Long live the... Queen...

The strange fit of the costumes seen in the upcoming French movie Les Adieus a la Reine are very much noteworthy. I have to post a picture after reading Demode's blog, the most interesting one I found, dear reader, was this:

I cannot quite decide whether if this lady is trying to be pregnant, or terribly modest and ashamed of her own body, thus resorting to misshapen-ness, with her high neckline.
I am however very interested to see what this movie will be like, wondering what the overall effect of the vivid colours (greens) and strange fitting costume will be. I suppose it is very easy to get away with such designs, as most viewers won't be too picky about historical accuracy. It is after all the overall image, mood, atmosphere that will leave an impact in the viewer.


Les Adieux a la Reine is directed by Benoit Jacquot, and I msut admit I have not found information about who the costume designer is.
There is also a behind the scenes interview.

Le us give permission to that queen to drink some wine!
Today we got our first project for our second year at colleg: The Bacchai! It will be qonderful to explore the theatre of Ancient Greece,where better to start anything drama-related than there?

And now, my dearest reader, off to bed for my timid-self, as it is getting late.
More to come later!

And the studies go on...

Notes from "Introduction: The Needle Before the Wheel", Week One's Lesson.

Maginni emphasises the most important role of clothing: aesthetics. Decoration being the original aim, and later finding other -practical- uses to it.
The idea that protection from weather is only a "side effect" to clothes is intriguing, "The moment we started deciding our own bodies were less attractive than the skins of other animals, and so wore the skins of our dead prey, we preserved body heat sufficient to allow us to live in any environment on the planet, including the arctic." Thus, the possibilty of migration was through the discovery of clothing, as she later adds "Fire and sewing gave humans the ability to cover the planet. This is one very important "side effect"."

Uses include:

• holding onto objects
• preserving body heat
• reducing body heat 
• reducing, and protecting from sun damage in desert climates
• protecting from rough surfaces and war projectiles
• reducing body dampness (rain, sweat, urination)

It is important to accept that people "make clothing choices on a combination of social, aesthetic, and practical factors."
Clothing <-> Social identity

• celebrate social/religious occasions
• visibly identify themselves with a group (can be gender)
• show status within their group (privilege of the aristocracy- "sumptuary laws"- punishing middle class for wearing such items to which they are not entitled)
• attract persons of one’s gender preference "Sexual attraction and repulsion are also served by clothing. [...] Actual bodily sex differences are less pronounced visually than gendered clothing differences." Fetishism- "more aroused by the fetish clothing than by the particular person in it"
• express individual taste-> deeply personal 

"Make me feel like buying..." that is exactly what The J. Peterman Company's way of illustrating clothes and writing about them does. They were mentioned in the Preface of the History of Fashion.

Villa Hopping Blouse

Such sentences as "She said the blouse makes her remember her roots" and...

Boticelli Sheer Puff Sleeve Blouse

"If Boticelli was around he'd have the best design company in the world" makes it personal, gives 'that piece of fabric' a story. Quite an admirable and smart move, and works all the time, be it the selling of clothes or toothpaste; packaging and explanation do count, as does the basic image of the company. (I know dear reader, I am stating the obvious, excuse me for it.)

And now I believe my timid-self might go to sleep as she is dosing off, or just continue listening (for the first time) to Leaves's Eyes newest album, Meredead.
More to come later!

"I am interested in the History of Fashion because..."

"I am interested in the History of Fashion because..."

At this very moment, that which leads me in this direction is my love for history, the interest in societal structures, lifestyles, characters, personalities, emotions... all these seen always, even if one tries to avoid it, in one's garments. The Art of clothing one's-self, the use of and invention of certain instruments to achieve it are fascinating as they are, but indeed, there is still more to it. Why is it that we recognise all the stereotypes when we watch a movie, be it historical or not? Because along with the actor's talent at conveying the character's posture and attitude, it is in fact the clothes that we notice right away (or the lack thereof, excuse the imprudence :D). With that I have also revealed my other reason for learning about the History of Fashion, which is due to my aspiration to be a costume designer (and maker) one day, and as a side-note: I am obsessed with historical accuracy.

I do hope you shall excuse me, but I feel I must allow myself to  mumble for a bit...

It is a celebratory beginning to Tara Maginnis' online course at www.costumes.org for me, why so? It is due to my absolutely lazy-self, who can come up with a million other ways to be useful to others instead of being useful to herself, now this lazy being has at last started this. I should indeed be vexed at myself. However, let us look at it in a positive way and state that I am actually starting, because I have had enough of always tormenting myself for all my mistakes.

Well, dear reader, my timid-self shall go cook dinner, while continuing the online course.
More to come later!

Protection for all... a knight's pride!

Chainmaille (mail/chain mail armour)!
Before I came away from Edinburgh for my summer holiday Amber started making chainmail shorts for her project (the White Knight from Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There) and I was allowed to help. I must say that it was very exciting; although, I didn't help as much as I had wanted to.

We made it out of blue florist's wire, which we wound round a wooden rod with an electric screwdriver. Then we cut out small metal rings out of these wound wires, which strikingly enough, would have been perfect for elements of a Cyber Goth's dread falls.
Then we continued by enclosing 4 links onto one closed ring, then attaching 2 of these "fours" together with 2 rings.
We were working on them while playing Settlers of Catan after our "Taco Night" (the four of us: Amber, Linda, Guillaume and me), I must say we all slowly got pulled in more and more by our craftsmenship. xD

Guild of the Metallic Blue Florist Wire.

We didn't even realise that Linda had already 14 points; thus, had won the game.

I believe they used this video as reference to make chainmaille.

More to come later!

Note: Dear reader, pray tell me, what a knight's true pride is.

And on a side note, if you know Hungarian, it is absolutely worth it to read Popper Péter's book: Lélekrágcsálók.
Also, check out The Hungarican Chick's: The Benefits of the Bib Front (Amber found this amazing blog for me ;)).

Atlantis... and the Minoans

I am quite obsessed with the legend of Atlantis for some reason, even when I was small I was taken by the story and believed in it completely.

I just watched the BBC documentary/drama "Atlantis: the end of a world, birth of a legend", which tells the story of the Minoans from the viewpoint of five characters. We are told at the end that it was the eruption of the volcano (by the island of, now, Santorini) that had inspired Plato to create the tale of Atlantis.

Here is a screenshot I took from the movie while watching it:

The Priestess in Crete

For most part our pre-conceived image of the Minoan society is usually based on the "Minoan Snake Goddess" statuette from the Island of Crete. And I think the Costume designer, Moira Meyer, has done a great job at using this image to shape all her costumes. 

Minoan Snake Goddess

I think the costumes in the movie are beautiful, and follow the historical evidence of clothing of the Minoans, but also leave space for the fantasy element of the rich tale and heritage of the land of Atlantis.

Exposed or not? Well, after all, it was shown on TV, thus the designer must consider the target audience... It must probably have been seen as something that will also inform younger audiences, so the breasts of the ladies were covered. It is quite possible that in this era male costumes were more revealing too, but one must always take in to count the ideals of contemporary society when designing.

Ladies in Blue

We see a lot of creamy yellow, and vivid blue (wink at the image above).

Earthy colours might represent their connection to Nature, while the vivid colours might represent their connection to their feminine-self.

Atlantis...

Well, whatever we call it, there was once a world so spiritually rich as Atlantis, where they used crystals for healing, for knowledge,... Atlantis was, and lives within the heart of those who believe.

Now my timid-self shall endeavour onto different shores.

More to come later!

The short movie project...

So, let us look at what characterises the costumes of horror movies... I must admit I am quite keen on horror movies, I really do enjoy them. However, I have stay away from them due too an over-active imagination. That, of course, does not mean I cannot help in the making of one. ;-)

For IB we once made a TOK presentation on horror movies, how they work, but most importantly why we enjoy watching them. (It has to do with the adrenalin levels rising, the "fight and flight response").
In this presentation I also slipped in a bit about the costuming: I found that the costumes can be broken down to two categories.
Historical- something filled with secrets, the unknown.
Contemporary- something you could wear, strengthening the idea that "It could happen to you".

Well, that's all for now, I should be getting gone soon, early morning tomorrow.
I will have a better look into horror movie costuming, and report here my findings.

More to come later!