I have to say that I really wish there was a market out there for crazy Elizabethan themed costumes, as I am having so much fun making them. Seriously. (Pictures after the commentary below.)
I pulled an all-nighter on Thursday night finishing up stuff for people to wear to Bristol and only partially completing my own costume. Princess and I (after seeing S who got home that morning from NC and gave me a lovely rock as a gift) joined up with the Chick and Georgie and then picked up TraynerShayne and were on our way to Wisconsin. I don't remember much of the next 4 hours as I spent them mostly under a blanket, snoozing and dreaming of cheese. Seriously. At one point I asked the Chick to buy me some smoked cheddar and she said, "OK?"
After a wrong-turn that added several hours to our trip, we picked up Swimmer and finally made it to the Best Western in Kenosha. Where the Chick and I proceeded to sew until 4:30am and then I gave up, declared exhaustion and went to bed. (Did I mention that just ONCE I would like to travel without a sewing machine, much less TWO??) Turns out that 3am is not the Witching Hour, but instead the Bitching Hour. There was much smack talking as Princess slumbered peacefully across the room. It is amazing how crabby and TRULY justified one can feel at 3am with very little sleep.
The Chick woke me at 9:30 and I announced that I would not be attending the faire that day as my costume wasn't done and I was too tired, and everyone could go without me. And I went back to bed.
Hi, my name is Larue and I am a Ren Faire fall-out. Sad, but true.
The others decided against wearing their costumes (that we had spent many an hour on) because of the rain and mud (which was the correct decision) except Princess who drove back to the hotel, woke me at 2:30, changed into her lovely purple outfit and drove back out. I walked over to a cheese store and bought the Chick a talking Green Bay bottle opener and we all went to dinner with Countess and her friends. It was nice to know that I was missed at the Faire that day.
We finished up the other Day of Wrong costumes and were packed and asleep by 12 midnight.
I have to say that driving in combat boots and a farthingale is an interesting experience. I also found that I need to cool down my body core PRIOR to walking into the faire. The faire was so hot that our bodice chillers were melting within 10 minutes.
But we looked FABULOUS:
Swimmer (Fish/Ocean), Princess (Miss Ren Faire 1574), Larue (Camo), Chick (Green Bay), TraynerShayne (Athletic), Georgie (Mardi Gras).
We were apparently quite popular. We couldn't walk farther than 10-20 feet without being stopped for photographs. The folks at the Friends of Faire area were thrilled we were there. As were we. I was particularly fond of their gatorade, which stayed nicely cool inside my canteen.
Then the Chick ran into Thalon, the Viking:
It was really more of a mutual admiration thing than it was a "You SUCK at winning Superbowls!" sort of thing. Every so often the Chick would yell "Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?" And I would yell at people to fall in, or out as the case would be. At one point we attempted some cadence calls and a little "Boom-shacka-lacka" trotting, but corsets are not really appropriate for that sort of thing.
We met some gothic folks (who may or may not have been there for the Day of Wrong, hard to tell sometimes):
And an absolutely inspired Girl Scout outfit:
She even gave us cookies.
Everytime we would see someone dressed oddly we would descend upon them like rabid weasels, intent upon declaring them our friend and welcoming them to our fold. Such as the Red Hat Woman:
And the digital camo girl who was also in the service and wearing her old cast-offs. We had a wonderful time talking shop and showing off our boots. She also had camo nail polish.
We had a group shot taken with Kirk the Absinthe Fairy, a barbarian, a Disney tourist, and a Fairebook participant:
Georgie particularly enjoyed the barbarian.
And of course drunken Scotsmen cannot be trusted:
Note that he has been beaded by Georgie, who made it her mission to bead Scotsmen, men with horns, and small children. She was very successful in this and came home with far fewer beads than she started with.
We were in place on the wall waiting for the parade to come by in hopes of seeing the Queen. Everyone loved our craziness and we had many nobles falling over laughing in the parade. The Queen tried valiantly to stop her horse so she could talk to us, but the horse was stubborn and wouldn't do it. She sent someone to see us requesting an audience at 6pm, but sadly we missed it due to bad weather. We are sending Princess as our emissary next weekend to deliver a group portrait to her in thanks.
The Chick posed with Kirk the Absinthe Fairy, also known as the organizer of the Day of Wrong. I don't think he quite knew what we were planning when I explained our outfits to him via e-mail, but he was thrilled and told us to come back next year.
The Princess discovered some shiny baubles:
And she introduced us to the Courtesan who sang in multiple languages and told jokes. She also called security on a particularly rude (and drunk) Bears fan who was very nasty to the Chick.
I admired her chopines, which she made herself with the help of a wood carving friend. Are they not to die for??
We also met a Unicorn whose friends were jealous of the attention she was getting:
To which I say, "Maybe you all should bring it next time! She made an effort. So should you."
A storm was going to hit the faire and we all changed out of our costumes and wandered about shopping. I got a straw hat that will work for French, Flemish, etc. I have been looking for one for forever.
I find the pink flowers and the butterfly a bit twee, so they will be replaced.
We also passed by a lovely fairy selling bratwurst:
And some nobles doing their thing:
We drove home in the rain and made it to my house by 12:30. Princess slept on the sofa and I was able to blissfully sleep in my own bed. Other than a whopper of a charley horse in my left knee while driving (YIKES) the trip home was fairly uneventful. We discussed in great detail the fact that we were going to have to up the stakes next year in regards to costuming and what we should wear - a group theme? Individual themes? And came up with many good ideas.
Monday the Princess and I went to the thrift stores after the children kicked us out so as to surprise me with a clean home upon my return (Surprise me, I say!) and found some amazing stuff.
This leather jacket was $6.99 and Princess made me buy it because of the Steampunk possibilities:
We also found the following pins which will work for various costuming situations:
The gold Fleur-de-Lis.
I really wish I had found this before I ordered pearls to represent La Peregrina for the Six Wives.
I think this is so great I would wear it everyday. Probably not with my t-shirts, though. (Note to self - get a better daily wardrobe.)
We were wandering amongst the jewelry at Savers when the Princess squealed and said, "LARUE! I just found an actual chain of office here!"
And she did. For $4.99:
The jewels and crown have been removed, it has been spray-painted silver, and pearl cabs have been glued on. Finished pictures will be up later this week. Princess is very excited at using this as her new girdle.
I am hoping to finally have my Costume College post up tomorrow with pictures of all of the nice folks I met and their amazing costumes. We are also prepping for the Fest Friends garage sale this Saturday. Imagine - me selling costumes I have worn once? Who would think it? Although I am going to keep the Camo Elizabethan for nostalgia and because people are not likely to need one, much less one with my name on it.... especially considering I wore it twice. Which might be some kind of record.
One final picture of the Chick and I, co-founders of the Wench Posse (mainly because we never get good pictures of the two of us together):
I encourage everyone to go to the Day of Wrong next year and go crazy with the costuming. It is GREAT FUN. Just know that you will be hounded like Britney Spears at a club by people wanting pictures. However, if dressed in Camo you might be asked to have your picture taken by various service people or family members/friends of service people serving overseas, in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. And for that, you will happily pose and wish them a safe return.
Possibly with dragon horns/the RAWK sign, if requested.
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