 A Grand Design Posted by Trish Milburn Jun 15 2012, 12:03 am
Even though I have no sewing talent whatsoever — I can put on a button and do cross-stitch and that’s it — I am fascinated by costume and fashion design. Each year when I attend Dragon*Con, I’m in awe of some of the costumes I see. Lots of people there obviously put a lot of time, effort and money into their costumes. They aren’t things you can toss together by visiting your local Goodwill store.
I’m fascinated enough by clothing design that I have incorporated it into two of my books. My second young adult novel, Winter Longing, has as its heroine a teenage girl, Winter, who aspires to be a costume designer for films. Her life in rural Alaska seems light years away from the glitz and glam of Hollywood, but she’s determined to make her dream come true.
As a writer, we’re a bit of a costume designer for our characters. I find this a lot of fun because I can dress my characters in the outfits I envision in my head but don’t have the talent to make myself. When you watch movies, do you pay particular attention to the costumes? Which movies do you think have awesome costumes? Can you sew or design or both? And if you were going to dress up as any character you wanted, who would it be? TweetComments45 thoughts on “A Grand Design” |
   
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I recently went to see the movie Snow White & The Huntsman. Two of the things that stood out (besides how hot Chris Hemsworth is) were Charlize Theron’s wonderful performance as the evil Queen Ravenna and the fantastic costumes designed by Colleen Atwood. Ravenna’s dresses were particularly awesome. I read an article in Entertainment Weekly about how incredibly long it took to put those costumes together, the painstaking attention to detail and finding just the right materials. That time and effort are what differentiate between okay costumes and truly great ones. It’s why Atwood has earned three Oscars for costume design (Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago, and Alice in Wonderland).
I’m not a regular viewer of Project Runway, but when I do watch it I find it totally amazing that the designers can put together a look in such a short amount of time and on such a small budget. There are a lot of parallels between writing and Project Runway — deadlines, stress, creative brain freeze, critique, rejection.
One of my newest releases, 
Trish, I love costumes! The best I’ve seen in a very long time were in LOTR. The attention to detail was amazing, and each culture had unique costume features.
I used to sew but never designed actual garments. The most complicated thing I ever made was a bridesmaid dress. I had some worries with the zipper but figured
I was safe, as most people woukd be watching the bride.
We’re looking forward to Snow White and the Huntsman, but not until I escape the deadline cave.
Nancy, you have the rooster today. Maybe he can help with your deadline. Or you could dress him up in costume. LOL!
Yes, Lord of the Rings had some wonderful costumes. Arwen’s were very pretty as were Galadriel’s.
Yeah, those gowns were cool. Museum Replicas, at one point, had one of Arwen’s gowns, but it wasn’t cut for tall people.
Everything in Minas Tirith was gorgeous, and the uniforms of the Rohirrim were amazing. Remember how popular they were at DragonCon? And they have to be tough to make.
That big scene of the Rohirrim on the hillside getting ready to attack the Orcs and such is one of my absolute favorite movie scenes ever.
Oh, did I get the GR? I’ll put Herself in charge of him and have him pick up around the yard. He can’t do much damage out there.
Famous last words, Nancy. There’s no telling what kind of mischief he can get into. He’ll probably lift his tail feathers and moon passersby.
So far, he’s sulking on top of the china cabinet. We’ll see.
I forgot to say congrats on the new book! The mom in the reboot of The Parent Trap designed wedding gowns, and that seemed so cool. Your designer sounds great!
Thanks. I had a lot of fun creating those characters and the town, which is a combination of several small towns in Northeast Tennessee that I visited during my former day job as a magazine writer.
Trish, you’re speaking to the converted here. I think one of the reasons I’m in love with writing historical fiction is that the clothes are just so darn gorgeous. And in a way that modern clothes aren’t. I can remember as a kid poring over encyclopedias and art books, awestruck by the gorgeous gowns. I have to see Snow White and the Huntsman – purely for research, you understand. I hear Chris Hemsworth wears some particularly elaborate doublets that I need to check out. Oh, who am I kidding?
New books sound great!
LOL. Let’s just say Chris does the scruffy look very well. You Aussies sure do export a lot of wickedly gorgeous men.
I’ve bought two books about the art (sometimes including costumes) of Avatar and Thor. I admire talented people in other areas of the arts — be it music (I love movie soundtracks), painting, costume designing, whatever.
Trish, I thought the art direction and costumes in Thor were wonderful (and yeah, CH wasn’t hard on the eyes either!). Recently caught it on cable. Suspect it was amazing on the big screen!
I agree. I really like Loki’s outfit. And, again, Tom Hiddleston wearing it doesn’t hurt.
Yeah, he was great. The only other time I”d seen him was when he was a lovely charming and very beta romantic lead in Cranford, a BBC adaptation. Thought he made a superb Loki! Yeah, I loved the Rainbow Bridge too. All very Wagnerian!
One of the best things about the Thor movie, aside from CH, was Asgard. I wish Jack Kirby, the longtime artist on the comic book, had lived to see it. Asgard looked like something he would’ve drawn but with more vibrant color than the 1960s and 1970s printing processes allowed.
I agree here as well. All the interiors in Asgard were great, but I think one of the most beautiful things was the Rainbow Bridge and the area where Heimdall was.
That was truly awesome!
My children suffered from my “I’m a good mother who sews her children unique and wonderful clothes” phase. My youngest two didn’t have to suffer that thank goodness. The elder 5 are probably scarred for life along with the haircuts I gave them. While there are many beautifully costumed movies, the that always comes to mind for me now for costumes is 27 dresses. All those bridesmaids dresses.
Wow, Fiona, I’m exhausted just thinking of having that many kids, let alone making their clothes and, you know, raising them.
Wasn’t 27 Dresses such a cute movie? I love the scene where she’s modeling all those dresses for the guy she ends up with — dang, can’t remember his name, just that he was Cyclops in the X-Men movies. Oh! James Marsden.
Fiona, I survived my mom cutting my hair. I’m sure your kids will survive, too. And I bet the clothes you made were really cute!
I love to look at costumes, any of the period dramas catch my attention in a hurry if for no other reason than the clothes. I sewed once upon a time when my daughter was young, I have made a few prom dresses, and I altered her wedding dress. That was an experience I would rather not repeat. I was up until midnight the night before her wedding trying to find two more inches in that dress!!!
Dianna, wow! I’d be terrified to touch a wedding gown. You must be really good with a needle. But yeah, there’s only so much fabric in a seam.
How stressful about the wedding dress alterations. I can feel the stress just thinking about it.
I’m like you about the period costume dramas. The clothes alone transport you to another time and place. I think this is why I like so many of the things the BBC does. For things set in the U.S., I particularly like dramas that incorporate some of the Native cultures, which have such beautiful and varied Native dress based on the tribes.
I love costumes too! And as for the shoes … LOL … you’re not surprised by that, are you?! Once Upon a Time has some interesting costumes – especially for Regina!
I remember clearly thinking that the only thing I enjoyed in Moulin Rouge was her scarlet shoes!
The other costume that really struck me is the leather coat worn by Killer Queen in the musical We Will Rock you! OMG is that to die for! This is the best pic I could find. http://www.flickr.com/photos/od0man/6401056595/
I would love to be a costume designer, but I have no skills in that direction – I’d be a very good costume editor though *g*
You know, Eve Dallas has a cool leather coat, too.
She does! It always sounds so cool.
Cool coat. And make that three of us who like the awesome long trench look. I love Selene’s coat in the Underworld movies, really her entire look.
And David Tennant’s brown trench in Doctor Who really is iconic of his 10th Doctor.
Hi Trish
Congratulations on your books
I sew … I need a pattern but can adapt them … I used to make all my kids and GK’s clothes … I still make my own clothes…..but these days the GS asks me to make his favourite animes costume for Super nova which I think maybe like your Dragon*Con
Barb, I don’t sew much anymore. The machine would need an overhaul if I were to try. One of the most fun things I ever made was a knight costume for the boy to wear on Halloween when he was little.
Very cool, Barb. I keep saying I’m going to take a sewing class at JoAnn Fabrics, but something always comes up so that I can’t. One of these days.
There are loads and loads of anime costumes at Dragon*Con. I’m not that into anime, so I don’t know who most of them are thought I can identify a couple of the more popular ones like Naruto and Sailor Moon.
I love fantasy and peiod movie, love to see what costumes they show!
Me, too, Dina. I’m constantly in awe of the designers’ work.
I didn’t know that movie was out yet (writing note to self to tell hubby so we can plan a night). I love the detail in costumes too and actually sewed quite a bit at one time. I enjoy intricate design work, but have no time for that these days.
I did not know about your new book Dress Me In Wildflowers – stunning cover, btw. Will download that one today. I was looking for a new YA to read.
Thanks, Dianna. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for popping by to comment.
Nancy got the GR ! Good luck with him. Not sure I would trust him in the yard, but perhaps Herself can keep him in line.
Congrats on the new books, Trish! Can’t wait to read them!
I LOVE the art of costume and clothing design. I’d watch Snow White and the Huntsman just to see the clothes!
And the costumes for Lord of the Rings were incredible.
And like VraiAnna the SHOES in any movie are of paramount importance.
One of the things I loved about performing opera was the costume fittings. We had some amazing designers and seamstresses and the dresses I wore were incredible. BUT, they were also usually quite heavy. They were made of heavy brocades so they could be seen in the cheap seats. Except for my costumes in Lulu. Those were almost all lingerie and I nearly froze to death!
I think my love of gorgeous clothes may be one of the reasons I write historical romance. So many of today’s clothes don’t even pretend to be elegant.
Wow, I bet those opera costumes were awesomely lush to fit the music.
You are so right about inelegant modern “fashion.”
The GR tried to escape over the fence. Herself leaped, caught him, and brought him back in the house. I now have him occupied moving a pile of napkins from the sideboard to the table. Then I will have him move them back. I hear this works for the Marine Corps and sand piles, so maybe it will work now.
Another costuming addict! Me too, Trish. When I was young I wanted to become a fashion designer, until I discovered how little patience I had for fads. But I am addicted to historical costume and follow several costume blogs. I have files set up for each of my characters and will save photos of outfits that look like something that character would wear. Accuracy nut that I am, I often giggle at the love scenes in historicals that show the couple tearing their own or each other’s clothes off, when in reality neither of them would have been able to get dressed or undressed without considerable help from their maid/valet!
I used to sew more when I was single and have actually done a few convention costume calls. I also made all my kids’ Halloween costumes. I’m hoping to find the time to make a Steampunk costume I’ve had in mind for a couple of years now.
BTW, look closely at the photo of Ravenna at the top of the page and you will notice that her buttons and the trim on her bodice are actually made of bird skulls. An amazing piece of characterization in that costume! It’s no wonder Atwood wins so many awards.
Very cool, EC. What are some of your favorite costume blogs?
I knew about the bird skulls. Creepy. Atwood said she tried to incorporate some aspect of death into all of Ravenna’s costumes. Even her wedding dress has those big puffy sleeps that appear to be made out of bone.
Uh, that would be sleeves, not sleeps. Good grief.
Trish, I have a couple of favorites. One is http://omgthatdress.tumblr.com/ which covers a wide range of periods and often focuses on a specific era or designer. Always something gorgeous to see here! (My characters look over my shoulder at this blog and say things like “Yes! That one!” or “Oh, that’s hideous!” or “Maybe in a different color…”)
My other favorite http://ornamentedbeing.tumblr.com/ reminds me of your novel Winter Longing. The blogger is a girl from Kentucky who is studying at the Royal School of Needlework in London to become a historically accurate costumer for museums and films. (Currently she is interning at Williamsburg.) She is a great source for all the mechanics and underpinnings of historical costume because she has to make them accurate from the skin out and shows the entire process. I love her blog because she is very articulate and talented and very sophisticated but sometimes dissolves into just a homesick American kid who cries over dead queens. I just love her to pieces.
Oh, these sound awesome. I’m going to check them out and follow them on Tumblr now. I’m especially interested in the second since I’m originally from Kentucky.
That was a wonderful movie all around. I can mend a few things and sew on buttons but I never really did much sewing (except in school lol). My two kids can’t even do that. They didn’t have sewing classes which is a shame really. I love historical costumes or something unusual such in fantasy or scifi.
There’s a part of me now that wishes I’d taken Home Ec instead of the one year of choir.
Trish, I find myself paying more attention to costumes/clothing when watching a period piece or classic movies. Love the clothing styles from the 30s and 40s!
I enjoy Project Runway and am hoping to get a new sewing machine as my youngest daughter wants to make her own dress for homecoming this year
I love the fashions from the 1940s, Beth. Something very classic and stylish about those World War II clothes.