Finery - GBACG Home

Greater Bay Area
Costumers Guild
Volume 13, Number 1
Jan-Feb 2015
There’s No Crying In Baseball
By Lynne Taylor
Lynne Taylor is a trained Milliner and Master
Costumer. She was awarded the Master title
by the ICG in 2008 when the group she was
in, The Princess Eugenie and Her Maids of
Honor, won Best in Show at Costume Con
26. Lynne served the GBACG as the
Workshop Coordinator for 4 years, and while
on the board she created Costume Academy.
She is also known for teaching many hat,
parasol, and historical sewing related
workshops for us. After seeing Catherine
Scholar's group, The Rockford Peaches, at
Costume College, she decided the uniforms
of the AAGPBL looked fun so she organized
a group to portray the Kenosha Comets.
Wearing the uniforms was so much fun that a
picnic proposal for GBACG followed.
Just about everyone has seen the
1992 movie “A League of Their
Own.” It stars Tom Hanks as a
former professional baseball
player, who becomes the coach
for a women's professional
baseball team. The movie is
entertaining and contains a mix
of history and fancy that served
to expose the world to a
interesting chapter of American
World War II history. The
movie is based on the
Geena Davis in A League of Their Own courtesy Sony Corpy
In Thi s Issue : There’s No Crying in Baseball page 1 ∗ Sheer Delight: Sheer Dresses of the Crinoline Era page 7∗ Upcoming Events page
12-13∗ President’s Column page 12 Editor’s Letter page 12∗ What’s Happening Now page 15
Finery is the newsletter of the Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild, an educational group dedicated to all aspects of costume and textile arts,
andispublishedbi-monthly.Thenextdeadlineforsubmissionsis2/25/14.
For details about submitting articles ,please see our website at www.gbacg.org, or contact the editor, Robin McGann, at newsletter@gbacg.org.
There’s No Crying in Baseball continued from page 1
All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL)
started by Phillip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs. He saw
that men were volunteering to go into the service and there was
an active draft leaving a shortage of new pro baseball players.
This lack of male players threatened to shut down the major
leagues if the war continued, so he created this new women's
league. It would serve to help fill the gap and fill seats. Mr.
Wrigley held tryouts in May of 1943. The league would be built
on skill and ladylike behavior. “Femininity is the key note of our
league,” Wrigley said. “No pants-wearing, tough-talking, female
softballer will play on any of our four teams.”
In the sprit of keeping the players looking feminine, the league
uniform was a cotton dress with a short skirt, satin shorts were
worn underneath. This gave rise to the term “dirt in the skirt,” a
favorite saying of the female players. The one piece tunic with a
short flared skirt was in the style of tennis, field hockey, and
figure skating uniforms of the times. A hat, belt, and knee high
baseball socks completed the uniform. Each city had a different
colored uniform, a league arm patch was standard on the left
sleeve, and all uniforms had a round team patch that adorned
center front. Teams donned a white uniform with colored
accessories for home games and the full color uniform for away
games.
When a player was chosen for a team she was expected to not
only be a good ball player but she needed to be a good
representative of her home, her country, and her team. The girls
attended classes in charm and beauty and traveled with a female
chaperone. Helena Rubenstein's Beauty Salon was contracted
for the first spring training and after the daily practices, the
women attended the charm class. The following is a except from
the charm school pamphlet given to the girls after they won a
spot on a team during try-outs:
“When you become a player in the All-American Girls Baseball
League you have reached the highest position that a girl can attain in
this sport. The All-American Girls Baseball League is getting great
public attention because it is pioneering a new sport for women. You
have certain responsibilities because you too, are in the limelight.
Your actions and appearance both on and off the field reflect on the
whole profession. It is not only your duty to do your best to hold up the
standard of this profession but to do your level
best to keep others in line.
There’s No Crying in Baseball continued from page 2
The girls in our League are rapidly becoming the heroines of youngsters as well as grownups all
over the world. People want to be able to respect their heroines at all times. The AllAmerican Girls Baseball League is attempting to establish a high standard that will make
you proud that you are a player in years to come.
We hand you this manual to help guide you in your personal appearance. We ask you to
follow the rules of behavior for your own good as well as that of the future success of girls'
baseball. In these few pages you will find many of the simple and brief suggestions which
should prove useful to you during the busy baseball season. If you plan your days to
establish an easy and simple routine, so that your meals are regular and well balanced, so
that you have time for outside play and relaxation, so that you sleep at least eight hours
each night, and so that your normal functions are regular, you will be on the alert, do your
job well, and gain
the greatest joy from
living.
Always
remember that your
mind and your body
are interrelated, and
you cannot neglect
one without causing
the other to suffer.
A healthy mind and
a healthy body are
the true attributes of
the
All-American
girl.”
This pamphlet was
full of suggested
beauty routines for
before and after the
games as well as
clothing
and
wardrobe tips for on
the road during the
season. The girls
were also given
advise on other
subjects
like
Rockford Peaches Back row, left to right: Caitlyn Amiton, Katherine Wade (as a
etiquette publicity.
Racine Belle), Cynthia Howell, Diana Rotheneder as chaperone.
The league covered
Front row, left to right: Sahrye Cohen, Cathie Bertie, Catherine Scholar.
all the bases
when it came to the welfare of their players. You can find more history and the complete
text of the charm pamphlet at: www.aagpbl.org
There’s No Crying In Baseball continued from page 3
Teams consisted of fifteen players, a coach (manager), a business manager, and a women's
chaperone. In the first year there were four teams: The Rockford Peaches, The Kenosha
Comets, The Racine Belles, and The South Bend Blue Sox. By 1944 it was apparent that the
war was coming to an end so Phillip Wrigley withdrew his support of the league at the end
of the second season. Even so the league continued and grew. At its height there were
eleven teams.
Many people do not know that the league continued after the war. In fact, the league
continued until 1954. All in all
over 600 women were on teams
during the league's existence. The
league closed down for a number
of reasons but the AAGPBL was
a ground-breaking organization
for women in sports and is fondly
remembered today with a display
at The Baseball Hall of Fame in
Cooperstown, New York.
That brings us to Sunday May
3rd- GBACG presents: A League
of Her Own, AAGPBL Reunion
Picnic. The picnic is set in 1959,
five long years since the AAGPBL
disbanded. The gals have gone
their separate ways, many have
families and husbands or careers
but all long for the lost days of
“dirt in the skirt” so they have
come together to celebrate the All
American
Girls
Professional
Baseball League with a special
reunion picnic! Doesn't matter
whether you are a fan, family,
friend, or player; all are welcome
to come out and celebrate the
start
of spring at this event.
But what to wear?
Kenosha Comets: Front in the splits, Chelsea Elledge. Second row,
from the left: Lynne Taylor, Kim Yasuda. Back row, left to right:
Vivian Lee, Emily Berby, Elizabeth Pederson, Cate Jinneman.
Recreating the costumes from the movie: When the original group lead by Catherine Scholar
decided to recreate the Rockford Peaches uniforms from “A League Of Their Own” she
started by doing research. The group wanted to make the costumes as close to the real thing
as possible -- a Google search yielded a good sampling of uniform photos both extant and
from the movie. After checking out available ready made patterns, Simplicity 1880 was used
as a base for the uniform dress. It is a pattern for a shirtwaist type dress and it was very
There’s No Crying In Baseball continued from page 4
close to the style of the AAGPBL uniforms. Simple changes were made to the bodice front
pieces to get the right shape for the uniform opening and loops for the belt were added to the
dress according to the photos of originals. When my group, The Kenosha Comets, followed
Catherine Scholar's group, we started with the same Simplicity pattern. The only change we
made to Catherine's process was to eliminate the center front and back seams on the skirt.
After checking the AAGPBL website for the roster of the 1943 Comets, we used 4 inch high
numbers on the back to denote each player. We made our own belts from the same material
we used for our numbers, but purchased belts work as well. Our team ordered the baseball
socks on eBay, but soccer socks from the local sporting good store will work too. Most of
our hats came from eBay, we bought the right color and decorated the front with the logo.
Our shorts were made with satin from Hancock's and we used a PJ bottoms pattern and
adjusted out some of the width in the legs. Both teams made patches for the front of the
uniforms on modern embroidery machines. In the case of the Kenosha Comets, we started
with a good clear photo of the movie patch. Then one of our members redrew the image and
it was scanned so the embroidery machine could reproduce the patch. Barbara Muran from
www.OfCorset.com in Sacramento has a great embroidery machine that she uses in her
corsetry business and we were able to have her produce the patches for us. The price was
very reasonable. Catherine Scholar used the embroidery machine at Stitch Sewing Lab in
Berkeley http://www.stitchsewinglab.com, where the machine can be rented by the hour.
The league arm patches were done the same way. We used plain black athletic shoes to
stand in for cleats. We were able to do each uniform for right around $50.00. The Simplicity
1880 Project Runway pattern has been discontinued, but I was able to find it on eBay and at
the Simplicity website under the discontinued patterns. Check out this tutorial by Vivian Lee
to help you figure out the changes you'll need to make to the basic pattern:
www.freshfrippery.com. Look under Costume College 2014 then scroll down the page. Or
check out Kim Yasuda's tutorial here: www.darlinganddash.com/1940sbaseballuniform.html
There’s No Crying In Baseball continued from page 5
After all that work on figuring everything out, along comes a store on etsy to make it easier.
This option was not available when we started but it sure is nice that it exists now! This
store has the downloadable patterns for the uniform and iron-on patches for the Peaches in
one envelope. The pattern can be used for any team, and the best part is it comes in sizes
from toddler girls through women’s XS-XXXL. She also has embroidered set of patches or
the less expensive iron-on patches for the Rockford Peaches, Racine Belles and South Bend
Blue Sox! You can start your own team!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/202210642/vintage-baseball-uniform-vintagestyle?ref=cat_gallery_1&ga_search_query=vintage+baseball+pattern&ga_order=
most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_se arch_type=all
If you'd rather not make a uniform but would like an authentic reproduction there is a
company that is the official licensee of the AAGPBL. Uniforms made by K & P Weaver can
be found on the website: www.baseballamericaspastime.com
Other options for costume are 1950's retro fashions. If you want to make something, check
out all the retro patterns available from the Big 4 at your local fabric store, or order a great
vintage pattern from the local vintage pattern company Decades Of Style
There are tons of options for ready to wear as well. Www.eshakti.com has lots of cute retro
inspired dresses, look under the fit and flare category. Www.modcloth.com and
www.pinupgirlclothing.com are just two more of the many options. Men can don a great
1950's Hawaiian shirt or go a bit less casual with a vintage find from eBay or Etsy. Don’t
miss this event or you may find us telling you “There is no crying in Baseball”
Victory Song
Batter up! Hear that call!
The time has come for one and all
To play ball.
We are the members of the All-American League.
We come from cities near and far.
We've got Canadians, Irishmen and Swedes,
We're all for one, we're one for all
We're All-Americans!
Each girl stands, her head so proudly high,
Her motto 'Do or Die.'
She's not the one to use or need an alibi.
Our chaperones are not too soft,
They're not too tough,
Our managers are on the ball.
We've got a president who really knows his stuff,
We're all for one, we're one for all,
We're All-Americans!
Official Song of the All-American Girls Baseball League
co-written by Lavonne "Pepper" Paire Davis, Nalda "Bird" Phillips
Sheer Delight: Sheer Dresses of the Crinoline Era
Bridget Bradley-Scaif e
Bridget started costuming at the age of twelve when she got involved in Renaissance Faires. Since then, she has expanded her love
of costuming to all time periods, focusing the last 10 years on the Mid-Victorian Era. Bridget is an active member in the Greater
Bay Area Costumers Guild, a buyer for Renaissance Fabrics, and the owner of North & South Emporium on Etsy, which
specializes in Mid-Victorian accessories.
During warm weather,
thin dresses made of light
weight sheer fabric were
worn by ladies in the mid19th century. Known to us
today as "sheer dresses,"
they are most often
characterized by a low
body lining which shows
the sheer fabric to full
advantage.
Research
indicates that women of
all ages had the socially
acceptable
option
of
wearing sheer or semi
sheer dresses. Original
work type dresses made of
coarser loosely woven
semi-sheer fabric show
that is type of dress was
worn even by women of
lower classes. This type of
dress has become a
popular for costumers and
reenactors in recent years,
especially for those in
warm climates. A simple
search on Pinterest for
“1860 sheer dress” can
yield vast amounts of
pictures
of
original
dresses,
period
photographs and even
paintings that can help
research and recreate this
type of dress.
Sheer Delight: Sheer Dresses of the Crinoline Era continued from page 7
Glossary of Victorian Sheer Fabrics
Ariele – A woollen gauze quadrilled in white on a light colored ground.
Balzarine – A cotton and worsted textile similar to barège.
Barège – A semi-transparent textile of silk and wool, the former up on the surface; open
mesh. Sometimes all of wool.
Chiffon – A delicate silk barège or grenadine.
Crepe – A transparent crimped silk gauze.
Gauze – A delicate transparent textile woven of silk, or silk and flax, or cotton; the holes
made by twisting the threads round each other. Variations: China Gauze (light colours
sprinkled with tufts of floss silk), Gauze Illusion (fine), Gauze Sylphide (alternating stripes of
gauze and satin ribbon), Gaze Perlèe (Semi-transparent gauze with small silk squares figured
on it), Imperial Gauze (white warp with a colored weft)
Grenadine – An open silk, or silk/wool, gauze resembling barège but with a more open mesh.
Many varieties both plain and figured.
Leno – A transparent muslin-like textile of linen thread.
Lisse – A silk uncrimped gauze.
Mull – Variation of muslin, soft fine sheer cotton textile.
Muslin – A fine, thin and semi-transparent cotton textile.
Organdy – Variation of muslin. Has a hard finish and is nearly transparent.
Nun’s Veiling – Thin woollen barège, synonymous with Voile.
Persian – A very thin silk textile, almost transparent.
Tarlatan – A thin, gauze-like muslin, much stiffened.
Tiffany – A thin, semi-transparent silk, resembling gauze,
Tulle – A fine silk net.
Modern Sheer Fabric Equivalents
Cotton Batiste; Cotton Voile; Cotton Lawn; Cotton Organdy; Some Cotton Gauzes, Wool
Voile and Gauze if you’re lucky enough to find it; Silk Organza, Silk Gauze (but it is
extremely fragile). The major problem in recreating this type of gown is we do not have the
fabric choices that were available to the Victorians. Printed and figured sheer cottons were
worn in abundance; solids were not (this goes for any cotton solid, not just for sheers).
However, sheer solid cottons are the majority of what we have available to us and period
appropriate sheer prints are hard to find. White sheer cotton doesn’t follow this rule–it's a
"non" color, particularly popular for girls. Its appearance can be very much altered with the
use of tucks, shirring, puffings, and other self-fabric embellishments. In contrast, solid sheers
are fine for silks and wools, as well as figured or printed sheer fabrics.
Sheer Delight: Sheer Dresses of the Crinoline Era continued from page 8
Some Notes on Construction
Bodices – Cotton sheers were almost always gathered, silks and wools could have either darts,
pleats or gathers, gathers being the most popular. Fabrics with a crisp hand often had pleats
instead of gathers or darts.
Neckline – Low-wide neckline in the 50s, high V-neck, high jewel neckline.
Sheer Delight: Sheer Dresses of the Crinoline Era continued from page 9
Linings – Full, low body, and unlined; linings most often are white (black or brown do exist,
but they're a minority); Sleeves and skirts are often unlined; The half-high lining or low body
is often treated as a flat lining at the side and back seams; On some original garments the
shoulder seams on the half-lining are sewn separately from the garment shoulder seams; on
others all four layers are seamed together; Many sheer dresses have a short half-sleeve lining “
to cover the sleeve of the chemise, many of them don't. Those that don't often are styled with
a full sleeve (the fullness of the sleeve partially conceals the sleeve of the chemise);
Sheer Delight: Sheer Dresses of the Crinoline Era continued from page 10
“Underbodies” or corset covers were worn under unlined silk and wool sheer dresses. The
corset cover served as the lining, but as a separate garment that could be cleaned.
Sleeves – Coat, bishop, pagoda, and sleeves were often unlined.
Skirts – Flounced in 1850's, gauged, pleated, and skirts were often unlined. Gauging had
fallen out of fashion by 1860’s in favor of knife pleated skirts, however sheers were the
exception to this rule.
Seams – Trimmed and overcast by hand (no French seams), piped shoulder seams on
gathered bodice or fan-front dresses (adds stability for gathers in the front shoulder seams).
Trimming – Self-trim and tucks most popular; fringe, lace and ribbon also used.
Sheer Delight: Sheer Dresses of the Crinoline Era continued from page 11
Bridget in her own Sheerly Delightful dress
Resources: The Sewing Academy - http://thesewingacademy.org - Online forum about midVictorian clothing.
Costume in Detail: 1730-1930 by Nancy Bradfield, pgs 213-216
English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century by C. Willet Cunnington, Glossary of
Materials 429-436
Dressing for the Weather: Sheer Dresses by Glenna Jo Christen. The Citizens' Companion Vol.
X, No. 5: 23-29
President’s Column
It’s nearly Spring, that time of
transitions and new projects.
We have a fabulous new set of
events, workshops, lectures, and
salons planned to amuse and
educate you. As I write this I’m
putting the finishing touches on
my Game of Thrones dress and
starting to plan my gown for the Barbecue at Twelve Oaks
on April 18. I’m looking forward to Costume Academy on
March 14, in its new location, donated by our friends at
History San Jose, and the upcoming lecture on Victorian
hats on April 26, by our very own Lynn McMasters.
Every new year also brings turnover on our board of
directors. I’d like to once more thank Gailynne Bouret,
Tara Munier, and especially Deborah Borlase for all their
years of service. They will be missed, and are much
appreciated. In turn, I want to welcome Perian Sully and
Robin McCann, who so obligingly allowed us to press-gang
them into board positions.
I hope to see every one of you at an event, very soon!
Costume Salon:
Mid 19th-Century
Sunday, March 1st,
2015
Join us for potluck tea,
snacks, socializing, and
sharing resources. Theme
appropriate
books,
patterns, garments and
projects are welcome. No
costume is required. If
you'd like to attend, email
costumesalons@gbacg.or
g. Ticket Price: Free
Catherine Scholar
GBACG President
Letter From T he Editor
Hi! I’m your new editor for the
newsletter. I did actually volunteer
because I thought it was about time I
gave something back to the
organization. Speaking of volunteering,
if you’ve ever felt you want to volunteer
to help with an event, send an email to
the Event Coordinator . No, you don’t get anything out of
it except a heartfelt “Thank You” and maybe the feeling that
you’ve made a difference, but I urge you to get more
involved with your organization. Because it’s YOURS!
I’m here to do a job for you. Let me know what you’d like
to see in the newsletter and I’ll try to “make it so”.
Robin McGann
Newsletter Editor
Costume Academy
Saturday, March 14th,
2015 SOLD OUT!
It's Back! After a hiatus,
we're re-introducing our revamped
epic
day
of
enlightening
lectures,
hands-on
workshops,
inspiring camraderie and
extraordinary shopping in a
new location at History San
Jose. Ticket Price: $$$
GBACG Goes
To: The High Style Exhibit at
the de Young Museum
A League of
Their Own Reunion Picnic
Sunday, March 29th, 2015
Calling all Rockford Peaches, Kenosha
Comets, and Racine Belles! Support the AllAmerican Girls Professional Baseball
League (1943-1954) at a reunion picnic for
players, fans and families. Whether you play
or prefer to spectate in 1950's style, you can't
go wrong at this t-ball game and picnic in an
East Bay park. Ticket price: $
At the de Young, we'll take in the traveling
exhibition, High Style: The Brooklyn Museum
Costume Collection. Ticket price: TBD
Sunday, May 3rd, 2015
GBACG
Workshop, Topic TBD
Saturday, April 11th, 2015
Expand your skills at this
workshop. Details coming soon.
hands-on
GBACG goes to
BAERS Congress Of Vienna
Ball
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Barbecue At
Twelve Oaks
Saturday, April 18th, 2015
The Rengstorff House in Mountain View
provides an elegant backdrop for a gracious
1860's style fully catered barbeque. Will you
sit at a table, or in a crowd of men on the
grass? Ticket Price: $$
The Bay Area English Regency Society
celebrates the Bicentennial of the Congress
of Vienna, which united Europe in a rage for
the new and scandalous waltz. The Ball will
also feature easy set dances, taught and
called by our esteemed Dance Master, Alan
Winston. Diplomats of tiny imaginary
countries especially encouraged. Costume
1795 - 1825. Advance Ticket Info
What’s Happening Now
Costume Jewelry Exhibit
SFO's international terminal has a wonderful little exhibit of costume jewelry by Hollywood
designer Joseff, who made pieces for big stars to wear in films (roughly 1930s to 1950s; he
designed for many costume dramas set in earlier periods, including the Norma Shearer
"Marie Antoinette"), and also had a retail line that was apparently pretty accessibly priced.
The exhibit helpfully combines the display of the real objects with photos of the actors
wearing them. It's free, you don't have to go through security to visit, and it's quite near the
BART entrance into the international terminal. Follow this link for more information on
Joseff: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/lost-hollywood-jewelry-trove-uncovered/
-
Courtesy of Christine U’Ren
Costume Society of America – Western Regional Meetups
March 5, there will be a meet up at the Koret Auditorium at the de Young Museum in San
Francisco at 10 am. Costume Society - Western Region member Kimberly Chrisman
Campbell, PhD will be giving a lecture and slide presentation on her extensive research into
18th-century French culture, fashion, and society for her new book, Fashion Victims: Dress
at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Come enjoy her talk and meet-up with
some of your Costume Society friends and colleagues! RSVP by emailing our Programs CoChair, Elise Rousseau: eyrousseau@gmail.com.
In honor of the exhibition, High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection opening
at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, the Western Region will be having two events. On
Thursday, March 12 there will be a curator's lecture from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the Koret
Auditorium at the de Young.
On March 21 there will be a docent-led tour of the exhibition at the Legion of Honor from
noon to 5:00 pm. The tour is limited to 20 people, so be sure to register early! For more
information about these two events, and to register, follow the link below to the event page.
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event;jsessionid=6AFB8D28D9E4ACC21D2
C8A8115BC10D1.worker_registrant?llr=cyhiirnab&oeidk=a07eaie7g7be1edad56
Finery is the newsletter of the Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild, an educational group
dedicated to all aspects of costume and textile arts, and is published bi-monthly. The next
deadline for submissions is 3/15/15. For details about submitting articles, please see our
website at www.gbacg.org, or contact the editor, Robin McGann, at newsletter@gbacg.org.