Living like a Victorian in Newport

 This post is a year overdue but better late than never! I went to a Victorian-themed weekend with friends in Newport, Rhode Island. They had just finished filming scenes from "The Gilded Age" season 2 right before we got there, so many locals assumed we were part of the filming/extras. We all stayed at an incredible BnB and walked to the various historic houses and the famous Cliff Walk. Overall it was a beautiful weekend where we felt very glamorous- if a bit "on display" because the locals and tourists were a bit too excited to talk to us. I had a couple particularly icky incidents (involving men) being a bit rude and demanding. But it was still a good time with friends.

I made a whole new wardrobe for the weekend! I purchased two corsets from Clockwork Faerie, one more 1860s and the other Natural Form. The first evening was spent at the BnB playing games and socializing. I made a gold silk Natural Form (1878-1882) dinner dress with antique lace trim and silk satin ribbons. The overskirt was based on some fashion plates and extants and I quite like the style.

For the first daytime outing, I made a Natural Form walking dress out of silver silk damask with netted lace and black silk ribbons. We explored The Elms mansion and did a length of the Cliff Walk. We were much too popular on the Cliff Walk for my tastes; we couldn't go more than a minute without someone wanting us to pose for them or get a pic with us. This was a snippet of what was to come.

That evening we went to dinner at a tavern where we had a little hiccup in the seating. We were promised a table in their private dining room, but when we arrived they sat us in the bar area of the tavern (on a Friday night so full of locals drinking) where they had piano karaoke. Not only did the locals and the servers continue to come up to us and constantly want pictures and to know why we were dressed up, but the piano player demanded a "photo" with one of us and because I was at the most accessible end of the table, our server nagged me to go up to him and just take a pic and be done with it. So I went up and he proceeded to shove a microphone in my face and started playing "Dancing Queen" and I was mortified and angry. I do not sing! Thankfully my friends came up and sang but it ruined the evening for me. We were all annoyed at how rude and pushy everyone was.

My gown for that evening was a purple silk taffeta First Bustle dress with Chantilly-style lace.

The last full day we went to the Breakers and Marble House. This blue First Bustle dress was made a couple years ago but I was determined to alter it and get more use out of it. I refit the bodice and sleeves, took in the underskirt waistband, and remade the overskirt.

 

Here's our group at the Breakers! When we came inside the Great Hall, the docents stopped us for group pictures so they could post them to the Newport Preservation Society. As a result, every tourist coming inside wanted our pictures too, and it ended up causing a bottleneck and a crowd gathered. We eventually had to tell everyone that we needed to keep moving and that we just wanted to tour the house like them. One lady was very mad that we wouldn't stop again for her to take pictures of our group and snapped at us.

While one of the ladies and I walked from the Breakers to Marble House, a group of college guys in a Jeep drove past us and barked at us... very loudly. Again, the behavior from the locals and the tourists was worse than anywhere I've ever been in costume.

I know this post is mostly complaining but sadly, when I look at the photos from the weekend, I can't just enjoy the dresses and the scenery because I remember the odd incidents and pushy people. It's made me and some friends rethink where we will go in costume and try to avoid being in public places while dressed up in the future. Most of the people who approached us were very nice but it just becomes too much very quickly. Something to ponder for other costumers!