I’ve been loving this thread about places, and definitely want to return to it! But since I just got done sorting through my summer photos, I thought I’d share this one of some of us during the Beau Monde conference in Reno.
I’m the one in the middle. That’s Cara to my left, looking very cute. (Sorry Cara, you are cute! And I envy your skill at Regency dances. And your left foot, a left foot that actually knows it’s your left foot and not your right…) To the right is our good friend Regina Scott aka Regan Allen (www.reganallen.com). I miss that rakish dandy Sir Reginald Scott, who has made appearances at previous soirees, but I have to say Lady Regina is most elegant! As for me, although the high-waisted Regency style doesn’t highlight the real waist that I do have (honest, it’s under there somewhere) and anyone who knows me can tell I’d had a few glasses of merlot by that point, I don’t care!
It was fun, though looking at the pictures from the soiree did make me think about why we like to dress up in period costume.
It isn’t as if anyone is actually going to mistake me for Elizabeth Bennett on the dance floor. Maybe more like Mr. Collins, occasionally coming close to bumping into the other dancers and messing up the entire figure. Though of course real Regency folk would have many more opportunities to practice, it’s not as easy as they make it look in the movies!
It is actually a good learning experience to don somewhat-accurate period clothing and try to recreate period activities (though I hasten to say I am not a purist and did not have my costume hand-sewn, as I’ve heard some Civil War reenactors do).
But I think the bottom line is some of us never really outgrow the urge to dress up. I figure inside me there’s still a five-year-old who clumps around in her mother’s pumps, a necklace swinging way past her belly-button.
It’s just fun.
Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE – an RT Top Pick – available now
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Isn’t the urge to dress up what drives us as readers and writers, too? I mean, I read historical romances to escape to a different time, when ladies wore gowns and were taken in to tea. Not much different from being a five year-old, actually, except you’re not falling in love with your teddy bear, Mr. Fuzzy.
Thanks for the pix, and I can say all three ladies looked lovely that night, and Cara was awesome on the dancefloor, too.
Ahem. A few important points.
1) When Elena says I (Cara) am to her left, she means on the left side of the picture as you look at it. As we stood, I was to her right. 🙂
2) I’m not really as big as that picture makes me look, Mom!!! Honest!!! I’ve been eating my vegetables (potatoes count, right?) and exercising (once a month) and I don’t eat out more than ten times a week!!! I’m much thinner than I look there — it’s the waist thing!!! I blame empire gowns, which penalize women with waists!!! (As to why my hair looks so bad — sorry, Mom, the fault is all mine.)
3) Thank you, Megan and Elena, for saying such kind things about my dancing! I have a good head for dance figures, though as far as grace goes I think I’m average. (Yes, Mom, as far as posture goes, I’m terrible! But that’s why I became a writer!!!!)
Cara
But cute. Yes, definitely cute.
Todd-who-knows-his-left-from-his-right-about-half-the-time
Oh, and Cara’s Mom? Cara is way, way thinner than that, those Empire waist gowns look best on people who have plenty of chest action and not always so much waist definition.
I would’ve been a dud in the Regency, that’s for sure.
Thank you, Megan! You’re my new favorite person! (BTW, the check is in the mail.) 🙂
Cara
I love the picture! I have some from a previous year, too, the last conference in New York I think. “Reggie” made his appearance at that one–man, what an alter ego he is! And a terrible flirt!!! 😉
Laurie
Terrible flirt indeed! Sir Reggie had HOW many fiancees by the end of the night??? 🙂
Cara
Ahem, madam, I have had one and only one fiancee in my long, glorious reign on the ton, and that is the delightful Miss Kristen Skold. She used to room with my alter-ego Regina Scott, and one night before the soiree all her other roommates were out. She had to be pinned into her gown, a laborious process that required her to flip her skirts up over her head. As she had left her ladies maid somewhere inconvenient, what could I do but assist? Just as the last pin was slipping into place, the door burst open! There I stood, in all my manly glory, fingers inexplicably up my lady’s gown. Ah, well, what can a gentleman do but propose?
However, when she lost her fortune of chocolate coins at the gaming tables, I drew the line. A gentleman like myself needs a lady with a certain amount of assets.
And I find you all delightful. Long live the Regency!
Sir Reginald Scott (whose “manly” bearing can be sighted at http://www.reginascott.com)