Scarlett O’Hara Ballgown Part 2 – At the Civil War Ball!

Last week I shared photos of my Scarlett O’Hara Ballgown while it was under construction.  So this week I’m excited to share pictures of the finished gown which I wore to a Civil War Ball!  I loved working with the vintage 1940s pattern to make this Gone With the Wind inspired costume, and I used an 1860s reproduction print from Moda Fabrics for the gown.

The ruffles in the back are probably my favorite part of the costume.  You can imagine how much time it took to hem 10 yards of circular ruffles, but it was well worth the effort!  One can never have too many ruffles.

Some very kind ladies took a few pictures for me at the ball location, which I was grateful for as I did not know anyone.  I met several people who knew me from this blog, which happens at costuming events and is always a nice surprise.

The Civil War ball I attended was held at a very period correct location which included buildings from the mid-1800s.  The dance began inside one of the larger “barn” like facilities, but by the end of the evening the whole group moved outside to dance on the lawn.  It was marvelous!

Thank you to some very kind ladies – Dana, Chris, Alicia, and Sarah – for letting me use their pictures!  I was too busy dancing the entire evening to think about grabbing my camera.

The only thing that was a bit tricky with my costume is that I hadn’t made the skirt quite short enough.  And that’s kind of a problem when you need both hands free to dance!  For the most part, though, I was able to maneuver around in it fairly easily.

Most everyone came in 1860s attire.  There were varying levels of authenticity, of course, but most people looked like they stepped out of the Civil War time period.  It was so fun!

My favorite dances from the evening were probably “The Spanish Waltz” and a very lively number called, “Aw Shucks”.  (The dance is a lot more promising than the title.)

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After the inside dances we took a short break outside to walk around the lawn, and then the dancing resumed on the grass.

Then the dancing resumed, and it was a blast!  Somehow dancing outside surrounded by pioneer-era buildings is *almost* more enjoyable than dancing in a ballroom setting.  It was so much fun.

{Photo Credit – Sarah of Pintucks & Pinafores}

This picture above shows “The Spanish Waltz” in action.

This photo above was from the “Aw Shucks” dance which was so lively and energetic!  You can watch a video here that shows almost exactly what we did at the ball.

When the last called dance was over I assumed it would be time to leave, but as it turns out there was still more “post-ball” dancing.  A number of us waltzed – it’s not particularly easy to do Viennese waltzing in a hoopskirt on the grass, but I couldn’t say “no” to waltzing.  Then the very last dance was called the “Post-Jig Dance” which was outrageously fun.  If you watch this video on Youtube you can see the number I’m referring to!

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All in all, it was possibly my favorite costumed dance event I’ve attended to date.  (And that’s quite a statement, considering the fact that I was at the Jane Austen Festival’s Grand Regency Ball last year at the Assembly Rooms, and that I also did English country dancing *inside* the Pride & Prejudice film location of “Longbourn”.) 

Till next time!

Katrina