Frustrations

I feel very thwarted by things outside my control at the moment. Back in December, I mentioned having found a period fancy dress company that sold sets of Edwardian underwear and I note now that I placed an order on 27th December. Now even allowing for some downtime over the holiday period, it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect to receive the items before now.

Sadly, I have been very disappointed in the service provided by www.cornucopiacostume.com Not only have I not received my order but they have been reluctant to respond to polite emails requesting information. I have run a web-based business..I know parcels go astray; I know things can get overlooked if there's a rush on, but not communicating and not apologising is unforgivable. I was obliged to resort to threatening legal action and quite frankly, being very rude. Naturally I got a fairly snippy reply to the rude email which suggested they suspect me of lying. Ho hum, have asked for a refund as I am clearly never going to receive the underwear. A shame because I think I might well have ordered more from them.

And to add further injury to this seething mass of insult and injury and sheer disappointment, Hannah wore her Edwardian boots to her swimming lesson and they got stolen from the changing rooms. I had a £10 voucher for Next so have re-ordered them, but am so upset at how much more challenging other people are making this.

Building a costume

Hannah's outfit is getting there. I am so excited. I am awaiting the delivery of one set of underwear as discussed in the previous post and I have bought boots which might come from Next and not be at all actually authentic but they will do. I have sourced stockings which are affordable and authentic. After a conversation with my lovely friend Sarah, who is kindly making Hannah a tam o' shanter, I went back to investigate and it appears that the woman selling them owns an Edwardian sock-knitting machine so it is both machine-made *and* authentic!

So we have underwear, stockings and boots. Then a bit of a blank where dresses will go. For the outer layer, my best friend has lent us a gorgeous tweed cape which was her best "go to sunday School" cape when she was eight and a parasol for me. A straw hat for Hannah should be easy to come by as will a pinafore.

So really, one more set of undies, a nightdress and two dresses and Hannah is sorted.

then I can turn my full attention to the thought of squeezing my substantial curves into a corset....joy!!!