A trip to Bath

I only returned from UK yesterday and I'm already writing a blog post of the biggest costuming event of my year, how's that for efficient? :) So, Jane Austen Festival. This was my third time and I have to say that I didn't go to Bath for the festival program at all; instead, I went over to see all the friends who I knew would be there too. We ended up having a sort of fringe festival (I believe Jane Austen Frills festival was suggested), coming up with fun and nice period things to do in bigger and smaller groups over the week. I went to a musical soirette, picniced and danced on the Royal Crescent lawn one evening, was invited to tea at the Pump Rooms and met lovely people, went to an evening house party and met more lovely people, bathed Regency style at the Cross Baths, went to Montacute House (which was Mr. Palmer's house in 1995 Sense and Sensibility, you know the place where Marianne gets sick) and got sick there, had another evening party and went to a bar in costume. I also went to see "The Georgians" exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Bath, I put the pictures from the museum at the end of this post.

 All in all, I had such a lovely week that only a massive amount of pictures will do it justice. Most of them are my own, some are by Pamela Henwood, Angela Grimes, Megan Stephens, Virginia Crawford and Rachel Dalziel.

Are you ready?

While we were waiting for the count for the world record attempt to be completed, the new festival patron, Adrian Lukis (aka Mr. Wickham) appeared on the balcony :)

Lovely ladies from Russia in lovely pelisses

A musical soirette, Mr. U. playing his electric harpsichord

Picnicing at the Royal Crescent lawn after the soirette

Royal Crescent at dusk

Pultney Street from the Holborne Museum

Regency style bathing in the Cross Baths

Après-bath breakfast, dresscode: deshabillé  :)

Nobody went hungry :)

Evening party at the Admiral's House

Megan's writing box

Megan composing an answer to an invitation for tea at the Pump Rooms, which took place the following day. The card had been slipped under the door and we found it coming back from a party. Only in Bath! :)

Standing in the centre of the Circus in Bath. Incidentally, I'm wearing my new block print dress and white braided spencer that I finished just in time before the trip

Gambling evening at Mrs. Stephens'; we're playing Pope Joan here.

All set for outrageous gambling and losing all our fortunes

The ball room (see what I did there :) )

Visiting Montacute House, and photobombed by a cat :)

Elizabeth Phelips;  I really like this portrait

I hope the person who made this didn't go blind when she was finished because the stiches are absolutely microscopic.

The loooooong gallery

Montacute House

Crouching goat, curious choice for decoration, I thought

There were swings!

The muggy weather resulted to several Regency carcasses on the lawn

Never realised before how see-through all-white clothes are. And I'm wearing two layers under the dress itself...

Looklook at my new parasol, isn't it pretty?

After dinner on Friday we nipped to a bar. Here we're trying our best to ooze decadence

Sadly, Fritz the penguin didn't know his limit

Bath Abbey

The Marks & Spencer window provoked our Regency sensibilities :)

Pictures from "The Georgians" exhibition at the Bath Fashion Museum

The rest of the pictures are from the museum's permanent exhibition, displaying the entire collection. The stature of these white Regency dresses never ceases to amaze me; I'm not tall or big(160cm, ca. 5'3''), but these dresses belonged to someone absolutely tiny.

The above is true of this late Victorian dress, also. The picture doesn't show it very well, but the original owner of the dress can't have been taller than 5', maybe even less. the waist of the bodice is very very small.

A hand-painted coat from the early 1970s if I remember right. So beautiful!