Summertime always seems to be the time to travel, and several of us at Recollections have had some less-than-fun experiences with trying to pack Civil War or Victorian outfits, and arrive with them still in wearable condition. We invite you to share your own experiences with us. What has worked well for you, and what has not? Do you have any funny stories about costume mishaps? We would love it if you would share them. You can post your traveling story or advice here or send an email to Barb at sales@recollections.biz.
Thank you for all of your entries. We have a winner from a random drawing of the participants:
Leslie!
Barb will be getting in touch with Leslie so that she can receive a Gift Basket full of Victorian and Edwardian accessories!
Traveling advice from Rebecca:
I’ve traveled with my dresses and big fluffy slip etc. I packed them all in once large suitcase. I didn’t overfold the dresses and I packed things not too tightly or too loosely. I don’t have a hoop slip so I don’t know how I’d pack that. I have a crinoline slip. I took several of my dresses so I could decided which one to wear to a 100th church anniversary. I flew with mine and you know how the airlines toss things around. I have ancient suitcases (one is held together with duct tape. LOL) But everything was just fine!
Dear Recollections,
I’m quite fortunate not to have had to fly anywhere with period costumes. I live close enough to drive to Tombstone for special events such as Wyatt Warp Days over Memorial Day weekend and the October Anniversary of the gunfight at the OK Corral. I usually drive dressed in boots, blouse, bloomers, and underskirt, expecting to don the rest of my attire when I arrive. Thanks goodness for the drive-through window at the local coffee shop!
I keep my hats in hat boxes in either the backseat or trunk, and hang my outer skirt in a UVA/UVB protective garment bag. Even though we have tint on the windows, the sun is intense from April through the end of October and can bleach streaks (especially in red or navy) in less than two hours. Cotton undergarments are a must, as are a parasol and fan. I’ve also learned to keep skirts boot-length. The dirt streets are rough, and even when buttoned up in a bustle, people tend to step on your hems. Keeping a clothes brush in the car is handy to get most of the dirt out before heading home.
Event weekends are wonderful. Nearly everyone dresses in period garb and it’s fun to see how ornate the fashions can be on men as well as women!
Jude Johnson
Author
Dragon & Hawk, Out of Forgotten Ashes, Dragon’s Legacy (fiction)
Champagne Books
Cactus Cymry; (nonfiction) Open Books Press
Website: Jude-johnson.com
Traveling story from Madelyn:
Each year, my husband and I travel to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island to participate in the annual “Somewhere in Time” weekend. This weekend was started to honor the fans of the movie, and has been held every year in October. My husband and I have attended the weekend for the past 19 years. During the weekend, attendees dress up in period clothing – mostly from the Edwardian era. I didn’t don any period attire for the first couple of years that I attended, but I then got caught up in the excitement of wearing clothes from another time, and bought my first outfit from Recollections (which I had originally heard about from reading the “Mackinac Island Town Crier” newspaper). My first outfit was a black and white ensemble, which was made to perfection. Since then, I have purchased numerous other outfits to wear at the weekend, and have always gotten plenty of compliments. Being an avid reviewer of the “Recollections” website, it’s fun to look around and see who else is wearing other “Recollections” outfits. I will often go up to others and give them a knowing look and say, “Recollections – Right?” My question is always met with a smile, followed by “Why yes! – They’re wonderful, aren’t they?” I have recently ordered two more outfits to wear at this year’s weekend, and I am anxiously awaiting their arrival!
Madelyn L.
Warren, Michigan
[…] the Recollections blog talk about packing period clothes brought this incident back to mind, as we are once again preparing to travel from Prescott, Arizona […]
Leslie shared with us her traveling advice:
Barb,
As requested on your blog regarding travel & packing with BIG clothes, here are my recollections (sorry, I couldn’t resist)!
I majored in art history with lots of time spent in drama and the fine arts. I was the assistant wardrobe mistress in my college’s theater arts department. Fashion and history, together, make for a heady combination, especially with the additon of being a performer!
As a homeschooling Mom, we try to be involved in our small community as we can. The more fun one can have in a volunteering capacity, the more one desires to continue. In our case, we are active with the local seniors, bringing interesting entertainment to them.
Blending my varied background with the desire to help, I offer “in-costume” ladies fashion talks at local assisted living residences (as well as libraries and other groups, at no charge). I also bring many authentic, antique clothing items for people to look at and touch. For me, the joy in sharing the history (or, should I say, “herstory”) of fashion is such great fun. I love the feedback and the questions (“Did pregnant women really wear corsets?” and “Can you really sit in that bustle/hoop?”), especially those from young children, such as, “How did you go to the bathroom?” and “Who tied you up?” (when seeing a corset for the first time!).
Speaking with the seniors is particularly special, as many of them remember their elders in dress so different from what they, themselves, wore and of what they have seen since their youth. Their Moms were Edwardians and their grandmothers were the true Victorians! And, oh, the stories THEY tell are absolutely smashing (often, with some amazing old images)! One delightful lady showed me pictures of her Mother when she was a Florodora Girl (precursor to the Ziegfeld Girls) in 1901. She had to quit the show when she married a young man and my senior lady was then born 1910 (yup, she’s a spry 102 years old)!
Many of my collection of over 50 gorgeous Edwardian and Victorian hats often go with me to each talk, so that members of my audience can try them on and share what it feels like to wear such wondrous decoration! I find out the size of the group and pack my hats accordingly. I especially love the ladies in assisted living residences as they are of the last generation to really wear hats (and, gloves). As soon as these 80, 90 or 100+ year old gals (we have quite a few locals in that last age bracket!) put on a hat, they immediately straighten up, set about adjusting their chapeau, tipping it just so, and hold themselves as they did when they were in their younger years and giving the world their all. It is so incredibly touching and fabulous!!!
If I can, I take someone with me, to act as my helper. Generally, it is my darling husband. He carries things, helps me dress and is a gem. On one occasion, he was unable to attend and our 13 year old son was recruited into helping me with a Victorian talk at an assisted living residence. While bending over to adjust my petticoat hem, horrors!, my corset lace broke!! Happily, I always have a spare (see below) and I was able to re-lace quickly. But, I needed help in tightening the laces on the now-repaired corset. I looked at my son and he realized he would have to help lace me. What a look on his face. He’s 13, what can I say?! He did the job (quite admirably, I might add) but told me, in no uncertain terms, was I EVER to tell ANYONE, that he had had to do that. So, don’t mention it, okay?
But, I digress, back to packing… I will already have everything I need laid-out and ready to pack. I am a rabid list-maker, and, happily, have never forgotten a needed item!! I keep these lists for whatever the talk is to be (Victorian Mourning Customs, Civil War dress, life of an Edwardian house maid, Old West soiled dove, etc.) in a file, so there is no second-guessing. In this way, when the talk is over, I can double-check that everything I brought is going home with me, as well! I also keep my discussion reference notes in a file.
I have several cotton soft-sided storage “bins” in which I transport the hats. The tops are clear, which allows me to see everything inside. A handle on either end makes the trip from car to building much easier. I can carry as many as 10-15 hats at one time in each of these, cutting down multiple trips to the vehicle. The hats have plenty of acid-free tissue paper packed around them and they survive the packing and unpacking with no damage (I haven’t so much as bent a feather yet!). Even a parasol can fit nicely at the bottom. The light weight of the cotton bins also saves on back strain!!
For my “costume”, whether gown or skirt, I use round, soft-sided, quilted hat boxes. I have multiples of these, in matching fabric. They have handles on the sides with a carrying strap, as well. They are light enough to carry easily and collapse flat for storage.
I make sure my clothes are ready-to-wear (steamed or pressed) and pack them just prior to leaving my home (within 2 hours). As Victorians and Edwardians often folded garments or used hooks to hang them, I don’t get too concerned with a small crease here or there. I generally layer tissue paper over the garment as it lies on a bed and then, gently, roll the garment lengthwise around the paper. It can then be gently coiled into the hat box. Blouses or bodices are folded with tissue, as well, and placed on top of the skirt. As most of my talks are within 30 minutes of my home, the garments can be removed, given a light shake and look as they did earlier.
Hoops and/or petticoats and underpinnings go in their own hatbox. Generally, I am already wearing my camisole, drawers and corset before venturing out. I find it makes it easier and faster than taking care of under-dressing at the destination (which may not have an empty room for me to use). I also make it a rule not to have anything to drink until I begin my talk, as a trip to the bathroom is just too difficult, though it can be managed if necessary!
Another hat box holds whatever outer accessories may be needed: fans, collars/cuffs, gloves, snood, purse (already correctly filled), each in their own mesh bags (so I can see which is what!). I keep the jewelry to be used for that talk in a small travel jewelry box. The quilted fabric allows me to keep my emergency kit pinned inside the lid, as well. Items such as safety pins (period-correct, “back then” ladies had mishaps!!), a mini sewing kit, nail clipper & file, Kleenex & alcohol wipes (avoids sweaty palms!), costumer’s tape, spare corset laces & petticoat ties, hair gel, comb and mirror, extra hair pins, spot concealer & powder and a tube of super glue (terrible thing to have your parasol handle turn wobbly!!). A small can of wrinkle relaxer spray is a packed, as well. This kit is never removed from the hat box and I check it before every trip out.
Back-up copies of all my check-lists and reference notes are also in my accessories hat box. It really helps avoid any last minute panic attacks that I may have forgotten something!
Each hatbox has a tag on the handle, specifying what is in each.
One last, smaller, hat box holds any “props” I may care to bring (lace tablecloth or doilies, daguerreotypes, CDVs, books, etc.). I also have a small, battery-operated fan I can bring, if I know the room may be stuffy (a small pad moistened with lavender oil, attach on the rear of the fan, adds to the event and keeps things fresh). Ladies in days of old may have had cases of “the vapors” but I choose a more modern approach to fainting: avoiding it!!
Leslie
Received this story from Andre:
I like to go to events fully dressed with my crinoline underneath. There is never a Cinderella coach to take me anywhere, so I devised my own method of gracefully traveling in my minivan. It starts with a deep breath, ready for the challenge; Looking at the seat in the minivan and myself is like the amazing amount of Chinese food that goes into a small container; All things are possible. With confidence, I pull back my seat as far as it goes, gathering all the hoops and dress material with one hand, I do an Olympic jump into the seat. Once in the car I carefully adjust the hoop so that aligns with the steering wheel. As I peer out over the steering wheel with my body as upright as possible, my foot stretches for the pedal and I’m off! While on the road, passerby’s sometimes point downward at my door and say, “Your dress is dragging!?” With that comment, blushing,I carefully open the door and get my dress back inside, grinning and hoping there is no damage. When I get to my destination, the door opens and a material explosion erupts with laughter bursting from a nearby witnesses. Now if they would only volunteer themselves and give me a ride! by Andre J.
Traveling advice sent to us from Salena:
While I don’t have a travelling story I do have some advice. Especially for those who would like to travel in Victorian Style. You could purchase a trunk and carefully fold the dresses so that they fit, and since it would be placed in a trunk rather than a suitcase, it would prevent the dresses from getting all crinkled and make them primarily wearable. What isn’t you could hang up as soon as you arrived at your destination. Or, if you have the money, one could buy a Victorian (or earlier) travelling closet, that’s not the proper name and I am terribly sorry, but they are trunks designed to hold dresses while you are travelling so they do not get wrinkled.
Traveling story sent to us from Katrina:
Dear Recollections,
I enjoyed reading your post and thought I would add my own story of traveling with costumes!
In September 2009, I had the great joy to travel to England for a historical costume tour. Not only would I study period clothing in some of London’s finest musuems, my study group would also be actually dressing in full costume for the 2009 Jane Austen Festival in Bath. So while I was looking forward to the entire trip, my main focus of preparations was to recreate perfectly accurate dresses, bonnets, and a Regency jacket. I decided to send the costume along in my checked-in suitcase, but to carry the bonnets on the plane with me since I knew they could never survive being squished in a suitcase!
Well, easier said than done! Remember that line from the 1995 Pride & Prejudice where Lydia complains to Kitty, “You’re squashing my bonnet!”? Well, I’m afraid my poor hats had a similar experience after many insistent stewardesses instructed me to “push your carry-on further under the seat in front of you”. By the time my plane landed in London Heathrow airport, the poor contraptions were badly misshapen and looked like they shouldn’t be worn any time soon.
But the troubles didn’t end there! After all my fellow costume students had gathered their luggage, it soon became evident that my suitcase had not arrived with the rest of the baggage! The airport staff were at their wit’s end, and I was hearing statistics that Heathrow airport loses more luggage every day than any other facility on planet earth!
So as we finally headed off to our hotel for a much-needed rest, all I had to take with me was my purse and a couple of flattened bonnets!
I contacted my family who did a ton of legwork at the airport I had flown out of, and I prayed like crazy that the luggage would turn up. After all, no one was allowed to participate in the Jane Austen costumed promenade unless they were in full costume! I had been preparing for this trip for the last year, and I had spent hours researching and designing my period outfit! If the costume didn’t show up, not only would I have one change of clothes for a two week trip, but I would also be excluded from all the fun costumes activities!
Well, miracle of miracles, the suitcase did turn up a day or two later! Though for a while no airport could track it and practically labeled it as “missing in action”, it suddenly reappeared on the radar and made it into my hotel room! Oh, was I excited!
The rest of my tour was phenomenal. I studied exquisite gowns at the Victoria & Albert Musuem, gasped at Queen Victoria’s bonnet in the Musuem of London, strolled through historical Bath, England looking like I’d just stepped out of a Jane Austen movie, and whirled the night away at a Regency dance exhibition. It was lovely!
While I would love to take another trip to England in the future, you can be sure of one thing – next time I’m not getting on the plane unless my costume is sitting right beside me!
Thanks for letting me share this memory.
Sincerely,
Katrina
http://www.edelweisspatterns.com/blog
Advice sent to us from Marti:
All of you who have used the video of folding a hoop can thank me. I requested it after trying my darndest to get it back in to a packing box.
When I need to fly to events, I ALWAYS send my costumes on ahead via UPS. This way I can put them in large boxes and not deal with the airlines and their one suitcase policy. Larger hotels usually have a business office that can arrange for return shipment. Smaller ones can point you to a UPS store.
Last year I didn’t fill one of my boxes tightly so that everything could stay fluffed. Wrong idea. The top of the box came down to meet the costumes. To send them back I scrunched up newspaper provided by the hotel.
The advice I will give but can’t seem to follow is to inventory everything you put in a box as you do it. This way you don’t go crazy trying to remember if you packed something or not.
You can trust Recollections to deliver something to a hotel while you are still there. DO NOT TRUST ANYONE ELSE!
I had a set of jewelry that wasn’t going to get to me in time so had it shipped to the hotel. It arrived after the event.
Marti S.
P.S.
I always request that the organizers have a steamer available. It is amazing how many folks use it once word gets out!
Traveling story sent to us by Christine:
My story is not about how I’ve packed and travelled with your outfits. It is about wearing one of your dresses as I travel in the haunted footsteps of many a dread creature. Several years ago, I bought a black mourning dress with leg o’ mutton sleeves and buttons down the front from Recollections. I created a character called “Auntie Nosferatu” and I did not want to look like a slinky, Morticia-like vampire. I wore this dress with a bald cap and rat-like teeth. Auntie Nosferatu not only scared grown men at Spooky World in Boston but I’ve done the character among the brambles and trees of an outdoor haunted attraction in Rhode Island. That wonderful black mourning dress is still holding up with nary a thread out of place. I might be using the dress to portray Lizzie Borden in the future.
I love your work.
Christine L.
Traveling story sent to us by Morgan:
Dear Barb,
I volunteer at four mile historic park in Denver Colorado, and am known there for my large amount of dresses (that I get from your wonderful online
store). I have so many that at Halloween my friends jokingly force me to dress up in my full attire at parties. This past year my friends and I went
to a theme park near my house. In addition to my dresses, I am also know for being a scaredy cat, you can only imagine what a haunted house does to me. My bestfriend dragged me into a horribly scary haunted house centered around clowns, which is the one thing that scares me the most.
….When we started to walk through the house, the clowns jumped out immediately and would try to touch and grab me and my friends. Luckily because of my hoop skirt I had under my big gown, none of the clowns could get close to me. I even accidentally knocked over a couple of guys while running for the exit in my dress. It was one of the times I’ve been so thankful for my love of civil war clothing. I drove home home that night, which is really hard in a hoop skirt. So hard in fact it made my driving horrible and a cop pulled us over to make sure we wernt driving while under the influence. When I got out of the car in my outfit the cops started laughing very rudely. One made a joke that if I could say the whole Gettysburg address they’d let me go. the Best part is that I do know it by heart cause of a school project. I stood up straight and recited it from start to finish. The cops where slack jawed and apologized right then and there. Thank you for reading my story.
From yours truly
Morgan I.
Traveling experience sent to us by Sharon:
I had a really embarrassing surprise! I was at Roaring Camp in Santa Cruz, Ca. in May and had to use the ladies room and was in a hurry. Well unbeknownst to me the back of my dress and hoop skirt were hung up in my bloomers and I didn’t notice it being in such a hurry. Thank goodness I was wearing my bloomers! My husband who plays President Lincoln was waiting outside for me and noticed it right away before I got out into the crowd!
Sharon S.
Traveling experience sent to us by Krissy:
Dear Recollections,
This last weekend my sister and I went to our local Bastille Days celebration in downtown Milwaukee. She went as the Queen herself, Marie Antoinette, and I as a French Revolutionary drunk on power and the blade of the guillotine. Let me preface this by saying that my sister made her panniers out of bed pillows and elastic so they are a little cumbersome. The first stumbling block we ran into was the car ride to the festival. My sister’s panniers were so wide we barely fit in the car! We had to move and adjust things just so her hand could get to the gear shift as we drove. The second issue came when we stopped for coffee. Both of our skirts were so voluminous that we covered all available cup holders and I was left holding both drinks! We laughed so hard but were already having such great fun wearing these fantastic outfits.
Once we arrived and found parking, we did the delicate dance of getting out of the car. I got out first to help her remove herself from the vehicle. Once that was done we had to adjust hats and attach sashes and pins and adjust skirts. As we walked down the crowded street people clapped and more than one asked what we were dressed as. My outfit included a styrofoam head we painted to look like it was fresh from the guillotine and people were either horrified or amused by it.
The big issues we ran into were people stepping on skirts and my sister’s pillow panniers getting jostled and ending up lumpy and uneven. I wore a feathered cavalier hat which steadily lost feathers throughout the day. People would step on my skirt and as it was pulled down *gasp!!* my petticoat showed! Horrors! I am forever ruined by this scandal! My reputation is lost…
At one point we threw propriety to the wind and sat down in a shaded area with our ankles and yes, our knees, showing. It was just far too hot to mind one’s legs. I fanned myself with my hat and my sister with her delicate lace fan that produced very little in the way of cooling power.
All in all it was a wonderful day and we loved seeing people’s reactions and questions about our outfits. What worked for us was not sweating it too much. We knew mishaps would happen and just had to go with the flow when they did and fix it as best you can. And if in a real pinch, nothing works better than safety pins and creativity. Nothing beats seeing the reactions of people and always be patient answering their questions. It is very rewarding to have brightened someone else’s day!
Happy summer, Recollections!
Krissy K.
P.S. I have attached some pictures of the outfits we wore. We made the lavender bunting wrapped in pink ourselves. We also made the sash and the head on a stick. Vive le Revolution!