What's in a name?

Sometimes it seems like the hardest part of setting up an account, online shop, real-life business, getting a pet, writing a book/blog post/essay, or basically doing anything in life that requires a name or title is coming up with a name or title. There's a worry that people won't get it, or that you won't like it in a few years, or that it won't always be a proper fit.

My blog(s) and overall online presence have gone through a number of different names in my attempt to find something that worked, but I've never really been completely happy with any of them. Recently, I've been feeling increasingly disconnected from Idlewild Illustre. It didn't really say anything about who I was or what I was about, and was even less connected to the things I hope to accomplish and talk about in the future.

So, dear readers, I axed it.

I've often thought that if I was to ever legally change my surname for some reason, it would be to Grey. In fond imaginings of winning the lottery, there are visions of a fashion house and swanky stores with doormen and 'Gwendolyn Grey' on the front of the buildings. My alter-ego who I embrace when I need to Get Things Done is called Gwendolyn Grey. She's the person I try to be and who I'm constantly working towards becoming.

There's no point in tying yourself to an identity, whether online or not, that no longer represents you. So much about my life is in a massive state of flux right now, and it seems like a very fitting time to make my blog and online identity a better fit. It's a new dawn and a new day and all that!

• My url is the same for now, so hopefully bookmarks and blog feeds won't be effected. Just look out for Gwendolyn Grey on your lists instead of Idlewild Illustre! 

 (aaand with that done and me feeling far more comfortable with my teeny tiny corner of the internet, I can get back to actually posting about costume stuff and sharing the things I've made and learned during the last year or so)

Changing Tides and Going Places

The first thing I did after finishing my masters degree this spring was to drink nearly an entire bottle of prosecco, sleep for about twenty hours, and then dye my hair pastel pink.

Immediately after my final hand-in my mother came to visit for a couple weeks, and I got to show her everything I'd done/made over the past year and a half, plus take her all around Edinburgh indulging in touristy things. We were going to go to the Isle of Skye for a bit, but took an impromptu trip to Madrid (Spain!!! Ahhh!) instead after finding super cheap flights.

If you imagined the majority of our holiday pictures were posed or serene, like this one, you'd be wrong.

We mostly took a lot of terrible selfies, and it was glorious.

Nothing has slowed down at any point though, as I went back to Outlander in June... starting a couple days before my mother left. I've been working there since then as a junior costume maker, working on some really lovely things that I so wish I could show you! I can't wait for you guys to see Season 2!!

So what comes next?

Now that's the tricky question... one which I don't yet have an answer to. I have lots of ideas. Lots of goals, lots of wishes; and very little strength to tackle them. My lease ends soonish at the end of August, and I don't yet know where I'll go or what exactly I'll be doing. Whatever it may become, my life needs to involve a good wifi connection, since I have SO MUCH lined up to blog about! So. Much.

Thank goodness I can blog from my bed, too, as I think I need a bit of a breather before throwing myself into the rest of my life.

Press Call at the Portrait Gallery

Now that things are revving up for the ECA fashion/costume/textiles show, it's all starting to feel a lot more real. Graduation is imminent! There are only three weeks left to do ev er y thing!!

Part of the lead-up to the show was a press call which took place day before yesterday. All graduating costume designers (post and undergrad both) took one costume to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery where they were modeled for invited press. The location was stunning and some really lovely shots of some of the costumes ended up in the papers and there was a nice little segment on STV as well.

I was rather excited to see my fairytale wedding dress for The Girl in the Edinburgh Evening News the next day!

If you're in Scotland at the end of the month you can still get tickets to the catwalk show, which will be April 23-25. The fashion design portion of the show is quite interesting as well, but let's be real. Costume is where it's at. ;) And there will be some seriously amazing work on display... everyone's stuff is so different and exciting!

I took some of my own pictures on my iphone at the press call... I only wish I had had a better camera with me to capture it with!

An end is in sight

Contrary to what the utter lack of posting lately has indicated, I have in fact been very very busy making and designing things. That said, I very much do NOT recommend going through a bad depressive episode during grad school. That way lies misery, guilt, and sorrow. However, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, I have been able to pick myself up these past couple months and have made real progress towards my final MFA degree show.

Naturally, however, the catwalk show which occurs before the degree show is only four weeks away and there is still SO MUCH to finish! With depression somewhat subdued, I am no longer spending my days struggling to get out of bed, but instead spending my days convincing myself that I don't need to pick up a million new hobbies and projects immediately...

After May I can sew for myself and pick up tablet weaving and make all the bath bombs and perfumes and incenses that I like (and post some of the many, MANY blog posts I have already planned and sort of drafted). For now I have a design book to finish, and a hussar inspired Queen and an 1820s Devil to make.

Til then, here are a few pictures I snapped behind the scenes at a recent photoshoot (for show promo etc.). I had chosen two costumes in the photoshoot, both of the same main character from my story The Girl Without Hands. My two lovely models, Poppy and Charlotte, are both undergraduates in the Performance Costume programme at ECA. I can't wait to post some of the resulting official photos later... they turned out beautifully!