Category Archives: pageants

Custom Jousting Attire: DGY Jousting

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DGY Jousting in their new 2018 attire by McGrew Studios.

August 2018

We built custom costumes for Young Living’s jousters, squires AND horses in this fantastic project.

This is the DGY (David Gary Young) Jousting Team of Young Living Farm in Mona, Utah, and they are amazing.

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

The open, lattice-like costumes for the horses are called caparisons and their face shields are called chamfrons. We’ve created these with leather cut-work and inlay, embellished with decorative metal pieces, rivets and crystals.

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

We built the horse gear using chrome-tanned leathers backed with synthetic Rhino Cloth for extra weight, durability and resistance to wear and mildew.  Each horse echoes its jouster’s colors and sometimes his or her coat of arms, as in the case of Jacob Young’s dragons in black and red.

The word caparison originates from the 1585–95 Middle French caparasson (now caparaçon) and the Old Spanish caparazón, akin to capa or cape.

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

We made jousters’ sleeveless surcotes from black bison hide. Each of these tunics laces up its sides and has specialty leather inlay as well as hardware and rivets in either gold or silver.

DGY Jousting in their new 2018 attire at Young Living Farm in Mona, Utah Photo: Robert Hirschi

DGY Jousting in their new 2018 attire at Young Living Farm in Mona, Utah Photo: Robert Hirschi

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

Our design/build team for this was a big one- our shop’s principle  staff with additional stitchers and craftspeople jobbing in.  A great project to make such fantastic looks for DGY.

Jennifer McGrew
Hraefn Wulfson

Diane Thompson

Madeline Mann

Alex Buie

Carolyn Richardson

Liam Buie

Wendy Harbaugh

Andrea Fabrega

Isaac Doubek

Anastasia Najarian

Elijah Najarian

Nathan Dobbin

Konley Shanahan

Dresden Williams

Eliza Williams

Cate Allen

Nick Burke

Magen Mitchell

Uptown Embroidery

Heather Skola

Aubrey Kuefner

Todd Baker

Monica Ramirez

DGY’s armor in these photos is by Valentine Armouries in Las Vegas, NV.

Visit the Young Living farm events page for more info about jousting dates.

Our thanks to

The Buffalo Leather Store in Hayden, Colorado for your great customer service and for finding us the nicest black hides.

HeadnHome for the leather cavalier hats. These are beautifully made and you were wonderful to work with:)

Our thanks to Liz Davies, Young Living‘s Director of Farm Events. Our team loved working with yours. We look forward to more creative design as your production grows.

Thank you to Robert Hirschi and David A. Boyd for your photos here:)

Custom Pageant Gowns: 16th Century Miss Italy

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Custom 16th century dress for the lovely Jami Solveig Cirone, Miss Italy/Miss Multiverse 2015.
http://missmultiverse.com/ 

 

The pageant’s historic/cultural segment showcases the contestants in costumes that pay homage to their national and cultural heritage. This dress we made helps Jami honor hers.

 

 

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The gown has more than 12 yards of burgundy velvet in it plus a number of silks and laces. We cartridge pleated five whole widths of velvet (more than 260″ total inches at the waist) onto Jami’s teeny 23″ waistband. We made two petticoats and a hip roll to develop her incredible silhouette and topped it with a hand embroidered bodice. She has hanging sleeves plus quilted sleeves that lace onto her bodice. Within her bodice we installed quite a number of steel stays, lacing stays and grommets. Our hand detailing on the outside includes numerous brass beads and jewels, freshwater pearls, fabric flowers, lace trimmings plus exquisite custom brooches by artist David Powell: @POWELLARTSWORKSHOP on Instagram.

 

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Together we looked at many examples of period dresses, hairstyles and ornamentation in museum costume books plus portraits of notable Italian women.

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David’s wax carvings, ready to be cast in bronze.

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Prepped to cast multiples at one time:

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Freshly cast bronze brooches before they are cleaned up and polished.

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Photography session with Simon Blundell:  http://simonfoto.com/
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Brilliant hair and makeup by Amber Pearson. http://amberpearson.net/

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On display for a time in the parlour of our Pierpont Avenue location.

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Custom Pageant Costumes

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Glamour, Made to Order

Inspired by a Vivienne Westwood design, this ensemble showcases custom panniers on a fitted basque, a petite corseted bodice with an additional side zipper plus a cool hair fascinator by Melissa Welinsky. Not shown here are the custom rouched briefs we also made out of the same great plaid taffeta.

Pageant costumes need to be unique and stunning because prizes, money, scholarships and fame are all at stake in these competitions.

We wanted to show you this particular example from 2011 that our client commissioned for her talent number – because she is a champion bagpiper.
No further explanation necessary. So awesome.

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