The Art Of Costuming Without An Overdraft

When one becomes inspired by gorgeous 18th Century clothes one does not take into the sheer expense involved in doing so. The average big puffy (panniered) gown takes around 10 meters of fabric. If you're historically minded that gown will need to be made of silk and lined with linen. If you're really historically bent you'll have to source your fabric from one of the few specialists in 18th century prints. One can easily deduce that your credit card will sustain serious damage in doing so.

What to do? There are options....

1. Become a fan of working class clothing and lower your meterage
2. Become a fan of late century clothing and sing the praises of cotton
3. Become a career trophy wife and marry a millionaire..or two

Or you can be like me and decide that costuming is a necessary living expense and budget for it. Every month all of my base pay is accounted for, every last cent and it doesn't involve big hats or fancy shoes, unfortunately. But I do also have an additional variable income and allow myself to use that alone for costuming and having fun. Next month I will net an extra $800 in spending money. Oh, the mind is doing cartwheels deciding what to buy next...