Sunday Spotlight: 1870's Petticoats

As I mentioned last week, I need to make a few more pieces of Victorian undergarments before I can finally make a huge ruffly white cotton bustle dress. The first thing on my list is a 1870's petticoat to wear over my Truly Victorian Imperial Tournure bustle. I may actually have to make more than one petticoat actually since my bustle is a dark color and the end gown will be crisp and white so I won't want the bustle to show through.

Though Truly Victorian does make an early bustle period petticoat pattern, I think I'm going to try and DIY something. The plan is to pick up a bunch of bleached muslin at Joanns this week and go to town. Lets look at some extant petticoats from museum collections to give you an idea of what I'll be going for...

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It seems like most examples for the 1870s are a 50/50 mix between the fullness of 1860s styles and the slimline natural form shape of the late 1870's and early 1880's. They aren't completely dissimilar from the A-line + back gathers/fullness of Edwardian petticoats, which I have made before so it won't be completely unfamiliar territory. It seems most essential to include enough fullness in the back to lay over the bustle and to plan for a bit of a train. Most petticoats above have a ruffle or two around the hem, so I plan on including a long ruffle all the way around plus perhaps a few additional ruffles in the back. I don't think I'll be including any fun lace or eyelet trimmings for my petticoat as it seems a bit of a waste to buy trimmings for something that won't be seen in the end!

Have any of you ever done any Victorian costuming before? I know a lot of people do Regency era costuming, which I have also never tried before. One day I'd love to have made something from each major fashion era, it's a long term goal of mine!

Sunday Spotlight: In the Mood for Love

I have discovered something recently, I don't just casually enjoy movies, I really love film. In discovering such I have fallen down the rabbit hole of YouTube videos about film making and how movement, music, blocking, writing, color, and more are used to make the audience feel. In doing so I have added several films to my must watch list, and as I haven't seen many of the classics or game-changing films often highlighted, I have a very long list indeed. One of the films mentioned as possibly having the best use of color in film was In the Mood for Love. Seeing as I already realized how much I was missing by having not seen any of the gorgeous films coming out of Hong Kong, I went and watched In the Mood for Love right away. 

Director Wong Kar-Wai creates a mood indeed, with languid shots, even occasionally slowed down so you can feel each moment, no matter how objectively mundane, linger on. Mr Chow (Tony Leung) and Mrs Chan (Maggie Cheung) are neighbors stuck in quite the unfortunate predicament, both of their spouses are seeing someone else, and they are both hauntingly lonely. The use of color in this film is indeed strikingly beautiful, as are the compositions created on screen and the music used. The actors do a wonderful job and I am so happy to be introduced to them as I plan on watching a lot of films from Hong Kong soon. I really don't want to say much about the plot, though there is little I could "spoil" in the traditional sense. Just know you should totally watch this film!

And the costumes? It's 1962 and Maggie Cheung wears over 20 amazing cheongsam/qipao dresses. The fabrics and prints are beautiful ranging from playful colorful 60s florals to moody iridescent shot silk taffeta. Any fashion lover will be in visual overload, such stunning clothes! They never take away from the story of course, Mrs Chan's style is just inherent in her character.

Have you seen In the Mood for Love? Do you have any similar films to recommend to me? Let me know!

Sunday Spotlight: Style Me Vintage 1940s

As someone who tends to haunt Amazon's selection of fashion history books, I had often seen various titles in the Style Me Vintage series pop up on my radar. I finally decided to pick up a copy of the 1940's styling guide to see what the series was like and determine if they were something I wanted to add to my fashion library.

The book was helpfully laid out in sections; on make-up, hair styling, fashion, lingerie etc. Each section gave a good overview of the styles for the 1940's, focusing on both wartime and post war fashions. Author Liz Tregenza obviously knows her stuff (as anyone who follows her excellent Instagram knows) and I think the balance of historic background and photos was really well done. The book covers British fashion of the 1940's more than other resources I have come across which was a nice change of pace from the more usual focus on Hollywood style. As I know less about both wartime fashions and British 40's styles, I found the rationing information really interesting.

So will I be picking up the other volumes in the series? Honestly probably not. Though the book gives a great overview of 1940s fashion and style, for someone who has already been researching 20th century fashion at length for years there just isn't enough bang for the buck. I would really like a more step by step vintage styling book to get ideas for putting outfits together, what hat to wear with what suit, what colors were often paired with navy in the 1940s, rules about when exactly it was appropriate to wear straw hats throughout the year, more examples of prints or common color combinations and that sort of thing. I suppose I used to read modern fashion magazines that gave such advice (several ways of styling one dress or blouse for example) and was hoping for more "styling" advice as opposed to a straight up overview of the era.

Still, I think Style Me Vintage 1940s is a wonderfully well put together book with great tips for people just getting into 1940's or vintage styles. The personal style snaps from the author's family were one of the best parts, and the focus on regular everyday style as opposed to Hollywood glam or particularly pin-up styles was really welcome.

Have any of you picked up any of the Style Me Vintage books? What did you think? Let me know in ze comments :)

Sunday Spotlight: Science Fiction and 1940's Noir

I'm going to blame Rouge One (I've seen it twice so far, so excellent!) for rekindling this desire, but I really want to try and style some more 1940's meets Science Fiction style looks this winter. Blade Runner and it's fusion of futuristic and 40's film noir styles has always inspired me of course, and I really want to try some more Rachel inspired looks. I've got some interesting black textured fabrics and a really sheer iridescent chiffon to try and play around with to bring in some more vintage meets future/space pieces into my wardrobe. I'm thinking a sculptural early 40's bolero jacket and strict pencil skirt in black, and a billowy romantic Casablanca style blouse in the sheer iridescent fabric. Something a little different, but still very vintage somehow. After all, old Hollywood designer Adrian inspired the suits in Blade Runner, and the beaded details on Star War's Padme's costumes aren't so different from the embellished garments of the 1940's.

Are there any other gals out there who love this fusion of vintage and futuristic fashions like I do?

Sunday Spotlight: Slash Neck Tops

Whew! You know it is much harder to find real vintage examples of the "slash" neckline style knit tops we modern gals are so fond of. What brought on my search? Well of course I have finally invested in some of the much loved Vivien of Holloway Slash Neck Tops that seem to be so popular among the retro crowd. I began wondering what actual vintage styles the top was based on and began my search for authentic examples and well, there weren't many to be found!

Now finding dresses with the straight across high neckline was easy enough:

It was harder to find examples of the same neck line style in knit tops (though there were several sweaters, mostly done in lace patterns):

These skirts though right?! One of each please!

So it seems the "slash neck" style of high straight across neck line was certainly around, and was even more popular in the early 1960s. I know I'll be wearing mine with 1950s looks even if they look a bit modern compared the the kind of thing I normally wear! I'll review the Vivien of Holloway tops as soon as mine get here from across the pond!

Sunday Spotlight: The Big Sleep

I like Bogart, and I like Bacall, yet I'd never seen The Big Sleep, the second of the four films they made together. Luckily TCM on demand had the film available to stream last week and I caught it last night on the final day it was available to watch! (TCM on demand is awesome by the way, like Netflix for old Hollywood.)

Humphrey Bogart is Philip Marlowe, a private detective  hired by an elderly client to deal with some blackmailing plaguing his younger daughter. In fact both of the man's daughters are trouble, though the elder of the two,Vivian (Lauren Bacall) seems much smarter than her sister Carmen (Martha Vickers). Marlowe must then wade through the various ruffians surrounding both sisters to figure out the truth, all while avoiding being shot himself (always from the hip, as if anyone could aim from that level? Mythbusters covered this one and its pretty implausible). Who's blackmailing whom, and which thug killed the other can get pretty hard to follow along with, but isn't the moody lighting and wealth of witty comebacks worth the confusion? Certainly.

As much as I have always enjoyed the look of film Noir, I have yet to watch many of the actual films that defined the genre, so I was excited to finally watch such a classic noir film. Sure this film's particular plot got a bit convoluted, who's been killing who and all that, but it doesn't matter because Bogie and Bacall are so entertaining and chic. Just look at that lamé jacket above! I just love Lauren Bacall's hairstyle too, I wish I could replicate it, so soft but still perfectly defined and waved in front. She has several lovely costumes in this film and I particularly liked the hounds-tooth suit she wears to Marlowe's office. I took special notice of her wonderful handbag too, a black box shaped number with what looked like Lucite along the top. Even when dames behave badly, I don't much mind as long as they are well dressed ;)

Have you seen The Big Sleep? What are your thoughts on the classic? Also please leave me recommendations as to your favorite noir films as I'd love to watch some more!

Sunday Spotlight: The Crown

This is a public service announcement: if you haven't watched Netflix's new royal drama The Crown, you should probably do so at your earliest convenience! The Queen may not be known for taking risks in her fashion sense, but the clothes on this show are wonderful! Early 50's dresses abound, also casual cardigans, cute hats, and prim handbags aplenty. I have only watched through episode 4 so far, but I especially loved Claire Foy's (who plays the Queen) costumes from the scenes in Africa, which is no surprise as you know I all love anything even vaguely safari. I look forward to the rest of this first seasons costumes, and apparently the second season is already being filmed!

Have any of you watched The Crown? What did you like of the show and the costumes?

Sunday Spotlight: Fantastic Costumes and Where to Find Them

No spoilers I promise!

The wizarding community isn't exactly great at keeping up with muggle fashion trends, and as dress robes and tall pointed hats are definitely still considered stylish in 1990's era Harry Potter, I didn't expect their to be many beaded flapper dresses in the new Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Well lucky me, there were two very lovely beaded 1920s dresses but on the whole what impressed me the most about Colleen Attwood's costumes for the new film set in Joanne Rowling's magical world was her restraint. I mean, we all know Colleen Atwood (the costumer of such films as Little Women, Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha, and most Tim Burton films) can do some epic costumes, like her recent work in Snow White and the Huntsman for example, so wish a setting as open and imaginative as the wizarding world she could have gone quite over the top and no one would have batted an eyelash. Instead the costumes feel grounded and real, which is probably a better choice in a film which already has a lot of fantasy elements going on, if everyone was wearing glittering capes and feathers it would have been way too much!

Of our two female leads, sisters Tina and Queenie (played by Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol respectively), Tina is the tomboy. Her clothes are more somber muted grays and she wears boxier menswear inspired silhouettes finished with flat practical man-ish shoes. Her hair isn't perfectly set, she's too busy running around getting stuff done as a MACUSA (the USA's version of the Ministry of Magic) employee. Her sister Queenie is the more traditionally feminine of the two, and wears mostly shades of pink and blush throughout the film, the exception being her midnight blue(/black?) dress. When we meet her in the sister's apartment she seems to have just been putting the finishing touches on said dark silk dress, as it's on a mannequin, and you can see a length of pink silk draped over an ironing table in the background. A witch who uses her magic to make deco dresses? Awesome!

(Images found here)

The men have nice costumes too, especially main character Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) who has a great color scheme going on with his dark turquoise wool coat. I really enjoyed the film, but as a Potter fan I expected to of course! With JK Rowling writing the scripts everything is canon, plus a period setting, what more can a vintage loving fangirl ask for? Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find is set in 1926 and is the first of a five film series which will span 19 years (to 1945), so I look forward to seeing 1930s and 1940s costumes from the wizarding world perspective as well!

Did any of you rush out this weekend to see the film? I really can't wait to go see it again!