So, having decided to update my author ‘drag’ — that is, a bit of eye-catching something to wear when doing an event — I found a pattern for an Edwardian-style suit; a straight long skirt and jacket at a Hancock Fabric store. Yes, one of those which is going out of business, sadly. Yes, the bargains are nice — but this will put us down to one single chain fabric store, and the limited selections at Hobby Lobby and Michaels . Yes, I am old-school enough to have gone into absolute mourning when a local San Antonio institution, Scrivener’s – which was an eccentric and upscale vendor of hardware, stationary, gifts, hardware, housewares and who knows what else — closed out the fabric department, and then within a year or two, closed down entirely. They had marvelous fabrics, and quality notions and buttons – and oh, heck – I am getting weepy just recalling. No, I couldn’t afford much of their very best – but they had quality, in the old-fashioned way, and I was viewed with affection and respect by their salesladies, as I was one of the very few of their customers who tacked the extremely difficult Vintage Vogue designer patterns. They always did well by me, when I had a sewing project.

But anyway – the Edwardian-style suit; that will need the appropriate Edwardian hat to go with, and just this weekend I was able to get cracking on that, starting with a wide-brimmed black felt number manufactured in China  that someone must have bought for me a good few years ago; my daughter, possibly, when she was stationed in California. I remember having to wear it on the flight home, where once arrived, it went into the closet to emerge … possibly not until now.

The nice thing about it being wool felt is that it could be re-shaped, with damp and steam. The brim of it was upturned and tripped with a yard of black plush fake-fur. I removed that – oh, I have plans for that narrow strip of plush fake-fur, but that will be another project entirely.

And no – not by any means are these authentic Edwardian lace, tulle or trimmings; this is not meant to be a historical reenactor costume, but something eye-catching and splashy, made with materiel readily available at ordinary retail outlets. It took about two and a half hours, all told. The finished suit itself won’t be anything particularly authentic, either – grey polyester suiting, so as to look good and relatively wrinkle-free on those occasions when we have to set up, and haul tubs of books around.