One Woman, Four Dress Show

... and I think two wigs! Saturday night at the Kappa Beta Christmas party was another fun night. For only the second time in my almost ten year association with the group, I provided what might pass as entertainment. I decided to offer my services as a budding historian in between all the music acts. I also had three dresses in mind I wanted to wear. So I split my monologues into three segments each in a different costume.

The two costumes on the left are both custom made Civil War era gowns. They were done for me by Heather, the Very Merry Seamstress. You have seen the green dress, but the brown dress (inspired by Captain Janeway on the Star Trek Voyager episode, "The Q and the Grey") was making its debut outing even though I have had it a couple years. The dress in the upper right is a replica of a skating dress from the 1890's. Of course, the dress I wore to the party in the lower right is circa 21st century. Thanks also goes to Swooz Glenn for styling my wigs. She is wonderful to work with and was a huge support backstage.

So what did I talk about? The first segment was a crash course history on 19th century women's fashion with emphasis on the invention of the hoop skirt. In the second segment, I highlighted a few famous crossdressers including Achilles, Joan of Arc, and Deborah Sampson. In the final segment, I retold my story of my dream dress and my time at Latta Plantation.

I received so many kind words and othe compliments. The consensus was the green Civil War gown was the favorite. I tend to agree. I ended by saying I hope I have more to share in Christmas 2008. Only time will tell!