An Announcement for Jane Austen Fans - Homeschool

My child, Alex, was crazy on the subject of Jane Austen when we homeschooled. So much so that when he went to college he founded a Jane Austen club. One of the functions each year was presenting a "Pemberly Ball. " We have since discovered that many other homeschool groups hold very similar dances. If you are looking at a "Pemberly Ball" for your own homeschool co-op, you will probably be serious in how to find the costumes! One of his young close friends shared a few thoughts with me.


Although attires for a Pemberley Ball are not demanded, you may want to appear in one nevertheless. Here are some tips and hints for having together a great costume free of using up your life savings.


For the women, truly all you need is the dress. That is all any individual will see. A common opening point for that can be found courtesy of a community retailer. If you would like to buy your own, my best idea to you is to look on E-bay, most gowns run approximately $40-80. They send rather promptly, usually within a week, and are of exceptional quality even though the snap shots on the internet are not extremely striking. The only issue is that are altogether unadorned, but all that they really need to have is a sash, which often you do not even have to sew on, and that only costs a couple of dollars for ribbon. If you are more hardworking you can also add beading and trim to satisfy your fancy.


For you men, there are two really good tutorials for MacGuyver-ing a look together from second hand merchandise. There are also good guidelines for tying a cravat online. Complete this so that you will not experience the disapproval of Sir Percy Blakney, the Scarlet Pimpernel, "Odd's Fish, m'dear! The man cannot even tie his own cravat! " Just remember that most attractive cravats in Jane Austen's period were white.


For those of you looking for a tailcoat and a waistcoat, You can get tailcoats from an E-bay supplier. Look for secondhand tailcoats in their exact sizes and in superb condition for only $20, and waistcoats run about $10. You will get them within three days of ordering them. For the waistcoats, the higher they button, the more period-correct they will appear. One last word about tailcoats: deeper colors were more fashionable for that time period, so given the choice between black or gray, the two most standard colors you can find, go with the black.


For pants, long pants will work in a pinch, but if you intend to go for knee breeches, a wonderful technique is to get a pair of women's capris or petal-pushers as long as they are quite plain and not denim. Then you just stick a pair of white knee socks with them, and you are finished!