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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

· Literary Ball! ·


Back in February, our family decided to host a ball of our own!  We've been attending quite a lot over the past couple years, and it seemed like high time to host some festivities for everyone else!

Years ago, we hosted a few "Twelfth Night" parties and requested everyone to dress as a literary character.  It was always great fun, and worked well for large groups!  We don't know tons of people who have extensive historical wardrobes, so have a non-era-specific theme allows for everyone to have something already in their closet that's appropriate. :-)



We were able to rent a local historic building for the dance, and it was so charming inside and out!
We'll definitely have to host another event here! :-)



We asked everyone to bring a copy of the book they were representing- we had a group of 70, and had everything from Shakespeare to E.B. White to Charles Dickens to modern fantasy authors!  It was so fun to see the creativity and vast variety!



My sister came as Alice in Wonderland, 1930s style.  She already had a dress in the perfect shade of blue and the striped stockings- it was just too perfect to pass up!


We danced a variety of English and Scottish Country Dances through the evening that reference classic literature- "Alice", "Great Expectations", "Once Upon a Time", "Felicity", etc. 


After coming as various historical characters over the years, I felt like it was time to break out of the expected and embrace my more quirky side. ;-)

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type has been a family favorite for years, and somehow it just seemed like a great option!  Apparently, cow fabric is a Hobby Lobby standby, so it seemed like it was meant to be.  I took the opportunity to make a fauxlero (faux bolero) dress like I've been wanting for years, and it ended up being a very easy design to draft on my own!

The dress went together so well and it will end up being handy for "Dress Like a Cow Day" at Chick-fil-A and, you know... all those other reasons I'll want to (literally) look like a cow...

I happened upon a cow bell at Hobby Lobby the week before the ball, and it seemed like the perfect touch!  Well, it was.  Except for the fact that alllll through the bouncy Scottish Country Dancing, I was, ahem, clanging rather loudly.

I must say, for someone who doesn't like to be the center of attention, I have quite a propensity for picking rather loud (sometimes literally...) and attention-grabbing outfits.



Kathryn and I- the Farmyard Girls!

Which is hilarious, considering we aren't really the farm-y type....  Kathryn wore her gingham dress and came as Fern Arable from Charlotte's Web



OK, so I feel a bit bad about posting another picture of just me.... but is my blog, and I was having such a great hair day!! ;-)




My friend Susan (on the left) has been a dear friend for years, and I just have to point out her wonderful dress!  She came as Agnes Wakefield from David Copperfield and made a wonderful 1840s gown.  She inspires me with all she's able to accomplish, and her ambition to tackle big, crazy things I would be too scared by!



We had guests from 5 different states, and it was so wonderful to catch up with so many of them! :-)

· Photos by Brandon and Kathryn- thank you both for taking time out of the evening to capture it so well! ·

19 comments:

  1. Books, dancing and costumes, all of my favorite things! I love this!

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  2. OH MY WORD. Your sister is literally the cutest, most adorable person ever. She looks like the perfect Alice! And Click Clack Moo is one of my favorite children's books. You're outfit was so unexpected and fun! I can't tell you how much I love that you both chose quirky and fun books for your outfits! A literarly ball is such a fantastic idea. This post made my day.

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    1. Thanks Allison! I absolutely agree about Gretel- she's pretty cute. ;-D

      So glad to hear that you know and love CCM too! Through this outfit, I've discovered that it's not nearly as well-known as it should be! Hopefully I can raise CCM awareness through this dress. ;-)

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  3. This looks like so much fun!
    (And for the record, we won't judge you if you post pictures of yourself! Your hair was smashing. THAT DRESS THOUGH! I love it!)

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    1. Thanks, Bethany! And thanks for the vote of approval on posting pictures of myself. ;-) Having a blog is such a strange balance... on the one hand, I usually have a bazillion pictures of myself on every post but somehow once I post about an event I attended.... I feel odd posting pictures of just me. ;-P

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  4. How fun!!! And WOW....your.....dress. ;) I love it and it looks like it was super comfortable!!! ;D

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  5. Oh my gosh, that is such a clever literary character to have dressed as!

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  6. Wow! I would love to live in your world for a day! <3 You always seem to have or find the most festive and fun events. Love your cow dress. Love how unexpected it is for the party and love the idea of you wearing it for Chick-fil-A's dress like a cow day! :D

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    1. Thanks so much! :-) In reality, my life is much more "hum-drum" than it seems from the blog, but you are right- I am so privileged to be able to have such fun friends and do unusual things! :-)

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  7. Wow, I so wish I could know where in the world to find a dance like that! I used to go to English Country dances quite a bit, but ever since I've stopped speech and debate they have been hard to find. But you and your sisters had the cutest outfits. You're bringing back memories with yours. :)

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    1. I hope you're able to find something in your area, Hannah! We typically travel quite a bit for events (3-10hrs), so it was nice to host something in our area for a change. :-)

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  8. Oh my goodness...this is utterly fabulous! I have attended balls for years but this theme is sooooo perfect. And my, your outfit/costume was so creative. I have always been a fan of that book and your dress was perfect for it. This is totally inspiring!!
    -Madison
    www.1minniemuse.blogspot.com

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  9. This looks like so much fun, Lily! Thanks for posting about this neat event.
    God bless
    +JMJ+
    Marie

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  10. This is so splendidly cool! What an awesomely fun, creative, lovely event. Your cow print dress is marvelous! It could easily be worn on a daily basis, if desired, and not look overly costume-y, IMO, in the slightest. Thank you for taking us along with you for this wonderfully fun evening. I adore this post!

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thanks, Jessica! :-) I haven't *quite* gotten up the gumption to wear this dress around town, but I'm so grateful for a vote of confidence from you!

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  11. Looks spectacular! You all look great! I love your dress!

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  12. *happy sigh* It was SUCH a fun evening. Definitely ranks among my very favorite dances I've attended! :-)

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  13. Thank you all so much! It's so much fun to be able to share events with you all!! :-)

    (and I'm sorry it took so long to respond to these comments! I've been out-of-state for almost 2 weeks! :-))

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