Did I mention CAPES?

My ultimate weakness....Victorian Capes! First off, you dont have to worrying about it fitting for the most part because I am surely nowhere  near the size for typical antique tiny sizes. BUT CAPES- instant look , so dramatic, so mysterious, so darn 19th century and I must have. So I have found surprisingly a decent amount of them - ranging from $35 to near a thousand. Lucky me I found one the cheapest ones that is pretty grand for my starter collection.

And the seller also had boots for sale which I was on the prowl for so why not, right?

Now, my  antique fashion agenda- a bonnet or 2, mourning jewelry  and stalking auctions for cheap full Victorian mourning outfit. I just got outbided on Ebay on a dirt cheap choker so I am a lil frazzled (I need to learn how to bid better) however there's an outfit ending in like 5 hours with no bids that I must have. I belong to a few Victorian mourning collector groups and anything related is worth big $$$. This outfit would easily fetch for 10x the selling price. Im a newbie as a mourning collector so I am learning the ropes but I know an " investment piece" when I see one.

As of now the cape and boots as my personal collecting until I inquire a vast collection but it's pretty exciting - bodice, boots & cape in one week. To me the most thrilling thing to see is the inside seams where most stuff looks hand stitched . As someone who puts alot of blame of giving up my fashion career on not being able to work a sewing machine, to see it CAN be made by hand is a relief because I can sew,crochet or anything by hand- but sewing machines, no way. It gives me hope that I can one day with patience create some one of a kind inspired pieces by learning from my very own 19th century garments.