Vogue September 2008 (US)

On my way home from the UK I treated myself to a Vogue magazine. I fell in love with these dresses:

Aren't they yummy? :)

Blouses From Anthropologie

I'm in love with these summery blouses from Anthropologie. I'm so tempted to try and make some like these....

King Peter's Brown Velvet Tunic

The costumes in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian were amazing! I think I loved all of them...especially the lovely dresses Susan and Lucy wear.
One that really caught my eye for some reason though is Peter's tunic. I just LOVE it. :)

The shirt is really cool as well...check out the detail around the neckline

I love the lacing at the shoulders too. This was definately made for sword fighting in!

Embroidery detail at the shoulder:
In this photo you can see how only the top of the shoulder is attatched:
Embroidery on front (also a good view of the trimmed neckline on the shirt):

I really want to make this costume so I will probably have lots of study notes to share eventually.

Elizabeth Swann's Chemise Costume Sketches...

Here are some of my sketches and notes for making Elizabeth's chemise...

These are the exact dimensions I used for my chemise which is approx a size 6. (12 in pattern sizes)

I will update with pictures as I progress! :)

Love this...

I love this picture from the film 'The Edge of Love'. I think the mix of cute feminine dresses with wellies is perfection. I just can't get over how darling it looks. :)

Love the costume on the right!

Elizabeth Swann's Dotted Swiss Chemise

I've always been in awe of the gorgeous costumes in Pirates of the Caribbean. I love every detail from the beaded embroidery on Elizabeth's gowns to the pirate costumes full of holes and worn to look as though they truly have been at sea for ages.

I am one who never seems to be able just to admire costumes...I must recreate them! I would love to recreate every costume in this trilogy. :)

I am starting very basic with the first gown we see Elizabeth Swann in. (not counting when she was little)

The Gold Gown:

*Sigh*...isn't it wonderful? Well...to begin we must have the proper underpinnings. I am starting with the chemise.

The chemise is made from dotted swiss, which I couldn't find any proper dotted swiss at our local fabric stores and the real thing online is $50 a yard! So I bought some white on white cotton print which I think is really quite lovely!
I found this perfect lace for the sleeves in a box of lace and trims a friend gave to us...I need to put a binding along the edge before I attatch it to the sleeve.
I've already started the chemise...I will update with some notes as soon as I can for how I've made it. I made up my own pattern!

Mr. Darcy

I thought I'd share with you some costumes from one of my favorite films, Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen.
I completely fell in love with the costumes in this film and will go into greater detail on the gowns and such later.

First though, I shall start with Mr. Darcy.

In the beginning of the film we find him quite up tight an formal. Every button perfectly buttoned, hair in place and cravat just so.

As the film plays out and Mr. Darcy slowly warms to us, his costumes change to make him seem more relaxed and more human.
I love the thought put into this. One thing I love about the art of clothes in film is you are creating a feeling, sometimes more than historical accuracy. I love how creative and artistic you can get with that.

So, there you have my thoughts on Mr. Darcy. I could go into greater detail on the cut of his waistcoat, the fabrics, etc (which I adore) but I shall for now just share this with you. Maybe someday I will talk about all that. I hope one day to make some of his costumes. They're just so cool. :)