Costume College 2026 Recap, Pt.2

On Friday at 9am the classes commence!  I started off bright and early with the Intro to Irish Crochet Lace Making class.  Unfortunately, I was not able to make the lecture on Dressing Like Your American Girl Doll, as it was opposite that.  After that, I dipped into Creating a 1930s Gown, From Fabric Scraps to Fashion, and Costuming for Every Body panels, all of which were fabulous.  The Lounge was also open at this point, with tables of snacks to grab, and hot tea, coffee, lemonade, fruit punch, and iced tea to drink.  I kept popping in through the weekend to fill my tumbler with that last one. ^_^

After classes ended, the Marketplace opened!  I went and perused, though I held off on buying anything until Saturday.  There was also the Friday Night Social, which I avoided.  In a crowd, the low buzz of background conversation often makes it difficult for me to hear what the person right next to me is saying.  Hooray for auditory processing issues!  But my roommate E. went and had a good time.

Saturday started slower for me.  I went to Creating an Elizabethan Capsule Wardrobe and took lots of notes, followed by Trash to Treasure Costuming.  Then it was time for my second limited workshop of the weekend, Beginner's Bobbin Lace.  I initially struggled with it, but after I finally understood the instructions, I loved it.

My bookmark isn't quite finished yet, but I've learned two patterns and am poking at resources to see where I can learn more.  I'm not sure yet if I want to invest the time/money/energy to going heavily into this craft, but it's certainly intriguing to me.

After that class finished, I grabbed a bite to eat, perused what had been donated to the Bargain Basement, and rounded out the day with Custom Costumers Luggage V.2 (which was largely identical to last year's version of the class, but has reminded me to be on the lookout for college trunks at thrift stores), and Finger it Out: How to Fingerwave Your Own Hair, during which I took copious notes.  Then I went to the Marketplace and shopped!

The Marketplace at Costume College is a truly dangerous place to one's wallet.  Particularly with Atelier Mela being there for her last year, and Silk Baron's drool-worthy wares.  In the end, over Saturday and Sunday, I limited myself to largely notions-and-trims purchases at Lucky Deluxe:

 and Acme Notions:

I fully admit to being jealous that E. lives incredibly close to Lucky Deluxe's physical store.

Saturday night at Costume College, is, of course, the Gala Ball.  Which I don't attend for a couple of reasons.  One is the aforementioned noise issue; another is social anxiety; the third is a lack of fancy garb (and a lack of impetus to make said fancy garb).  Instead I used Google Maps on my phone and walked about a mile to the closest In-n-Out in my 1920s clothing, and ate there.  It was warm but not oppressive, and though it was the busiest In-n-Out I've ever been to (which, being fair, I was there on Saturday at dinnertime), it did have the advantage of being right under LAX's landing path, which was cool.  After I got back to the hotel, I checked out the auction and raffle items, didn't see anything I wanted, and went to take a shower and get into PJs.  Also to handwash a pair of my 1920s nylons and hang them to dry, since while I thought I'd brought three pairs, I apparently only packed two!

When E. got back from the Gala, she and I agreed that we wanted to get up in time to get tickets for the Bargain Basement sale in the morning, so I set an alarm and we turned in.