From My Little Hole in the Wall: Kitty in the Age of Tutankhamen

"The days are getting warmer and there's a full moon tonight. I felt this would be a wonderful time to gather a few friends to my salon this evening for a bit of a catch-up and later some moon gazing. Kitty is very much looking forward to seeing Charles again and further discussing her interest in Egyptian archeology of which he is well studied in. This evening he will present her with a book on the subject, which I'm certain will be dog-eared by the time her boots hit the sands of The Valley of the Kings. My young ward will be thrilled to learn that Charles will be present on the specified dig site, and if I'm not correct, I think there is a romance of some sort blooming, although young Katherine has much life to live and places to explore before thoughts of rings and lace enter her mind. Perhaps they will do some of this together?

In the meantime, I was instructed to create an ensemble for Kitty for this thrilling occasion. Her mother insisted on boots although many a young woman wore T-strap sandals as they were cooling on the feet. Knowing Kitty, she'll be climbing rocks and sitting astride mules, so boots are the correct coverings for her constant on-the-go feet." Madame Hoover

The 1920's was an era of new and fascinating discoveries. And, this was no exception when it came to the magic Howard Carter emblazoned the world with. On November 4, 1922, British archeologist Howard Carter uncovered the first of sixteen stone steps that led down into the tomb of Tutankhamen. Although almost all the tombs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings had long ago been plundered of funerary artifacts and treasures, one still remained intact. Upon entering the tomb, its artifacts, while in a disarray, were clearly present. It is thought that the initial r

obbers were caught in the act, and while being dealt with, the contents of the tomb hastily tossed back in, and the tomb once again sealed so as not to incur the wrath of the gods. And, thus it remained for 3000 years, the tomb site forgotten. Howard Carter had been looking for it since 1907 having pieced together the mystery of its whereabouts from various contextual clues.

It took years to excavate the tomb fully and catalogue the fabulous artifacts found inside. The most dramatic discovery occurred in October 1925 when Carter opened Tutankhamen's mummy case, exposing the solid gold death mask, one of the most priceless treasures ever found in the history of archeology. The affect this had on the world was exciting and inspired everything from the way women wore make up and the fashions they wore, to what drinks were called in bars, and the subject matter of films and songs. This was Tutmania at its finest.

I was fortunate to have gotten to attend the first Tut tour at the De Young Museum in San Francisco thirty years ago. Has it really been that long ago?

So naturally, when an outfit for Kitty to visit a dig site and participate to some degree in either an excavation or help with the careful cleaning of pottery shards was suggested, I didn't hesitate to agree. She would have been traveling in Europe for several months, and over a winter, and the trip to Egypt would take place in the spring before the summer months became unbearable under the heat of the hot, white sun. This would be her last major site to tour before returning to London for the Season and her eve

ntual Royal Presentation to the queen as a debutante in social standing.

After doing my typical research, which for this purpose was on what women would wear to an excavation in Egypt, circa 1920, I found quite a few charming photos and began light reading on some of the women archeologists of the day. One in particular grabbed my attention. Dorothy Garrod. I knew when I saw this photograph that this was the dress I'd make Kitty. A far cry from the finery of earlier trousseaux pieces, it was a linen sack with big pockets. Roomy and cool for the blazing temperatures, but fashionable in a way that only the 1920's would afford.

Dorothy Garrod was an archeologist of the Paleolithic Age (and no, that's not a diet).

After concluding her studies from 1922 - 1924 with the French prehistorian Abbe Breuil at the Instite de Paleontologie Humaine in Paris, she went on to excavate at Gibraltar. Following a recommendation from Breuil, she investigated the Devil's Tower Cave near Forbes' Quarry where a Neanderthal skull had been found earlier. Garrod discovered, in this cave in 1925, a second important Neanderthal skull now known as Gibraltar 2. It seemed fitting that Kitty have a dress designed after the one Dorothy Garrod wore in this famous photograph of her.

The dress came together all too quickly f

or me. I rather thought it would be more of a challenge, yet in a way, I'm grateful that it wasn't. Of course I had to deal with a collar.

Kitty's Valley of the Kings dress is an oatmeal linen with long sleeves to keep her arms protected from the sun's rays. It is shapeless, but not without details. There are two long sewn flat pintucks, the length of the dress. Around hip length is another sewn flat pintuck that serves as a faux belt. Beneath this "belt" are two very large patch pockets for tucking maps and books and bits in. A jaunty sailor collar cheers the dress up, and a yellow knotted scarf is sewn to the center of the collar.

The back is closed with five little vintage bone or ivory or celluloid buttons. I've had these vintage buttons for years and never found a purpose for them until this dress came along. They're rounded on both sides

like an M & M. I'd really like to know what they're made of, but that's unlikely to happen. Still, I'm happy to have had on hand, buttons that would work. I've been using what I have on hand for quite awhile now. While shopping online is second nature to me, I just haven't felt like it much since the shut downs occurred. More importantly, I have way too much in the way of sewing notions and fabrics, that its prudent to look through my stash before dashing off to the computer to literally hunt and peck for hours on end.

Kitty needed a hat to shade her delicate complexion. First of all, it can get very confusing, the hats of Safaris vs. simple shade hats when you're dealing with adventure couture. Africa, being a very large continent, has varying degrees of complexity in its landscapes. What a girl would wear on Safari would be a pith helmet. Why? Who knows? I don't feel like looking it up, but these wer

e helmets with hard bases covered in linen. To an excavation site? I felt a shade hat in straw would be best. Below, in the vintage photo series, you'll see a woman (Kitty!) standing in center of a line of men. This was the hat that inspired me. I chose to make it in olive green straw because the outfit needed a pop of subtle color, inasmuch as the inclusion of the lemon yellow scarf. The hat is simple and unadorned. This is a working hat.

And speaking of working couture, Kitty needed those boots. I've made lots of uniquely styled boots over the short span of time I've been dressing dolls, but these were my undoing. Maybe it was her tiny, long feet, or the high heeled shape of them. The boots worn by women back then were different than their Victorian predecessors. The Victorian/Edwardian boots had little shaped heels, and the boots of the 1920's had flatter, wider heels, more practical for a variety of activities. I used the "green book" for finding a pair to design a pattern after. In the book these boots are called Reliable Juliets. "Cap toed, plain toed, or with patent leather trim. Guaranteed to be blissfully comfortable."

ha-ha Really have to laugh at some of the descriptions given.

I chose a burgundy leather to make them up in. Without inundating this journal post with so many photos, I'll describe the heels as above, wide and low. There's a photo of the boots' illustration below. I also made them over little olive colored socks. I chose to dress Kitty in white nylons for this outfit and without th e socks, which really are appropriate, the stockings would have gotten stained by the dye in the leather. The boot pattern was designed with a long tongue as part of the lower tops of the shoe. Top stitching was done before the pieces cut out, as always. I left the laces long because someone else has to dress her and I'll leave it up to Heather to cut the laces to her liking. No. I haven't gone daft. Not yet at least. I will admit that making tiny bows in thin laces on tiny shoes isn't as easy as it once was. Another way to get around long laces on boots is to wrap them around the ankles once or twice, then knot them in a bow.

Lastly, Kitty needed a shoulder sack. I originally intended to make her a knap sack, but there we go again differentiating between Safari attire and archeological dig site couture. I do not want someone looking at this and telling me they like the "Safari" outfit I made. It will happen, but I've done my best to avoid it. Given all that sensitive ego hogwash, I made her a shoulder sack of olive linen to coordina

te with the practical shade hat. Let's face it, a dig site is filthy! There is no getting around it, so its practical and "rinse at night" all the way.

The shoulder sack has an adjustable strap in the case Kitty wants to use it at handbag length. It is attached to the sack with leather ends sewn onto the linen gusset. The cute thing I did here was give the bag a leather button wrap closure. You see this on some journals, but its also practical for bags such as this. Along with the dress's huge patch pockets, Kitty can carry her essentials easily. I made two 1920's maps of Egypt. One a bit more detailed. She has the book Charles gave her, which is a miniature version I bought on Ebay that is "readable" with full color illustrations. Her tools are American Girl. A tad larger in scale, but super cute and appropriate. She has a magnifying glass and a brush to carefully clean those artifacts and pottery shards. The brush is the make up brush from Rebecca's make up box. Its perfect. You do know that I adore the historical American Girls, and have a wonderful collection of them and their items. Right? Right.

I'm awaiting some lovely lawn I just purchased to make Kitty a dinner dress for those Egyptian nights. Every which way I turn, I keep thinking of more that I need to do for her, but truly, this is the only addition to the original request in her trousseau. I just can't imagine her wanting to sit on a veranda at the hotel in a dusty, sweaty linen dress in those balmy Egyptian nights. So there will be a dress. Next!

And, it is the night of the full moon. Somewhere on Facebook, I read that this will be a "Milk Moon". Given that it is spring, maybe we can imagine Kitty staring out into the starry Egyptian night skies and seeing her own Milk Moon, side by side with Charles and a few friends.

Love,
Melissa