Best Costume Design Nominations - 84th Academy Awards

Tomorrow night is the 84th Academy Awards. The Oscars is the one awards ceremony I watch religiously every year. Of course, being a costumeholic, my favourite category is Best Costume Design! Here are this year’s nominees to look out for.

Anonymous (2011)

Anonymous is set in the Elizabethan court and tells the story of Lord Oxford, the true author of the Shakespearean plays. Costumes by Lisy Christl.

The Artist (2011)

Also receiving 9 other nominations, The Artist is a silent, black and white movie set between 1927 and 1932. A popular silent movie actor, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) feels left behind by the new talking films, personified by a new upcoming actress, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). Costumes by Mark Bridges.

P.S. I love Jean Dujardin. He has also played Brice DeNice, Lucky Luke and Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath, agent OSS 117. I wish him the best of luck!

Hugo (2011)

Set in a somewhat steampunk 1930’s, Hugo is about an orphan living in the walls of a train station, an automaton his father left him, a girl named Isabelle, and her cranky old godfather, Ben Kingsley as Georges Méliès (who, if you don’t already know, really lived and was one of the first to use cinema to tell fantastical stories with special effects and all). Costumes by Sandy Powell.

Jane Eyre (2011)

Yet another on screen version of this Charlotte Brontë story. If by any chance you still do not know what it is about, the eponymous character is an orphan who is abused by her aunt and cousins in her childhood, is then sent to a girls school where more abuse follows, becomes a governess but falls in love with her employer and runs away when on their wedding day, she discovers he is already wed, lives with a nice but strict family and is in the end reunited with her love. Costumes by Michael O'Connor.

W.E. (2011)

W.E. is about a 1998 New Yorker obsessed with what she believes is the ultimate love story, the one that captivated the world in 1936, King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Through research, she discovers it was not as perfect as she imagined. Costumes by Arianne Phillips.

So which movie are you rooting for? To be honest, I am not that excited about the nominees this year. Too much despair, not enough fantasy. I did see Jane Eyre and liked some of those Romantic era dresses, but I guess my vote goes to The Artist: the concept is original in our time, and like I said, I love Jean Dujardin.

Rococo High – Student’s Outfit

Now that everyone knows what Rococo High is (cliff notes if you haven’t read my post, which you should: it is an imaginary 18th century/fantasy high school that was thought up by yours truly as a new excuse for costuming – new students are welcome!), let me show you what I intend to wear to class!

Rococo High Outfit - Front and Back concept art

It consists of a red and off-white striped hooded Caraco jacket which buttons down the front, and a denim skirt worn over pocket hoops. An 18th century version of the jeans and hoodies so many teens wear. Also, the colours remind me of brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica, which were very in back in my High School days.

Rococo High Outfit - Concept art

Accessories include a shawl, some kind of silver or pewter pendant on black satin ribbon grey fingerless gloves, a purse and a fan. As this is a somewhat fantasy costume, I think I will get some red canvas sneakers to wear with it.

Oh look, I already have the fabric for this project!

Red and Off-White Caraco fabric

Denim Skirt Fabric

The red and off-white striped fabric was bought for 3$/metre at Fabricville last summer, while the denim was recuperated at my old job.

To be honest, I have had these fabrics for some time and have been itching to make this outfit for 6 months, but somehow, there are always other priorities. I had hopped to make it for last Halloween, but that did not happen. This year, it will!

Rococo High School

I don’t know about you, but I love Neo-Historical / Fantasy worlds set up somewhat like ours, with work, school, shopping malls, transport, buildings, etc. adapted to that specific world. Examples of these would be the Flinstones, the Jetsons, Trollz, Winx Club, Shrek the Third (with Worcestershire Academy – see my post on their uniforms here), Ella Enchanted, Harry Potter, and many more.

I recently wondered what an 18th Century Neo-Historical Fantasy High School would be like. And of course, what people would wear! Introducing Rococo High: a regular High School set in a Neo-Historical version of the second half of the 18th century.

Rococo High School Crest

As with every high school, you can often recognize what group kids belong to by looking at their clothes. And because I was at the bottom of the “Cool” pyramid in high school AND I finished in ’99, I may not be up to date on the proper lingo. My apologies.

Keep in mind that these are the general cut of garments for the period. Hairstyles should also reflect the fashionable styles from 1750 to 1790.

1779 Men's Fashion Plate

1770-80 Polonaise, Levite & Round Gowns, Rocking Horse Farm Patterns

The popular girls – dressed in frilly pastel dresses of the latest fashion, sporting cute little purses and fans. They look straight out of Marie-Antoinette (2006).

The cutest guys in school – also dressed in the best brands, clean cut, ready to attend court.

The jocks – they wear letter jackets of course! In my high school, the letter jackets were green wool, white leather sleeves and gold lettering. How about you?

The Cheerleaders – they wear incredibly short skirts – mid calf! – with peasant shirts and laced corselet in the school’s colours. And of course, they have pompoms!

The tough guys – Wearing leather jackets and vests and black denim pants.

The Goth Girl inspiration: Pet en L'air Back view, by Stahlrose

The Goth girl – wears extravagantly cut black dresses and dramatic make-up.

The Yoz (at least that is how we used to call them) - his clothes are baggy, he does not bother buttoning up his vest and he usually wears his Tricorn backwards.

The inspiration for the Teacher's Pet: Red Plaid Polonaise by Crookedpin

The teacher’s pet – wears a red tartan dress over a white or cream skirt, a lace partlet ruffled at the neck and tied with a black satin bow.

The Country Kids – their clothes are made of blue denim and their Tricorn could be white felt or brown leather, in lieu of a cowboy hat.

Rococo High Student Concept by Gwenyver

Regular student – just like today I see teens wear jeans and hoodies, I see Rococo High teen girls wearing hooded Caraco and denim skirt. This one is actually my Rococo High costume project (as mentioned in my 2012 Resolutions). It is what started this whole thought process.

As you can see some ideas are more developed than others. The point is, the possibilities are almost endless; the only limit is your imagination. For instance, when I was in high school, there was a craze for everything army; boys and girls wore camouflage print on t-shirts, sweaters, miniskirts, you name it. A camouflage Caraco and khaki skirt could be another interesting idea. Something inspired by sportswear could also be great. Imagine a red Adidas jacket and pants with double white lines down the sides for the track star. If Sue Sylvester can have wedding dress in that style, why could it not fit in Rococo High?

Are you feeling inspired yet? Any ideas tickling your brain? If so, come and enrol into Rococo High (on Facebook)!

Toddler Wonder Woman

My first costume of the year is complete! It is a Wonder Woman dress for my 3 1/2 years old Godsdaughter who loves that Super Hero (and Marvel Super Heroes in general). Of course, that would be a lot more impressive if it wasn't in fact a month late; you see, I meant to have it ready early in December to have it mailed to her in time to be worn for the Holidays, but no matter. I gave it to her in person tonight and she was really happy. "What is it sweetie?" "Mine!"

Wonder Woman Toddler Dress

I used pattern Simplicity 7120, but without any collar and only one layer of skirt. As for fabric, the gold star patterned blue satin was bought after Halloween specifically for this project; the bodice and sleeves are made of red glitterdot leftover from an Elvis costume my mom made my brother years ago; the gold glitterdot used for the "W" sign and the sleeves cuffs is leftover from my first Irish Dancing solo dress. The bodice is fused with black interfacing to make it a little stiffer - glitterdot fabric is so flimsy. The bodice and sleeves are lined with red polyester lining.

Wonder Woman Toddler Headband

On each of the sleeve's cuffs, I tacked an embroidered red star as a reminder of the wrist cuffs Wonder Woman wears. I used a third embroidered red star which I glued (with E-6000 glue) on a thin gold headband (bought at the dollar store). This is in lieu of her gold crown.

I did not (yet) get a picture of my Godsdaughter in her dress, but I did try it on my daughter to make sure it would fit (they are currently the same size). Besides, I couldn't not to - when she saw the dress and I said it wasn't for her, she asked in the most pitiful voice "but what about me?".

Wonder Woman Toddler - Front

Wonder Woman Toddler - Back

(I hope no one gets jealous over this.)

Now the best thing is, and I learned this after the dress was given, is that my Godsdaughter's parents had already planned to have a "Super Hero Tea Party" for her up-coming birthday, so this outfit will be perfect for her. I wish we could go. The girls get along so splendidly, but a Montréal-Toronto drive is not an easy thing. We'll see! (Should we go, I imagine I would need to make my daughter a Super Hero costume of some sort; better start thinking about it.)

2012 Costume Resolutions

My New Year resolution for 2012 is to be more organized. So I figured It would help my costume making go more smoothly (and be less last minute) if I made a list of everything I plan on making this year. Of course, I already know I will not be able to make everything, due to time and money constraints (unless of course I win the lottery and can quit my day job, but I am still waiting for that to happen), so my priorities have been marked with a *. Also, since I usually make costumes for specific events, I have listed these before the costume as in some cases, I’m not even sure what I am going to make yet. Chronological order is also important to assess which project is more urgent for me to work on.

So here goes:

1- March – Baronial Investiture Anniversary, Île du Dragon Dormant (SCA)

Not that I truly need a new Medieval dress really, but they are always fun to make, and I have fabric and trim waiting to become bliauts. For instance, I have a purple herringbone bliaut half done (same fabric as my daughter’s tunic), so this could be the perfect occasion to finish it.

Purple Herringbone faux wool and Trim

Of course, since there is a Middle Eastern theme to this event, I am considering making some Turkish outfit, but I really don’t know much about period Middle Eastern garb.

2- April – Titanic's Centennial*

I am still looking for an event to celebrate (or remember) the Titanic’s Centennial, but in honour of the historical date, I intend to make Rose’s Swim dress from the movie (Titanic, 1997) using Simplicity 8399. This is another costume for which I have had the material and pattern for years and just needed the right excuse to make.

Simplicity 8399

By the way, if any of my local friends would like to get together in Edwardian fashion for the anniversary (of if you know of an event), please let me know.

3- May – Montreal Feis

Ok, so I don’t technically need a new Irish dancing solo dress, but, you know, what girl does not love a new dress. I have a fairly easy concept for a yellow bodiced / 3 tiered turquoise skirt dress to match the number clip my friend Sciath got me in July 2010.

4- June – The big 30

So I will be 30 this year (cue the tears) and I have decided I should celebrate Costumeholic style with a themed party. I am still hesitating between Masked Ball and Pirates BBQ. In an ideal world, I would rent a hall, have a buffet, a huge cake and everyone I know would come dressed up in amazing costumes. If I come back down to earth a bit, I will most likely get a BBQ, or small garden party. Maybe I could make it a masked garden party…

5- August – Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France – Québec / 18th Century Public Market – Montréal

I have not been to the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France since… Oh my, 2006! I am long overdue to go and I think my daughter is old enough to enjoy a day of festival like that. If I go, she will need a dress. I could wear my Sherbet English dress, which was only worn once for a quickie photo shoot for the Fabricville contest in May 2010. And since I still have some of that striped fabric, I can make a matching dress for my daughter (she is at an age when she loves to match with mommy, so let’s take advantage of this). If my Sweetheart decides to come as well, I will have an 18th century costume to make as well.

The 18th Century Public Market is in Montréal at the end of the month, but as it name says, it is als0 perfect for 18th century fashion to be worn, so should we go, the same costumes would be worn to both events.

6- August – Otakuthon*

I haven’t actually decided what to make for Otakuthon this year, nor have I decided if my daughter is to come with me. I adore her, but a day alone with a toddler and all the baggage that comes with them plus the costumes is exhausting, and I don’t get to see much or listen to panels. Also, I would actually like to give one or two panels this year, which I can’t really do with her present. Any who, the current choices of costumes are between these:

- Milady (from The Three Musketeers) – I know I say this every year, but I really want to do her one day;

- Original concept for an 18th Century Princess Peach, complete with stomacher embroidered with mushrooms, fire flowers, Mario fighting Bowser and the iconic brick castle. Now what would be perfect is the Super Mario theme played with a clavecin;

- Shiori from Revolutionary Girl Utena. My friend Tionniel is trying to put together a group for the convention and masquerade. She is going to be Utena, and one of her friends is to be Anthy. I am considering doing Shiori (the Rose Bride dress of course, which to me is way more fun than some fencing uniform); it is always more fun to do things in group. Maybe I could make a ChuChu costume for my daughter if she comes with me.

Shiori & Ruka, Revolutionary Girl Utena

7- September – Les Médiévales internationales de Lachute

Again, it is not that I need new Medieval camp garb, but I recently made some trim that I want to use on a Viking Apron dress of my own, and I have enough fabric left from the one I made Nancy-Raven to make me one as well. This event is the perfect excuse to make and wear this dress.

Card Woven Trim

8- September – Montréal ComicCon

Though I doubt I will be going considering the waiting line fiasco they had last year (3 hours to get in – I can’t do that with a toddler),but then again, William Shatner will be there, so should I go, I would make one of the following:

- Original Concept Asian Steampunk (I previously posted about it here);

- Bonemine (from Astérix – if we go as a group);

- Original concept Queen of Hearts, with toddler Alice in Wonderland (stay tune for the concept art for this one, I will post about it soon).

9- October – Halloween*

I have no clue yet what I am going to make for my daughter this year, or if I will be making myself something new (maybe I will just go for my Witch Dress), but I must remember to plan for this date.

10- December – The Hobbit*

The Hobbit is due to come out on December 14. If I can go to the premiere, I plan on making and wearing my own Eowyn’s Green Gown. I have had fabric and trim to make this dress since 2004, so once again, this event should be the perfect time for me to make this project.

Miranda Otto as Eowyn, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

11- December – Christmas

I have two dresses I would love to make to wear for Christmas: a green bustle gown for which I have the perfect fabric, and my 18th century Christmas dress concept. Though I doubt I will have any time to make even one of them in time, I am adding them to this list, and we will see.

18th Century Christmas Dress concept

In addition, there are costumes I would like to make without having a specific event to wear them too. There are a few I hope I can make this year:

12-Rococo High – 18th century Neo-Historical High School Student (stay tune for more details on this project – have I mentioned I have all the material already?);

13-A red tartan 18th century Polonaise with cream skirt (I have the cream fabric in my stash);

14- Proper 18th century underwear and stays (it is getting to be a necessity with all the 18th century gowns I like to make and wear);

15- Christmas Green bliaut (fabric and trim in my stash).

I have said it before, and I will say it again: So many costumes, so little time! Let’s see which ones I can accomplish this year.

BCBG and Vionnet

Recently, I saw this ad for BCBG Max Azria in a magazine.

BCBG Max Azria Fall 2011 ad campaign

Of course, I recognized the dress immediately. Did you? Just look at those concentric squares on the bodice; it is clearly inspired by this Madeleine Vionnet dress from the 1920's.

Dress summer 1922, Les Arts Décoratifs, Union Française des Arts du Costume

This is proof once again that in fashion, nothing is truly original nowadays; it is always inspired to some degree by something else, more often then not the past.

By the way, should you wish to make the Vionnet dress for yourself, the pattern can be found in Pattern Of Fashion 2 1860-1940 by Janet Arnold. I myself find it interesting, but the light beige to coffee colour palette is not my cup of tea (pun intended). I like the BCBG colour scheme of blues. I might try that. I would also love to see what colour combination others might come up with. (That would make a great Masquerade / Competition theme for Costume Con.)

Baby Flower

Halloween is over, and before we get crazy about Yule/Christmas/Hanukah, I guess I should present my Halloween projects. I had three this year: a Logan’s Run type green dress for me for Nancy-Raven’s party, to finish a tartan skirt from my stash (begun for Bicolline 2005) so I could wear it to go trick-or-treating, and of course, my daughter’s Flower costume. Let’s start with this one, because as usual, it is the cutest. (Besides, I have no full length and/or non-blurry picture of me. Who would have thought it is tough to be both photographer and model at the same time?)

As some of you may know, I was originally planning to make this costume for her for Montreal ComicCon back in September, but we ended up not going for various reasons, so I did not make it at the time. I did however have all the material, so it was the obvious choice for Halloween.

At the time of planing for this costume, the idea was to find something for her to wear as she accompanied me wearing my Buffy Halloween dress. I watched the episode in question (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 2, Episode 6, Halloween) to find out what costumes the kids that Buffy takes Trick-or-treating wear. The lamb was cute, but the little flower that holds Buffy’s hand was just perfect.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 2, Episode 6, Halloween

And so I bought yellow poplin to make the hat and petals, green tulle for the tutu, and later, once it was decided that this would be the Trick-or-treating costume, green polar fleece for the jumpsuit/PJ (remember, it often snows on Halloween in Québec – though I must say, this year it was a lovely 10°C). As trim, inspired by the second series of pink petals on the Buffy flower costume, I used leftover fabric from my Buffy Halloween dress (to match the theme). Also, since ComicCon was in September and was to be inside, I had bought her a green long sleeves tee and almost matching leggings to be worn in place of the fleece jumpsuit, and that is what she wore to Nancy-Raven’s party.

Flower costume fabrics: green polar fleece, green tulle netting, yellow poplin and deep pink faux Dupioni

Because I was too lazy to figure out a pattern by myself and from other patterns I own, I bought McCall's 6416 (on sale for 2.99$ - well worth the lazyness) and used view B as a base.

McCall's 6416

I have to say, the hat pattern fits great, with no gap at the back of the neck (as with most of the hats/coif patterns I have used for her to date). The jumpsuit was also easy to make and fits great. I did have too much fleece in the end, and it is not just from not using the shoe cover piece, but I have plans to make a parti-coloured cape from the leftover.

And now on to the costume breakdown:

The hat

Flower Hat

The pattern asked for one layer of fabric and one layer of contrast lining for the hat, with lightweight fusing. Instead, I cut two layers of fabric and sandwiched one layer of Fibre Fill (the type that comes in a roll so you can cut shapes out of it) to make it fluffy and warm. Two strips of Velcro are used as closure at the front.

For the petals, I used two layers of Fibre Fill (one sewn to each piece of fabric) instead of the fusible webbing recommended on the pattern. All the petals were closed with a zigzag stitch. A box pleat was then pinned on each one and I proceeded to hand sew them to the hat (all the while listening, but not so much watching, 1963 Doctor Who – Marco Polo Series). In order for them to stand up nicely, I tacked them to one another where the petals stopped touching. I do love the finish result.

As for the trim, I used one piece about 12 cm long by 115 cm wide (the width of the fabric). Closed it in length to create a tube, flipped it over, pressed it so the seam would be centered in the back and closed the ends. Then I gathered it down the center, aligned with the seam and sewed it by hand to the hat, while watching more 1963 Doctor Who – Marco Polo Series*.

*For those of you who are not crazy Doctor Who fans, know that the original Marco Polo series video have all been lost, but that somehow the soundtrack has been recovered, so some more crazy fans have made a montage of pictures from the original episodes, taken during filming, with the soundtrack so that other crazy Doctor Who fans can almost watch the series. Since there is not much action to look at, it is perfect for hand sewing nights so you can listen to it without needing to actually watch.

The Petal Skirt

Petal Skirt

The petal skirt is not included with the pattern, but it was worn by the kid in Buffy, so of course I had to make one as well. Using the hat’s petal pattern, I cut as many as I could in the fabric I had which turned out to be seven. I used only one layer of Fibre Fill for these as they did not need to stand up the way the hat’s petals did, but I did not want them flat either. Each was baste-stitched close and lightly gathered so that all seven could fit on the waistband piece I had cut.

The waist band is another strip of fabric 12 cm long by 115 cm wide to which I sewed the gathered petals. It was folded and closed into a casing into which I inserted an elastic. The skirt without the elastic is wide enough to fit me, so if need be, I can replace the elastic as she grows so she can still wear it in a few years.

The Tutu

Green Tutu

Once again, the pattern does no ask for a tutu, but the Buffy flower costume has one, so I made one. I used strips of green tulle netting twice as long as the length of tutu I was going for (which was knee length) and tied them to a ribbon using a lark’s head knot (I will make a tutorial one day). Because the netting is so stiff, it puffs out around my daughter’s waist, but is looks awesome with the petal skirt.

By the way, on the night following the completion of the tutu (which was the first item I finished in this costume), I tried it on my daughter and she immediately proclaimed herself a ballerina and started twirling around the living room.

PJ Ballerina

I have known of this tutu making technique for a few years now, I even posted about it before (see Confessions of a Costumeholic: Costume Tutu, posted March 5, 2010), but this was in fact my first attempt at making one and I have to say I am pretty satisfied.

The Jumpsuit

Green Jumpsuit/PJ

I used the pattern as is, but without the shoe cover piece as I intended for this to become a PJ afterwards (note to future parents: feetless PJs last longer! As they grow, the leg may be a bit shorter, but it will still fit which I would not if it had feet). This was actually assembled in one hour on Sunday night, with my overlock machine. It was really easy: two front pieces, two back pieces and two sleeves. Add a zipper, finish the neckline with bias tape, hem the sleeves and legs, and you are done. Since this was made a little oversize for my daughter (in case it was really cold and I needed to fit her coat underneath), I threaded a piece of ribbon in the bias tape to close the neckline tightly for trick-or-treating, and took it out when she decided to wear it to bed the next night.

I really, really love this pattern for PJs. I intend to use it again!

The Jumpsuit alternative – Green Clothes

Green clothes for indoor flower

As I mentioned, this costume was originally meant to be ready and worn at Montreal ComicCon, and with this in mind, I had bought my daughter some green clothes to wear with the rest of the costume pieces. Now I don’t know if anyone realizes how tough it is to find a matching set of long sleeve top and pant in ANY green, even for a child. It is equally difficult to find clothes that are just one colour, with no prints or added whatnots. I ended up buying the only two I did find. The long sleeve tee I found in the boy’s section at Zellers. The leggings are from l’Aubainerie. Just as for the jumpsuit, these clothing pieces can be worn on their own throughout this winter.

And now, what you have all really been waiting for, the cutesy toddler pictures!

At Nancy-Raven’s (where she decided to pose for pictures, making funny faces and taking different poses, before snatching up my camera to take headless shots of everyone).

Toddler Flower

Cuteness attack!

"You talkin' to me?"

Sugar Rush!

"Listen to me mommy"

Just adorable

Rear view

Mother / Daughter

And here are a couple from Halloween night (once we came back home from trick-or-treating).

Posing for grandpa

Emptying the bag of goodies

Contemplating the loot

While trick-or-treating, I received many lovely comments on just how cute she was (what is not to like about those?). One neighbor even asked me if I take commissions because her daughter is pregnant and her grand baby will need a costume next year (Hello neighbour!). It was the first year my daughter actually went trick-or-treating (last year we were partying on the streets of old La Prairie with all our Alliance Impériale friends), and she loved it! Even once her legs hurt from so much walking, she still did not want to come home.

Can’t wait till next year!