Resource post of doom

I've said to a number of people that I ought to compile all the information that was kindly given to me by nuranar and others over the (crash)course of my education in Civil War costuming. I still think it would be a good idea, and I'm too sick to want to get up and do anything around the house, so it seems like an ideal time. Really, I ought to make a website out of it; however, my computer with its webpage templates is en absentia right now, so I'll be using LJ and possibly converting it later.

Our saga begins back in January of 2009, shortly after superiorcap picked up a hoop kit from Needle & Thread for me.
( Beginnings )

nuranar, my personal 1860s clothing fount of information, had this to say about my choice: ( Color choices, lace, and decade of style )

She continued in response to a generic reply from me: ( On using fashion plates, some inspiration images, and fabric choices. )

We discussed some other options, and I said that I would be using the Laughing Moon Silverado corset. This is a good mid-century corset and can be made with several variations. Ginger (nuranar continued my education with some more information about undergarments and patterns. ( More links, and fabric info )

I asked about bias flounces--i.e. why are they bias? We also then discussed shoes a bit. ( Flounces and shoes )

As a point of interest, I did end up purchasing the recommended stockings, along with a couple other styles from Sock Dreams. I loved all of them, and I've also purchased net gloves from them with good results for stage use.

I then decided that I was going to do this Civil War thing whole-hog, and posted a list of questions from the skin out.
( Information from the skin out: a quick guide )

I experienced quite a bit of flail when I realized that I had approximately three weeks to become as proficient in 1860s as I am in 18th century. Again I turned to LiveJournal for advice.
( A quick primer on daywear--patterns and options )

At this juncture, I pretty much abandoned the ballgown and finished the day dress in short order. We bounced around a few more ideas and inspiration images for the ballgown, but didn't cover much new ground.
( I found the ballgown somewhat frustrating, as you may have gathered. )

From there, I managed to make some headway on the ballgown. I also did some experimentation with hair, since mine is just chin-to-shoulder length.
( Hairstyles--my first attempt. )

nuranar checked in with some thoughts and questions, the content of which conversation is below. ( Further advice on hair )

At the end of my weekend test run, I came away with some valuable tidbits that really helped my hair be a non-issue during the actual reenactment. In fact, I showered and styled it according to these guidelines on Saturday morning, slept on it, and only had to re-roll the front for Sunday. I slept on it again that night and it held up fine for Monday. In fact, I left it in all day minus the hairpiece and it survived fine until my shower Monday night.
( My own reference for how to make my hair behave )

And just one more quick note, a reply from Ginger on the subject of hats: ( Hats )

Hopefully, this isn't too horribly confusing. I'm hoping to be able to use it later to compile an actual webpage, but for the time being it's in mostly chronological order. That's why it skips around a bit--I skipped around on projects, so the order of my posts reflect that (i.e. Ballgown, daydress, ballgown again.) But now at least the extremely helpful information is all in one place, and it's become abundantly clear to me that nuranar is very much to blame for my now-extended foray into Civil War reenacting. Way to go, Ginger. I'll see you in December! ;)