Crimson Peak review

Kerry and I went to an early Thursday night showing of Guillermo del Toro's new movie, Crimson Peak. Ever since some of the first production stills came out in late spring 2014ish, I've been looking forward to this movie. I wasn't sure about the whole horror aspect with creepy shadow things, blood everywhere, and the sinister house only because I'm not big on that movie genre. BUT IT TOOK PLACE DURING THE VICTORIAN PERIOD! Instantly sold.

Crimson Peak 2015

Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre 2011) stars as the main lead, Edith Cushing, a young woman who finds herself drawn towards a young baronet visiting America from England. He seems great, but there's that lurking air of mystery that there's more to Thomas Sharpe's story than what he's revealing. After her father's mysterious death though, Edith finds herself heading off to Allerdale Hall with Thomas. Let's be honest though, where Tom Hiddleston is concerned, it's easy to completely lose our minds and follow him anywhere without any second thoughts.

We've only just met, but can I put MY hands around you?

Yes, Tom Hiddleston (swoon) of Avengers fame is in this film.

Summer 2015 Costume Finds

Well, summer has finally closed out here. As I compose this post, it's steadily raining outside and I'm swathed in sweaters already despite the fact that it's only in the mid-40s.

I've found a lot of stuff this summer, but it's mostly patterns and books. No fabric since I'm supposed to be cleaning out the stash bin-ahem. I did get my scarves for my Regency shawl and I bought a small amount of cotton lawn yardage for some undergarments I'm doing.

The first little bit comes from my friend Audrey. She was cleaning out her costume stash and while I don't exactly fit into her costumes, she had a bunch of patterns and I grabbed a small handful. All of these are out of print (still available on etsy or ebay) and do not match my sizing, but it's great to have on hand because I can scale up or do pattern mashups.

• Butterick 3640 - 1750s-1760s(?) dresses and polonaises
• Butterick 3012 - Natural Form Victorian evening dresses
• Simplicity 5726 - Civil War/Crinoline period undergarments
• Simplicity 4510 - Civil War/Crinoline period day dress
• Simplicity 3627 - Marie Antoinette court style dress
• Simplicity 9761 - Civil War/Crinoline period day dress

I also nabbed a little bit of sewing supplies, fabric scraps, and a feather fan for the accessory bin.

Other patterns that I purchased throughout the summer include:

• Butterick B5748 - Retro 1960 dress
• Butterick B5603 - Retro 1956 dress
• Butterick B6108 - Retro 1912 suited outfits
• Simplicity 4900 - Early Crinoline period dresses/Cold Mountain (out of print)
• Simplicity 7215 - Civil War/Crinoline period corsets (out of print)

Yeah, needless to say I've been pattern bingeing.

I went to my favorite discount book store as well and picked up a couple of additions. The Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century I'm rather excited about. Although I do have the condensed version, this is a paperback version of the 2-volume set that I managed to snag for $8! Yes, a lot of the pictures are the same, but there's so many that my condensed version doesn't have. I have already used it several times for my Regency drop front dress project.

I've seen the hardback version of this same set and if you're a little put off by the price, get the paperback version. It's the same thing at a cheaper price and the books are a little smaller too, making storage easier.

And then another Victorian lifestyle reference book. I loved Judith Flanders' Inside the Victorian Home, so I'm rather excited for when I'll be able to sit down and start going through The Victorian City. This was another steal for only $7, and yes, I do love books by the way.

The Victorian City by Judith Flanders

More additions were several Tom Tierney paper doll books. These are great for costume  reference materials because most of the dresses are taken from actual fashion plates, both black and white or color ones. Most are easy to snag in a used copy format on Amazon.

• American Family of 1900-1920
• Great Fashion Designs of the Belle Epoque
• Early Victorian Costumes
• Worth Fashion Review

Then I also got a couple of little goodies at the Hale Farm Reenactment.

Hair pins and earrings

And let's not forget my tiara of course!

The best part was the addition to my costume porn movie collection. While I do love Daniel Deronda, I'm a particular fan of the George Eliot movies in general. I found the BBC movie collection together for a steal on ebay and snapped it up.

• The Mill on the Floss (1978)
• Middlemarch (1994)
• Adam Bede (1991)
• Silas Marner (1985)
• Daniel Deronda (2002)