aboutus

History
My name is O'Retha, mother of two beautiful daughters, owner and sole-operator of Era Originals. I am a self taught
seamstress and have been sewing for 13 years. I appreciate clothing of all eras and am open to any designing challenge
for any costume you have in mind. You will notice this site reflects mostly Civil War as that is the most prominent
market to me in my geographical area.
I have opened my business to full time production as of June 2006 and thus far business looks promising. I am looking
forward to expanding over the next few years to attend more national events, begin accepting online orders through this
website and not just eBay, open a physical storefront as well as train a few helping hands in this love of costume I have.

Philosophy
A lot of clients ask me about accuracy so I will share with you my philosophy on costuming. This mostly applies for my
civil war garments: Any fashion designer of any era was a visionary and tailored each item to its particular client. Just
because a style is not documented doesn't mean it couldn't have existed in those times. I do research and frequent
actual civil war era photos for my inspiration and design. For the most part I stick with traditional cuts of the era
because that is where most of us feel comfortable especially when suiting up for a new event, but occasionally I will take
a designers freedom to give a unique twist to a gown. I stick with calicos in very similar style prints to those found in
the era as well as apply some actual reproduction prints though those can get pricey. I will often use silk and a splash of
velvet for a more formal gown. I do not believe in drafting a cut exactly from a period garment because ladies of today
are not built like they were in that era. We are often taller and more full figured so in order to avoid an ill fitting
garment which was frowned upon in that time, the style of the cut remains the same but the form fitness of the cut is
updated for todays woman. I refer to my art as costuming, as one would costume an actress. As for the price of my
garments, I started costuming because I couldn't believe the prices for reenactment clothing for any era, in many cases
the prices are grossly inflated and I think it is a crime to make someone pay so much for what is often a handful of
cotton and very little labor time at all. I strive to keep my prices affordable for every reenactor and my quality top notch.

Turnaround
Custom orders take 4-6 weeks typically, occasionally my schedule is light and they may get done sooner but please allow
4-6 weeks for your order when possible. If you need it for a specific deadline or want a hard to find fabric used in the
construction of your garment, contact me and I will see if I can work you in, rush fees may apply depending on the time
frame you give me. Please keep in mind that although 4-6 weeks may seem like awhile, I want every opportunity to be
able to devote my time and attention to each individual gown, when an order is rushed, it can compromise the end
product. I do my very best to guarantee that nothing ships out that I would not be happy to wear myself.

Shipping
I most often ship via USPS Priority both in the USA and internationally. I will occasionally use UPS, FedEx or DHL
for an express package. I ship at least twice a week.
NOTE to International Customers- It has been brought to my attention that some countries (so far only the UK)
will charge random fees for packages sent from outside the country. I do not have the ability to foretell if they will
charge you or how much, from my experience it seems to be a random thing, I can send two packages both marked
identically and claimed at the same value and they will tack a fee on one and not the other. Please, please, check with
your countries Customs Department about any fees your package may incur that are beyond my control. It seems you
can get past the customs fee if your item is worth less than $70 or 36 UK pounds but insurance will only cover the
claimed value.

Measuring
The measurements I will most often ask for are as follows:

Bust (fullest part)
Waist (natural waist usually at bellybutton)
Neck
Wrist
Shoulder tip to wrist
Upper arm circumference
Base of neck to waist (down back)
Waist to Floor

Ladies dresses will come unhemmed with a finished edge at approximately 44" in length, the reason being is we all have
different size hoops and number of pettis we wear underneath and each combination will cause your hemline to be
different lengths, so this detail is left to you. If you are absolutely sure of the hemlength with your undergarments, I can
hem it for you but I assure you there is nothing worse than a gown to short to cover your hoopskirt.

**** Some rules on Measuring ****
DO NOT guess your measurements
DO NOT use old measurements from a past project
DO NOT ask me to make your gown in a generic dress size to avoid measuring yourself
DO NOT fudge your measurements because you don't like how they look on paper
DO NOT intend to wear your corset with the gown you are ordering but measure yourself without the corset on,
figuring it's close enough, it's not.
DO NOT place a rush order and give me wrong measurements leaving no time to alter your dress and make it to your
event, even though it is out of my control, it still makes me feel crappy.

and last but not least...
DO NOT send me nasty emails about how your dress doesn't fit when you have done one of the above listed things to
provide me with erroneous measurements.

I am not a psychic and I will make your gown to the measurements you provide me whether they are correct or not. We
are on a good faith basis here that you will provide me with the most accurate measurements you can, no matter how
odd they look on paper, that you will email with any questions before hand and if for any reason your dress does not fit
like you want and it is not due to one of the above listed reasons (it happens occasionally) I will be more than happy to
alter it or provide a refund or exchange depending on the situation.
In some cases I can fix a dress that was made with erroneous measurements but if your reason falls under one of the DO
NOTs your alteration will be subject to a fee of $25 as you are causing me needless additional labor hours on your gown
that could have easily been avoided.
Thank you!

Returns
I strive for a positive transaction with every client. Doing this long distance, sometimes the fit may not be exact and will
require adjustment, see above for measuring do's and don'ts. If the fit is off because of construction I will be happy to
alter it for you free of charge. If for any reason you are unhappy with your garment, as long as it has not been worn it
can be returned for a full refund or exchange. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me anytime.