Fall for Costume - Reflection

Fall for Costume is a yearly photo challenge over on Instagram during the month of October. The challenge is hosted by Red Threaded, a costuming and corsetry business. This was the second year I participated. Whether it was the change in weather, or the sheer strangeness of the past two years, doing the challenge had me weirdly reflective.

I enjoyed the challenge when I did it for the first time in 2020, but then I hadn’t really stepped into who I was as a creative and costumer. With almost the whole year of 2021 under my belt and with two major projects finished, I felt a little more prepared this year.

Going into this year’s photo challenge, I definitely had more to show. I’d finished both the 1890s Walking Suit and the 1880s Tea Gown (also called the Bee Gown). But that wasn’t it. I also felt so much more confident in my sewing abilities. I started sewing in 2018, right when I entered college. I learned to sew as I started my costume design degree - a trial by fire if I’ve ever experienced one. When the pandemic hit, it was just me, the cat, and my sewing machine in my apartment. Bored and stuck at home, I got a lot of sewing practice. But I still hadn’t married my design training, my love of history, and my personal projects.

With the completion of the 1890s and 1880s projects, I felt like I finally found my creative voice. These were two projects I sat down and designed for myself for my own enjoyment. They both turned out better than I had anticipated. This is who I am as a creative: taking history as inspiration, and creating something brand new from it. The Fall for Costume challenge was a great way to show off this newfound confidence in myself and my work. There was something intensely liberating in presenting what was my best, nerdy self and my weirdly niche and beautiful interests to the world.

This challenge was a good reminder that, even though I’m relatively new to sewing and the historical costuming community, I do have things to show and share. Hopefully with this journal record and the incoming collection section to this website, I can help others starting their journey. By October of next year, I’m planning on completing at least two other big projects. Stay tuned to see what those are!