasible to do. After several calculations, I ran to the craft store and bought 15 packs of green wooden beads (to emulate faience and to represent life and youth) and 100 dozen gold pins, size 30 bead wire and an 18-inch plastic coated stainless steel wire necklace with a barrel clasp. 

Start by preparing the safety pins by stringing four wooden beads on the business side of the pin, adding a dab of bead glue and close it. Then string the beads on necklace wire until it fills the length of the wire. Loop the bottom of the strung safety pins with wire and the pins of the next layer. Repeat steps until you get the desired collar width (about 4-6 layers). Secure all loose wires by looping them inside beads and securing the hidden ends with bead wire.

The majority of the collar was made on the Saturday of Typhoon Ondoy’s merciless downpour. It is interesting to note that the safety pins that were originally very shiny upon purchase had tarnished significantly due to the amount of moisture in the air. I feel that it would not have resembled an unearthed Tomb artifact if it had not been exposed to waterlogged air during such unusual circumstances. However, I feel that the tarnished pins had added an authentic looking quality to the collar that I don’t feel as bad as I did when I found all the pins (strung up and loose) tarnished and muddy looking.

The Finished Product

MATERIALS: Safety pins, green wooden beads, bead wire and clasp. 

 I mounted the collar on an illustration board covered in real Papyrus that mom brought home from Egypt. Thanks, Mom!

Worn by Little Red!

I really enjoyed making this collar. My hands bled and there were pins and wooden beads EVERYWHERE but it was worth it. 

So Much To Blog About!

It just occurred to me an hour ago that I DID have a blog and I have been neglecting it. So here I am, shameless tea-drinking exhibitionist trying to figure out how to update my blog and cover the important events of 2010.

To start, Fashion School! I made plenty of projects to complete my requirement and I'm going to showcase them here. Some of my projects were surprisingly good, given my time and budget. Then there were others that I want to shove in a closet and forget about. I'll showcase those duds here too.

Second, my family is complete again! My husband flew in from the US to be with us and we couldn't be happier. Connor's demeanor changed overnight. From being withdrawn and silent, he's once again a happy, giggly, excited little boy who is starting to talk more and more and more.

Third, projects outside the school! I still can't believe it. People have approached me to design and sew for them. It is very exciting seeing that I've always bemoaned the fact that my style borders on the old-fashioned (i.e. Victorian, Edwardian etc) and can't really be as trendy or cutting edge as my classmates. No matter, no one seems to be complaining.

Fourth, new machines OMG! I recently got a nice, second-hand Juki industrial and edging machine. They work like a dream! My industrial sews well and sews through anything and my serger is so easy to thread! I still use my portable white Singer for decorative stitches and light sewing, but my two Jukis are such wonderful workhorses, so completely different from my slow and limited white plastic Singer Disc-o-matic. Did I also mention that I was able to restore my grandmother's sewing machine as well? It's all just awesome.

Fifth, costuming and my growing love and obsession for bustles and Victorian corsets. I could go on and on all day about bustles and corsets. I made some and I'm making entries about it in the coming days and weeks.

Sixth, (and most important) Connor Connor Connor! He turned three last December and he is growing like a weed. He is a tall and sturdy little boy who loves to ride his bike for hours and hours. He's less picky about what he eats and laughs and laughs at the silliest things. He is the reason why life is so good and getting much much better.

And for your viewing pleasure, a preview of some of the pictures of come:

Black Leatherette Evening Dress with Brass Rivets that I made for my Illustration 3 collection called "Her Majesty's Airship"

This dress was made before I got my Juki and I made this on my Singer Disc-o-matic using lots of baby powder and swear words.

I dream of a dress...

A fabric store asked a bunch of us to design a dress for their big big sale and this is what I did. I used stretch Charmeuse in this funky cheetah print and blue black denim.

Just Breathe...

I've been running myself ragged with Connor, school and the clothing line. It's very tiring, but all of these have been wonderful. I can now draft a pattern and sew a garment in a day. YES YES YES. But do I have anything to show for it for my wardrobe? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Hahahaha.

The Barbie is one of the many many projects I had to do for Fashion School. I had to style a Barbie doll as a Medieval woman. It was so much fun, I bought more Barbies to restyle. I haven't had the time for it though. Soon though, very soon.