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)