Austen-tacious--The Details

There is so much to draw attention to on this fine male specimen.  But perhaps the most worthy is his stockings.  Mr. Darcy wore ladies trouser socks for the occasion.  This was a struggle for him, but my-- they are dashing and he's got great legs!
Mr. Darcy's jacket was a piece originally made for an actor in the church's movie, Legacy.  How interesting!

I mentioned a few days ago that my dress was black and I would be dressed as Elizabeth Bennett in mourning.  This is not the gown I decided to go with.  I felt so "Jane Eyre" in this dress, but it was just too somber for the occasion.

Instead, I pieced together this little number.  Bethany stayed up very late one evening helping me with every detail.  The tiara is her's, as is the shawl.  My fan is a gift from Andrea Flynn brought all the way from The Jane Austen Center in Bath, England.

Doing my hair was my favorite part.  The front.

The back.

The side.  I should mention that upon seeing my regency, up-do for the first time, Clark declared, "Uh, it just looks kind of messy, like you're having a bad day."
I'll just say, my daughters thought it was beautiful.  What does he know?

Bethany is credited with handing me bobby-pins in a timely fashion.  And there were a lot of bobby-pins needed, so I guess that was an important job.

Notes about the ball--

•  In true regency style, dinner was not served until 9:00 pm.   We had beef ragout, Irish mash and green salad.  Delish!
• One of the dances made us SO dizzy I actually wondered if I might faint and/or fall over.  Wouldn't that have been dramatic?
• It was held in the Masonic Temple downtown.
• We met up (unplanned) with Abe's second cousin, who was there, single, looking for fashionable, well-bred young ladies.  Sadly, the female company was almost entirely composed of Austen-obsessed, married women with children.  
• It was a little disturbing to see people checking their cell phones and iPhones during the course of the evening.  But most everyone took their costuming very seriously and were very well dressed.
• I purposefully gave very little thought to George during the evening, and upon return, he seemed quite well.

I think I will watch another Jane Austen movie today while I take care of sick babies.