Costume Christmas!

On Saturday I returned from visiting my relatives in Shropshire! I had an amazing Christmas and received so many costume-related presents. Two things I'll need to take photos of to be able to explain, so I will do that later on in the week (I need to find my camera charger, grrr).
Here's a list of the costume related books I received:



-Patterns of Fashion 1 by Janet Arnold. If you're into costuming and haven't heard of this book, you really ought to look it up! I've known about it for a while and I've been told multiple times that it's a necessity. A couple of patterns in it have cuaght my attention and I know that I'm going to have to make them soon.
-Costume: 1066 to the Present by John Peacock. It's an absolutely beautiful book. There's very little writing, however the illustrations are clear and wonderful to look at. I know it'll be both a useful book and a source of inspiration of any costumes I may make in the future.

-Costume 101 by Richard La Motte. I've had a read through some of the chapters and it explains the role of a costumier, what details are needed in costume designs, and other things like that. It's an interesting read!

As I mentioned above, I had two other costuming-related presents for Christmas, which I will make a blog post about at some point over the next week.

For Christmas I was also given the two les Misérables concerts - 10th at the Royal Albert Hall, and 25th at the O2 - on DVDs. I've already watched them online but now that I have them on DVD I can watch them more easily, plus I can watch all the special features!

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and if you haven't welcomed in the New Year yet (here in the UK we haven't!) I hope you have a fantastic New Year, and if you're already in 2013 I hope it's already shaping up to be brilliant! See you all in 2013 for my next blog post!



Too Excited!

I'm so excited for Les Misérables! I decided to make a countdown clock for myself and any readers who are Les Misérables fans in the UK. Enjoy!

COUNTINGDOWNTO.COM

Oh, and Merry Christmas, as I will not be here next Sunday, and possibly not the Sunday after either! I'll be in Shropshire, where I hope it will snow for Christmas day! I also hope I'll get lots of sewing patterns to practice my sewing skills and learn more about clothing constrtuction, plus I have asked for a lot of books on historical fashion and costuming, of which I am bound to get a couple at least!

See you in a couple of weeks!


My favourite official Les Mis movie still - from the official film website

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

For those unknowing, today is Jane Austen's birthday! In celebration, I have decided to watch the 2009 BBC series of "Emma", starring Romola Garai. Whilst not many people seem to like this version, I adore it. It is true that some of the best bits of the novel have been missed in this version, but I just love the costumes - and I think the actors and actresses are close to perfectly chosen for the parts.

Romola Garai as Emma, and Louise Dylan as Harriet Smith

I have decided to make a post about Jane Austen not only because it is her birthday, but because I have so much to thank her for - despite the fact she hasn't been around for quite a while.

A 10-year-old me was in the airport, waiting to go to Turkey with her family for the summer. I had nothing to read on the aeroplane, and so my mum took me to WHSmith in duty free. I didn't know what to pick, so she took me to the Classics section, and I decided I wanted to read Pride and Prejudice. I only read a little on the aeroplane, and didn't come back to it until the school year began. And so my obsession for all things Jane Austen began!
After reading the novels, I started finding out about, and watching, multiple adaptations. Seeing the Empire-line gowns made me really fall in love with the era, in terms of fashion. From that point I looked at other time periods, and I really loved the clothes! It was then I realised I wanted to have a career where I could be around beautiful clothing every day.
A year ago, I started textiles GCSE when I moved schools. And so I decided costuming was the route I wanted to take. If it hadn't been for Jane Austen, I would never have had such a deep appreciation for historical costuming!

Another thing I have to thank Jane Austen for is my love of reading. I have always loved reading, but discovering Jane Austen pushed me towards classics, and I now adore reading classic fiction (I do love reading modern fiction too, but not quite as much).

The first costume I ever put together was for October MCM Expo of 2011, and it was a cosplay of Emma Woodhouse. The first costume I ever made - for a textiles practice project - was a white cotton Regency gown, using the Sense & Sensibility pattern. After doing that, I made an undergarment that was like a cross between short stays and a bodiced petticoat, completely from scratch. All of this was done for my love of all things Jane Austen!

Welcome!

Hi there! I'm Jazzie, I'm 15 and hoping to have a career in costume. I love all things stage, screen, historical and fantasy. I've made a few costumes already and am hoping to make more.
A love of all things Jane Austen sparked an interest in historical costumes, and then beginning textiles GCSE at a new school last January made me get seriously interested in costumes!
My favourite aspect is historical costumes, particularly from the late 18th century to the early 19th. I love researching all the details, and looking around museum collections (both in the museums and, of course, online) is probably my favourite part of research.
However, I'm not completely crazy over historical accuracy! I love looking at different ways to make a costume work for stage - for example, looking correct but being able to sing, or making quick changes easier.
Another costume-related interest of mine is cosplay. I go to MCM Expo in London every May and October, and cosplay is a fun way to learn new costuming techniques! Making a costume match a game, comic, cartoon or book character is another way of learning how to make/design a costume for a character.
I always have costuming projects going on, and I will always show the outcomes of these projects. I might also show steps leading up to the final pieces. I enjoy using patterns, and making up my own patterns based on what I've observed and researches. Everything is part of the learning process in my eyes!
The first thing I will have done to show is my GCSE coursework, which should be completed by around April (I think). After that, I have a host of costumes I want to create!

(This will hopefully be the only post which is all wordswordswords)