Kimberly Phipps-Nichol · CLIENT: Kimberly Phipps-Nichol, RoKi Design
Peregrina is a 1900 era ladies stage costume, presented with accessories and an Edwardian slip. The garments are made from repurposed, upcycled, antique and period appropriate materials, including cotton, hemp, silk, linen, wool, straw, feather and metal hardware. The pattern is simple, reflecting the skills expected of a home sewist around 1900. The main components of the suit are reversible, so one set of pieces provides several outfits. Hidden or dual purpose hardware, including buttons and hooks and eyes, keeps the pieces aligned and supports the weight of the heavy fabrics.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Peregrina is a 1900 era ladies stage costume with accessories and an Edwardian slip made from repurposed, upcycled, antique and era appropriate materials. The pattern for the suit is simple to reflect the level of design and construction capability that would have been expected of a home sewist circa 1900. What is truly innovative about this suit is that it is reversible. This flexibility provides a series of outfits from just one setup, in a nod to the tailor mades of the time.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Suit fits a US women size 4, and dimensions vary due to wrap style.
Bust up to 105 cm
Waist up to 76 cm
Hips up to 115 cm
Submission Materials Contents include Cotton, Hemp, Silk, Linen, Wool, Straw, Feather, and Metal Hardware. - Tags
- Costume, Stage wear, Theater wear, Historic costume, Suffragette, Travel, Wearable art, Traditional craft culture, Creative design, Historic reenactment
- Production Technology
- Research, pattern drafting, mockups and production took over 500 hours. Only era available contemporary fabrics were used where antique materials could not be sourced. Antique hardware and silk were used where feasible. While a basic sewing machine was used for main construction, only straight and zig zag stitches were employed to maintain era consistency. Most of the suit and all mockups were made from repurposed drapes saved from a now closed natural fibers boutique.
- Design Challenge
- There were two main challenges for this costume. First was sourcing antique and era-appropriate materials on a very small budget. Second was making the main costume components completely reversible while still preserving modesty and a correct silhouette. The reversibility required mockups with significant trial and error to ensure true era appropriate design and construction.
- Project Duration
- The project started in June 2024 in Houston, Texas and finished in January 2025 in Houston, Texas.
- Operation Flow
- The reversible components use hardware that is either dual purpose or hidden to ensure a sleek form. Buttons at inner and outer skirt waist sides are both used as closures and shirtwaist connection to support the skirt. This keeps individual pieces from shifting out of alignment while elegantly transferring and distributing the weight of heavy materials. Hooks and eyes ensure critical components retain points of contact important for appearance and flow while moving on stage.
- Research
- Historical references for design, construction, fabric patterns, colors and fibers include photos of 1900 era ancestors, plus online and print resources. Online resources included US Census Bulletin of era available fibers, as well as database searches of museums with era relevant clothing archives. Print Resources included reference books published by museums with era relevant clothing archives, along with numerous fashion and dressmaker magazines from the years 1900 through 1910.
- Inspiration
- Created in response to a call for a 1900 era historic costume for actors portraying suffragettes and women traveling across North America. The suit was inspired by inherited heirlooms and documents of a true free spirited Muse who embodied the independent characters to be depicted. The Muse had traveled extensively in this time and is a distant relative of the designer. The name is a nod to the family maritime roots and boat name at that time, Peregrinator, hence the nautical details.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Andy Phan, Main, 2026
Image #2: Photographer Andy Phan, Optional 1, 2026
Image #3: Photographer Andy Phan, Optional 2, 2026
Image #4: Photographer Andy Phan, Optional 3, 2026
Image #5: Photographer Andy Phan, Optional 4, 2026
Press releases are available in 1 languages.