If a place is as fantastic as St. Audries, one cannot stay away from it for long – and so, just over 3 years after our wedding there, we were heading back – this time for a ball the venue organized. And since the guests were encouraged to arrive from 2.pm, we though it would be a great opportunity to take some lovely photos of some Victorian frocks.

As luck would have it I was suffering from laryngitis then, so veritably speechless (  a blessing, some may argue…), but we weren’t deterred by such trivia.

We arrived just after 2,  and were shown to our rooms – and presented with a bottle of bubbly ( doesn’t do much for laryngitis, but enhances the mood considerably!  Daylight was  disappearing fast so we took to shooting  almost straight away – the first was my new 1860 frock – more  photos are available in a separate post here.

The second outfit was a stock gown I just finished – a 1883-5 affair in checked wool, with black velvet trim ( working name – The Wasp Dress). I am not a huge fan of plaid, but to be honest once i put it on, i loved it! this gown is now available to purchase in our shop🙂

As we finished, there as just enough time to have a short nap and then to get ready for the ball itself.  It was a modern affair  and  I must admit i had spent considerable amount of time pondering what to wear – I have historical ball gowns aplenty, but a modern ones? not really. In the end we decided to go 1920ties style and I ordered a beaded frock from Leluxe Clothing – the first evening frock I had in years!  as it was being sent from the States, I also sniped and got a much cheaper, modern budget version from ebay – just in case the sparkly frockage didn’t turn up in time. Fortunately , it did – but we still snapped a few photos of the other one:-)

And the sparkly thing.  I wore it on a silk chemise, and a long line corset – plus a slip. the dress itself is very heavy-  you put it on and suddenly some things about the 1920 silhouette became clear.  like, for example, that the weight simply squishes your boobs flat.  well, it would, if i didn’t wear the corset, but it still flattened me a lot!  you lose all the waist definition because of the weight too – it is basically a net tube embroidered with beads, and it narows a bit at the waist, but since it has no fastening, it is very loosely fitted – and voila, flat chest, no waist, and  I suddenly have a fashionable sihouette:-)

 We were ready to go to the ball 🙂

I know it is disappointing, but we didn’t take pictures at the ball per se – too busy talking ( well, more like croaking on my side), eating absolutely fabulous food, enjoying the company and even managed to do some dancing – and let me tell you, tango and charlston are all fine, but truing to chacha and salsa in a long line corset is a hard job!

Needless to say, we had a fabulous time, and a good night’s rest – with a delicious breakfast to follow on the morrow.

Many thanks to  St. Audries team for their hospitality – i think  we will be returning… 🙂