Suzi, Sewing & Scilian Soup

Anna uses live journal to meet new people and to record her thoughts. We met one of these friends, Suzi, at Oxford Circus. Suzi is a costumier based out of London. She does work for clients all over the world, often for reenactments, television and window displays. Her area of expertise is mostly 15-19 century.
She brought Anna, Erin and myself, the ignorant onlooker, to fabric shops around Berwick St. We browsed along side fashion designers, tailors and other costumiers. Each tiny shop had its own personality, with piles and stacks of fabric to the ceiling. One had mostly men's fabric, acrylic and corduroy for suits. Another shop was glittering with embroidery and silks. The last shop we visited was overwhelming with neon polyesters, suede and synthetic furs.
Delightful words were whispering in the air:
...........................
....taffata....chintz......
.boucle.foulard..velour....
............crinoline......
...plissé..........pongee..
alpaca.......angora........
......shantung..seersucker.
..poplin..selvedge..chiffon
...........................
.faille...barré.batiste....
...chambray..cashmere......
..........nainsook....ninon
...........................
garbardine..jacquard.......
...........................
..matelassé......moiré.....
...........Peau de Soie....

Next we stopped into a Mediterranean restaurant for a delightful meal of couscous, musakka, dolmas and fresh olives. Feeling as stuffed as the grape leaves of my dolma, we departed happily.

Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn