Spring Time Swing Time Fever

Over the winter holidays, I got bit really hard by the retro bug. Last October I had made my spider web flare skirt. We had a mild winter in northeast Ohio so we've already had several bouts of warm temps (meaning 55-65 degrees F). As a result, I've had warmer weather clothing on my mind for a while already. With no upcoming historical events to attend as of now, I'm deciding to go outside of my comfort zone and work on some - recently - historical clothing. Not to mention I'll be able to wear it on a more day-to-day basis (Crinoline hoop skirts are fun, but they're a b!tch to wear around town regularly and while driving). Plus there's the added fun of doing research about it.

I had bought Vintage Vogue pattern V8788 a loong time ago, but have never had an idea of what fabric I wanted to use for it. Recently I discovered a love of cotton poplin and shirting fabrics because they're super lightweight and still have a nice dressy look even though they're completely natural. Wanting be able to wear it into work (We have a black and white only clothing policy), I found this pretty floral poplin from Denver Fabrics.

Then I went and saw the movie Brooklyn with Saoirse Ronan close to awards season, and that retro bug became a full blown infection. As I sat in the theatre trying to ignore the packed audience around me, I fell in love first with the story of Eilis as she immigrates from Ireland to Brooklyn, New Work, during the early 1950s, then with all of the outfits that she wears (And if you haven't seen the film yet, do!).

23 Annual Hollywood Costume Exhibit at FIDM

It's been a while since I wrote in, but I've been on vacation. I went home to Southern California for about a week and used a couple of days to catch up on museum exhibits that were in town.

Every year the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum in Los Angeles will display costumes that are nominated for Oscars along with other films released during the year. The official exhibit is The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design. It's always a treat to go see these costumes because some of them are just stunning. While I do love Victorian costume, film costume comes in at a close second. This year, they also allowed us to take photographs!

FIDM always displays the previous year's Oscar winning costumes. Last year (2013) was The Great Gatsby.

Copper and Ripper Street Reviews

There's been a whole lot of other things going on, and unfortunately not much sewing. In case it hasn't been mentioned yet, I also do cross stitch and I've been working on a couple of projects instead. I have been watching a few of my costume dramas though.

Copper
I watched the first season of Copper when it first came out on DVD earlier this year. Now that the second season has started up, I've been doing a bit of catch up (I don't have cable, so I watch them when I can online). Copper airs on BBC America and is the first scripted show made exclusively for the channel.

Image Courtesy of IMDB

The show centers around the Five Points area of New York starting in 1864 and focuses mostly on Kevin "Corky" Corcoran, an Irish immigrant who works as a police detective. Other characters that come into play are the men on his police force, some of the...ahem "ladies of pleasure" the men see frequently, and a few benefactors and other side characters.

While there eventually is an overarching plot that comes to light, it comes across as just another crime show for me, just in a historical setting. There are a few costumes that pop up on some of the female characters, but they are very far and few in between. Right now, the story has me intrigued enough to keep watching as the episodes come out, but not enough that I eagerly anticipate each new one.

Show - 3.5 out of 5

Costumes - 3 out of 5

Ripper Street

When I first heard about this show, it had already aired so I had to wait for it on DVD, then wait for it to come in at the library. As a result, I was only able to watch it just last week.

Image Courtesy of IMDB

Matthew Macfadyen of Pride and Prejudice stars one of the key characters, Edmund Reid, an investigator looking into a variety of killings and other cases following the final Jack the Ripper murder in 1889. Despite the title, there is little mention of the Ripper cases themselves, aside from a couple of murders that resemble the original Ripper murders. Instead, the cases that Reid investigates are in and around the areas of the murders in the East End of London.

There are some great costumes though that pop up throughout the series. One in particular, worn by Amanda Hale, I'm absolutely in love with (hm, new dress possibilities?).

Best image of the dress

Show - 3 out of 5

Costumes - 4 out of 5

In watching the two shows though, the one thing I've come to find is that they are so similar, it's almost as if I'm watching the same thing. The location, time, and characters are different, but overall concept of the character types and how they relate to each other are just too similar. Although it was not intended this way, just check out the above photos.

I'll probably keep watching both shows to see if they get any better (Ripper Street was left on a bit of a cliff hanger). Thankfully there's enough of a gap between the two shows airing that I can separate out the differences.

Age of Innocence and Royal Affair reviews

As I've been steadily working on my corset and a few other small projects (more on that later), I've been catching up on some of my period costume movies.

A Royal Affair
This is a foreign film with Dutch subtitles, so sewing while watching took a bit longer than usual. It takes place in the later half of the 18th Century, so I admit that we're taking a small step outside the Victorian era. The focus of the story is on Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, who married into Dutch Royalty, and her extramarital affair with her husband's physician.

www.rottentomatoes.com

Not only was it a great film, but the costumes are definitely drool inducing. Not that I delved much into 18th Century costume, but I got to see some of the costumes in person in February when I visited the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising's annual exhibit of film costumes. What I liked best about these costumes is that while they are still elaborate, there's a certain degree of simplicity to them and they better match their actual historical counterparts.

So for those interested in 18th Century costumes, a good historical film, or both, I definitely recommend this film.

Film - 4.5 out of 5
Costumes - 4 out of 5

The Age of Innocence
Based on Edith's Wharton's novel of the same name, this adaption stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder in the main roles with Martin Scorsese directing. Although the film is not the most fast paced, the costumes make it worth the watch.

Image via Pinterest

The story is set during the late 1870s, during the Natural Form period of Victorian dress when the bustle had momentarily died away and mermaid tail dresses were all the rage. Frankly, I don't think we see enough dresses from this brief period (about 1876-1881), so it was wonderful to see these costumes.

Don't know if I'll be watching the movie again anytime soon, but I've already pulled multiple images of the costumes for some dress inspiration.

Film - 3 out of 5
Costumes - 5 out of 5