Costume College 2013, first only with my pictures

It was a surreal experience. Four laughter filled days of spending time with friends and making new ones. Everyone was just unbelievably nice to me. I don't even know how to begin to put it all in to words.

But I'm going to try. So I'll go back in to the very beginning. The trip from Finland to Los Angeles isn't a short one, but the flights went surprisingly fast. The weather was clear and one of the highlights was seeing the Greenland coastline. It was the most beautiful scene I've ever seen from an airplane.

We (me and my husband) arrived at the hotel at midnight on Wednesday. It was good to be able to sleep well and try to adjust to the time difference before the event begun on Thursday afternoon. The hotel stayed quiet all day Thursday until I went in to my room to chance in my old robe à l'Anglaise retrousée. As I came back down the fun had begun. Suddenly all the stunning and famous costuming world superstars were there. Some that I had known and admired close to ten years now. I felt so lucky to be a part of it all.

The party was a lot of fun. So much so that I didn't feel like leaving it even just to go and get my clumsy camera, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share. But there were a lot of cameras present so I'm sure those of you not present will see photos of all the fantastic outfits sooner or later if you haven't already. 

Friday was our informal redingotes and riding habits meet-up and those of us not occupied with classes settled at the outdoor lounging area to enjoy the lovely weather and to take some group pictures. 

I wore my military style 1770's riding habit. 

The group: Katherine, me, Rebecca, Trystan, Jen, Aubry and Leia.

Color coordinating.

We found another red lady a little later, Loren.

Francis showing off his shoe making skills.

Later in the afternoon was the Ice Cream Social. I had really looked forward to it as this was the time we got to wear our Marie-Antoinette redingotes together with Kendra and it was awesome! Sadly I don't have any pictures in my own camera, so those will have to wait until the next post. But this time I went back to get my camera and took some pictures of others.

Jen and Lauren.

Vanessa in gorgeous stripes:

Lauren's beautiful Tissot dress.

And the dress that made my day, Katherine's Angry Birds dress!

Aubry and Ginger looking fabulous.

The late evening continued with a more casual party upstairs. That was definitely one of those moments that I had to pinch myself to believe that I truly was in a party hosted by these fabulous people:

I want candy in France

For Saturday I wore my 1660's dress. It was the day of the long awaited curtain-along meet-up and I loved following the group around and taking pictures. Now that I was able to see all the dresses in person, I was pleasantly surprised how different the dresses ended up looking despite being made of the same fabric.

Saturday evening was the time for the gala. I wore the recently finished Toulmouche dress. Because I didn't quite have the time to make the little jacket as decorated as I would have wanted, I almost left it at home. But luckily my dear friend Jen was smarter than me and she encouraged me to take it anyway. And it really was wonderful to get to loose the bodice and replace it with something less stiff for when the more lively dancing begun. Me, Jen and Elizabeth (whom I've known since the beginning and was thrilled to finally spend time with) all unintentionally had chosen natural form gowns in different pinkish tones for the gala and I really enjoyed going down as a little group. It couldn't have worked out better. Elizabeth is a fabulous dancer and she danced us both briskly across the dance floor. I learned that I hadn't been able to make my hair polka proof and also that a messy hair is only a sign of having a lot of fun. I also made a decision to leave the camera in my room so I wouldn't have to worry about loosing it or having to carry it around all times. We took some group pictures that I can share when they are ready. Hopefully by that time I will also have some links to photo galleries to share as well, because there were lots of over the top, stunning, ensembles, all worth checking out.

And then it was already the final day. I went to the Sunday Undies breakfast with Jen and Elizabeth wearing my stays. After the breakfast, I put on the black round gown. 

The gorgeous ladies in plaid were one of those responsible for the day's eye candy.

Also these stunning bustle dresses made me swoon, Natalie and Elizabeth.

After admiring this the entire day, I think I'm going to need a seaside bustle dress too.

The only shoe shot of the weekend for me.

I went in to four classes in total and enjoyed them all. On Friday I went to an 18th century hat lecture, Saturday I went to dance in an English country dance class and on Sunday I enjoyed a lecture about Turkish influence on western fashion by Sarah and a lecture about 18th century hairstyles by Kendra. 

Then it was time to pack everything and Costume College was over. I couldn't believe how fast it went by. It's nice to get to begin our road trip and get to see all the sights but it's mixed with the sadness of leaving my friends.

And I must apologize for being a lazy photographer. The photos are what everyone is most interested after all. But I will make a part two shortly as soon as the professional photos are done.

Thank you all for your kindness and making me feel so welcome and I hope I get to do this again soon!