tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85154568135353923432024-03-05T08:54:05.141+00:00The Costume RailCostume, Couture and Vintage SewingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-5723722334489383862015-11-29T23:11:00.001+00:002015-11-29T23:11:36.364+00:00Vintage Fancy Dress DogsI've certainly never got so much joy from a Daily Mail article before, but look at these beauties.<div>
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These are Vintage Dog Show Photos. And this picture doesn't just show any vintage Dog show, but dogs in fancy dress. Honestly, what is not to love??</div>
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Yes that does indeed appear to be an odd sort of Scotty dog, a couple of period dames and a clown.<br />
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And points for spotting the dogs in this photo<br />
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To read the full article, click this link <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3191212/Forget-Crufts-Basket-jumping-perfume-spritzing-FANCY-DRESS-contests-Vintage-images-reveal-bizarre-nature-dog-shows-100-years-ago.html" target="_blank">here</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-17117168072005305702015-11-24T12:26:00.000+00:002015-11-24T12:26:29.025+00:00Guilty Pleasure Frock Flick No 4: The Slipper and The Rose<div>
Many people raved about Kenneth Branaghs recent Cinderella story, but for me there really only is one true Cinderella film, and it's The Slipper and The Rose. Made in 1976, 4 years before I was born, it's like Star Wars or The Sound of Music, I simply cannot recall a time when I hadn't seen this film.</div>
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This film also marks a moment for me as a film professional. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to work on a short film with Tony Imi the cinematographer of this film of this film. Professional pride prevented me from geeking out and confessing to him that I was a massive fan of this film and begging him to tell me stories about working on it (it's very poor taste of fangirl on a colleague with so we all wander around film sets pretending we're totally cool with working with movie stars, which we're usually not, at least for the first couple of hours before we realise they're just as, if not more, annoying as all the other actors we've worked with). Anyway Tony Imi died a few months after filming and it's a lifelong regret that I never asked him about the film.</div>
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No 4:</h2>
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The Slipper and The Rose (1974)</h3>
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Costume Design: Julie Harris</h4>
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But what makes this film so good?</div>
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Apart from the fact it's set in my favourite period of the 18th Century, it's also very well written and bloody hilarious. Particularly Annette Crosby as the Fairy Godmother and Julian Orchard as the King's Cousin whose background in Carry On films puts him in good stead. </div>
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And it seems I can't resist a powdered wig and a good pair of paniers.<br />
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This film, in true 1970s fashion has just as many failures as successes, but it's also so unashamedly lavish and unafraid to use synthetics that you can't resist it. </div>
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And I promise to go with a different period for the number 3.</div>
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The Plot</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret Lockwood as the evil stepmother, with Sherrie Hewson and Rosalyn Ayres as the stepsisters</td></tr>
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It's Cinderella, plain and simple. Our Prince Edward (Richard Chamberlain) is bored of being a prince and wonders 'Why can't I be two people?' but his wonderfully older parents wonder "What has love got to do with being married?" Our heroine is mistreated by a brilliantly pantomime villain Stepmother and ugly stepsisters and remembers that "Once I was loved" as she sees her mothers grave. The Prince is disgusted by the idea of "A Bride Finding Ball" but his wonderfully repulsive (in a totally endearing way) cousin is delighted at the prospect of getting his leftovers.<br />
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For those who haven't worked it out yet, have I mentioned that it's a musical. My personal proclivities aside, don't let that put you off. The songs are (for the most part) the comedy highlights of the film. The Sherman Brothers who composed the film won Oscars for best song and best score, the Golden Globe for best score and the BAFTA for film music. Naturally there's the token boring songs, but the fast forward button was invented for a reason.<br />
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Cinderella is visited by the worlds most wonderfully cynical fairy godmother in the guise of Annette Crosbie, gets to go to the ball, meets the prince, falls in love, but before they can get together fate steps in, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. It's fricken Cinderella. If you're watching this film to find out if the girl gets the Prince you're probably not the target audience<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This film made me want a fairy godmother, but more for the wonderful sarcastic humour than the pumpkin coach</td></tr>
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The Cast:</h4>
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This is not an A-list cast. Richard Chamberlain is the most recognisable face of the bunch. He's the man I always think played James Bond but didn't, and epitomises Prince Charming, safe in the knowledge that nothing is more charming than a man who doesn't want a woman who desires him simply for his wealth and position. </div>
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International ballet star Christopher Gable brings the dance element for the men as John, our princes trusty sidekick, who suffers from his own case of forbidden love and so can sympathise with our Prince's problems.</div>
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A relatively unknown Gemma Craven is our Cinderella, but in case I haven't mentioned it before, it's the humourous supporting cast that really make this film worth watching. It's a quintessentially B Grade (and that might be generous) English stars shine with people like Kenneth Moore as the Lord Chamberlain, Michael Hordon and Lally Bowers as the aging King and Queen and as I mentioned above, the show is totally stolen by Julian Orchard as the Kings cousin, the man who you don't want to love. And of course Margaret Lockwood and Annette Crosby. If you've not heard of any of these people, I can guarantee you're going to want to see more of them after watching this.</div>
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The Costumes:</h4>
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The costume designer is Julie Harris who unfortunately died earlier this year. You've probably never heard of her but this won't be her only appearance on my list. Her most famous works include The Beatles film A Hard Days Night, The Great Muppet Caper and Bond film Live and Let Die, so she's definitely earned her stripes.</div>
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As I promised, there are some doosies here. The 70s flourescent candyfloss tones of the great ball cannot be ignored.<br />
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Neither can our heros weird 70s hairdo and upholstery velvet suit, or the net cape and the pink wig that our heroine is transformed into by our fairy godmother. But as an example of the juxtaposition of the period a costume is set and the date it was made, this film absolutely nails it.</div>
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But where the costumes really shine is when Cinderella decides that she must escape for the good of the Prince and country. As an massive art lover the homage Fragonard's archetypal Rococo masterpiece The Swing just gets me every time I see this film. (my husband has zero time for Rococo art, which I appreciate, it's about as girly and fluffy as art gets.)</div>
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Her wedding dress is pretty damn lustworthy too.<br />
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Favourite Frock</h4>
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I can't explain it, but something about this velvet travelling hood just makes me go weak at the knees.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-80767791073888094282015-05-11T14:48:00.000+01:002015-05-11T14:48:10.275+01:00An intriguing picture of Henri et Caroline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just stumbled acrross this picture on my phone. This Christmas my husbands family decided that it would be fun to hire out a small Scottish Castle which was absolutely amazing. (For the curious it was Castle of Park with a link <a href="http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/castle-of-park-5748?gclid=CjwKEAjwpsGqBRCioKet--bp_QcSJADCtbsbEYjrymopz6n6pcmnlSfdJTIKeiOlZnmm2a0On-ccGxoCQjLw_wcB" target="_blank">here</a> and only cost us about £500 a couple for a weeks accommodation which is pretty damn cheap to be able to say, "oh yes, we spent Christmas in a castle last year).<br />
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Anyway this print was on the bathroom wall. Regular readers will know how obsessed I am with curious costumes, and a French castle in Scottish dress of an indeterminate (or perhaps non existing) period while she is in 1830s (or at a push late 1920s?) dress is more than I can resist.<br />
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Are they going to a fancy dress ball, and if so does that mean she's just wearing a surprisingly authentic different period. Are they on holiday from France or why else would they be French?<br />
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And don't even get me started on his clohting. I've NEVER seen anything like it. Is it 16th century(esque), Is that a short kilt of some somrt of pantaloons. So many questions. If you have any theories please share them with the rest of the class.<br />
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Is he just a very confused Sir Walter Scott fanatic?<br />
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So many questions. If you have any theories please share them with the rest of the class.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-44272601161877947262015-03-09T17:49:00.002+00:002015-03-09T17:49:43.629+00:00Top 5 Guilty Pleasure Film FlicksWhen I meet people I usually know within about 5 minutes how good a friend they will be. One of my very best friends and I met when she wanted to hire me to costume a period film (which is a pretty good start). While we can both wank on about arthouse films with the best of them and happily use the criticism "that is so mainstream" to discuss an Oscar winning film, we also have a shared deep dark secret: at our very first meeting we discovered a mutual love of historic romance novellist Georgette Heyer, and it turns out we share a love of film of a similar vein.<br />
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I just received the dvd for this film, which looks sumptuos and amazing, and has been specially selected for a movie night with said best friend. I'll review it once we've seen it, but it got me to thinking.<br />
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Of course there are the usual frock flicks like Gone with the wind, Room with a view, The Princess Bride and The BBC Pride and Prejudice that are widely acknowledged as classics of the genre. But there are also the lesser known films, the slightly embarassingly corny, naff, raunchy, or even worse to some, not remotely historically accurate. *Gasp!* They're the Sunday-afternoon-in-your-pyjamas films that would never even be remotely considered for an award, yet I can recite them word for word and secretly prefer to their much better scripted, directed and acted counterparts.<br />
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So I'm going to do a series of posts on my top 5 costume films that I don't like to admit to being obsessed with.<br />
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<h4>
Number 5:</h4>
<h3>
THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1982 TV MOVIE)</h3>
<h4>
Costume Design: Phyllis Dalton</h4>
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Sink me. There have been many adaptations of Baroness Orczys novels but this made for TV film adaptation is by far my favourite. The strangest thing about this film is I started watching it because my very straight, then in his mid teens older brother, loved it. (He also had an unhealthy obsession with Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves when it came out, but lets not go into that).<br />
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<h4>
The plot:</h4>
<div>
Set during the French Revolution, the thorn in Ropesbierre's side is the infamous Scarlet Pimpenel and his league, famed for snatching the (innocent *cough*) aristocrats from the horrors of Madame Guillotine in audacious and cunning escapades. The Scarlet Pimpernel is none other than Sir Percival Blakeney, who acts the society fop in order to protect his identity. Whilst in Paris he falls in love with and marries beautiful actress Margeurite St. Just, whom he whisks off to England. But Margeurite has ties with Percy's nemesis and fervent revolutionary Chauvelin, and nothing, not even his love for her, can endanger his plans to save the Dauphin, the heir to the French throne.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCnT00EDN-sIS6xPeeyLQVuiKH_2iUttjHZXh1_HTScVIntTZUpFuPNeVG1xJEuM-dK7lnMCDiET5Gp6ZfalmuqDOhmq-HE36Bl1NFANJkLCMwe56VHz93snjbEsEcCopfQAWv4rq5TA/s1600/Picture60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCnT00EDN-sIS6xPeeyLQVuiKH_2iUttjHZXh1_HTScVIntTZUpFuPNeVG1xJEuM-dK7lnMCDiET5Gp6ZfalmuqDOhmq-HE36Bl1NFANJkLCMwe56VHz93snjbEsEcCopfQAWv4rq5TA/s1600/Picture60.jpg" height="470" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Gandalf met Sebastian Flyte</td></tr>
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<h4>
The Cast:</h4>
The film is most notable today for having a young(er) Ian McKellan as Chauvelin, long before he became the hero of geeks everywhere, at a time when he was almost exclusively known as a highly respected Shakespearean actor. He is brilliantly uptight as the much thwarted villain of the piece, but also brings an almost sympathetic, softly comic side to what might otherwise be a fairly dull character It also stars an almost unrecognisably beautiful Jane Seymour as Marguerite St. Just, and Anthony Andrews (sans Aloysius) playing the titular fop-come-masquerading hero to perfection. The script is witty and fast paced and doesn't ask you to think too much, aware that it is firmly placed in the Rollicking Good Time genre, but by casting some of the England's finest, the characters become more than cardboard cutouts with complex relationships, lifting what could have been mellodrama into a love triangle between layered and three dimensional characters. Playing fast and loose with the source material (it's based on at least 2 of the Baroness' books, both the original Scarlet Pimpernel and Eldorado), it's as ridiculous as it is completely charming, escaping the self-congratulatory smugness or attempts to make serious commentary on the revultion, it allows as the laddish charm and romantic subplots of the league seduces you into their adventures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXV2Pi1Q-sf5vZZB7t27WYQ9Je0NVD6DI4CMRtAkjskymPoojdl8pTBtDujJlDCrovaUEpcn1x1vH8MVHjfEMx4_H0SRJJcZJPpQxG33fgRhjMCoQ9xPwsxngGN63DUfNFBCaSqZuhkEA/s1600/pimpernel1_zpsb14bfce4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXV2Pi1Q-sf5vZZB7t27WYQ9Je0NVD6DI4CMRtAkjskymPoojdl8pTBtDujJlDCrovaUEpcn1x1vH8MVHjfEMx4_H0SRJJcZJPpQxG33fgRhjMCoQ9xPwsxngGN63DUfNFBCaSqZuhkEA/s1600/pimpernel1_zpsb14bfce4.jpg" height="496" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those hats, that collar, the hair</td></tr>
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<h4>
The Costumes:</h4>
And the costumes? It's designed by Phyllis Dalton. The name may not mean much, but when I tell you her extensively impressive list includes Doctor Zhivago and Laurence of Arabia before this film, but who also went on to costume two of the most beloved frock flicks (at least in my opinion) The Princess Bride and Kenneth Branaghs Much Ado About Nothing, you will appreciate that I don't need to wax lyrical about her talents. Unusually for this period of paniers, heaving bosoms and powdered hair, the costumes manage to be gorgeous without distracting from the characters wearing them. Margeurite's are particularly impressive from both a beautiful and character driven perspective, as she convincingly transforms from Republican sympathetic French actress to wealthy English Lady.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxUwcitR7Uuv2B9mryG3cSR9ndS7skU_VmO4GEJVC_sKMNQsENUV6uRtbYyFRKz9Y9qRL1kyTQi2XHEoPFs7S748HqOl7VFYldDscoA-f-GyY3bAollZZtmuKrF9vaj-5zt6WLrA_LX0/s1600/M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxUwcitR7Uuv2B9mryG3cSR9ndS7skU_VmO4GEJVC_sKMNQsENUV6uRtbYyFRKz9Y9qRL1kyTQi2XHEoPFs7S748HqOl7VFYldDscoA-f-GyY3bAollZZtmuKrF9vaj-5zt6WLrA_LX0/s1600/M.jpg" height="419" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margarite as on the stage...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Q_GvrWH_x9FmE9im05C-I7M48aomVKIG-jx93UqvMzU8azqUDmEegCX6x3GuWD4R5LrJ2Li1AxN56t3p7UB5QfQbgOBc4_iQyVHaws1g3cX98KTJ6LwP_qQ74U5c__x-DDFtaXCABug/s1600/0b853af6e42c402636c488f1dd3b3d63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Q_GvrWH_x9FmE9im05C-I7M48aomVKIG-jx93UqvMzU8azqUDmEegCX6x3GuWD4R5LrJ2Li1AxN56t3p7UB5QfQbgOBc4_iQyVHaws1g3cX98KTJ6LwP_qQ74U5c__x-DDFtaXCABug/s1600/0b853af6e42c402636c488f1dd3b3d63.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">vive la revolution ....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPb8pToy3VpvyvRBYtXr2GSIv7j-I4LTHV4-i3QHwyog9l5xJtrSHH43IPvNmuiKORRnw223j8hTWijQ_2U4k3ghqeRkzHyOgMm7q_c-MWYBEMjdMGKxtxiubIWcWFXMe7jJ2lQOuvmE/s1600/224e8fae63883e73302c9867a43b2bda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPb8pToy3VpvyvRBYtXr2GSIv7j-I4LTHV4-i3QHwyog9l5xJtrSHH43IPvNmuiKORRnw223j8hTWijQ_2U4k3ghqeRkzHyOgMm7q_c-MWYBEMjdMGKxtxiubIWcWFXMe7jJ2lQOuvmE/s1600/224e8fae63883e73302c9867a43b2bda.jpg" height="345" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">to English garden party</td></tr>
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<h4>
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<h4>
<b>Favourite Frock:</b></h4>
This was genuinely a difficult one, simply because this is the one era where the mens clothes genuinely come close to outshining the ladies, and as an utter fop and friend of the Prince Regent, Sir Percival Blakeney has some of the most stylish togs around. However as this is a guilty pleasures post, and I'm confessing my deepest darkest secrets, it has to be the Margeurites wedding gown, It's not even the prettiest frock in the film, but its beautiful silhouette and simplicity has basically ruined every other wedding dress for me. Ever. In fact I want that whole wedding - complete with a romantic dance with a man dressed in white satin.<br />
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<h4>
Sexiest costume:</h4>
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I'm not going to go into too much details - Spoilers! - but here it is. Watch it and tell me I'm wrong. But there is costume logic to it. In basically every other scene Percy is immaculately dressed or in disguise, whereas here this may be the closest you get to seeing him in his natural state.</div>
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<h4>
<b>Why this film is a Guilty Pleausre:</b></h4>
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It's a 1982 made for tv movie (lets be honest, they don't have the best reputation) based on a series of books that have never quite worked out which side of the Classic/Trashy Romantic Fiction line they walk. Originally a play in 1903, it was released as a novel in 1905 to great success, with many sequels. This is one of many adaptions for stage and screen (both big and small), most notably the 1950 David Niven film, the 1999 Richard E. Grant miniseries and Don't Lose Your Head, a Carry On Film starring Sid James as The Black Fingernail. While this film ads nothing profound or great to the collection, it is unashamedly good fun.</div>
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<h4>
<b>Why you should watch this film:</b></h4>
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The grand finale at Mont St-Michel, the island castle reached by causeway is brilliant (your belief should be well and truely suspended by this point), but actually the greatest thing about this film is the language. Witty banter combined, old world phrasing and idiosyncratic catch phrases make this film entirely quotable. Sink me, watch it and see if I'm not right!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-51446087593339450732014-08-19T08:35:00.001+01:002014-08-19T09:19:52.890+01:00Black tea, grey hairs and the art of breaking down<p dir="ltr">I'm starting to go grey. Recently I've progressed from the "a couple of odd hairs" stage to the "oh my God I'm actually getting old phase". I'm a bit of a tree-hugger at heart so when I stumbled across a mention in a blog about black tea as a chemical free alternative to hair dye I was intrigued. I gave it a go and the results were promising enough to make me think this is something that needs further investigation.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But of course tea as dye it makes sense in my profession. As an avid coffee and herbal tea drinker I have literally used black tea as dye more times than I have drunk it. Almost one of the first things you learn as a costume newbie is how to "take down" whites by dip-dying them with tea. The theory is that too much white under the light causes flares for the camera so if you make all your white clothes slightly off white they will appear white on camera but not piss off the Director of Photography. It's particularly important for men's white dress shirts and nurses uniforms. I've also used it to dye stark white laces and trims for a more sympathetic colour for period costumes.</p>
<p dir="ltr">You simply make a really strong tea (soaking five or six tea bags in boiling water in a small Pyrex jug until it starts to look viscous is my standard but there's no rules), add it to warm water in a bath or bucket and soak the offending whites for a while. Then rinse (but not too enthusiastically ) and dry. Then scrub your bath to get rid of the brown marks left by the tea. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's worth noting that <br>
a) pre washing the items ensure the removal of any protecting coating they might have, but you won't always have time<br>
b) like most dying natural fibres take colour better than synthetics so dying time is completely dependant on fabric and the colour you desire<br>
c) make sure you take the tea bags out before adding the tea to the fabric and stir the items regularly to ensure an even dye.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In the age of digital whites are not as big a problem as they were and less and less DOPs insist on tea dyed clothes. But on certain digital cameras bright red can be a bit of a problem. But there's not much you can do about that except not use bright red or ignore the DOP and use it anyway. You also have to be aware of patterns that strobe. Long a problem of tv it is again less a problem than it was, but small stripes, particularly in contrasting colours can do that "make your eyes go funny" on screen.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So in much the same way that my mother trying to make tablets more palatable by crushing them into a spoon of honey, now means that all honey tastes vaguely of tablets to me, so black tea makes me think of dye and wet calico (a very distinct smell half way between floor cleaner and wet dog). I find the idea of drinking it quite revolting which can be a problem when living in the UK where it is literally a way of life. But sticking it on my hair, that makes much more sense.</p>
<p dir="ltr">NB: for those who are interested in the idea of a cheap, all natural, chemical free dark brown hair dye to cover their greys, I will experiment further and keep you posted .</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-19146488050675278602014-04-28T09:55:00.002+01:002014-04-28T09:56:50.877+01:00Cinna and the Costume Design of the Hunger Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Warning: if you have been living under a hole for the past few years and still wish to be ignorant of the storyline of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, this post contains major spoilers.<br />
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I have a confession. I'm 33 and I think The Hunger Games books are the best books I've read in years. There I've said it. After jumping on the 'must read' train and obligatorily reading and watching the Harry Potter and Twilight series, with varying amounts of enjoyment and frustration (not going to critique them here because it's irrelevant) and steadfastly refusing to read 50 Shades of Grey, I've gone and got completely obsessed with popular teen fiction. I read the books, then watched the films, then repeated the whole process again in the past few months. I wasn't a huge fan of the first film when I saw it (probably a case of too much expectation combined with fairly lacklustre directing). But I saw Catching Fire at Christmas and the romance rekindled. I loved it. I re-read the books and then this weekend I introduced my husband to the two films (he read the books when I did), watching them back to back. And I had a break through. I realised why the story resonates so strongly with me personally.<br />
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The Costumes<br />
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And I'm not talking about the films costume design. I think Trish Summerville, costume designer for Catching Fire, particularly did a wonderful job. To come into a world where there was already a 'look', and then take that look and improve it exponentially, while still keeping it faithful to the original, is quite a feat. And there are some stunningly beautiful pieces of clothing in the film. But more importantly costume is used in the film constantly to define character and class. The people of the capitol dress elaborately in stark contrast to those in the districts just struggling to survive.<br />
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But that's not what I mean. I mean the role of costume design within the story. Because the majority of the decisions that a film costume designer and director would make to help the clothes define the story are already well entrenched in every part of the book. I'm talking about what Suzanne Collins added to the story. I mean the Costume Design in the book.<br />
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I mean Cinna.<br />
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I've been mulling it over, and I cannot for the life of me think of another time in fiction when the role of the costume designer is so perfectly understood. All through the series costume is of vital importance. It's NEVER 'And then Katniss wore a pretty dress'. Every single item of clothing she makes a statement, clothing always has a purpose. Katniss is almost always in costume, we very rarely see her in her own clothes. From the minute she puts on her mother's old dress to go to the reaping, she is putting away any choice she has. But that is only the first hint of what is to come.<br />
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For it is only when Katniss meets Cinna that we really start to understand the importance of clothing. Cinna uses costume design to pique the crowds interest in an otherwise fairly boring District 12 tribute, both in the chariot and the interview. Particularly in the 2 chariot scenes we are shown how superior Cinna is compared to the tired old choices of other tributes stylists. He is a visionary.<br />
For the record, I don't personally like the interpretation of this dress as seen in the film. I think more could have been done with the design of the dress (I'm sure it's described as having crystals in the book), and less of the CGI. I think the second film chariot costume combines fire and clothing much more effectively. But either way it's the <i>costume</i> that defines Katniss in this scene. She's not good at the PR side of things. Not for the last time does her clothing tell a story that she is incapable of voicing.<br />
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I don't think it's underestimating the story to say that costume is used within the story as a matter of life and death. Cinna dresses her as a young, innocent girl when she exits the arena with Peta, to help back up the story of young love, and deflect the anger of the capitol.<br />
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But more importantly he gets to make the ultimate heroic act in the wedding dress in Catching Fire. By designing an ingenious costume of political significance, fully knowing what the repercussions will be. The Costume Designer gets to make a heroic act and ultimate sacrifice. He knows that by making a statement with this dress, by thwarting the capital, he will die. And that's why his death scene is so moving. Katniss is too naive to realise it but Cinna is fully aware that this dress signed his death warrant, it was just the timing that took him by surprise.<br />
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Of course his work also appears with equal significance in Mockinjay, but for those who have only seen the films and not read the books I won't spoil that.<br />
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Of course it's not just Cinna. The clothes worn in the arena are important hints of what is to come. They are infinitely practical to their surroundings. And other characters too. The Peacekeepers are always mentioned in reference to their white uniforms. it is impossible to picture a citizen of the capitol without their styling coming into play. This is a book drenched in the significance of how things look.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR75vbtSqJKvtVP4htjJ1vPe75uY_KbfU_vXuGi9b6gGzXSSFQrUV3wnqNF7jKP_U7uJlb0hzhiugjZWiMD8Q6tZjwWJoFmbRAlnv9XwTosEUTVS7SKxHNxL3FiSznlGG8PNyYsX0id84/s640/Catching-Fire-Comic-Con-Trailer-Hunger-Times-13.jpg" height="414" width="640" /><br />
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But it's not just the clothing, it's the personality of the costume designer. I was REALLY worried when I saw that they had cast Lenny Kravitz as Cinna. My previous knowledge of him was some shirtless glam rock star who dated Nicole Kidman. Surely he couldn't play the role of Cinna with the subtlety and empathy he deserved? But I've been converted. Because that is the important flip side. Suzanne Collins understands more than just the clothes, she also appreciates the relationship of stylist and client. It is somewhere between trusted ladies maid and artistic salesmanship. To get the best out of your clothing you need the person wearing it to believe in it. You have to sell your art to them so that they believe in it (and themselves) too. Sometimes that requires obsequiousness, flattery is very useful, and at other times you need to be bossy, but it is a relationship based on trust. The costume requires both the designer and the model to exist, and so it's a relationship that relies essentially on mutual trust and respect. And when that's not there, believe me, you can tell.<br />
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Anything that is as popular as The Hunger Games is by definition going to get as much negative as positive attention. Is the idea really original? Is Katniss really a hero? I don't really care. I like the story of Katniss and her world. It's bloody good storytelling. But even so, what I think is truly great about this world is that is gives costume a platform. Hopefully people will begin to understand that good costume design is almost never about who has the prettiest dress .<br />
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Just a personal addendum: this is my favourite costume from the films, The beautiful Cleopatra-esque design and use of colour is stunning. But we're also not allowed to forget that she is the Mocking Jay <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-71514536892838387182013-06-20T10:36:00.000+01:002013-06-21T22:37:13.296+01:00Period Fancy DressI'm a little bit obsessed with period fancy dress, especially when they dress up in the costumes another period. To me there's something endlessly fascinating about the blending of two periods as one era blends historic ideas with their contemporary aesthetic.<br />
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Take this photo of Prinzessin Viktoria von Preussen aka “Moretta” from the 1880s.The silhouette and neckline is unmistakeably 1880s, but the frills, sleeves and pannier skirt loops (without the shaping undergarments) show us that she is dressing in her interpretation of a Rococo costume. What I particularly like is the hair, the front curls are very late Victorian, but the height is, what we would call, Rococo 'inspired'.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbGbhGT_J5f1JN9BZzE-iM3w8HIZbScyG21OJd2JmXJ46D9OgyLQb9ThyQ5h8RWgx4Rq_nv40ei5J7CSbZJQrWvlsPGSrOWOGY18W3_WElPnNFfmeD4tJ9aoDCn7VFKiSTyzEodEcMmgs/s1600/521b8bf0d36dcc3709e62a5cf3950dca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbGbhGT_J5f1JN9BZzE-iM3w8HIZbScyG21OJd2JmXJ46D9OgyLQb9ThyQ5h8RWgx4Rq_nv40ei5J7CSbZJQrWvlsPGSrOWOGY18W3_WElPnNFfmeD4tJ9aoDCn7VFKiSTyzEodEcMmgs/s1600/521b8bf0d36dcc3709e62a5cf3950dca.jpg" height="400" width="192" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmj_J3C4-1hT6DrH1AWXHRrCh9899_ol6s5H2oykpA9-00m9f3LwLgaFjFtcTkSkxNXJrO77pUrLJOcwo5vRC8zcX5IDQmBaeDclGcuvxujWlRIIWOE4aLBPiXFMhJQlMzBUzAVWLAcY/s1600/f45dfef53a4bef8835dd0ab3900624c0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmj_J3C4-1hT6DrH1AWXHRrCh9899_ol6s5H2oykpA9-00m9f3LwLgaFjFtcTkSkxNXJrO77pUrLJOcwo5vRC8zcX5IDQmBaeDclGcuvxujWlRIIWOE4aLBPiXFMhJQlMzBUzAVWLAcY/s1600/f45dfef53a4bef8835dd0ab3900624c0.jpg" height="400" width="357" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a dress from the 1760s, the sort of style she is imitating</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj624rv8LcSONGBH4TWwitFbuvYQ_-_e7Uh6smWDXX8BQGPeqZb9uMGrE4Mlv4zWQ235sdC0Te6sD2TlaDIogKq98riOb0plm2K8z1iayjoMiZzkW__mHPvTHgkVj80nkVFyyL-sBwizQ8/s1600/906ac6bee5c2d45a6766657f72a3ce80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj624rv8LcSONGBH4TWwitFbuvYQ_-_e7Uh6smWDXX8BQGPeqZb9uMGrE4Mlv4zWQ235sdC0Te6sD2TlaDIogKq98riOb0plm2K8z1iayjoMiZzkW__mHPvTHgkVj80nkVFyyL-sBwizQ8/s1600/906ac6bee5c2d45a6766657f72a3ce80.jpg" height="400" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is an 1880s evening gowns from Charles Worth, the style she might have worn to a normal evening party.</td></tr>
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Here's a few more period fancy dress gowns:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd90pa0Kj9kGiW0QO9rCFPGlhJ5OdT64vjAWxWH_PCFDpjyrjODW9hAVBqtUrbYHpBkHcPj2mVYz9Ww-G0KwKVosWpMuSS1hoc9FdeQMJXavinQ4565GOLMCXhGBITBqmhpofsKuTHJEw/s1600/ccb2a4255938025174e68560155ea33a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd90pa0Kj9kGiW0QO9rCFPGlhJ5OdT64vjAWxWH_PCFDpjyrjODW9hAVBqtUrbYHpBkHcPj2mVYz9Ww-G0KwKVosWpMuSS1hoc9FdeQMJXavinQ4565GOLMCXhGBITBqmhpofsKuTHJEw/s1600/ccb2a4255938025174e68560155ea33a.jpg" height="400" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Princess Louise of England in rococo costume. 1865 - note the 1860s crinoline: once again the silhouette is entirely contemporary, but the hair is more authentic and she has the elbow length sleeve with lace. I wish we could see the front!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkM1Zn_DMKlMgXaG7NaVuUc52jgdQcrkhO5w52V0DdOXA85q_KzQi10Y4PCBpEtia52o_CShpHLQiaIofYnWSOypVlG_fHB9xdn6s3TPflyzD9PMkdbYfUpixXirYjb1gxb2VOHgxwy_8/s1600/d2ef62b5dd28ec931864e6c19c0bd5a5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkM1Zn_DMKlMgXaG7NaVuUc52jgdQcrkhO5w52V0DdOXA85q_KzQi10Y4PCBpEtia52o_CShpHLQiaIofYnWSOypVlG_fHB9xdn6s3TPflyzD9PMkdbYfUpixXirYjb1gxb2VOHgxwy_8/s1600/d2ef62b5dd28ec931864e6c19c0bd5a5.jpg" height="400" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queen Maude of Norway does 17th C style fancy dress 1897. I love the fabric choice here but the proportions look so odd with the the large shoulders and narrow skirt: much more 1890s the 17th Century. The collar is superb though.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1zeX05oTlf6pnVMFNnAankrTuld_oTY-g0pSMREgZ8JziKT9sRX2yZuNC6zkZyMC85NOhtkQkx9RToyTW1-RcDiltU1sX8D8HLZmxwoE0DVNl1C1HnSrm60hvGNewFdMEZ-W-vF-t8g/s1600/bf97d4946ccb081d0b616a7392d2d81a.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1zeX05oTlf6pnVMFNnAankrTuld_oTY-g0pSMREgZ8JziKT9sRX2yZuNC6zkZyMC85NOhtkQkx9RToyTW1-RcDiltU1sX8D8HLZmxwoE0DVNl1C1HnSrm60hvGNewFdMEZ-W-vF-t8g/s1600/bf97d4946ccb081d0b616a7392d2d81a.jpg" height="400" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A
Lady's 17th C Dutch servant girl fancy dress - Charles Worth C1900.
This costume feels very romanticised fairy tale character, and apart
from the severe corseting, not unlike the sort of thing you would find
in a Simplicity pattern</td></tr>
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It seems that it's hardest for Victorians to accurately interpret pre-1800 costumes, when the corsets were more angular and petticoats more dramatic. The dead giveaway though is the Victorian curved corsets, as opposed to the straighter style used in previous decades.<br />
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Not everyone would have had family portrait galleries to use as inspiration. Here's some fashion sketches for fancy dress parties that would have been available, much like we would use fashion magazines for inspiration. They've done a pretty respectable job with the ones below.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCp30U8plOYFka5y23TKI5iXcmAigoTzIuv3W6Ot_tanV4qR6hz-V0cmbNN9uzdztClxzDK9gdgDve2anedliYAD_cRnq6CS53BPJNFl2NUcLVz8JXS5mdUgxXqpaX3GoC3VmNmjGaQow/s1600/a51b1d9d39ab30a9c87772b60d04d2a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCp30U8plOYFka5y23TKI5iXcmAigoTzIuv3W6Ot_tanV4qR6hz-V0cmbNN9uzdztClxzDK9gdgDve2anedliYAD_cRnq6CS53BPJNFl2NUcLVz8JXS5mdUgxXqpaX3GoC3VmNmjGaQow/s1600/a51b1d9d39ab30a9c87772b60d04d2a2.jpg" height="400" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1845 Fancy Dress Costume of 1700s</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuirs0Rfm4gspvqnAH1ei9WZZUHiUZjcCDofkRHaHtLurXog3j3eaPjE0EdpzSTmr_E8Z__kEV45F9Ws-6EXJDtCCUT58LFWqk2HV5_9sEGYJaO5nae_bbG8HaWt0IXWy_zl7gjlGfTug/s1600/4b263311fcbcb8aeca75f9ca063d0a7f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuirs0Rfm4gspvqnAH1ei9WZZUHiUZjcCDofkRHaHtLurXog3j3eaPjE0EdpzSTmr_E8Z__kEV45F9Ws-6EXJDtCCUT58LFWqk2HV5_9sEGYJaO5nae_bbG8HaWt0IXWy_zl7gjlGfTug/s1600/4b263311fcbcb8aeca75f9ca063d0a7f.jpg" height="400" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duchess of Devonshire from 'Fancy Dresses Described; or, What to Wear at Fancy Balls,' by Hold, Ardern, 1896</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4gPDUsX3gMPOo90ASp7VP-MXXrGiV6H4BMpRWpCMF6ROdULGHFESFG5aF5HFSJQ_aWGHM1j3vIbMP9x3wTdNMRq-qOkKO-SgWVPrIFY1MbdWLDKfYvYjnIeYbny21OQEMdsNFp2haEk/s1600/5d0669e3079cd2ca773bcd62122ebbd6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4gPDUsX3gMPOo90ASp7VP-MXXrGiV6H4BMpRWpCMF6ROdULGHFESFG5aF5HFSJQ_aWGHM1j3vIbMP9x3wTdNMRq-qOkKO-SgWVPrIFY1MbdWLDKfYvYjnIeYbny21OQEMdsNFp2haEk/s1600/5d0669e3079cd2ca773bcd62122ebbd6.jpg" height="400" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress of Tudor Period from 'Fancy Dresses Described; or, What to Wear at Fancy Balls,' by Hold, Ardern, 1896</td></tr>
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For me part of the fun is dating the actual period when the costume was designed. I like this one, because I don't know the date. I'm guessing it's probably from the 1870s or 1880s trying to do Elizabethan, soldier, and I can't even hazard a guess on the pink gown. I'm tempted to say Moulin Rouge, but given that she appears to be a child, it doesn't seem appropriate.<br />
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Please don't think I'm criticising these costumes, if anything I'm admiring them. This is the real anthropology of costumes, an insight into how previous periods perceived other eras. We romanticise the fashions of Victorian times, who in turn also romanticised previous periods. And we are no means immune to editing period fashions to suit contemporary ideals (but that's a post for another day).<br />
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This one below is my absolute favourite: Yes that does say Marie Antoinette period: she is of course famous for her leg-o-mutton sleeves. There is a slight nod to a panier petticoat and split front skirt but apart from that there is no resemblance to anything Marie Antoinette would have worn. Perhaps there was a different Marie Antoinette who lived in 1895???<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-19830470724090092742013-06-06T10:44:00.001+01:002013-06-06T10:58:24.983+01:00Titanic: Switched at Birth Part IIRegular readers will know I'm fascinated about where the line falls in costume design between being inspired by others designs and creativity. After my post on the similarities between <a href="http://thecostumerail.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/switched-at-birth-princess-amidala-and.html" target="_blank">Amidala and the Cobra Woman</a> you'll understand my excitement when the picture below appeared in my facebook feed yesterday.<br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">1912, Les Modes (Paris)<br /> Tailored suit for the afternoon by Linker & Co.<br /> &<br /> Kate Winslet as Rose in Titanic<br /> Costume design by Deborah L. Scott</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Obviously they are the 'same' outfit, but equally obviously changes have been made. I much prefer Scott's use of black on the collar and the stiff man shirt collar and tie underneath, very necessary for a film costume where the area framing the face is the most important part. Equally I think her skirt is a much neater, geometric shape and the thinner stripe of the fabric is much cleaner. However I do think something has been lost in the sizing down of the buttons, and while I think it was a wise costume design choice to lose the fur trim, I am an absolute sucker for vintage fur and part of me is disappointed by the choice to remove it. Almost unbelievably, Winslet's (or should I say Scott's) massive hat appears to be a scaled down version of the original, but is a much more opulent design.</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">I was blown away by how beautiful this ensemble (the Titanic one) was when I saw it at the V&A Hollywood Costume Exhibition. My major memory of this look is the famous shot of that amazing hat as her head turns to reveal her face, but the actual outfit below the neck is far more striking. </span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">While studying I was lucky enough to be taught a class in costume design by Australian costume designer Margot Williams - probably most famous for costuming <i>'The Proposition' (2005)</i>. She used a moderately successful horror film that she worked on called <i>'Ghost Ship' </i>(2002) as an example piece for us. The IMDB blurb for the film reads as follows: A salvage crew that discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating
lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea soon notices, as they try
to tow it back to land, that "strange things" happen... </span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"> If you're not too squeamish, here's the opening sequence of the film on YouTube. And believe me when I tell you that working with both vintage styling and blood together is the sort of thing most costume and makeup professionals dream about (as long as they don't think about the stressful practicalities too much). Not being a fan of the horror genre, I wasn't that interested in the rest of the film, but I love the opening 4 1/2 minutes.</span></span><br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/om_o4YcCqWk/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/om_o4YcCqWk&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/om_o4YcCqWk&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">I'm not unaware of the similarities between the two films: ocean liner where majority on board die, modern day crew revisit the remains... a happy coincidence used to illustrate my point. </span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Because of the practicalities all the 1962 costumes had to be made from scratch. Noone wants to get blood (even of the fake variety) on vintage clothing, but also they needed multiples: clean ones, bloody ones, half ones (or sometimes both halves at the same time for different actors) and whole ones.</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">I remember her telling us that she did extensive research into designs and styles of the period, and then drew all the dresses from memory without any first hand material in front of her to distract her. All the designs, though inspired by historical accuracy, were her own.</span></span><br />
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><br /></span></span>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">That has always stuck with me as how good costume design works. In theory.</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">However in practice it's never that simple.</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">How is copying a vintage design any different from choosing and styling an actual vintage piece from hundreds of other pieces, because it perfectly suits your vision? Or even buying a dress from the high street for an actress to wear? </span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Scott made some very conscious decisions on customising the dress to suit her purposes. Nobody could accuse her of making a direct copy. But it's definitely an 'inspired by' piece. Either way it's fascinating to see the inspiration.</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">What are your thoughts? Is this clever costume design or downright plagiarism?</span></span><br />
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-40364832218693132002013-05-10T12:14:00.001+01:002013-05-10T12:16:30.953+01:00Peter and Alice<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUg4zTAsA4RWyyT-RasTBrsW2Pn1X01Ar6X9RMGJquuzgSLwht5XTSdAtNg-76C3uDIiPANXlR6A7wpiRpkfmalIaua87idSBX13z8I6xvTnUeAU67lryObtLIxzwmPrI-v5rxvbWgtY/s1600/pa-00041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUg4zTAsA4RWyyT-RasTBrsW2Pn1X01Ar6X9RMGJquuzgSLwht5XTSdAtNg-76C3uDIiPANXlR6A7wpiRpkfmalIaua87idSBX13z8I6xvTnUeAU67lryObtLIxzwmPrI-v5rxvbWgtY/s1600/pa-00041.jpg" height="347" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The storeroom where the meeting takes place</td></tr>
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Last night I went to see Peter and Alice, a new play directed by Michael Grandage, about when Alice Liddell Hargreaves (Wonderland) met Peter Llewelyn Davies (Pan) at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932. Oh, and stars Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw. Yep, that was pretty much all I needed to know to be interested. In August of last year I booked tickets, hunting through an already fast selling catalogue to ensure we found a night where we could sit front and centre, three rows back. Being close enough to see the genuine tears glistening in Judy Dench's eyes during the curtain call made the wait and the expense worth it.<br />
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I've never had much interest in Peter Pan, but have always been rather obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. Not so much the many film adaptations but the books, and particularly the original drawings. (Although, in a similar manner to Winnie-the-Pooh, it is hard to divorce them from Disney's interpretations.) As well as avidly reading both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass when I was younger, I was also obsessed with one of my fathers' books by Raymond M. Smullyan, <i>'Alice in Puzzle-land'</i>, a book of logic puzzles based on Wonderland characters, which really brought the Lewis Carol spirit alive (I must have been a strange child!).<br />
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When we arrived in Britain we were based in Oxford, and were invited by a friend to dine at the top table of at Christ Church, where Charles Dodgsen aka Lewis Carol spent a large portion of his life. We walked down the spiral staircase from the staff room, which supposedly inspired the rabbit hole, and saw the various features of the room, such as the long necked fireplaces. But particularly I remember walking under the statue of Reverend Henry Liddell, and our friend said: "I walk under that every day and all I can think is 'That poor man, it doesn't matter what he did or didn't do in his life, he'll always be Alice in Wonderland's father'"<br />
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Which pretty much brings us to the point of the play. How do the Real Alice and Real Peter feel about being immortalised in fiction? What does it mean to go through life under the weight of such a burden? It's a complicated thing to achieve fame for doing nothing, to have everyone blur the lines between reality and fiction. As the two share their experiences, their current real life misery is contrasted with happy childhood memories, and the store room becomes a magical stage, full of Wonderland and Neverland imagery. They are joined by Lewis Carol and J. M. Barry, and by Alice and Peter Pan who represent their childhood, storybook naivety. It is a story, that in the wrong hands, could have been terrible, but playwright John Logan managed to get the slightly sinister nature of the relationships the children had with the authors, the world's intense possessive love of the stories, and the leads own battle with real life tragedy, pitch perfect.<br />
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Dench and Whishaw jumped perfectly from old and bitter to young and naive seamlessly. Brilliant actor Nicholas Farrell (above - one of those 'you'd recognise him when you see him' actors) played Lewis Carol with a wonderful stutter and a brilliant mix of kindness and creepy. And the rest of the cast were strong. The us of fictional Alice and Peter Pan was a wonderful conceit, contrasting the naive almost pantomime style acting and the authors words with real world emotions. It was a play full of humour, but I was swallowing back tears on more than one occasion.<br />
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The design, as you would expect with such a subject matter, was magical. It stayed respectful to our memories, but then took them to another level beyond imagination. Older Alice wore a 1930s style blue floral dress, and a hat with a big bow on it; older Peter wore a crumbled jacket with a green knitted waistcoat and grey trousers; wonderful allusions to the costumes of their fantasy namesakes, but subtle enough that my husband didn't even notice until I pointed it out afterwards. Fictional Alice's dress was a childhood dream, with stiff skirts and puffy sleeves and exquisitely tailored. If I have one fault, the hem of Peter's brown jacket was roughly hand hemmed, distracting enough to make me wonder if it was dodgy sewing or a deliberate attempt to make him look rumpled, but I don't pretend that this would have bothered anybody less costume obsessed.<br />
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At the beginning Peter and Alice meet in a crowded store room, complete with subtle details like a pirate ship, a mirror and a white rabbit toy mixed in with old boxes and junk. But once they began to talk properly about the past, the storeroom dissolved into a magical theatre, where lush red curtains were painted onto felt and we lived an breathed scenes of storybook fantasy. Particularly beautiful was the Neverland cavern where, through lighting and paint they somehow managed to recreate the effect of moonlight on water. It reminded me a lot of <i>Matilda</i>, <a href="http://thecostumerail.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-genius-of-matilda-on-stage.html" target="_blank">(see my review here)</a> in its beautiful way of combining childhood ideas for an adult audience. <br />
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I have this belief that the best theatre should embrace a sort of suspended reality, a magical place that film and television can't go, and this play perfectly illustrates that idea. But it also requires collaboration under strong directing: script, acting and design have to work together in harmony in order to create a really successful piece of theatre, and this is where <i>Peter and Alice</i> really excelled. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-59942800442106752342013-05-08T15:48:00.001+01:002013-05-08T15:48:20.044+01:00Old jobs and new jobs and getting a Work / Life BalanceI've had a quiet Winter work-wise. Part of the problem with being self-employed, and more specifically working in the entertainment industry is that you can get so absorbed with working towards projects and deadlines that you completely forget about your own body's needs. So I'd work long hours, with high stress, low sleep and rubbish diet, and then crash afterwards. That's OK when you're in your teens and twenties, but now I'm a bit older my body doesn't take as kindly to that sort of behaviour.<br />
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Even more than the physical needs, I've come to a rather startling conclusion: I like spending quality time with my long-suffering husband, curling up with him and my cat on the couch of an evening; I like seeing my friends; I like having hobbies and spare time and learning how to dance; I like reading books and watching films and going to the theatre; redecorating my house and gardening and cooking healthy meals from scratch. My whole life I've imagined myself as a rebellious artistic type and now it turns out I'm rather boringly domesticated. <br />
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And I like sewing for myself. Sewing for a job means that last thing you want to do is come home and sew for fun. I have friends who seem to think I could imagine nothing more exciting that sewing clothes for them for free in my spare time. But for most of the last 10 or so years I've been lucky if I can pluck up the energy to re-sew on that button that fell off my coat. (You'd be amazed how many professional costumiers have clothes held together with safety pins because they can't be bothered to spend five minutes on themselves).<br />
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Call it a mid-life crisis, call it my biological clock even (although I
still don't want kids), or maybe just call it getting older. But I rather like having a life outside of work.<br />
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So after working flat out making (many, many) Wenlock mascot costumes for the Olympic Games, then designing for two films pretty much in a row, I took a much needed rest. Lucky for me I have a very understanding husband who earns enough money to support me. I don't for a moment pretend I could do this on my own. But it's been good for him too. After he took on more responsibility and hours at work around Christmas we have found that we've got on better than we have for years with me being at home to pick up the pieces and make sure he has food to eat and clean clothes to wear. Yep, I'm not ashamed to admit that I became a bit of a Housewife. And while it was hard for the first few months retraining my body how not to survive on sheer adrenaline, I've actually quite enjoyed it. (Even more surprisingly, when I've confessed as much to friends, a lot of my career orientated feminist London peers have been verging on jealousy). After years of being a chronic workaholic, I've worked a few odd days, but mostly I've been learning how to enjoy the quiet time.<br />
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Until now.<br />
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Over the past few weeks I've taken up two new jobs. One is costume designing a feature film teaser (basically a trailer so you have something to show potential investors) with a producer that I've worked with several times before, which is great because I have a fair idea of how things are going to work from the outset. It's less than a week of filming, and even though it's set over a few days, it's contemporary and fairly straight forward (as much as any of these things ever are).<br />
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But I'm much more excited about the second job. I'm going to be doing freelance dressmaking tutoring for teenagers and adults. Ever since I started teaching my 4-8 year old nieces a few years ago, I've been flirting with the idea in the back of my mind that I really love helping others learn how to sew: to unleash their own creativity and a passion for making clothes. While studying I lived and worked in a girls boarding school as a junior resident mistress, and apart from the red tape and politics, I loved it. Now, with almost faultless timing, an opportunity has come up. Basically I have an agent who finds the work and worries about all that side of the business, and I get to see if this is something I potentially want to spend more time doing, but under the safety of someone elses umbrella and without the annoyance of organisational red tape.<br />
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I'm not giving up on costuming completely - I doubt I could even if I wanted to - but I'm going to be a lot more picky about the projects I take on. I'm going to choose a smaller number of projects that I really want to do, rather than just anything that comes my way. It's possible that if I was permanently employed in a costume house or workroom on a hourly rate I could have a more sensible life, but I enjoy being self employed, I enjoy the variety in the work and I go mad when I have no creative outlet and get stuck in a rut. Lets face it, if I enjoyed the regularity (sorry did you say monotony?) of a 9-5 desk job, I would have made a much more lucrative career choice.<br />
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I'm really excited about the idea of following a career path that goes some way towards getting a work/life balance. Where I can have work variety and flexibility and still follow my passion. But even better I now have a job where part of my self-promotion will be wearing beautiful clothes that I have made myself, so I might finally get the motivation to begin properly sewing for myself again. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-67538270554910503392013-05-01T11:26:00.000+01:002013-05-01T11:26:00.628+01:00Lichtenstein at the Tate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJgJ_u6VYhQ9zQNpn9-pwgQLSUaV5vQ69m3rXYSdW78yJzOTmiQiI4o75yKAcFwY9Nll0LAORjpvMKOldoLKHnnyYJQ3lJUC-XQ_AYEf32icPjOaR_LxLZyNBFUv0w8mhD-V8UhEGRXs/s1600/lichtenstein_web-banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJgJ_u6VYhQ9zQNpn9-pwgQLSUaV5vQ69m3rXYSdW78yJzOTmiQiI4o75yKAcFwY9Nll0LAORjpvMKOldoLKHnnyYJQ3lJUC-XQ_AYEf32icPjOaR_LxLZyNBFUv0w8mhD-V8UhEGRXs/s1600/lichtenstein_web-banner.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yesterday i had a meeting in town, and on my way I noticed a sign for a Roy Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern. I decided to have a pleasant sunny London town walk along the river and have an impromptu art gallery exhibition. Looking at paintings is one of my favourite things in the world. I love dragging my husband around the galleries of the world when we're on holiday to appreciate art I probably won't be able to see anywhere else. I can't stand tourists who just go an take a photo of the famous painting. If you can't enjoy looking at it in and experience the emotions you have looking at it person, why on earth do you think anyone, especially you, is going to want to see a photo of it?? But one thing I have noticed: there's usually a pretty good reason why the famous artists and paintings are the famous ones. Not always, I adore falling in love with a painting by someone I've never heard of in a corner of an art gallery, but look at Botticelli's Birth of Venus surrounded by thousands of other paintings of the same period and you understand why it's the one you've seen in art books. <br />
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Lichtenstein is one of those artists that everybody recognises his work, most teenagers with art aspirations go through a phase of thinking he's uber cool, but I didn't really know all that much about apart from the 'he does big paintings of comic books' thing. The thing about Lichtenstein is that because his point is about playing with texture and scale, enlarging small 'low art' pictures and turning them into 'high art', you are never really going to understand his work by looking at it in an art text book. Yes that is true of all artists to a point, but you can still appreciate the composition and technique of a Rembrandt or Vermeer in a picture. Even more modern artists like Mondrian and Picasso's ideas come across in 5" square prints. But they just don't for Lichtenstein, because what you are looking at is more or less the small commercial drawing that he was inspired by.<br />
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It's only when you see his precision work with dots in a 1.5m square canvas that his work comes alive.<br />
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But more importantly the exhibition is excellently curated. To those who believe art should be about final picture rather than ideas and motivation, it's very easy to be dismissive of what Lichtenstein did. But the way the exhibition is laid out: his different styles and themes, his understanding and homages of other artists such as Picasso and Monet. The most hardened cynic could not but learn to appreciate the true artist behind the images from the information and layout of this show. It's on until May 27th and I cannot recommend it highly enough if you have any enjoyment of art.<br />
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Without sounding too much like an art wank, when walking into the gift shop at the end of the exhibition I had that feeling you get where you enjoyed yourself so much that you want to buy a memento of what you saw. But it's like I said above, his work is pretty much about small scale commercial art made into large scale high art paintings, so shrinking them down to be printed onto mass produced mugs and t-shirts kind of defeats the point. Although I think he of all people would appreciate the irony.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYxYqOhQCLsuelhKWaw17yL1wVr2UuQ9EbOKaip_hWbrI4fRF348l-jcAqBdjYHi1-rNfgWovMRd5i4n-DnXgMprTxrXDMnQGxxNhaB8lORTUewnGUQwgIHSCU205oJISzs2Q7MQfzMU/s1600/lictenstein_whaam_explosion_cushion_14262_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYxYqOhQCLsuelhKWaw17yL1wVr2UuQ9EbOKaip_hWbrI4fRF348l-jcAqBdjYHi1-rNfgWovMRd5i4n-DnXgMprTxrXDMnQGxxNhaB8lORTUewnGUQwgIHSCU205oJISzs2Q7MQfzMU/s1600/lictenstein_whaam_explosion_cushion_14262_medium.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-32160787037199531692013-04-29T11:11:00.002+01:002013-04-29T11:11:49.703+01:00How Not to Style a Vintage Dress PatternWarning, this post contains ranting!<br />
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Looking at retro and vintage pattern ranges for a jacket pattern recently reminded me of a bugbear of mine. I can't stand the majority of styling on the photos for vintage pattern covers. I think a lot of them aren't the best constructed garments or fabric choices, but it's more than that. They just don't seem to understand what people who are buying vintage patterns actually want.<br />
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To be fair, I've picked a worst case example, but there's still no excuse for sloppy marketing. Here's the original 1945 pattern illustration for Vogue Vintage pattern V1136. Isn't it stunning?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMoYl6sHJf-cxFTBLHk7bpj7LKFCH6lRqDFWYRj6C1kdDB4dRd5NDW8thfceo92enhFTJLHNCRzg2Dfg3bSKcg9EOOCmzjmuzFWeG7ZnUgV0Z3FYqLJI7nnxc3bUZb0G8y-UsYc4xTwg/s1600/V1136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMoYl6sHJf-cxFTBLHk7bpj7LKFCH6lRqDFWYRj6C1kdDB4dRd5NDW8thfceo92enhFTJLHNCRzg2Dfg3bSKcg9EOOCmzjmuzFWeG7ZnUgV0Z3FYqLJI7nnxc3bUZb0G8y-UsYc4xTwg/s1600/V1136.jpg" height="400" width="378" /></a></div>
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I'll be the first to admit fashion drawings are stylised perfection
rather than anatomical accuracy, but the point of both drawing and photo
is to be aspirational. To make us believe that we could look that good
if only we made that dress. </div>
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With that in mind, here is the contemporary photo they chose to advertise the pattern.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2GuNUWg2DA84vTYv9S_rI8b-_cszTG49pu2ElrSHAPVfvHdt7f0pUXKBHnQMZlzHBgFxYjtscJ5TtwwXjsj-QfEgb80c1yC7Z0td1zpZSTnLZmNzHt-XUNh8PoJ7mNcVryBvTxic7m0/s1600/V11361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2GuNUWg2DA84vTYv9S_rI8b-_cszTG49pu2ElrSHAPVfvHdt7f0pUXKBHnQMZlzHBgFxYjtscJ5TtwwXjsj-QfEgb80c1yC7Z0td1zpZSTnLZmNzHt-XUNh8PoJ7mNcVryBvTxic7m0/s1600/V11361.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></div>
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I showed the picture to my husband and his response was "That's not the same dress". For a start the pose seems to actually have been designed ensure the beautiful cut of the neckline, sleeves and waist is lost, and the styling is awful. To me this photo looks like something from the late 80s or early 90s, (I'm thinking it wished is was Pretty Woman-esque). It's like they are trying to hide everything that makes the pattern desirable in the first place. <br />
Don't they realise that people who buy vintage patterns do it because they actually like the vintage look?<br />
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Butterick are doing better with their Retro range, trying to appeal to a younger audience with their own and their 'Patterns by Gertie' range, but even they have kind of missed the some of the point of vintage patterns. I know I've said it before, but you simply can't expect to look vintage without some nod to appropriate underwear. You don't have to to go to What Katie Did to get an authentic look. If girdles are required, wear some control top tights or magic support pants. If it's a busty period like the 1950s, at least wear a good balconette bra (As opposed to a push up bra which will push them together, a balconette will push them up separately).<br />
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Here's Retro Butterick pattern B5748<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMeSS_NRllV7A8nXUl1NqVmO98ob_wqztXBB1hvpZA_7cfhyphenhyphenM1sMRq9Qe1W1qzpsxLozjRVgTVj-J4UNO-fVDkZ9VPU2JYyTLzSaOHJR3WjW8xobHlq9hshjVxMibZUUbVB_i3FWgpDA/s1600/B57481.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMeSS_NRllV7A8nXUl1NqVmO98ob_wqztXBB1hvpZA_7cfhyphenhyphenM1sMRq9Qe1W1qzpsxLozjRVgTVj-J4UNO-fVDkZ9VPU2JYyTLzSaOHJR3WjW8xobHlq9hshjVxMibZUUbVB_i3FWgpDA/s1600/B57481.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pattern sketch for Butterick B5748</td></tr>
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And here's their photo.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRJ7_HIWmAoYlGCqpclm3XxIis63ePB3pj44_hEzt0t6CZqK6dQkggF9waDyK3h5UvBq3aRPH_wVmTtIXbgHMf-4-uwJMMflnvgKKdaerK3fxC9EyA2KDA6Bp22dJK4Gm6TY6GWokVqc/s1600/B5748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRJ7_HIWmAoYlGCqpclm3XxIis63ePB3pj44_hEzt0t6CZqK6dQkggF9waDyK3h5UvBq3aRPH_wVmTtIXbgHMf-4-uwJMMflnvgKKdaerK3fxC9EyA2KDA6Bp22dJK4Gm6TY6GWokVqc/s1600/B5748.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></div>
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It's a gorgeous fabric choice and the styling is pretty good. It manages to look both fresh and modern and late 50s (the pattern is 1960). But there's a huge problem: this woman has NO shaping from her bust to her waist. I'm all for celebrating different figure types, and she would be a great model for a 20s or late 60s mod pattern, but they could at least have attempted to get a 50s style figure for their photo. Let's be honest, at least part of the reason most of us like the vintage look is because we have curves and are sick of coming up against modern fashion and clothes cut for an idealised, boyish, supermodel figure.<br />
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Surely if you want buy a reissue of a retro pattern it's because <i>shock, horror</i>, you're actually after a degree of authenticity? I'm by no means saying these pictures have to be styled as period reproductions, but they should at least aspire to give us the glamour and elegance that we love about vintage clothing. <br />
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In fact one of the best retro/vintage style patterns I found from the big brands was this Butterick pattern that's just being sold in the normal dress section. That's right, apart from the obvious fun the stylist had, there's no attempt to sell this as anything other than a modern pattern. With a tiny bit of tweaking, a cute fabric and a few more inches on the hem this would make a fabulous swing dancing dress (and actually isn't dissimilar to one I paid quite a bit of money for). The cut and the details are great: I love the classic shape of the yoke and the waist darts. Sure the flower is over-sized and the belt modern, but her hair and makeup is a pretty convincing 1940s style. Am I the only one concerned that this makes a more authentic nod to 'retro styling' than a lot of the patterns that are sold as authentic period reproductions? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UtU1B4MKnkghnQaUPPt8XywwGJk0eNftU4tCV33kKrizF1gUt6jz1chK9ZM_kjLWqNANTqW5l5Z4eYlpEe1u3mO4e3EZWRjjUJPB2SWuf-20sv4HPQnQlgk8ZpUiA4gHPGy85lc2Vq8/s1600/B5846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UtU1B4MKnkghnQaUPPt8XywwGJk0eNftU4tCV33kKrizF1gUt6jz1chK9ZM_kjLWqNANTqW5l5Z4eYlpEe1u3mO4e3EZWRjjUJPB2SWuf-20sv4HPQnQlgk8ZpUiA4gHPGy85lc2Vq8/s1600/B5846.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpiMu-6eFMVpqo99r_ohnxqDnfWEW6GYnc9GRp7kPi8yzLCnoKZYUN0SqJExJx3lmXiuILr-PZy2P_ibq6dWK5SN1ir6Q2nZ_mu6gg3Ey3SjWfPHGjIwnpXxBvbVD8x9ChIIFUj_FQ48/s1600/B58461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpiMu-6eFMVpqo99r_ohnxqDnfWEW6GYnc9GRp7kPi8yzLCnoKZYUN0SqJExJx3lmXiuILr-PZy2P_ibq6dWK5SN1ir6Q2nZ_mu6gg3Ey3SjWfPHGjIwnpXxBvbVD8x9ChIIFUj_FQ48/s1600/B58461.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></div>
This dress is so flattering to so many figure types. I just love the back yoke detail.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgTtVY6P5YD2nHcOxvooQteO2XsWNgmDGbstYpzEO8jxz293iQLr563_1d7s6ks02NXo3W2xqPnjsXh2_LvPpPku2EiUDnhy_OhJWXbS8LwSw-bTX9Px_GSl7dhvjgpONfI9vNzGxIuE/s1600/B58462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgTtVY6P5YD2nHcOxvooQteO2XsWNgmDGbstYpzEO8jxz293iQLr563_1d7s6ks02NXo3W2xqPnjsXh2_LvPpPku2EiUDnhy_OhJWXbS8LwSw-bTX9Px_GSl7dhvjgpONfI9vNzGxIuE/s1600/B58462.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></div>
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Just to show you that I'm not a complete grump, here's some examples of how to style a vintage pattern photoshoot properly. I'm not saying that these are 100% period accurate, but they are stylish and gorgeous and more importantly, you'd actually aspire to look as elegant as the girl in the photo in your own completed garment. They are perfectly aimed at the modern girl who wants to sew authentic period dress patterns. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarKWHKCQhuXMyxNUHieVzV1ujbnunjJUDIt9zIff_1wsM80YPSjRpJXgiz1Hy2c4DuHMuNo37Ok9onB0qDudM8sTxG1EXOgMnLDk0g51xWNg-grxyjIFAc4c8N8hdkLLtQ8_bRqDAh60/s1600/V2787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarKWHKCQhuXMyxNUHieVzV1ujbnunjJUDIt9zIff_1wsM80YPSjRpJXgiz1Hy2c4DuHMuNo37Ok9onB0qDudM8sTxG1EXOgMnLDk0g51xWNg-grxyjIFAc4c8N8hdkLLtQ8_bRqDAh60/s1600/V2787.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vogue 2787 </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzRwdVDNQnD7XrTwjYSc51dx37RDYX2hk86O8uowhJQyj8TK6IeKUshFuLbg-4w-6LlrNAWBtD2rdJrofDB2PCUTkYn1RwR6Q3E4SB1-6YfSus73L-DkZod1PfCiXZInVxQr6IA5SWT8/s1600/B5895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzRwdVDNQnD7XrTwjYSc51dx37RDYX2hk86O8uowhJQyj8TK6IeKUshFuLbg-4w-6LlrNAWBtD2rdJrofDB2PCUTkYn1RwR6Q3E4SB1-6YfSus73L-DkZod1PfCiXZInVxQr6IA5SWT8/s1600/B5895.jpg" height="320" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterick B5895. Patterns by Gertie</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-40120921268478848142013-04-17T18:42:00.000+01:002013-04-17T18:42:35.802+01:00Make do and Mend Jacket PatternWatching The Great British Sewing Bee (Ep. 3) last night, both their
jacket making and their remarks on 40s wartime sewing, I was reminded of
my mission to make a <a href="http://thecostumerail.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/last-year-we-visited-bletchley-park.html" target="_blank">'Make Do and Mend' Suit</a>.
The update on that is that I've almost finished the skirt (which I'll
put up pics of soon) but because I decided to make it 6 gore rather than
4 (You'll understand why when you see it) I need to do some <i>creative</i> piecing, which I'm
hoping to acquire scraps from the jacket for.<br />
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I found it really interesting that Ann commented on how
much more fabric there was in 1940s trousers with the waist pleats and baggy style. This added to the fact
that people were naturally shorter then and very slim due to surviving
on wartime rationing, so I don't feel quite so bad that I was unable to
get an a-line skirt to fit me from a single pair of trousers.<br />
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But I need to start actually making the jacket. <br />
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I'm
not a great wearer of jackets. I realised I've never actually made a
proper tailored suiting jacket. I've made costume coats, tailored
bodices, silk jackets and waistcoats, but never a fashion jacket, so
I've decided that buying a commercial pattern to follow is the way to
go. I also want something with a good size range so I don't have to
fiddle around with trying to scale up a small size actual vintage
pattern.<br />
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I don't always like to use commercial patterns
as I find they are really expensive and often you can get a much better
shape and fit drafting your own. But if I do, I have a rule that it has
to be one of three things:<br />
<ol>
<li>Really basic, so I can use it almost as a block to adapt it to use it for many different items of clothing,</li>
<li>One of those multi patterns that makes about 7 or 8 different items so I get value for money.</li>
<li>A really complicated design for a special project that I would take
me a long time to patternmake myself (vintage, evening, costume, etc)</li>
</ol>
So I had a look online for a vintage or classic jacket pattern
and was really disappointed. I thought I would be spoiled for choice but
there really wasn't many that were tailored to a high enough quality to
tempt me. I was determined that it had to have princess seams, not only
because they give the most flattering fit if you have curves, but
they're also the easiest to fit properly. I think I've finally decided
on this Vogue Claire Shaeffer Custom Couture Collection Jacket No V8333.
It's a beautiful classic hourglass shape which I can add period collar,
pocket and cuff details if I choose, but also has an interesting seam
detail to stop it from being too boring.<br />
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So watch this space.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-11394543904413931632013-04-12T13:26:00.002+01:002013-04-13T15:47:36.482+01:00Is Britain still the home of Costume Drama?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I was growing up, the BBC was unquestionably your one stop shop for period drama (or Frock Flicks as I like to call them). The air of respectability that surrounded those three hallowed letters, backed up by a catalogue of quality television mini-series based on classic literature, ensured that it was instantly recognised as a quality brand world wide. When costume dramas were on the verge of losing their mainstream appeal, 1995 brought <i>'Pride and Prejudice',</i> which almost 20 years later, is still unsurpassed in popularity. For most people, particularly those old enough to have watched it first time round, there really is no competition between it and any other mini-series. But there were lots of other classic novel adaptations, a wonderful way of introducing us to lesser known works with complex themes, like<i> 'The Barchester Chronicles' (1982)</i><i>, Tom Jones (1997) </i>and <i>'Middlemarch (1994). </i>But something happened to make producers believe that these miniseries lack the pace and gloss that modern audiences apparently expect.<br />
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Even then it wasn't without competition. The excellent Canadian production of <i>'Anne of Green Gables' (1985)</i> still stands the test of time. America and Australia were happily romanticising the early settlers with shows like <i>'Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993) </i>and <i>'All The Rivers Run' (1993)</i>. But it was well accepted that we could not compete with Britain's intellectual heritage and Shakespearian trained actors. <br />
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In 2007 <i>'Mad Men' </i>crashed onto the scene, changing the way we look at period television making forever. It's not only unique for having a subject matter that was interesting to more than just the silly romantic females who are the perceived audience of BBC adaptations (although why TV and film versions of intelligent literature should have this stigma is baffling to me, especially considering the males in my family enjoy them equally as much as the females), but also raised the bar high in its attention to authentic detail. It was not the first period drama made in the USA, but it was certainly the first to affect the public consciousness internationally the way it did, especially the fashion world.<br />
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HBO has had great success with historical drama. First there was the WWII drama Band of Brothers (2001), followed by <i>Deadwood (2004)</i> set in the wild west,<i> 'Rome' (2005),</i> <i>'John Adams' (2008), 'The Pacific' (2010), </i>and my personal favourite <i>'Boardwalk Empire' (2010)</i>. These are largely set in 'boy's own' adventure scenarios: wars, westerns, gangsters, etc. They are making a conscious effort not to fall under the traditional period romance genre. Even their more traditional offerings, <i>'Mildred Pierce' (2011) </i>and <i>'Parade's End' (2013) </i>are challenging stories filled with largely unsympathetic characters, aimed at a highly intelligent and literate audience. Or at least those who wish to believe themselves thus.<br />
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Showtime is another American production company that has brought us successful productions such as <i>'The Tudors' (2007) </i>and <i>'The Borgias' </i>(2011), shows that play fast and loose with historical accuracy, but make up for it with sumptuous production values and a glossy filming style.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9e44mxEIidrZAwMoEYQUv5YHGzElHK8DMqlXmlx4pc35kxbCcgxos2URP2znQz_2Tq6TBKnUbF-aTbJfxvzybnZjv-ArkvKvDgJXOBnGNP6YDF6P0Z7HJXtKNhrByJDh5cOqOWRhp08/s1600/tudors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9e44mxEIidrZAwMoEYQUv5YHGzElHK8DMqlXmlx4pc35kxbCcgxos2URP2znQz_2Tq6TBKnUbF-aTbJfxvzybnZjv-ArkvKvDgJXOBnGNP6YDF6P0Z7HJXtKNhrByJDh5cOqOWRhp08/s1600/tudors.jpg" height="400" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tudors </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My biggest problem with a lot of these series (along with <i>'Game of Thrones' </i>which although very much has the feel of the rest of these adaptations, is fantasy not historical), is that they seem to equate gritty entertainment and credibility, with lots of naked breasts (and the rest). Now I'm not at all prudish, I probably watch more risque art house films than most, but I get quite bored of being sold two dimensional sex object females alongside complicated and powerful male characters. Sex scenes in context are great, but a lot of the time it veers towards 'look here are some tits' rather than essential character driven plotlines. If you don't believe me, see how little airtime male nudie bits get on screen compared to their female counterparts. <br />
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These shows are determined to be a anathema to the new wave of British period dramas that have flooded the scene. I can only conclude that based on the popularity of Jane Austen, British television producers looked for more 'female friendly' period novels to adapt, and eventually created there own stories as well. I am obviously talking about the hugely popular <i>'Downton Abbey'</i> (2010), which I think in spite of it's criticism is a really great show that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is: pretty, light and fluffy Sunday night entertainment. I'm the first to admit that if they got rid of Maggie Smith they wouldn't have a show, and the plot lines can verge on the ridiculous, but that makes it no different than a lot of TV except with the added advantage of having pretty scenery and costumes. And lets face it, there's nothing wrong with that. It is sumptuously beautiful with charming characters and has never pretended to be high art. <br />
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<i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></i><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
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When Benedict Cumberbatch was promoting <i>'Parade's End'</i> he, in what I can only cynically presume was a well planned publicity stunt, called <i>'Downton Abbey' </i>'f**king atrocious'. I personally found <i>'Parade's End'</i> barely watchable, except for the fantastic Rebecca Hall (and it's kind of a problem when you find yourself rooting for the villianess), but Cumberbatch's remark was a very conscious attempt to distance one Edwardian set show from the other, to divide period television into high and low art. The logic is: if you don't like our show, then it's your fault for not being intelligent enough. But he is also giving American producers kudos for the adaptation of serious literature, as opposed to the British. That's quite a turn up for the books.<br />
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Along with <i>'Downton Abbey' </i>you have less successful shows like <i>'Cranford' (2007), 'Lark Rise to Candleford' (2010), </i>the new <i>'Upstairs Downstairs'(2010), 'The Paradise' </i>(2012) and <i> 'Mr Selfridge' (2013), </i>series so sickly sweet and twee that I found myself getting rapidly bored with them. In fact if I wasn't such a enormous <i>'Entourage'</i> (and therefore Jeremy Piven) fan, I'm not sure I could have stuck with<i> 'Mr Selfridge'</i>. While the matched costuming of the Pratt sisters in <i>'Lark Rise' </i>was one of my favourite aspects of the show, the latter two series seemed hugely inconsistent
in the quality of their costuming. This seemed particularly apparent in the costuming of upper class ladies,
who are usually the most fun, and therefore easiest, to costume.<br />
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Don't believe me? Look below. You could argue that these are not sympathetic characters, and so are meant to look a bit jarring to the eye, but they are also characters renowned for being fashion leaders in their society, and so if not tastefully dressed, should at least be immaculately tailored.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6EU5pzvKE9CoqpHJvlYOCVAYGRDxiQHcXxjJGNMn9y8qQAp8DCHu2HbHwbeynMVOUtYPbrh7TBsU4YfOfezGtvpq6Vc1kpkbuzpUpzCPga_2PZ8K8GAtd-WW-X5cKFf4OuqYRmrmQpk/s1600/elaine+cassidy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6EU5pzvKE9CoqpHJvlYOCVAYGRDxiQHcXxjJGNMn9y8qQAp8DCHu2HbHwbeynMVOUtYPbrh7TBsU4YfOfezGtvpq6Vc1kpkbuzpUpzCPga_2PZ8K8GAtd-WW-X5cKFf4OuqYRmrmQpk/s1600/elaine+cassidy.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Paradise: Katherine</i><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Glendenning. One of my friends suggested there was a last minute cast change because none of her dresses sat well around the bust. I also couldn't get past the fact it looked like a lot of the costumes looked like well made calico toiles with trim added</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_gr5-re0XYLD9DeWZjD3Dq__jd26OFjh-EshhN-Yr-pjJuT88a50QRk_m60uV_4AqqKJD-xWIr7pcsi4ZqS67PSX5X7LZHzbKlZt8yuz0m4_p-MPFMGsCXX5AZ2zlc8z9MPbPKOJUQs/s1600/article-2297131-18528B20000005DC-782_634x448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_gr5-re0XYLD9DeWZjD3Dq__jd26OFjh-EshhN-Yr-pjJuT88a50QRk_m60uV_4AqqKJD-xWIr7pcsi4ZqS67PSX5X7LZHzbKlZt8yuz0m4_p-MPFMGsCXX5AZ2zlc8z9MPbPKOJUQs/s1600/article-2297131-18528B20000005DC-782_634x448.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Selfridge: Lady May (left). It may be the fault of her terrible wig or her very tiny frame, but all of her dresses seemed to hang strangely off her body, making her look like a child dressed up in her mother's clothes. The fabric on the waistband does not sit well and those side sleeves stick out rather than drape around her arm, making this look like something they grabbed off a hire rail. Mrs Selfridge (right) looks well dressed and well costumed.</td></tr>
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As a foreigner living in England, I appreciate the romance and glamour of Britain's history and upper classes much more than my British friends. It's the romance of the exotic and foreign. However even I have to admit that most of the period films and television that is produced in Britain seem to be aimed at a starry eyed American audience, starring Hollywood actors putting on poor British accents, and gentle, dumbed down scripts. Is this really what American's want though? The more intelligent shows that are being produced in America would suggest otherwise.<br />
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It's possible ITV is to blame who, although have made wonderful series like <i>'Brideshead Revisited' (1981), </i>have lacked the BBCs pedigree. In 2002 they followed in the BBC's footsteps by remaking <i>'The Forsythe Sage' (2002) </i>and successfully made adaptations (although not necessarily
always making successful adaptations) of Jane Austen in 2007, but it was in 2010 that they achieved enormous international success with <i>'Downton Abbey'. </i>This<i> </i>may have caused the BBC to act in kind. The BBC have made excellent adaptations of <i>'Sense and Sensibility' </i>and <i>'Jane Eyre' </i>in
the past decade, but their choice of books shows they are playing it
extremely safe. No more for them the obscure literature classics when
you can rehash a popular book for the umpteenth time. Then there was the
brilliant <i>'Dancing on the Edge' (2013)</i> which was relegated to BBC2. It's
slow moving, complex storyline filled with interesting characters and
beautiful costumes was excellent, and yet like with most of Stephen
Poliakoff's work, I felt strangely restrained and disconnected watching
it. It's like he is trying to keep the audience firmly at arm's length,
determined for them not to get involved with any of the characters. <br />
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I started writing the post because I have been ill for the past few weeks, and so have caught up on many episodes of <i>'Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'</i>, an Australian show that my Mum gave me on DVD for Christmas (although I believe it is currently screening on Alibi in the UK). It's about a lady detective in the 1920s, and as I have already mentioned in a previous post, is not faultless. The wonderful lead actress Essie Davis is a good decade to old to be playing a Bright Young Thing, and yet the more you watch it the less it matters. This series is everything you want in a 1920s period drama: sparkling characters, sumptuous costumes, sassy dialogue and sizzling sexual chemistry. It has taken the British idea of fun, light hearted, period entertainment and knocked it out of the ballpark. There's enough of the Australian brashness and 'calling a spade a spade' mentality that allows this series to unashamedly be exactly what it is. And it's all the better for it.<br />
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(I promise to devote an entire post to it's wonderful costumes soon)<br />
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But I want shows that fall somewhere in between. Classic Miniseries like <i>'The Buccaneers'(1995), 'North and South' (2004) </i>and <i>'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'</i> (1996) (and I've just realised that completely coincidentally these were all books written by women) took less popular classic novels with complicated characters, relationships and themes and adapted them into beautifully made TV shows. Even the biggest intellectual snob could not call these 'f**king atrocious', and yet they were undoubtedly accessible entertainment for the masses. They had strong male and female characters who were both likeable AND flawed at the same time. The costumes were absolutely stunning but (almost) never stole the show. There was love, romance and happy endings, as well as dark and complicated themes. <br />
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Is that really too much to ask?<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-22413667201362910362013-04-08T13:42:00.000+01:002013-04-08T14:17:16.476+01:00The Great British Sewing Bee - A review from a professional seamstress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have a confession. I'm a bit of a lifestyle TV junkie. I love house shows, cooking shows, craft shows, even thanks to my husband I am obsessed with shows about pickers and car restoration. I have always had a enormous love of all things-creative, individually made and loved items with a true soul. I hate all things IKEA (except for the assembling part which apparently makes me weird as people supposedly find it difficult?).<br />
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But it was with some trepidation that I watched <i>'The Great British Sewing Bee'</i>. My all-time favourite television show is <i>'Project Runway'</i> (the American version), a show brilliant for the actual competition, but also for it's slick American reality TV making skills, and of course, for Mr Tim Gunn who is surely one of the most wonderful people on television. I have eagerly watched it's uninspired British cousin:<i> 'Project Catwalk'</i>, the even less inspired Rhianna vehicle <i>'Styled to Rock'</i>, guiltily enjoyed<i> 'Kirsty's Handmade'</i> series and tried desperately hard (and failed) to like<i> 'Paul Martins Handmade Revolution' </i>(a wonderful idea but painful television and completely lacking in any form of charisma). But I was afraid that<i> 'The Great British Sewing Bee' </i>would annoy me.<br />
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I had seen ads for the competition last year and was disappointed to not be eligible on the grounds it was only open to people with no formal training or paid experience in sewing related fields. And this is where my inner snobby dragon raised it's great fiery head. Before anyone gets offended, I'm not saying you can't be a good sewer unless you're professional, and I even perfectly understand the reason for the rule, it just means the actual show would be aimed at a much lower talent level demographic than my favourite sewing TV shows. While being good for getting people involved in sewing, I suspected I would find it a bit painful.<br />
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But I forgot that good television has nothing to do with content. Obviously they have picked a mixed bag of talent, with stragglers at the bottom who are there for entertainment value, and to be got rid of in the first two rounds, as well as the more experienced sewers. I immediately liked Jane, a widow who makes all her own clothes and drives vintage cars, especially when she chose an adorable car fabric for her first project. But she completely won me over with her story about making a wedding dress, an awful experience that meant her family didn't get Christmas dinner. She finished with 'They're divorced now'. Who hasn't been guilt-tripped into sewing for a wedding and lived to regret it?<br />
<br />
But I did learn something very important from the show: it doesn't matter how enthusiastic you are, there are things about sewing that can only be learned by years of experience. I have got used to thinking that my sewing skills are nothing to be impressed by, that sewing is easy: 30 plus years of experience, more than one professional qualification and 10 plus years of paid work will do that to you. It's true that sewing a dress from a pattern using a sensible choice of fabric for a perfect size 10 model is something pretty much anyone could learn to do in a few days. But I know professional sewers, myself still included, who still get cold sweats at the mention of the word 'fitting', particularly the older and larger the model, as things tend to move around from their so-called 'ideal' position. If you've only every sewn for yourself, and particularly if you are a fairly standard size, you will not be particularly good at fitting awkward sizes, as we saw this week. This is a skill that can only be learned by trial and error over many years. Working in bridal alterations was boring work, but taught me a lot about fitting that years of sewing couture garments had not.<br />
<br />
There are so many different types of sewing, and I suspect that Marks' success in the final challenge came from his experience in period tailoring, which is much more complicated than dressmaking, and from making clothes for his wife and daughter. Also in spite of her age, the model has a pretty good standard shape (sorry my image is slightly warped). If she had have been a voluptuous hourglass figure he would really have struggled to fit her into a dress of this cut. I'm really interested to see how they use model size and shape in future episodes, as I think poor Tilly got the raw end of the deal. On the other side though, her style of dress and method of fitting should have made it easy to alter the dress to fit her model. As they said on the show though, his appropriate use of patterning was well done, and especially compared to his other efforts, this dress was a masterful improvement. I'm really eager to keep watching and see how the competition progresses.<br />
<br />
I would really like to know what their attitude to inside finishing is. How much is that included in the judging. I noticed Mark zig-zagged all his seams, something I haven't seen anyone do in 20 years, although another contestant did have an overlocker on their bench. I love good finishing as much as anyone, but surely nothing is going to fray in a 7 hour challenge? Also why did noone make a toile for the fitting challenge. Surely this is the simplest way to get a good fit and only takes half an hour or so?<br />
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<br />
The more experienced sewers on TGBSB are not necessarily more talented or stylish, but are significantly better at making sensible choices about fabric, style and time. The most successful pieces are simple pieces, made well. Tilly is a 'born again' sewer, as I call people newly enthusiastic about a skill (I see a lot of born again swing dancers in the first 12 months of learning: newbies who preach a single-minded gospel of their new found love to anyone who will listen), and is probably the most creative and stylish of anyone on the show, but that can't compete with decades of experience, and more importantly, mistake making. I learnt this in my recent foray into learning how to knit, you are no good at something until you can fix your mistakes. <br />
<br />
I must also give special mention to Patrick Grant. I have hinted above of my love of Tim Gunn of <i>'Project Runway'</i> fame. There is something about men who really understand sewing and well-made clothes that I adore, as long as they have good personalities (take note Julien MacDonald, I am definitely not including you in this remark). But Patrick Grant personifies the understated elegance of previous generations, like Beau Brummel or Cary Grant. There is absolutely nothing flashy about his appearance, and yet the more you look at him the more you realise he is absolutely gorgeous and impeccably dressed. In a post-metrosexual age, where most men remove far too much hair, or sport the pretence of scruff with the actor/musicians highly self-conscious 3 o'clock shadow, it is so nice to see a man taking his fashion cues from the Edwardians, and combine a beard with a properly tailored suit. I do hope he will set fashion trends for others.<br />
<br />
Obviously any show that encourages people to try sewing is OK in my book. And despite my intentions, I am completely hooked. It's probably a good thing it's only four episodes though, or my husband might get very tired of hearing me rip amateur sewing to shreds (see what I did there) from the comfort of my living room. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-76509196745101377482013-03-08T09:13:00.002+00:002013-03-08T09:13:34.083+00:00Guise MagazineI'm excited to announce that I've written a short article for <a href="http://www.guisemagazine.com/behind-the-seams/" target="_blank">Guise Magazine</a>, and online magazine about costume for industry professionals. Please check it out.<br />
<br />
If there's any problems with the link it's in the Behind The Seams section.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-18986270377265793022013-03-04T15:20:00.002+00:002013-03-05T09:36:27.116+00:00Spring Cleaning: how to break up with your clothes.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Today the role of Rachel is being played by an obsessive compulsive
cleaner. No, stop laughing, it's true. I'm as shocked as you are and
it's my third day of cleaning in a row.<br />
<br />
Friday was
March 1st, officially the first of Spring and I've spent the entire weekend scrubbing and polishing things I hadn't even noticed were dirty. I didn't realise my subconcious would take the concept of Spring Cleaning so literally. But I'm not questioning it, the desire to clean will vanish soon enough, and the house deserves a little bit of TLC.<br />
<br />
But it's not just the house. My wardrobe is also getting the treatment.<br />
<br />
Hididng in the back of my wardrobe were Stop Staring dress and pair of shorts that I bought because they were on sale. They're adorable, but they're really not the right shape for my figure. I've been hanging onto them with the idea that one day they might make that miraculous leap and become my new favourite clothes. It does happen occassionally, but not often enough to keep clothes that are worth money to someone else. My Stop Staring items still have their tags on them and it's a desirable brand. I've faced the facts and realised that hanging onto them is not fair to me, the dress, or the girl who's going to look fabulous at a party and will be able to say casually 'Oh this, I got it on ebay' while her friends complement her and eye her up jealously.<br />
<br />
And I'll get money I can spend on something that I really love. <br />
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<br />
They're the first items to go on ebay, but not the last. There's also quite a few vintage pieces that are very cute, but I neither fit into them or have the desire to wear them. While vintage fashion is still in vogue I figure I should sell them now, getting the highest price, and hopefully they'll go to someone who'll use them and love them the way they deserve. <br />
<br />
Then there's the big bag of clothes that I never wear but that's not worth selling, ready to go to a charity shop.<br />
<br />
I find it hard to get rid of clothes, I remember when and where I aquired each piece. Do you remember that guy you struggled to break up with, when you were determined to 'make it work'? But when you did eventually end it and ran into him months later, you couldn't remember why you'd persisted for so long.<br />
<br />
That's how you have to be with your clothes.<br />
<br />
I believe in true love. I try not to buy anything unless I'm swept off my feet. I prefer to buy less, but buy things when I feel that magical spark. I believe even if the items you do buy are more expensive, you save money in the long run by buying less and mistake-proofing your wardrobe. You need to treat the clothes you already own the same way.<br />
<br />
The horrible truth is that your ex-boyfriend was much happier without you too. He went on to find love with someone else. So will your clothes. Don't feel guilty about that suede jacket that just never fitted you right, get rid of it, hopefully make some money selling it, and send it out into the world for it to find that girl who has been searching for a jacket like that her whole life. It deserves love too.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-36064144754629953052013-02-28T13:29:00.000+00:002013-03-01T10:13:48.227+00:00Musical Theatre: Love it or Hate it? Why do you have to choose?<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I find
musical theatre a divisive subject, squished between serious theatre and opera,
and frowned on from both sides for being, heaven forbid, 'popular'. The thing
that confuses me is that people think it's a case of liking all musicals or
none. People assume because I often go to musicals that I'm a musical fanatic
who likes everything I see. I do know people like that, but isn't that a bit
like thinking that because I go to the cinema I like every film I watch? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There's a real stigma attached to liking musical theatre. I've
had people tell me they hate musicals, but the one time they did<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> actually</span></span> go to see one
in the west end, they really loved it. Friends who love jazz music and the great American
songbook have told me they don't like the songs in musicals. Other's have
snobbily tell me that musicals are artistically inferior to opera, an opinion that
seems to have stemmed from watching lots of opera and very few musicals. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But it
works the other way as well. Musical fanatics are shocked when I tell them I dislike a show, or want to have an intellectual conversation about
the pros and cons of a particular production. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Les Miserables is one of the few things my husband
and I strongly disagree on: my husband adores it and I... don't. We've seen it together several times and while I really like some of the songs, I just can't get past the fact that the characterisation and storytelling is appalling: the women are utterly two dimensional and it's never properly explained what the climax of the piece, the barricade, is actually in aid of. What are the students fighting about? Most people who watch it actually think it's about THE French Revolution (the fact characters wear crinolines dresses means it's obviously not, but apparently not everyone dates period pieces by the costumes.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My husband and I disagree a lot about musicals. I hate
Rogers and Hammerstein and he loves them, I like Gilbert and Sullivan whom he
can't stand, but we both adore Stephen Sondheim. We have both seen enough to make
informed choices, and we enjoy enough of the shows we do see to keep going back and
giving new shows a try. Sometimes it's a car wreck, and sometimes we have
experiences that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I suspect
when most people say they hate musicals they mean 1940s musical films, of the type starring Doris Day, or they harbour high school memories of being forced to perform in or watch a terrible production. Schools tend to pick shows which can support a large supporting cast and even bigger chorus, and songs that the Mums and Dads can hum along with. But don't judge an art form on amatuer productions. While I am a huge champion of good amateur theatre, I don't believe being unpaid is an excuse for some of the rubbish that's out there. Minimal resources can be the birth of fantastic creative decisions and some people who actually prefer a well paying job to a difficult career in the arts, are very talented performers. Some of the best, and the worst, productions I've ever seen have been amateur or or semi-professional. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There's also the case of seeing a bad
professional productions: I'm a massive Stephen Sondheim fan, but after seeing an average version on stage, and then the film, I concluded that I just didn't like <i>Sweeney
Todd. A</i>s a final attempt, after rave reviews, I saw the Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton West End version last year and it will go down as one of my top 5 theatre
experiences of all time. But I will never see another version of <i>Sweeney
Todd </i>again, because it's such an easy piece to get wrong. It requires such a fine line of combining almost opera singing, with intensely powerful acting without spilling over into melodrama, that few performers, let alone directors, have the understanding or talent to carry it off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Enjoyment is also vastly dependent on where you sit; I've seen two versions of <i>We Will Rock You, </i>once
from the third row and once from the balcony. Needless to say I enjoyed the high energy, rock musical much
more sitting inches from the stage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As
someone who loves clothes and costumes, it's impossible not to love musicals.
But I tend to like the two extremes: 1930s big, glamorous, jazz inspired
musicals with copious amounts of sequins and feathers, or very modern, minimalist musicals that are practically plays with well-developed
characters and storylines, which just happen to have songs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Film musicals can be just as great, or even better, than seeing them in the theatre. One of Australia’s best known and respected film
critics, David Stratton has always declared<i> 'Singing in the Rain' </i>is his
favourite film of all time, the clever parody on film history and transition to 'talkies' is disguised as light and fluffy entertainment. Some of my favourite movie musicals I've never had the
chance to see onstage, such as <i>Pal Joey</i> or <i>The Slipper and The Rose </i>(I
know it's trashy, but I've loved it since I was five). I've avoided watching <i>Top
Hat, Singing in the Rain </i>and <i>The Sound of Music </i>on stage,
because even though they look beautiful from the pictures, I'm just not sure I
want to see people who aren't Julie Andrews, Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire
pretending to be them. I have no problem with a different interpretation of the
same script, but no interest in watching a lukewarm remake of the film onstage. I'm aware this makes me unusual in the world of musical go-ers, so I choose not to see productions which sell themselves on this premise. <i>Cabaret
</i>and <i>Chicago </i>are good examples of shows that work inde<span style="font-family: inherit;">pendently and
successfully in both genres because they don't try and be carbon copies of each other, but allow the medium to tell the story in different ways.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So stop being a culture snob. Maybe it's time to give musical theatre a second chance?</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Here's my Top 5 Musicals for People who think
they hate them:</span></span></h3>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A Little Night Music </span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">You may
have worked out already, I think Sondheim is a genius, and I think this is his
best work. I saw the West End Trevor Nunn version of this a few years ago and it was
possibly the greatest theatre experience of my life. This clever examination of love and lust is beautifully told, as the characters try and work out what they really want in a partner. Anyone who can watch <i>Send
in the Clowns</i> sung in context and not cry is very hard hearted indeed. I
wouldn't necessarily recommend Elizabeth Taylors version in the film, but if
you can't get to a stage version it will do. It may not be everyone's taste, but
it's Sondheim's ability to make musicals seem like a play with well thought out
plot and character (even when sometimes they're not) and his phenomenal use of harmonies, that makes him stand out from the crowd.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Pal Joey</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Frank
Sinatra playing a womanising, con-man, nightclub singer, with Rita Heyworth and Kim Novak
completing for his affections: What’s not to love? Also starring beautiful
costumes by Jean Louis, the majority of the songs are sung in the context of
performances, so there's no big spontaneous dance numbers to scare off the cynics. This
is Sinatra at his absolute best, charming but a bit of a arrogan bastard. The songs by
Rogers and Hart, Hammerstein's predecessor, include The Lady is a Tramp, My
Funny Valentine and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. Oh, and there's also a
lot of references to 'stripping' in that wonderful, burlesque, PG way that
makes taking a glove off the sexiest thing in the world. I adore proper old
school 30s musicals of Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby: Top Hat, Royal Wedding, etc
but for me it will always be Frank Sinatra who takes first place in my heart. While we're on the topic of old school movie musicals,
I have to give an honourable mention to <i>Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,</i> famous
for Marilyn Monroe singing Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, but also starring
a brilliant a Jane Russell.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Singing in the Rain</span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It had to
be done. But apart from the dream ballet sequence I don't know anyone who doesn't
like this film. The adorable Debbie Reynolds, the funny man Donald O'Connor and
the king of musical theatre films, Gene Kelly. It was a toss-up between this
and <i>The Wizard of Oz </i>as a classic movie musical everyone loves<i>,</i>
but the way Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont manages to steal this film from under the noses
of the three powerful leads, makes this film the masterpiece that it is. I think I speak for everyone when I say 'Oh
Pierre, you shouldn't have come'.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cabaret</span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Beautiful,
funny, risqué, poignant, and political: surely this is the ultimate in musical
theatre. Liza Minnelli proved she wasn't just Judy Garland's daughter in the
movie, and yet the stage production also manages to stand alone as a
masterpiece without trying to simply copy the film. Legendry director and choreographer
Bob Fosse directed the film. Kander and Ebb's music is wonderful and catchy,
but with serious themes so it never crosses the line into corny. When I saw it
in the West End I couldn't speak for about 10 minutes after I left the theatre,
which is really saying something. Chicago is a very similar vein of musical,
emphasising the fun and glamour of serious subjects in a subversive way, but
for me Cabaret is the superior of the two. If you're a fan also watch <i>Christopher
and His Kind</i> (2011), based on the life of writer Christopher Isherwood,
whose book the musical was based on. It stars Dr Who's Matt Smith and tells the
story of the author’s time in Berlin which inspired the fiction. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Matilda</span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There has
been a new wave of musical theatre with a much more comedic, audience friendly
trend. There is a self-awareness to these shows, almost mocking the genre. The
Producers, Avenue Q, Legally Blonde and Matilda all are fantastic examples of
this. They are a reaction to the serious, self-important Andrew Lloyd
Weber/Cameron Mackintosh musical successes of the 80s/90s, particularly The
Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. And this is a genre that's getting the
non-musical fan's bums on seats. I think 'Gay or European?' in Legally Blonde
is one of the funniest songs I've ever seen, but for me Matilda has that extra
heart, so that you cry as well as laugh, which makes it superior.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-50552403981166910892013-02-26T19:55:00.002+00:002013-02-28T11:58:24.007+00:00Charles James and Fishtail Gowns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mTTc7Xliwc-qyxR5nPcnGC0fOltcBBQaDWMMvUSgVXc68m7cyLeVM2qHm9JGTGqlTGVYYaHkFWh0Mkucn_n-T4C-JFpzfJ3CIrFkpl88FiNa_6dflbkWxnXwgBPTuU_XMq9tAI5BdN0/s1600/55.15.1_front_CP3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mTTc7Xliwc-qyxR5nPcnGC0fOltcBBQaDWMMvUSgVXc68m7cyLeVM2qHm9JGTGqlTGVYYaHkFWh0Mkucn_n-T4C-JFpzfJ3CIrFkpl88FiNa_6dflbkWxnXwgBPTuU_XMq9tAI5BdN0/s1600/55.15.1_front_CP3.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silk ballgown from 1954</td></tr>
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Warning this article contains Frock porn - no not like that - there's not a nipple to be seen - just stunningly gorgeous frocks for you to lust after. <br />
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There's no denying the Fishtail is the shape of this seasons red carpet, anyone who's anyone has been seen on the Golden Globe and Oscars red carpet sporting this seasons must have. But there's no master of the fishtail like fashion designer Charles James. Although he
was born and raised in England, his career is American based, and he is considered to be Americas first, and only real, couturier
(as in using 'couture' techniques - a very complicated definition). His career spanned the 30s, 40s and 50s as he dressed the high class
society women of America in his beautiful and unique gowns. His knowledge and use of cut, shape and structure is second to none.<br />
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While Charles James is known by those with a good knowledge of fashion history, the fact he is not an international household name the way Dior and Balenciaga are for their similar gowns of the period is a little perplexing. I think there's two reasons for this. Firstly he was largely based in America in a time when fashion was still firmly ensconced in Paris fashion houses, and secondly, his label has not outlived him to be reinvented by new generations. In an age when haute couture exists largely to convince us to buy perfume and handbags, it's nice to look back at the genius of a time when couture was truely appreciated as an art form.<br />
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All the gowns featured on this page are designed by Charles James. <br />
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Fishtail gowns are very popular. Buy they need to come with a warning. I've seen bridal articles that claim they're the new A-line, the perfect shape, that they suit everyone.<br />
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They don't.<br />
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They're very hard to carry off, especially if they are not expertly made. Not all gowns are created equal.<br />
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To combat so much fullness below the bum you need to at least appear to have curves in all the right place: big bust, small waist and slim enough bum and hips to ensure that the emphasis in that area is flattering. A good dress will give the illusion of that, even if you don't posess them naturally. If in doubt, the most important thing is to make sure the dress pulls you in and emphasises the waist, or you will look more toilet brush than sex siren. This is a design for a true hourglass figure; apples, pears, and very boyish figures should approach with caution.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Tree' - 1955</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Tree' 1955</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1953</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1953</td></tr>
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The fishtail itself comes in many shapes and sizes. Some are barely more than A-line, skimming the bum before sweeping out again, sometimes the fullness will come out from the knees. There are dramatic froths, gradual tulip or bell shapes, and some are basically bustles or trains with most of the fullness coming out at the back. There are also 1930s shaped fishtails which are slinky and sexy and leave little to the imagination: think Mae West. These gowns require you to think very carefully about your lingerie.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zhv0NCz5jZv0ivrP65a3Kn115BvMxkOBb8HzjT3e_dADPV0SuTGrC2w5SGIXQOvPa3h8bpqXLhj12qs2zDxpur4lKGdybf9xIjPUcuRnWAlA9HUNw17i3FzJSD6CUxaVTHXAvIqw6k4/s1600/58dbc03cee8896211f9ef7bc1625bc04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zhv0NCz5jZv0ivrP65a3Kn115BvMxkOBb8HzjT3e_dADPV0SuTGrC2w5SGIXQOvPa3h8bpqXLhj12qs2zDxpur4lKGdybf9xIjPUcuRnWAlA9HUNw17i3FzJSD6CUxaVTHXAvIqw6k4/s1600/58dbc03cee8896211f9ef7bc1625bc04.jpg" height="538" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterfly 1954</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpJFkGBbKbNGpYxm9WsdACbXHKtnfs1kH9d3mCK9ckPmdit-JpBWy7NrHjSZj4JCwi6RI2gj7hlhmAaYT6GlmZeF69fsKU3f2Hk7WiaO0hD3BV7MA1pW91RIs7UOwnifD_KMBkVHdJAY/s1600/f523021f6148285c0285adf09f0b51c7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpJFkGBbKbNGpYxm9WsdACbXHKtnfs1kH9d3mCK9ckPmdit-JpBWy7NrHjSZj4JCwi6RI2gj7hlhmAaYT6GlmZeF69fsKU3f2Hk7WiaO0hD3BV7MA1pW91RIs7UOwnifD_KMBkVHdJAY/s1600/f523021f6148285c0285adf09f0b51c7.jpg" height="640" width="436" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1957</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-z5WH0HKCJLY2llS1oWOelN09h-I6SCcViGu11s99U35kx8cl7Tzp3u-XeOEgBX7dJD25FRfg95E3TyIwLZGhO5mej8JhD98-wdotoC3ieXftM68TxkEW97UeMsWSLoRNzk5NvQ_gjfc/s1600/22b8124edc7c84320df6c212b67aff11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-z5WH0HKCJLY2llS1oWOelN09h-I6SCcViGu11s99U35kx8cl7Tzp3u-XeOEgBX7dJD25FRfg95E3TyIwLZGhO5mej8JhD98-wdotoC3ieXftM68TxkEW97UeMsWSLoRNzk5NvQ_gjfc/s1600/22b8124edc7c84320df6c212b67aff11.jpg" height="640" width="462" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1938</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsxAYCZVCVbawV2DuZhoVI33aqW_s8bTCZdUS4_19D1mHvjp99cVwJjayIeaXH6FH2INoDjDGk6yeF-JJJdjbEoToYdLsEomtPhzP1fvbSianMmiIdweldwwQ7eHlKgX55lmxLhSu_wI/s1600/7d9ffa382b73ffd33b4b5fb41bcf49d2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsxAYCZVCVbawV2DuZhoVI33aqW_s8bTCZdUS4_19D1mHvjp99cVwJjayIeaXH6FH2INoDjDGk6yeF-JJJdjbEoToYdLsEomtPhzP1fvbSianMmiIdweldwwQ7eHlKgX55lmxLhSu_wI/s1600/7d9ffa382b73ffd33b4b5fb41bcf49d2.jpg" height="640" width="394" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1939</td></tr>
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A certain amount of height is needed for successfully carrying off a fishtail gown. Not actual
tallness so much, but your body needs to be proportionately long to your
build. Someone who's 5'7" can look taller in a photo if they are
willowy, than a 5'11" stockier shape. The longer you look, the more
dramatic and beautiful your frothy fishtail will appear.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWo5PXInQ6gd_qGIIKnBevd0PKsCeS9n74MJIEM4XiubvoDtUH0po-sPiauk1L0A_y3tlpH5AceT2uYvPqsbF6a2WfYA_PNBK_9LM8Ay2aHE6NUw-d8Ohyphenhyphen2FA8VhptPCRuciBEO8uE874/s1600/2214f854826be61b1e6b394946e4f43b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWo5PXInQ6gd_qGIIKnBevd0PKsCeS9n74MJIEM4XiubvoDtUH0po-sPiauk1L0A_y3tlpH5AceT2uYvPqsbF6a2WfYA_PNBK_9LM8Ay2aHE6NUw-d8Ohyphenhyphen2FA8VhptPCRuciBEO8uE874/s1600/2214f854826be61b1e6b394946e4f43b.jpg" height="640" width="338" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marlene Dietrich 1934</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-HEg7tRO-a8kO7AyKU8mrOSorOMYBjq7K-IsNIg-NfvPwrzrAP1r-m5_d9XgSVbYhedB41CDScwRqXgHSFpc7dtdGXag2g5exI3vOoGiMEoZrH6mg9YYSAYsmQ-mUzgzi39QYkfX84c/s1600/f31ef57f060f205ce5f518cb8e3fbc77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-HEg7tRO-a8kO7AyKU8mrOSorOMYBjq7K-IsNIg-NfvPwrzrAP1r-m5_d9XgSVbYhedB41CDScwRqXgHSFpc7dtdGXag2g5exI3vOoGiMEoZrH6mg9YYSAYsmQ-mUzgzi39QYkfX84c/s1600/f31ef57f060f205ce5f518cb8e3fbc77.jpg" height="640" width="526" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa Fonssagrives 1948</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ld8nN2MzPBaYz5kzmo-hyxQPbJ0GETlWscL76eLGyOpgY8tfw5UqHhWhKv-RrSlTnqDDJxgjm84pSemmS6ICnUQiKK0bgsddmEsPMHkBXtbRPFyhL0af7j-5IhDcaA_wmQj2up0JehQ/s1600/b06c445c311a8492c607b15890267515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ld8nN2MzPBaYz5kzmo-hyxQPbJ0GETlWscL76eLGyOpgY8tfw5UqHhWhKv-RrSlTnqDDJxgjm84pSemmS6ICnUQiKK0bgsddmEsPMHkBXtbRPFyhL0af7j-5IhDcaA_wmQj2up0JehQ/s1600/b06c445c311a8492c607b15890267515.jpg" height="400" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishtail coat anyone?</td></tr>
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And here's Marissa Tomei wearing one of his vintage gowns to the Oscars in 2011. <br />
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Which gets me thinking, which would I chose to wear. It would have to be the green one at the top. Which one is your favourite?<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-18410126982268251702013-02-25T11:26:00.000+00:002013-02-25T11:36:07.028+00:00Standing out on the Oscars Red CarpetThere's going to be a lot of talk about who wore the prettiest designer frock on the red carpet. But it all gets a little samey after a while. Here's my take on the people who stood out for looking amazing on the red carpet by not going for the traditional red carpet look.<br />
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Emad Burnat, co-director of <i>'5 Broken Cameras' </i> which was nominated for best Feature Documentary brought he wife Soraya and son Jibreel with him on the red carpet. Her stunningly detailed traditional Palestinian dress, showing that sometimes a headscarf can be an elegant red carpet accessory.<br />
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Rachel Mwanza who starred in Best Foreign Film nominee <i>Rebelle (War Witch).</i> Rachel is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was an illiterated street kid before being cast in the film. Love the African print and highlights of red.<br />
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Bombay Jayashri, looking stunning in a pink and gold sari, was up for Best Original Song for singing the lyrics to "Pi's Lullaby" from <i>The Life of Pi</i>. <br />
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And I have to give an honourable mention to Helena Bonham Carter in Vivienne Westwood who actually is wearing a cohesive ensemble on the red carpet. I think this is the best she's looked in years, while still staying 100% true to herself.<br />
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And it wasn't just the women:</h4>
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Best Actor Nominee for <i>'The Silver Lining's Playbook' </i>Bradley Cooper was not only the most sophisticated man on the red carpet with with waistcoat and shiny shoes, but also had the most attractive accessory any man can have on his arm, his mother Gloria. I suspect she chose her shoes for comfort. <br />
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Who doesn't love a man in a kilt - Here's Seth McFarlane's dad Ron.<br />
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Ok - and just because it has to be done, here's my nomination for best frock:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidNyE9QgW_TX9w59VCJlQfx3h4bzRVdFCScXLgIx_ApYCDcwbYcVdJtDKZ14IL4Z7qB-0hhbjlDnjhRBLYS_F1tKXzFMQyXmXVjFLTVHccZ7oOML_wCXUNoUHncnWV5Dk5nk6Pr_scnI/s1600/4e0304aced662ab9_Stacy-Keibler-Oscars.preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidNyE9QgW_TX9w59VCJlQfx3h4bzRVdFCScXLgIx_ApYCDcwbYcVdJtDKZ14IL4Z7qB-0hhbjlDnjhRBLYS_F1tKXzFMQyXmXVjFLTVHccZ7oOML_wCXUNoUHncnWV5Dk5nk6Pr_scnI/s1600/4e0304aced662ab9_Stacy-Keibler-Oscars.preview.jpg" height="640" width="640" /> </a> </div>
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When wearing this Naeem Khan dress it helps to look like George Clooney's latest lady friend Stacy Keibler, but this gown is absolutely stunning from every angle. </div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-43416803458177897922013-02-24T13:15:00.002+00:002013-02-24T13:18:54.007+00:00Finding the perfect 'Local' to match your wardrobe.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBd18pW_aI4B_gUBj6sQX5r57pD2bK6tUO3YF3OjFsued1Tf3XKmV6lxWmVAmWTTsrZaj4iybaSgY4G3L7kUo5ddl1jjT4vaouuRMBl47U8GYbt_GMXZmE11jKi8B_Eh_I9nReUVkEUmc/s1600/large10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBd18pW_aI4B_gUBj6sQX5r57pD2bK6tUO3YF3OjFsued1Tf3XKmV6lxWmVAmWTTsrZaj4iybaSgY4G3L7kUo5ddl1jjT4vaouuRMBl47U8GYbt_GMXZmE11jKi8B_Eh_I9nReUVkEUmc/s1600/large10.jpg" height="292" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful art deco benches at my new local - LOVE the red leather</td></tr>
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Some people are 'Foodies'. I would say my husband and I are 'Drinkies'. Beer, wine, coffee - all the drugs. We can't get enough.<br />
<br />
Our
nights out revolve around venues where we can try lots of craft beers.
Our holidays usually centre around visiting art galleries and museums in
between cafes and pubs, or tours of wineries. Of course eating nice
food with drinks is always a bonus, but the drinks menu is as important
as the food. One of the highlights of a weekend in Bath a few weeks ago
was to get a really good long black coffee in a cafe directly opposite
the Roman Baths. Jacob's Coffee House is possibly the closest I've come
to a decent Antipodean style cafe in the UK, which is amazing simply for
being directly in front of one of the country's major tourist
attractions (usually a reason to believe the food is overpriced and
awful). <br />
<br />
My husband makes Home Brew, I dabble in
preserves, discovering recipes for using each weeks organic veg box and
baking. To me it's all part of loving sewing and crafts. Its being able to create unique quality products for your own enjoyment. Often we prefer
to stay in for coffee, wine or beer drinking because our own selection
is better quality than shop bought options, without a retail markup, and much much more convenient.<br />
<br />
But I love dressing up and going out. It's the holy grail to find somewhere that meets your tastebuds needs, but the vintage fashion conscious Drinkie also wants a venue that's will look good with her ensemble. You don't want your wallpaper to clash with your shoes.<br />
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I
live in Twickenham, Englands home of Rugby. There are many pubs, but
they're mostly aimed at drunken Rugby fans. The Fox has recently been
done up nicely, but just this year a pub has opened that I am finally
happy to call my 'Local'.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbcYwCA287n4A6LKZ3an6Snpvib0j7qH6vUF8Eu4IVrMD-yiggo77-spaQqwt2Ry6f4KxsOZujrrHmDh-jkouE_mImpFkgXLf4wX0Y8zvkUEuDqykrdMvF9EfiAc3UTWsusEwGKWSp-E/s1600/large3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbcYwCA287n4A6LKZ3an6Snpvib0j7qH6vUF8Eu4IVrMD-yiggo77-spaQqwt2Ry6f4KxsOZujrrHmDh-jkouE_mImpFkgXLf4wX0Y8zvkUEuDqykrdMvF9EfiAc3UTWsusEwGKWSp-E/s1600/large3.jpg" height="292" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing wallpaper pictures at Ales and Tails</td></tr>
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When
we first went into 'Ales and Tails' we were quickly rebuked for
congratulating them on being a decent pub in Twickenham - No. They are a
bar/restaurant. They specialise in ales, cocktails and dining. After
this initial wanky introduction I'm glad we persevered. I'm still
curious about the difference but I think it a bar basically means it looks better and keeps the less appealing clientel away. We've been there 4 times now, twice for dinner and once for a
party and every time has been fantastic. The food is good English fare.
It's not mind blowing, but it's good solid food, but when you can
combine it with the extensive ale list it's just about perfect.<br />
<br />
But for me the appeal has as much to do with the most wonderful
vintage styling. When you understand that I cannot remember the last time I had a handbag that wasn't red leather, and about 50% of my shoes are red, you will understand why I adore the red leather benches. The lighting is quirky - the crystal decanter lampshades are my favourite. The styling is a good mix of junkshop oldfashioned and clean modern space. Even when busy it manages to feel spread out and not too overcrowded or noisy. The fact I like that I think means I'm getting old, but I'm ok with that. On Friday and Saturday nights when we've been in they've had a dj playing decent background music. I'd much prefer it if they got a jazz quartet in, but they're still new.<br />
<br />
It
reminds me of my favourite designed bars in London: Powder Keg Diplomacy in
Clapham Junction, which is slightly more colonial designed and has an amazing Victorian glasshouse
diningroom. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling they're ultimately run by
the same people. Either way I don't care.<br />
<br />
I finally have somewhere
within walking distance that is worth dressing up and leaving the house
for. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCe9chADOPVDLSoyzZPzKvDzXullxNID649Eu1E99zpvcFW3PFoHR8YmLSryiDkRKHWptfqW007fXRUT4yVin7OSsAM4BIMgPAu5CVN1ysdIHQ_m6x7LlizvV8uBaprMMOqg14-KxASA/s1600/gal10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCe9chADOPVDLSoyzZPzKvDzXullxNID649Eu1E99zpvcFW3PFoHR8YmLSryiDkRKHWptfqW007fXRUT4yVin7OSsAM4BIMgPAu5CVN1ysdIHQ_m6x7LlizvV8uBaprMMOqg14-KxASA/s1600/gal10.jpg" height="354" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Powder Keg Diplomacy - I wish I had room for a Gramaphone light fitting in my house</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJGVl9EMo0f5alnFqkzkV8FRJx4XjtC0MlEHrLQKH04knXY8WekGJmU4MZo9LryYNzbai5X-7JmCJmFGParVeDOhhcqnQW7Da8OpOMy46rqOvNweNDjeLA-qhmm-X7M7KEot1w9-JzyM/s1600/gal15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJGVl9EMo0f5alnFqkzkV8FRJx4XjtC0MlEHrLQKH04knXY8WekGJmU4MZo9LryYNzbai5X-7JmCJmFGParVeDOhhcqnQW7Da8OpOMy46rqOvNweNDjeLA-qhmm-X7M7KEot1w9-JzyM/s1600/gal15.jpg" height="354" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Powder Keg Diplomacy - The amazing indoor dining room with Victorian glass and wrought iron greenhouse styling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2rTH9RXH3eNC-fZr6Vb7B2AUZGe59RCmkWmLGsOF30EnBsDMB4x0B_vrGCotqLHmwmwOwcF2IEyUIMSt5Z7_mGx7LTPauZ9aoWLN4Ir7E1_q1JNm6NtEeK3OpLqBfYgzWaMR2r_Bzkg/s1600/gal3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2rTH9RXH3eNC-fZr6Vb7B2AUZGe59RCmkWmLGsOF30EnBsDMB4x0B_vrGCotqLHmwmwOwcF2IEyUIMSt5Z7_mGx7LTPauZ9aoWLN4Ir7E1_q1JNm6NtEeK3OpLqBfYgzWaMR2r_Bzkg/s1600/gal3.jpg" height="354" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Powder Keg Diplomacy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-76624306428476977982013-02-22T10:15:00.000+00:002013-02-22T10:16:09.924+00:00Why Snow White and The Huntsman Should Win the Costume Oscar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
There, I've said it. And I've probably jinxed it and someone else will take home the Academy Award on Sunday. I apologise to Colleen Atwood. I know I've complained about pretty dresses winning costume awards, but Snow White and the Huntsman isn't pretty dresses, it's phenomenal costume design.<br />
<br />
I'll admit it, I'm not the target audience for this film. When I first saw the trailers my reaction was 'Who in their right mind is going to believe that anyone thinks Kristen Stewart is more beautiful than Charlize Theron?' But it did have Kim Hyde from neighbours in it (yes I am aware that's not his real name) and I love an Aussie making good in Hollywood story. So when it came out on Sky I watched it expecting it to be a bit of mindless trash and I absolutely loved it - for the costumes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8w_efXM-Kv6g1Pu2Kamgge3M6BgamnhL5GLR-b8uIEkcYTeNrgIvmJgoJQMXfX_PDC3YS_uDh52C0d3tOtxs0Q73vdGPGocG_8TTj2grS6PGBKdNVS0zAASTT-w-bfqkU1p32FnRHxN0/s1600/charlize-theron-snow-white-and-the-huntsman-image1-600x254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8w_efXM-Kv6g1Pu2Kamgge3M6BgamnhL5GLR-b8uIEkcYTeNrgIvmJgoJQMXfX_PDC3YS_uDh52C0d3tOtxs0Q73vdGPGocG_8TTj2grS6PGBKdNVS0zAASTT-w-bfqkU1p32FnRHxN0/s1600/charlize-theron-snow-white-and-the-huntsman-image1-600x254.jpg" height="270" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
(My husbands reaction on walking in half way through was 'What is it kiss a dead girl day?)<br />
<br />
For the record, my feelings about Kristen Stewart are pretty similar to Keira Knightly, so the appeal of the leading actress had no impact on my loving this and not <i>Anna Karenina</i>.<br />
<br />
I'm a bit late jumping on the Colleen Atwood bandwagon for the simple fact I'm not a huge fan of most of Tim Burton's work, the director who she is most associated with. I feel he's become a bit of a parody of himself lately. I blamed Atwood for the 'Yawn, there's ANOTHER pair of black and white striped trousers' that's become a bit of a theme in his recent years. But after watching <i>Snow White and the Huntsman</i>, and <i>In Time</i> (which I argue is one of the best costumed sci-fi films ever - will post about it soon), two highly trashy Hollywood blockbuster films, I realised she simply is the most phenomenal costume designer of our time. What she does is make the most beautiful over-the-top costumes look like clothing. She uses subtle details and clever palates so that even while you are saying 'Wow that costume is amazing' there is never the slightest wink or nod from the costume designer saying 'See what I did there'. Because that's what I find boring about costume design: when designers and directors want you to notice how clever and pretty they're being. Atwood doesn't play for tricks. You have to realy understand costume design to notice how clever she is.<br />
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The entire film has a very muted palette. Sometimes when people choose palettes they don't understand the difference between only using 3 colours and having a subtle tonality theme underlying the entrie look. There are a lot of colours and contrasts in this film, but the muted tones show us the story is taking a more gritty, realistic angle on the classic tale. <br />
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I love the way Atwood worked with Snow White's (Kristen Stewart) costume. It looks good, tells a story, but above all is practical. When we see first Snow White she's wearing a dress that meets all audience expectations of an opressed fairytale princess, with the puff sleeves and laced bodice. It's detail is beautiful: the contrasting colour on the underside of the slashes, the use of different patterned leather, stitch detail and seaming in the bodice. Atwood is very good at putting subtle details around the neckline to draw focus to the face and add interest to close up shots. But the colours are muted, suitable for her imprisonment and also making sure the complicated design and texture don't distract from the story. It is also similar to the servants costumes, showing how Ravenna wants to see her step-daughter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN6dyCQUGkdhboagdOuEkRAngcB5RSg3-gQD2TjAYOxzp2-JIq7hj1B6nyE_s0M_CITgvHsxwb2BVwbFcxHZvIM5n1W8iBZ0SN38AFAmSaKSFoDbet3QbOnvpjl2MbVN6x9R7FK_RQag/s1600/snow-white-huntsman-kristen-stewart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN6dyCQUGkdhboagdOuEkRAngcB5RSg3-gQD2TjAYOxzp2-JIq7hj1B6nyE_s0M_CITgvHsxwb2BVwbFcxHZvIM5n1W8iBZ0SN38AFAmSaKSFoDbet3QbOnvpjl2MbVN6x9R7FK_RQag/s1600/snow-white-huntsman-kristen-stewart.jpg" height="400" width="268" /></a></div>
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When she rips the skirt off, there's a logic to it. The girly dress suddenly turns tomboy.<br />
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Speaking to Grazia, Atwood said "I knew that was going to happen in the story, so that was the
way I backed into it. I put flat boots. I put legging so when she fell
and stuff I didn’t have to worry about underwear showing. I made the
costume out of materials that blended with the environment and that
would hold up under the situations that I had to put the costume
through. I made about 20 of those. When you’re doing that, you source
the materials that you can find and that you can duplicate times twenty.
Within the dress and within the underdress and within the pants,
there’s all kinds of stretch panels that are hidden in seams so it’s
totally flexible. You’re able to lift your arms over your head. You’re
able to shoot a bow and arrow. You’re able to move in the costume
which is very important for the actors."<br />
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Similarly the boys costumes are manly, muted and texturely detailed. The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) has a leather jerkin that looks like he's worn it every day for years. It has pockets and belts and straps, but they are all practical for a huntsman. I love costumes that are broken down to look lived in, and leather is one of the hardest fabrics to get right because it's such a time consuming process.<br />
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But it's Ravenna (aka the evil queen) played by Charlize Theron who's costumes really stand out.<br />
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‘‘Every costume had a feeling of not quite what it seems,’’ Theron said in an interview to The Boston Globe.
‘‘In a way, these dresses were like torture devices for Ravenna. I love
that because I feel like Ravenna was, in a way, more torturous toward
herself than to the people she was killing.’’<br />
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Every costume befits a woman obsessed with her beauty: a queen ruling over her kingdom with a very tight control. Because Ravenna is the ultimate control freak - of herself, her creepy brother, her step daughter and her kingdom. The crown is heavy and sharp, and there's a lot of hard metallic surfaces. Even when there's soft edges like in the beautiful wedding gown, its controlled by the hard cage-like shoulders made out of bones. There's a lot of animal references: feathers, beetles, bones, quills, leather, fur and sequins used like scales. The costumes tell of her vanity, dark magic, obsession, control and heartlessness. And they're also some of the most incredibly beautiful fantasy gowns I've seen on film.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the tiny bird skulls used as decoration</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-61853423588092875142013-02-21T11:45:00.000+00:002013-04-08T14:14:43.392+01:00Lindy Hop and the Hunt for The Perfect Shoe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I think I may have finally (after 3 years) found my perfect swing dance shoe. I'm 175cm tall, so am not interested in wedged dance shoes. These are £75 at Revival Retro boutique in London. Unfortunately they don't have suede soles and my knee's been playing up, so I think I'll have to go and have a look at them. They also only come in full sizes, but it looks like my search for a decent red swing shoe may have come to an end. I'm currently wearing black plimsolls with suede soles which are incredibly comfortable, but not so pretty.<br />
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This is not a search I have taken lightly. Oh no. A few shoes have been tested and failed along the pathway to shoe enlightenment.<br />
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I have Johnsons/Remix red Laura Sandals which are lovely but with my slightly dodgy knee the soles just aren't slippery enough. I did wear them to Goodwood Revival though where all the girls I met, wincing in their 50s heels on dirty ground, commented how comfortable they looked. (They are!)<br />
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I also have these Aris Allen tweed wedges which have suede soles and are great, but I'm just not designed for heels, and one of the buttons is stuck on with chewing gum after I had a wardrobe malfunction mid swing out one night. <br />
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My true shoe loves are these two pairs of Re-mix shoes I bought from Revival (and I'm not going to tell you how much they were). I bought the black and brown Deco ones at the London Swing Dance Festival a few years ago and everyone looked at me impressed and asked 'can you dance in those?' I replied 'No. But they're not dancing shoes. They're wearing shoes.' The dancers looked at me shocked. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a 1920s Mary Jane.<br />
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My other Remix love is Eva. I bought her in green, but the leather is very soft and after wearing them just once, to a fancy dress ball, they had little tears in the leather on the heel. So even though I'm having major lust after her in cherry red, I'm just not prepared to spend them money on them. Which is a shame because she's beautiful.<br />
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Another swing dancing wardrobe problem I have is decent hair accessories. I have a small selection of lovely hair flowers and a few nice clips. But there are a lot of ugly fake flowers out there. It's a tricky thing because you can't wear anything too big and headband fascinators are out because they need to be firmly attached. The practicalities of vintage clothing for dancing in is a minefield (I think there's another post in that?)<br />
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So this week, inspired by pin tucks I created a felt bow (or 5) to wear in my hair for dancing. They're millinery weight felt which is much stronger than your craft shop felt. It's not too big, it sits flush to the head (so can't be knocked out by clumsy boys) and I think it's got a different art deco take on the humble bow. It comes in a variety of colours, can be bling-ed, and can be made a bit bigger for special occasions. What's not to love. I'm road testing it tonight so I'll see how it goes.<br />
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Update: I found it</h2>
Yes, I found the perfect dance shoe. I bought it at a weekend event, immediately danced 3 classes in it and then several hours in the evening with no problems. Not only is the shoe gorgeous, but it had zero teething problems, unlike every other pair of shoes I've tried dancing in (sole slipperiness or lack thereof, stiffness of soul in wedges, blisters - you name it, I've had it). I can only imagine that it the shoes are made using voodoo magic. Ladies, please put your hands together for the Terry Smith saddle shoe from <a href="http://www.morellos.co.uk/catalogue/cat/shoes/womens-%28-%29-new/" target="_blank">Morellos</a><br />
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Here it is pictured in green. I bought it in the same colourway but black and white. The black has an ever so slight navy tinge which makes it look a lot softer and more of a 'real' shoe, as opposed to fancy dress look that most black and white jazz shoes seem to have. They're made in England in genuine leather (big plus), and mould nicely to your feet. The soles are leather and quite thin so you get the same connection to the ground you get when wearing plimsolls, but are also spongy enough for comfort. They give you enough slip on the dance floor, but can also be worn outside to and from the event without ruining them. The shoes a very petite feminine style, so even though they are saddle shoes, they are unmistakeably girls shoes which is very important to me, and the piecing, holes and top stitching detail is really lovely. I also really like a lace up dance shoe, as they fit much to your foot and you don't ever have problems with your foot moving at a different time to your shoe. They come in many colour combinations, including animal prints, suedes, etc so even though they didn't have a red and white option in my size when I bought my pair, I can still buy a second red pair. Relief!<br />
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The sizes are a little odd, I'm somewhere between a 6 1/2 and a 7, but they don't do half sizes. The 7 was considerably too big and the 6 was snug (am not sure what their sizes are based on but I've never had this problem with any other brand). Because they are made from good quality soft leather I bought the size down as leather moulds nicely to your foot, and have not had problems with rubbing or blisters or anything like that, but I would suggest trying them on if possible before purchase.<br />
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And even better, they are only £60 a pair! Try finding anything of similar quality on the high street for that price.<br />
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I have somehow managed to lose my black suede sole dance plimsolls but am thankful to have not only found a replacement pair of everyday dancing shoes, but an improvement in that they look good enough to wear to events.<br />
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A male friend I was with also bought a pair of their men's shoes and was similarly impressed with the results.<br />
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I also bought a pair of Rocket Originals Nancy shoes in red. I was no so pleased in them. The sole is very stiff which makes dancing your toes quite difficult and the leather is heavy so that they pinch around the toes, even in the right size. I think they'll need A LOT of wearing in around the house before they are suitable for anything else. But they are pretty... and if you think they look too similar to my Johnsons shoes above to be a sensible purchase, I will simply respond that a girl can never have too many pairs of red shoes!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-27447310202469578982013-02-20T11:34:00.000+00:002013-02-28T12:12:15.922+00:00Career Achievements and the 15th Annual Costume Designer's Guild Awards<div class="article_body">
<b>So the awards have been given for the 15th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards (see list of winners at bottom of article). But I'm more interested in the costume major achievement awards: Who are these people and why have they been given the awards?</b><br />
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CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN TELEVISION<span style="font-weight: normal;">:<b> Eduardo Castro</b></span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here he is winning an award at the 11th Annual Costume Guild Awards</td></tr>
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Euduardo Castro is a costume designer who's career has spanned almost 30 years<i>.</i> He started out working as an assistant to great costume designers Ann
Roth, Theadora Van Runkle and Julie Weiss, before his debut as a designer
on the forth series of <i>Miami Vice </i>(1987-88). He went on to design films and tv series such as <i>Judging Amy </i>(2001), <i>Bride and Prejudice </i>(2004) and most recently <i>Ugly Betty</i> (2006-08), <i>Eastwick </i>(2009-10), <i>Castle </i>(2010) and <i>Once Upon a Time</i> (2011-13) (which was noticeably NOT nominated - where they simply aware he was receiving a bigger award or was it overlooked for other reasons that I cannot work out? Am I the only one obsessed with this show??) <br />
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But I think it's safe to say that few costume designers have had such an influence on contemporary culture. What I find interesting about this list is these shows are very much a product of their time, and trying to make them even a few years earlier or later would be almost impossible. <i>Once Upon a Time</i> is very much a reflection of a modern obsession with fairy tales and fantasies, brought on by a recession hit era; <i>Bride and Prejudice</i> is a clear link to Bollywood being briefly in fashion; <i>Judging Amy</i> is a working single mother trying to juggle her modern lifestyle; <i>Ugly Betty </i>is a pre-Glee anti-fashionista geek chic champion that would not have been understood a few years earlier. And the way these characters dress has had a big influence on the fashions of the time. Castro has not just designed costumes, he's influence fashion for generations of television viewers.<br />
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Castro has been nominated for 5 Emmys and received 4 Costume Designers Guild Awards: 1 for <i>Elvis</i> and 3 for <i>Ugly Betty.</i><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM: Judianna Madovsky</b></span></b></h3>
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b></h3>
Judianna Makovsky seems to have cornered the market for the slightly offbeat fantasy/whimsy/magic genre, peaking with <i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone </i>(2001) (yep she created the original look for the Harry Potter franchise costumes), the controversially costumed <i>The Hunger Games </i> (2011), and my personal favourite <i>Pleasantville </i>(1998) (I could gush about this film for hours if you let me!). Her earlier films include what was in my opinion Tom Hanks greatest film <i>Big </i>(1987), and the amazing <i>Six Degrees of Seperation (1993)</i><br />
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But her CV also includes <i>The Last Airbender </i>(2009), <i>Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant</i> (2009), <i>X Men: The Last Stand</i> (2004), <i>National Treasure </i>(2003), <i>Seabiscuit </i>(2001), <i>The Legend of Bagger Vance </i>(2000), <i>Practical Magic </i>(1998)<i>, Great Expectations </i>(1997), <i>The Devil's Advocate (1997), Lolita </i>(1997), <i>A Little Princess </i>(1995) and <i>The Quick and the Dead </i>(1995)<br />
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That's a pretty impressive CV by anyone's standards. I'd be happy to have costumed just one of those films in my career. There is a definite fantasy/whimsy theme underlying her body of work.</div>
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Judianna has received 3 Academy Award nominations for <i>Seabiscuit,</i> <i>Harry Potter</i>, <i>and Pleasantville </i>(losing to <i>The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Moulin Rouge!</i> and <i>Shakespeare in Love </i>respectively) but has not won any. The latter two I pleased to say she did win Costume Designers Guild Awards for though.</div>
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<h3>
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD<span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>: David Le Vey</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I love this award. David Le Vey is not a costume designer. He's an assistant costume designer and illustrator. But he's worked as hard as anyone so why should the designers be the only one's to get awards?</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">His work includes <i>Minority Report </i>(2001), <i>Titanic</i> (1995), <i>Legends of the Fall </i>(1994)<i> </i>and <i>Hook </i>(1991)</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Here's one of his costume illustrations from Titanic.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuH8-lvZb9gsrna5j8TD02D6bCnbySx4kBLYBwxofj0Eqs6PYHt4tShyphenhyphenIgkZgpyfC2j2WU5gjeF9U8_gosecJioX5rHAb0_9DxOmazIBD9XLpYpBFI3fZANW0gW5gL7eR96k25fAWcit0/s1600/MV5BMTU0Njk0NDgyNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzczOTcyMQ@@._V1._SX400_SY645_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuH8-lvZb9gsrna5j8TD02D6bCnbySx4kBLYBwxofj0Eqs6PYHt4tShyphenhyphenIgkZgpyfC2j2WU5gjeF9U8_gosecJioX5rHAb0_9DxOmazIBD9XLpYpBFI3fZANW0gW5gL7eR96k25fAWcit0/s1600/MV5BMTU0Njk0NDgyNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzczOTcyMQ@@._V1._SX400_SY645_.jpg" height="320" width="198" /></a></div>
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<h3>
And here's the winners list for the 15th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards. </h3>
<br />
<br />
EXCELLENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FILM<br />
<i>Skyfall -- </i>Jany Temime<br />
<br />
EXCELLENCE IN PERIOD FILM<br />
<i>Anna Karenina -- </i>Jacqueline Durran<br />
<br />
EXCELLENCE IN FANTASY FILM<br />
<i>Mirror Mirror -- </i>Eiko Ishioka<br />
<br />
OUTSTANDING CONTEMPORARY TELEVISION SERIES<br />
<i>Smash -- </i>Molly Maginnis<br />
<br />
OUTSTANDING PERIOD/FANTASY TELEVISION SERIES<br />
<i>Downton Abbey -- </i>Caroline McCall<br />
<br />
OUTSTANDING MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES<br />
<i>American Horror Story</i> -- Lou Eyrich<br />
<br />
EXCELLENCE IN COMMERCIAL COSTUME DESIGN<br />
<i>Captain Morgan Black -- </i>Judianna Makovsky<br />
<br />
LACOSTE SPOTLIGHT AWARD<br />
Anne Hathaway<br />
<br />
DISTINGUISHED COLLABORATOR AWARD<br />
Lorne Michaels<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjgc209GrNLr9Po7hyh1b7APeOmRo4Gg6LGGE8GE9tDfZGdIT_8BTaKxfG1Xx3Cp5zznAvojercmUlePax4wVXPrUQBhTGuQMo5Hn-gRSlIhRcuIeJZCZsqT3SuVJOMBnaaVzhNB37ew/s1600/article-2281493-17E39834000005DC-350_634x994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjgc209GrNLr9Po7hyh1b7APeOmRo4Gg6LGGE8GE9tDfZGdIT_8BTaKxfG1Xx3Cp5zznAvojercmUlePax4wVXPrUQBhTGuQMo5Hn-gRSlIhRcuIeJZCZsqT3SuVJOMBnaaVzhNB37ew/s1600/article-2281493-17E39834000005DC-350_634x994.jpg" height="400" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne Hathaway in the Gucci dress she wore last night.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515456813535392343.post-63798148457608194412013-02-19T11:15:00.000+00:002013-02-19T11:15:01.957+00:00Vintage Underwear for a Vintage FitSo maybe you're like me and you love vintage clothing but you're not
petite. You find it hard to find to find vintage clothes that fit you
and when you buy vintage sewing patterns, you toile them, only to
find that they just don't fit you. You try reproduction vintage clothes on, and even though they're gorgeous, you just don't look.... right. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwP4JrZtTBg2u2KjrK3aXEFaV9Uhi6Z7IMeS0HzwKt-pXwCkgp1s5Ktby_rQ-MCwkPDHWFt9-XHmw30IaP5gLcMD2TRSYG1SLkIHrKq8Rekjy4w_TTypuia8jXnsCvCqpNXFaD_eoM9s/s1600/EX-00055-C.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwP4JrZtTBg2u2KjrK3aXEFaV9Uhi6Z7IMeS0HzwKt-pXwCkgp1s5Ktby_rQ-MCwkPDHWFt9-XHmw30IaP5gLcMD2TRSYG1SLkIHrKq8Rekjy4w_TTypuia8jXnsCvCqpNXFaD_eoM9s/s1600/EX-00055-C.jpg" height="320" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edwardian Lingerie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A very simple part of the problem is that
vintage patterns are just not designed to go over contemporary figures,
let alone contemporary underwear. It's no secret that as a society our
figures are changing, we're growing much taller than our grandparents
were. We're getting more nutrients, better medicines, exercising
differently, so we are a completely different shape to what we were 20,
40, 60 years ago. And underwear has undergone enormous changes over the
past century: steel boned corsets, girdles, cinches, no bras, bullet
bras, suspenders, gstrings, control pants. The female figure has been
pushed, prodded and pumped beyond recognition.<br />
<br />
If you don't believe me look at dress forms from one hundred years ago. For someone to fit this shape they would have had to wear a corset from early puberty, trainging their waist.<br />
<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuF_C3tPSqB9MBnCDgWpKebGkbuohkcQ0o6LoNEL6a4TbLMEMz0ZPNOzr7gChO85s7lQtNCBrFpUS_Tkitl9LLrWx-A4jPSU4OWlT9ZNAs3C2oZL3csfFQl3KY4h0FTpb5Mqf-AikzFH4/s1600/xDSC_0026.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuF_C3tPSqB9MBnCDgWpKebGkbuohkcQ0o6LoNEL6a4TbLMEMz0ZPNOzr7gChO85s7lQtNCBrFpUS_Tkitl9LLrWx-A4jPSU4OWlT9ZNAs3C2oZL3csfFQl3KY4h0FTpb5Mqf-AikzFH4/s1600/xDSC_0026.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When did we stop having a mono-boob?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
This is
why the photos on the frong of the envelope of commercial company's 'reissue' patterns look so decidedly average next to the beautiful period drawn designs. They've made up vintage designs and slapped
them on modern girls with no thought to bra, cinch, girdle or petticoat
shapes. I love shops like <a href="http://www.whatkatiedid.com/" target="_blank">What Katie Did</a>
that have redesigned and manufactured vintage lingerie for the modern
girl. If you're serious about wearing vintage clothes I suggest you
check them out.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nk6_YEgi8CaVUQ2mYc3yVMlghzX1UeuMSwKHBG0DkCPntpwUBN6f4bLP_AJNflBqJr97Ct5Uuo9HMrDZSmD__AICogHsyIS7lDkmKeol6Ldf3wvYyw-UJPtH10G2dpm2QfVEzXh9cZU/s1600/258816309805803293_1P69xFy0_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nk6_YEgi8CaVUQ2mYc3yVMlghzX1UeuMSwKHBG0DkCPntpwUBN6f4bLP_AJNflBqJr97Ct5Uuo9HMrDZSmD__AICogHsyIS7lDkmKeol6Ldf3wvYyw-UJPtH10G2dpm2QfVEzXh9cZU/s1600/258816309805803293_1P69xFy0_b.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">20s lingerie - I'm fairly sure the one in the middle is not a man in drag</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My Mother was shocked when I told her I'd
bought a girdle. Previous generations had fought against the
'oppression' of such lingerie, and here was I choosing to wear one. But to modern eyes girdles are something sexy and romantic. Personally I'd rather wear a girdle than deal with the oppression of
size 0 airbrushed models making me believe that my figure should
naturally be smooth and skinny and flawless. I hate the saggy tights crotch thing so I'd much prefer to wear stockings and suspenders (as long as it's not too cold outside). As
an early developer I've never understand why the feminists of the
70s wanted to burn their bras. It seemed to be cutting off your nose to spite your face. It may be different for other women but
for me wearing a bra is just so much more comfortably than not. <br />
<br />
These days instead of controlling our figure with underwear, we're dieting and spending hours at the gym, making the contemporary shape much more athletic and boyish. At the extremes we're even cutting into our bodies to acheive perfection. Excuse me if I'd rather wear some sexy old fashioned lingerie.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAeGDwJPBK-OhV4QNf1ZQhfMRkZ-5Yx2UrRahYjrlhjhFDfCY28arXHxdaXLR2oghg90bIh7Y90mU4jHCsoyEo4eRAWSPL9YcWOm2cMDl-sqdVHHfXpEVXgHK51Fa3Kfl-ByFBYcMBlQ/s1600/Part1_02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAeGDwJPBK-OhV4QNf1ZQhfMRkZ-5Yx2UrRahYjrlhjhFDfCY28arXHxdaXLR2oghg90bIh7Y90mU4jHCsoyEo4eRAWSPL9YcWOm2cMDl-sqdVHHfXpEVXgHK51Fa3Kfl-ByFBYcMBlQ/s1600/Part1_02.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">30s lingerie ad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47BFA6qCJb2fKj4AVypC7qT807cUBdxD8FB4RaavbfQ_x6RK8BDAPv7iFOascUPQ_8v2yBFzJHESP1hWp4uji19pyqZEzLRnBtzU7FkOBbvPbtkBP_VL8v3njxw-5I4eXh5urlW5QtZY/s1600/1948+lingerie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47BFA6qCJb2fKj4AVypC7qT807cUBdxD8FB4RaavbfQ_x6RK8BDAPv7iFOascUPQ_8v2yBFzJHESP1hWp4uji19pyqZEzLRnBtzU7FkOBbvPbtkBP_VL8v3njxw-5I4eXh5urlW5QtZY/s1600/1948+lingerie.jpg" height="320" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1948 lingerie ad - notice the difference in bust shape from the one above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So what's the solution? Fitting and altering. Never
fit anything unless you're wearing the right underwear. Start as you
mean to go on. If you want your vintage clothes to look right, research
what goes underneath.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6D9_hZAXtmkD1UXf1BXQP9b4pMr4vqw_TmY33z3q9LQyOvAszlrZi2KIqXs1HWn7jV5HpM1MsNvBtGgpsXF83Zu6Ipd9rmngY_MhH_kP_SS_-hh4-X1jjcFMoYILQlghiYr26d2WDprk/s1600/hh5100S425x425Q85.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6D9_hZAXtmkD1UXf1BXQP9b4pMr4vqw_TmY33z3q9LQyOvAszlrZi2KIqXs1HWn7jV5HpM1MsNvBtGgpsXF83Zu6Ipd9rmngY_MhH_kP_SS_-hh4-X1jjcFMoYILQlghiYr26d2WDprk/s1600/hh5100S425x425Q85.jpg" height="320" width="189" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">50s lingerie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
TIP: For a more comfortable 1940s girdle look, try magic pants of control top tights. They squish your bum and thighs in to give a sleek line, giving a very similar look to the 1940s shape.<br />
<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTOlYkGl6ckKRXPNxktBURWsFF4W3yIWUGJl09HCbkWc8f_GcbFTI0VmJSNPhyg8uqMg5mQeMpssbfAWSBNnU7MQzCkdupLAxbpV1dySQ1CvKI0pfyDetj3LlqzI-u5ro0i0xT6RhSPg/s1600/tumblr_loeb999UDr1qbl06no1_500.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTOlYkGl6ckKRXPNxktBURWsFF4W3yIWUGJl09HCbkWc8f_GcbFTI0VmJSNPhyg8uqMg5mQeMpssbfAWSBNnU7MQzCkdupLAxbpV1dySQ1CvKI0pfyDetj3LlqzI-u5ro0i0xT6RhSPg/s1600/tumblr_loeb999UDr1qbl06no1_500.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">60s lingerie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsBTGCOLC2gwuQRY_nDZ9oVW7FXrjBfPgwmCb5bq7qrVVyH-mw8O__Gg7mUAUh2vGgu_8DznSPtZFnYPa4xQE0wRDr98VjnI5BoS1FaEj-7Y1ESIU4VamVsTlIPxBI5SB0VANnO4X6p4/s1600/Raica-Oliveira-Ultimo-lingerie-1-1024x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsBTGCOLC2gwuQRY_nDZ9oVW7FXrjBfPgwmCb5bq7qrVVyH-mw8O__Gg7mUAUh2vGgu_8DznSPtZFnYPa4xQE0wRDr98VjnI5BoS1FaEj-7Y1ESIU4VamVsTlIPxBI5SB0VANnO4X6p4/s1600/Raica-Oliveira-Ultimo-lingerie-1-1024x1024.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contemporary figure and lingerie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1