It's a 1920s May!

Somehow this month has morphed into some kind of crazy 1920s season! "The Great Gatsby" has, of course, sparked a lot of this. But for me personally there's one other reason!
A theatre company I help with the wardrobe department for is doing a production of Sandy Wilson's "The Boy Friend". It's a show that has been performed on the West End and Broadway - the Original Broadway Cast included Julie Andrews in the main role of Polly Browne!

The main focus on this production has been making it as accurate as possible. The acting style, dancing, singing, everything has been made as 1920s style as possible to match with the comical libretto and score.

The section of the production that has interested me most is the costume, of course. Stockings, 1920s knickers (as can be seen in the photo above), and the flat line of the body. The pretty drop-waist dresses, and pulling cloche hats down to the eyebrows- it'll be fun next week fixing up these things in the wardrobe department! However, this show has made me interested in something else - the hair an makeup!

Using descriptions of how it was done in a book about the show, plus using photos from theVintageThimble.tumblr.com, I had a go at it for myself!

 I did some quick photo editing to make it look like an old black and white photo, but with my short hair, I think I did okay!

It was pretty experimental, but these are roughly the steps I took:
1. use the foundation like normal, but cover the edges of the lips, or even all the lips.
2. around the entire eye, use black eyeliner. I didn't use any on the waterline though, and I think liquid eyeliner would work better than the pencil I used.
3. Put lipstick on. I only did the central area of my lips, and as I have a thin upper lip I extended above. (I don't know much about makeup and I'm sure there's a real term for that). I used a dark purple-red lipstick f that.
4. I doubt this is historically accurate, but I thought it looked nice with quite bright red lipgloss applied over the lipstick - probably that teenage brain of mine!
5. added light blusher on the cheeks.
6. mascara - in the book I read, they'd had to drip wax onto their eyelashes for the West End production in 1954!

I think it's much more historically accurate to use a sort of dark red lipstick, and to use eyeshadow and eyebrow pencil. However as I said, I was being experimental! 

I hope this quick tutorial/random post is okay - I didn't feel up to editing my next review. I feel like learning about makeup through history could be especially useful for me to complete costumes!

Marie Antoinette 2006

My Costume Drama of the Month in February was Marie Antoinette (2006) so I'm going to write a review to put towards Old-Fashioned Charm's Period Drama Challenge. So, here goes!

Marie Antoinette, in costuming terms, is one of my favourite films, and the first thing to make me interested in 18th century fashion. It is probably a well known fact by now that Milena Canonero used a colour palette for the costumes based on French macaroons, and I think that this worked well.

Many reviews have said the storyline was lacking. It was based on a biography of Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser, and they couldn't fit all of Marie Antoinette's life in France into one film! I did find that the storyline wasn't what was keeping me watching, although I did find it enjoyable.
The aspect of this film that really kept me interested, and makes me able to watch it time and time again, is that it is a treat for the eyes. Costumes aside, beautiful cinematography combined with the rich setting of the Palace of Versailles really made this film come to life for me.
My favourite scene in the film was the 'I Want Candy' scene. The shots of shoes were interesting to look at, and the scene was colourful and vibrant. The food did make me feel hungry though!
On the subject of the 'I Want Candy' scene, the music choice in the film certainly was interesting. I found the soundtrack (separately from the film) to be great to listen to, ranging pretty and sad piano pieces to 80s punk rock. With the film, I find the soundtrack worked well, but not spectacularly well; the points to be taken seriously had suitable music, and the opening scene worked (along with the above mentioned 'I Want Candy' scene) in terms of music choices. The rest of the music editing didn't excite me, but I did enjoy it.
Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette felt like an interesting choice, but a good one. She did justice to the role, and she looked right at different points. At the beginning, I really felt like I was looking at someone my age (although the straightened hair might have helped that illusion....), and by the end makeup and her acting skills made her look like a worn out woman, through mourning and watching her friends leave. Jason Schwartzman did an excellent performance as Louis XVI. The rest of the cast did lovely performances, my favourite being Mary Nighy as the Princesse de Lamballe.
This film is rated PG-13 (12A in the UK). I would recommend it to people who like pretty scenes of Versailles and fabulous costumes.

This has been my 4th review for the Period Drama Challenge! I hope you have enjoyed it! In a few days I will review "Mr Selfridge", see you then!

Other Reviews: Les Miserables (2012); The Young Victoria (2008); The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Accidental Hiatus

So I accidentally got too busy to post... whoops! I started study leave a week ago and revision is taking up al my time at the moment. It'll get less busy pretty quickly now, but there's another problem: I spilt hot chocolate on my laptop.
I had a few reviews typed up on there, plus a LOT of my films were stored on my iTunes. I have them all stored on iCloud but I have no actual access to them without that particular laptop.... I guess I'll have to find other ways to watch some, and find some other films to complete the Period Drama Challenge (which I'm ridiculously behind on, whoops!)
This summer, I'll be completing a bodice I started making which is part of a costume for Miranda from "The Tempest". It's based a little on Tudor fashion but I decided to make it quite modern. 
More importantly this summer, I'm going to be making a dress for my sister's 18th birthday party, which is going to be a masquerade. I'm thinking about possibly making a replica of the Star Princess costume in Phantom of the Opera. 

Katie Hall in the Star Princess costume from Phantom of the Opera

Anyway, I decided to make this post to let people know  - I am still here! Exams have made me more busy than I expected to be, but I'll be back properly this time next week, when I'll be preparing for MCM Expo and a week of being a wardrobe assistant for an amateur theatre company's productions of the musicals "The Boy Friend" and "Love Story"! 
(If you live in the UK I would recommend seeing both, particularly "The Boy Friend" for its 1920s costumes! Information can be found here!)

Where have I been?!

I've been gone for quite a few weeks...
Well, GCSEs have gotten way too stressful, and I had to spend nearly all my waking hours revising and doing homeworks, and I still didn't get enough done! However, in around 3 weeks I go on study leave, and apart from exams and some gentle revision, I will have free time to relax, so I will be able to catch up with Old Fashioned Charm's Period Drama Challenge!
In May, the new film of the Great Gatsby will be released. It looks... interesting, but I'd love to go and see it. I'm not at all familiar with the book or the time period, but somehow when films like this come out, it makes those who are unfamiliar want to become familiar with the novel, and people who like costume to also familiarise themselves with the time period. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the book, researching the time period, seeing the new film and writing a review that will be more accurate than my usual reviews!
On the subject of reviews, I have reviews written for my February and March Period Dramas of the Month, 'Marie Antoinette' and 'Mr Selfridge'. I need to edit them quite badly but I will get it done! There's just so much school work to do, but at least that's not for much longer.
On this blog, I have a lot to do as well. And I need to make a dress for my sister's 18th birthday masquerade. And I need to get more sleep... sigh. But at least the things that aren't to do with school are things I enjoy!
Until Saturday, I have no wifi! My internet went down (long story) and the only internet I can get is my mobile internet. Ah, the joys of not knowing whether 3G will work! Actually, I am excessively grateful that I have a mobile phone to use for tethering internet.
My next post will be costume related and belated (accidental rhyme), so see you all then. I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter a few weeks back, and I hope everyone is looking forward to Summer!

Old-Fashioned Charm's Period Drama Challenge: February Tag

1.What period dramas have you watched in February?
I watched the movie-musical of "Phantom of the Opera" which I reviewed. However, I also watched the Gwyneth Paltrow "Emma", and "Dangerous Liaisons" was shown on television.

2. How many Charles Dickens adaptations have you seen?
Not enough! I often watch them when they are aired on television, such as "Little Dorrit". My cousin kindly leant me her copy of the BBC "Bleak House", which I plan on rewatching for a review. As a child I would often watch different adaptations of "Oliver" with my parents, a lot of which we still have on videotapes. I have, of course, also watched the movie-musical of Lionel Bart's "Oliver" (always with the movie-musical adaptations! This has got to stop!).In 2011/2012 the BBC aired a new series of "Great Expectations" which I watched and loved.

3. Do you prefer heroes that are spotless wealthy gentlemen or gritty hardworking men?
That's a difficult one. So many period dramas I've watched are Austen adaptations, which we all know tend to stick to the gentlemen heroes (not necessarily always excessively wealthy). I haven't watched enough period dramas to have a definitive opinion!

4. Do you tend to prefer heroines that are sweet and gentle or adventurous and spunky?
Oh gosh, another question which I really don't know how to answer! Sweet heroines can feel a bit too much if I watch too many period dramas with sweet heroines all in a row.

5. Do you enjoy listening to period drama soundtracks? Do you own any?
I have the "Becoming Jane" and 2009 "Emma" soundtracks on my iTunes, and I like to listen to particular tunes from period drama soundtracks on YouTube every now and then.

*****

I've really enjoyed the Period Drama challenge so far, however I will have to take a break from it for the next couple of weeks due to coursework. My next review will be February's costume drama of the month "Marie Antoinette" (2006). Despite many things people dislike in the film, I will always adore the costumes, the views of Versailles... and I adore Kirsten Dunst anyway! Before that I hope to show the finished garment from my textiles coursework, and show the process of making it (we have to keep a production record). so that's all for now!

The Phantom of the Opera

This review is my third review for Old-Fashioned Charm's Period Drama Challenge! Straight away before reviewing, I'll mention this film's rating: PG-13 for brief violent images. The reason I've shown this first for once is because as a child I did find this film very scary, and I'd imagine others would too. There are also some questionable scenes, but only suggestive, nothing further.

This film was released in 2004 and is, of course, a film of the famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. It is set in 1870s Paris at the fictional 'Opera Populaire'. A lot of what the story is about is almost obvious from the title, although if you have no idea what it's about, don't worry, this isn't a ghost story. This film stars Gerard Butler as Erik (the Phantom), Emily Rossum as Christine Daaé, and Patrick Wilson as Raoul. It was directed by Joel Schumacher.

The Opera house, to me, had a very 'set'ish feel - some films use sets and you don't notice; this one didn't do that for me. However, this still helped me get the feeling of the Opera house, as it's about performance - which includes a set along with other things! The underground caverns and subterranean lake had good atmosphere.

The costumes in this film were designed by Alexandra Byrne. I can't really talk much about the costumes as it isn't a time period I'm particularly familiar with. It has made me want to look more at 1870s fashion, as I thought the costumes were lovely to look at, although some things didn't look quite right compared to others (not including the 'Masquerade' scene, I know that's meant to have a variety of styles). The Opera costumes were wonderful - Christine's white gown for the song 'Think of Me' was very pretty and simple, and was a huge contrast from the previous scene where La Carlotta was wearing a fairly extravagant gown, and Christine was among the ballet girls, wearing a costume which showed a lot of skin. A lot of costumes conveyed emotions well: when she is on the roof with Raoul during 'All I Ask Of You' she wears a red cape that matches the colour of the rose she is holding and then drops; when she visits her father's grave she wears black; and when she is in the opera 'Don Juan Triumphant' her costume is still simple but she wears a dark corset, and a red flower in her hair. Erik (the Phantom) wears his signature mask throughout (except when Christine takes the mask off of his face) and his clothes are quite dark, which I think matches his mysterious character. His 'Masquerade' costume is quite different from the musical.
The ballet dancer's clothes reminded me strongly of Degas' paintings of dancers. As someone who studies ballet, this was very interesting for me! The rest of the Opera costumes were beautiful, although some didn't have a very 1870s feel - like I said, I don't know much about the time period, but I'm certain they didn't wear clothes that revealed the midriff to such an extent, such as in the 'Hannibal' scene near the beginning of the film.

I did enjoy this film, however, if you know the musical you will probably find that this is not up to standard - Emily Rossum is not a popular Christine. Also as I mentioned, some of the content seems questionable, although it matches its rating perfectly well.

One final note - if anyone could recommend to me good blogs, websites or books about 1870s fashion, that would be extremely helpful - I've realised a lot of period dramas I've watched recently are set around then, and I have been told that some have inaccurate costume... however I can't tell for myself!

I hope you enjoyed this review, and I promise not to review another film adaptation of a musical with period costume!

Other Reviews: Les Misérables (2012); The Young Victoria (2009); Marie Antoinette (2006)

Les Misérables in the West End

After buying tickets months ago, Wednesday night was the night when I got to see Les Misérables at Queen's Theatre in London! For anyone unknowing (which cannot be a large number anymore), the London production of Les Misérables follows the original designs for costume, staging, orchestrations and set.
Queen's Theatre is a much smaller than I expected. Even though it has a lot of seats, in width and length the auditorium feels smaller than in my local theatre. However, the size of the stage and the grandeur of the theatre was overwhelming after such a long time of only ever seeing shows at the O2 Arena and my local theatre. The show was wonderful, as expected, yet all my specific expectations were well exceeded.

Seeing the costumes live was so exciting for me as someone interested in costume! This is of course the bit that is most relevant to my blog - I felt the need to add the rest to make the review feel more complete and to tell more of my experience! The designs and colour schemes worked together perfectly, as all costumers aim to achieve in their designs. Andreane Neofitou's original designs, obviously still being used, are complemented well by the lighting and match the scenery as needed. I don't know what comments to give on most costumes other than: they work! Fantine's first costume, an empire line dress, matched the blue factory apron and cap. Cosette's black dress does not match her book clothing, but works well in the musical, and I always think how well the line 'So dark, so dark and deep, the secrets that you keep' in 'In My Life' goes with the dress, almost making me think the costume may represent her life sheltered from her and Valjean's pasts. Valjean's costumes show his change from convict to respectable man. Javert's costumes may show the change in his status as a police officer.

Jean Valjean was played by Gerónimo Rauch. His voice reflected the acting, and like many members of the cast, he had such a stage presence that is one of the things I knew I would see in the West End, and makes the performance so much more enjoyable to watch.
Tam Mutu was in the role of Javert, and like Gerónimo Rauch, he had a fantastic singing voice and his acting was wonderful.
Celinde Schoenmaker has had the part of Fantine for a little over a month, and if her performance last night was anything like her other performances then I hope people will think of her as one of the best Fantines! Her singing was filled with emotion whilst still sounding great technically, and her acting did bring me to tears - she performed her death scene very well, showing Fantine's declined health perfectly.
Thénardier played by Cameron Blakely along with Vicky Entwistle as Madame Thénardier gave the comical touch we expect to see in the Thénardiers, keeping in character even when Madame Thénardier's dress at the wedding accidentally swished a fork into the orchestra pit. Cameron Blakely sung well, and Vicky Entwistle seemed to embrace the character of Madame Thénardier very well, and although at times it felt a little too much as her voice was slightly raspy and it she didn't quite reach a few notes, the performance was still hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable.
Samantha Dorsey played Cosette beautifully: her voice was sweet and she gave the character an energy I didn't expect to see, and she made Cosette sparkle.
Marius was played by Jamie Ward who played the character very well - like Celine Schoenmaker's Fantine, I hope fans notice Jamie Ward's Marius and add it to their list of favourites. In my opinion, somehow during 'A Heart Full of Love', he showed the nervousness I think Marius feels at the beginning of that point whilst maintaining a stage presence (I'm sure many actors and actresses can do this perfectly well but I will always wonder how someone can act nervous and still have their acting carry so largely).
Danielle Hope's Éponine was a nice surprise for me. I remember seeing her on the BBC show 'Over the Rainbow' and disliking her. However she removed the Disney-princess feel I think some people expect of Éponine, and added in the slightly crazy and obsessive side of Éponine usually only seen when reading the book. Her singing was fantastic and I obviously enjoyed her acting very much!
Christopher Jacobsen sung and acted well as Enjolras, giving the charisma needed in the role. The students all showed an admiration for his Enjolras, and they also performed wonderfully. The rest of the ensemble worked well, and all looked and sounded perfect. I got to see Isabelle Allen, the recent film's Young Cosette, as Young Cosette live! It was amazing to see how well she has adapted from stage, to screen, to stage. My 9 year old self was massively jealous of how talented she is. I regret to say I did not catch who was playing Gavroche in the performance I saw, however whoever it was, they were brilliant!

After the show finished, my friends and I decided we'd like to go to the stage door to get photos with our favourites from the cast - some must have slipped away before we managed to get there, but we did get photos with Gerónimo Rauch and Jamie Ward, however, which I was really pleased about! They were so pleasant about it - they seemed quite flattered! I was worried they'd think it a bit odd as not as many people go to the stage door afterwards as I previously thought (bleurgh, misconceptions!). I was thrilled that I got to do that and it certainly added to the theatre experience!

I feel very lucky in the next part of my Les Misérables obsession. Many of the current cast have their final performances on Saturday 15th June - two days after my birthday! So my mother and sister have agreed that we can make that my birthday 'celebration' this year (other than me meeting up with a few friends) and we booked tickets for it! Ah, now I'll get overexcited about that, bother.

Hopefully in my next blog post I'll be doing a continuation of Old-Fashioned Charm's Period Drama Challenge, which I have been unable to do any more reviews for due to GCSE Textiles coursework. My first deadline is in one week....

Some things to briefly say!

I've got quite a few things I want to say/cover very briefly!
First of all - in the past couple of weeks I got my first ever comments (I know, I know - they're just comments). But it was so nice for me to see what people thought of my blog and it made me feel quite a lot more confident that I'm improving my blogging skills.

Next I want to explain some costume projects that are in progress or being planned. At the moment I'm working on my garment for my GCSE Textiles, and there's three weeks until the deadline. In school terms that isn't long at all, especially as one of them is half term holidays so all I'm allowed to do in that week is decoration! So I may not post as much as I'd like (once or twice a week) but I'll certainly try to show my photoshoot of what I'm making - a costume for Miranda from "The Tempest".

This summer I have a 3 month long holiday starting a week after my birthday, so I've planned on doing a costume project. Two of my best friends have very kindly volunteered to be my models so I can practice making costumes for others, however as part of the learning process the costumes will mostly be made using patterns. I need to start the undergarments in the Easter holidays so I may do pattern reviews starting around that time. 

In September my big sister turns 18 and has decided to have a masquerade party, with a colour scheme of red and black. I want to make my outfit entirely from scratch, and the 'red' is too perfect an opportunity to make a stylised version of the iconic stage Enjolras waistcoat (what? I'm a Les Mis fan, what else would be expected with a colour scheme of red and black?). The masquerade bit will be fun because half of my sister's friends don't know me so the mask will just make them even more confused (although if she'll let me I may have to go slightly Marie Antoinette style with the mask!).

I have so many projects I can update my blog with over the next year, and hopefully those along with my taking part in Old-Fashioned Charm's Period Drama Challenge will make my blog full of interesting posts to read, helping me develop as a writer as well! 

Old-Fashion Charm's Period Drama Challenge: January tag questions

1. What period dramas have you watched in January?
The first period drama I watched in January was when I went to see "Les Misérables" in the cinema on its UK release date of 11th January. It felt like a huge deal because I've had such a love of the musical since I was 9 - that's a story for another day. Then I watched "The Young Victoria" on BBC iPlayer one day just for something to do as I'd never seen the film before! then I watched (but decided not to review - for now) the 1995 BBC "Pride and Prejudice" on 28th January for the book anniversary!

2. Do you prefer period dramas peppered with humor or laced with dark emotions?
That's a difficult one. I think normally I'd say humor - but recently I've become attached to those with darker storylines. Not too dark, though, as that can get to me and haunt me for a long time afterwards.


3. What was the first period drama miniseries (two episodes or longer) that you ever watched?

The first I ever watched was the 1995 BBC "Pride and Prejudice"! As a young child we had it on videotape, and then when I was around 9 or 10 I fell in love with all things Jane Austen and was bought the DVD as a present!



4. How many Jane Austen adaptations have you seen?
Pride and Prejudice: 1981, 1995 and 2005
Sense and Sensibility: 1995 and 2008
Emma: 1972, 1996, 1997 and 2009
Mansfield Park: 1983, 1999 and 2007
Northanger Abbey: 1986 and 2007
Persuasion: 1995 and 2007
So I have seen 16 Jane Austen adaptations in total!


5. What period drama, that you haven't seen before, are you most looking forward to seeing in the future?
Probably the 2012 film of "Great Expectations" - as a film rather than a series I doubt it'll be close to the book (and I've heard they've made the ending different?) but the costumes look absolutely beautiful - and as a costume-orientated person I feel that's reason enough! 

The Young Victoria

I'm going to keep my second review (already?!) short and snappy this time. "The Young Victoria" is my Costume Drama of the Month (January 2013) so it makes sense to review it for the Period Drama Challenge at some point this month.
For anyone who hasn't seen 'The Young Victoria", it isn't difficult to know what it's about: Queen Victoria when she was a young woman. Emily Blunt gives a lovely portrayal of Victoria, and Rupert Friend is a wonderful Prince Albert (may I be a fangirl here and say I think he makes Prince Albert adorable? And I'm not even a Rupert Friend fan at all). The music used matches very well. I don't know much about this time period or history involving Queen Victoria, but I have read that there are some historical inaccuracies, although a lot of people are quite pleased with the film.
In terms of costuming it isn't a time period I'm particularly familiar with however they looked beautiful. I have read that the clothes Victoria wears before she is queen make her look more childlike and when she becomes queen they look more sophisticated, as matches part of the storyline of the film - being told what to do like a child, then being able to do things herself as queen. The costumes for this film were designed by Sandy Powell.
Overall I enjoyed this film very much, and would recommend it to most people as it has something for everybody: a sweet romance, politics, history, and overall a wonderful film. On IMDb it is rated as PG "for some mild sensuality, a scene of violence, and brief incidental language and smoking".

Other Reviews: Les Misérables (2012); The Phantom of the Opera (2004); Marie Antoinette (2006)

Trip to the V&A Museum

I usually go to the V&A quite a few times a year, however I had not been for over 6 months until today! Last time I was there, they were re-doing the Fashion section, so when I visited today I went to see that - but not before I had looked around the Hollywood exhibition.

We had tickets pre-booked for the Hollywood exhibition and our allocated slot was 10.30am, and we didn't leave the exhibition until 12.30pm. My favourite section was, of course, the part with all the historical costumes - dresses from different interpretations of Elizabeth I, costumes from 'Shakespeare in Love', and dresses from 'Marie Antoinette' (2006), 'Marie Antoinette' (1938), 'Barry Lyndon', and 'Dangerous Liaisons', plus a couple more. There were 3 rooms, all with a load of wonderful costumes. My favourite to see were the iconic dresses of Marylin Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, and the dress Judy Garland wore in 'The Wizard of Oz'. The most interesting for me was the tutu from 'Black Swan' worn by Natalie Portman, as I do ballet, and to see the tutu construction and to think how it differed from a tutu used in professional ballet was very interesting.

There's so much I could say about this exhibition, however I am very tired and I need to do homework, so to save time I shall instead direct you to the V&A Hollywood Exhibition page. 

So, after looking around the exhibition, we visited the Fashion section of the museum, which had changed a lot since I had last visited! There were a lot more clothes which I liked and which were useful for me for research. Here are the photos:

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the poor photo quality on my side - as I have said before, all I have is a compact camera.... plus all the clothes were behind glass for obvious reasons! I hope you enjoyed this brief post, I'll hopefully be back to proper blogging soon..... I've just suddenly collapse from being overtired from exams last week. I have a week of school and then another week with exams in - plergh!