Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White is one of my favorite fairy tales (and beauty idol – take that Linda!) so I was curious upon first hearing that Kristin Stewart (Twilight) was up against Emily Browning (from Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events) for the title role in a new movie called Snow White and the Huntsman.

Well, I just caught the trailer the other day, and it looks like Kristin won the role. Charlize Theron as the queen is an interesting choice too. Honestly, I can’t say either would be box office draws for me personally, though the movie does look lush and beautiful in the trailer, and is produced by the same guy who did Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. The movie is set to come out June 1, 2012 (and it’s apparently going to be another trilogy…) – here’s hoping that as time progresses some new costume photos will be released… (though with two male leads, two female leads, and a plethora of battle scenes, I have the feeling that this might NOT be a costumer’s dream… despite the work of Colleen Atwood.)  Just judging by the trailer alone, I don’t see the purpose of this being a trilogy, but who knows what might happen between now and June 1.  (Ei: is perhaps the footage available now only a teaser, and not really representative of the movie in general?)

Female costume run down, just from the trailer:

Golden dress, White gown, Fur coat. Click for larger version

Queen: Gold dress

Seen when sucking the life-force from the woman at 0:23, talking to her mirror 0:53,

The dress is gold, and looks like a vaguely leather-look-pattern – probably a heat-set textured fabric.  The gown has a square neckline, also in gold, with thin, sheer ribbon on the inside.  The gold neckline looks somewhat like velvet, or perhaps a sheer gold over another solid gold fabric; something with dimension.  There’s a diamond pattern (cut velvet? small beads?)  The sheer fabric seems to be pleated, and there’s a line of small beads running between the ‘velvet’ and the sheer.  The center of the length of the ribbon is beaded. She wears large tapered oval earrings that dangle, a choker necklace and a long pendant necklace.  The gown appears to be fairly straight cut in the skirt, but perhaps princess seamed, because the scale pattern is a bit distorted over the breast.  In a full-length side view it shows she also has a long cloak on, likely something that originates from the shoulder seam, since there isn’t any separate front to the cloak in the front view.

Queen: White medieval gown

Seen when she’s stabbing someone in bed at 0:35

White crinkled dress with a cinched waist and long sleeves.  The sleeves are tight at the bicep, and then exceptionally full below, hanging down, kimono-style. She wears a thin crown/tiara, and the bodice appears to be heavily embroidered with gold.  This costume looks really interesting – though I’m curious to see more of what the front bodice area looks like!

Queen: Fur coat

Shown in the forest at 1:14

Medium brown fur coat with long sleeves, high collar.  Appears to perhaps be floor length from an overhead shot.  Nothing too special so far…

Throne gown and Golden Shatter dress. Click for larger version

Queen: Throne gown

Seen first when she’s talking to the huntsman at 1:18

Off-the-shoulder black and gold gown with a very deep V-front plastron.  V appears to be metallic brocade, with a line of black and white trim down center-front.  Possibly a black ribbon with light (silver, light gold) embellishments.  Neckline has a wide trim, in black, tan/gold, and white.. with what looks to be bird skulls pointing upwards.  Sleeve tops (to bicep) appear to be black feathers or fur, very tight laced to wrist in gold with gold beading.  Also wearing crown with draped headdress. At 1:19 there’s a further shot out, and it appears to be a split skirt with two shades of black (or perhaps black on the sides and a super-dark burgundy in the middle). The black on the sides gives the impression perhaps it is tulle, but it’s too wide of a shot to really see any detail.

Queen: Golden Shattered dress

First seen in the trailer at 1:20 when the mirror shatters and she’s screaming.

Tightly fitted gold gown with long sleeves.  The sleeve ‘cuffs’ are pointed as well.  It has a somewhat low v-neckline, and the fabric is heavily textured (corded?) gold with gold trim.  Kind of like a heavy embroidered lace effect, but on a larger scale.  She’s wearing a large square medallion (on point) and a huge golden ring.

Queen: Black raven cloak

First seen in the trailer at 1:35

An impressive and memorable costume, with a huge black feather-covered standing collar that is almost as tall as the actress’ head.  In a split-second scene, the cloak transforms to smoke, and then ravens, taking the queen with it/them, but if you are super-quick with the pause button it appears that this is worn over a gold long, reasonably straight dress.  I am guessing it’s worn over the Golden Shattered dress.

Snow White: Red forest dress

First seen at 0:56 as she’s walking through the forest

In the first shot, done in silhouette, it’s a short dress (knee length) worn with tall boots.  It has a tapered waist, somewhat full skirt, and puffed short (bicep-length) sleeves. One second later we can see it’s red (possibly shot with black?) with a gold (matte, not shiny) neckline.

Two shots of the "classic" Snow White dress

Snow White: Classic/Chase Scene

First seen at 1:05 when she appears to be being chased through a foggy forest, 1:10 where she appears to be being chased through a green field, 1:16 where she’s trudging (likely being chased) through an underwater tunnel.  Also at 1:22 where she’s being chased on horseback & 1:24 where she’s eaten the poison apple.

I’m calling this the “classic” Snow White costume, because it seems most like the typical ‘Disney’ costume.  However most of her screen time in this trailer involves her being chased.  (Ah Bella, always the victi…. oh, wait, this is a different character.  You can tell because her hair is darker. ….)

She wears a long, full (golden? ivory?) skirt in what looks like a plain, matte fabric, a bodice that (from the very dark view) looks like the same bodice as from the Red Forest Dress with the short puffed (and possibly panned) sleeves,  and then white ballerina-length sleeves under it with a inverted V shape cut at the “cuff” trimmed in something shiny (Satin? beads? trim?).  From the later (brighter, but VERY quick) scene, it looks as though the sleeves are panned, have some gold trim on them perhaps, and the sleeves aren’t attached at the underarm – the white undershirt is visible.

Later in the trailer (at 1:22 where she’s being chased on horseback) the white is a lot darker, and is now a medium grey.  Perhaps this is after going through mud or something, or just the on-screen colour… In this shot we can see that the bodice has ‘tails’ and is split at the sides (to allow for horseback riding no doubt!), and there’s a center-front opening (or decoration) in white.  There are obviously panned sleeves in this one, and tiny golden decorations on the sleeves (likely small beads).   I’d be guessing the red material is velveteen or something like that.

Finally at 1:24 there’s a GOOD shot of the dress, showing the sleeves are indeed paned (though there’s no visible golden beading), the white undershirt has a square collar like the red bodice and is trimmed with a narrow lace at the neckline, the center-front of the bodice is open and laced closed (exposing the white undershirt) and the long white sleeves appear to have cuffs, possibly trimmed with the same narrow lace.  However, as that scene pans out and above, it appears that she’s wearing black leggings and tall black boots – no skirt at all.

Snow White: Armor

Shown in silhouette, from the back, at 1:00 for the first time. Second shot at 1:33

There isn’t much to say here… I’m not really interested in the armor anyways, so it’s not really an issue. It’s silver, and possibly brown. The shield looks kind of cool, with a bit of a Rivendell-esque tree on the front. There is a solid, plain breastplate and articulated shoulders.  If you want more photos of the armor, Just Jared has some photos from on-set.

Costumes from the official website

On the official website there are a scarce few photos, but a few official photos showing some of the same costumes, and some that are different.

Cropped from the official image. Click for original

Here’s a better photo of the Red Forest dress (or Classic dress?) with the short skirt (really the bodice  is long and split) over a white chemise, black leggings and tall boots.

In this official photo we get a bit more of the outfit – but she also appears to be wearing a brown leather bracer (for archery?) on one arm.  I didn’t spot that in the trailer.  The hem of the chemise also seems to have a wider chunk of lace on it than appeared in the other shots.

Armour - edited from original - click for original

Above is the official photo of the armor – as before, it’s not that interesting to me.

Edited for original, visit website for full version, click for larger version.

Next up, two photos of the  Black Raven Cloak, both showing it actually being a collar of a dress which appears to be made of black reflective triangles.  This is definitely the same collar, but definitely NOT what was in the trailer.  I wonder if perhaps the collar was detachable, and for these publicity photos combining the collar with this dress seemed to better reflect the character than a black cloak?

Edited from original, click for original

The Black Triangle dress (as I’m going to call it!) is pretty impressive, and must have been difficult to move in.  It’s highly structured throughout the bodice, the sleeves are open, with long gothic sheer sleeves underneath.  The tip of the collar seems to have some metallic points on it, and the lighting in the shot above really brings out the ‘oil slick’ colours of the feathers in the collar.

Additional videos and photos

In this video (full of still photos) at 0:40 you can see that the bodice sleeve of the Classic Dress  is only attached at the shoulder, not at the underarm.  This looks pretty silly in this photo, but must have made it much more comfortable to move in.  It also makes it appear that there are two undersleeves, a fitted white one, and a more open grey one. At 0:28 and 1:13 this is seen again.  If you look at the different photos of the bodice, it also is clear that the red and white are separate pieces, because the center-front opening shape keeps changing.  From a narrow straight up and down, to a wider one, to a V shape.

Ok.. so back to the whole “Classic Dress” Vs. “Red Forest dress”.  I’ve got even more reason to think that these are two different outfits… or rather, the same red bodice, but a different length to the bodice ‘tails’, and a long skirt.  Compare this on-set shot from SciFiMafia.  There are multiple shots of this same dress, all showing a long red part, and long underskirt.  It’s hard to tell if the red ‘skirt’ is split or not the way the shorter version is, but there’s definitely a long (water-logged in this photo) skirt – which is nothing like the publicity still above as far as anything below the waist….

From SCiFiMafia - click for original article

My guess?  Probably something “happens” to the long dress (long bodice and long skirt) while she’s being chased.  Catches on thorns, gets cut by a sword.. whatever… and that it then “transforms” into the shorter, cuter version.    Just have to wait and see!

There’s definitely a colour-story to this movie though – which is kind of interesting…  if you were making (or just simply could have, if you’re not big into sewing/costuming) one of these outfits/dresses/gowns  – which would it be?  Let me know in the comments below!

Cut! – The Golden Bowl – Charlotte’s blue dress

The poster for the costumes. Click to enlarge

The poster for the fourth and final gown from The Golden Bowl is my favorite, and the one that I would possibly be the most inspired by.  The poster (which you can click to enlarge as always) says:

The Golden  Bowl

Set in England, 1903-1906

“Uma Thurman as Charlotte Stant

The depth of colour of this dress comes through the layering of several colours of fabric.  The top layer is black-spangled lace which is laid on a second layer of medium blue net.  The third layer is green and turquoise shot silk which “glows’ through the first two layers.  The whole is finished with black velvet trim.  The bodice is made with the same layers of fabric and has what is called a “pouched” front and full puffed sleeves.”

Charlotte's blue dress

The above (nearly) full-length photo shows the blue and black fabrics, but you don’t really get a feel for the green and turquoise shot silk, apart from a slight indication at the top right hand side near the bust/neckline.

Full length of Charlotte's blue dress. The hat in the background belongs to another costume worn by the same character.

Here’s a longer view of the dress, albeit with the poster at the bottom left!

Close up of the cuff

On the cuff there are small knotted cord decorations -as though the cuff buttoned up.  There’s also just the tiniest hint of blue netting poking through (that must have been itchy and uncomfortable to wear!) and the velvet ribbon on the sleeve hem.

Close up of the shoulder

On the shoulder you can get a better idea of all of the colours in this dress.  here you can see the black, the blue, and the turquoise, along with the velvet ribbon, and the sequined (spangled) lace.

Close up from the side of the bodice.

Although this isn’t a great photo, this shows the brighter blue showing through. From the front this wasn’t as visible.  Here you can also see the ‘pouched’ bodice and the velvet belt.

even closer shot of the bodice - showing the brighter blue under the black lace.

Here’s an even closer shot of the bodice, where you can see all of the colours of fabrics used in this costume.  Here you can clearly see that the blue net is almost certainly just blue tulle.

velvet, lace, and gathered trim near the hem

This velvet and ruched ribbon trim is near the hem of the skirt – and you can even make out the yellow basting stitches on the bottom of the velvet.

velvet fabric at the edge of the hem

The very hem of the skirt is a velvet band with scalloped lace, covered with ruched ribbon.  On the majority of the dress, the scalloped lace covers the velvet ribbon, but here the scale of the scallops is much larger (which proportionally makes a lot of sense.  However I imagine that this lace isn’t actually scalloped, so the yardage was likely cut in a scallop and the raw edge covered in the ruched ribbon to cover the edge.

On screen

As I’ve previously mentioned, I haven’t seen this movie – so I went looking for screen captures with this dress, and it’s almost certainly the “black dress” shown on the Costume Captures blog.  I find it interesting that although the dress’s multiple shades of blue and the lace come through in person, likely due to lighting on screen – the colour of this dress is almost completely black in the screenshots, with only the sequins giving texture or light.

Cut! – The Golden Bowl – Maggie’s Cream dress

The poster for the costumes. Click to enlarge

There were four outfits from The Golden Bowl (two I have shown you earlier) and this is another that I didn’t particularly care for – but I wanted to share it nonetheless. Like the others, this is set in the Edwardian era, and this costume actually includes vintage fabrics.  The poster (click for larger version) says:

The Golden  Bowl

Set in England, 1903-1906

“Kate Beckinsale as Maggie Verver

This evening dress, worn at home in the film, has a cream sheer fabric over a green silk underskirt.  Lace in floral patterns adorns the bodice and skirt and a gauze panel is seen in the center of the bodice.  A blue sash completes the dress. 

The top layer of this dress is part of an original Edwardian garment.  This stiffened silk muslin with tape and cord floral decorations was carefully lifted off its decaying lining which was replaced with an eau de nil lining shot through with silver threads.  The lace at the hem is also vintage and was added to give a little extra length to the dress.”

Maggie's cream dress

The full-length shot of the dress showing the lace fabric, the lace hem, the bloused bodice, the blue (it looks green to me) sash, and the puffed sleeves along with the necklace.

Close up of cut-work lace at the hip with green layer behind.

Although I don’t care for the overall effect of the dress, I can really appreciate some of the details themselves.  In this photo you can see the faint mint green tulle peeking through the lace.  The lace is sort of battenburg-style, with tatting as well by the looks of things.  These would have likely been individual motifs sewn to the fabric of the dress, and then the remaining fabric behind the motif would have been cut away.

Hem

On the hem there’s a mesh fabric with lace flowers covering the same mint green tulle that backed the rest of the lace motifs, and the contrast lining fabric used for the very bottom of the hem.  This fabric really looks as though it was added to allow for additional length, but I think it was well-done.  I admit part of the reason I don’t care for this dress is that although there are a lot of interesting details, they all sort of fade away into one another a bit.  It seems really ‘forgettable’ – which might play into the character a bit.

Another shot of the hem

Above is another shot of the hem, more clearly showing the tulle and all of the different fabrics and trims used at the hem.  This also gives a good impression of the fabric shot with silver threads – giving that subtle sheen to the fabric that the lace doesn’t have.

Side shot of the dress, with a few of the other outfits in the background

From the side, it seems much more interesting to me…

This dress is referred to as the “Sheer Cornsilk Dress” in the Costume Captures blog.

Closer shot of the back, showing the belt with the rhinestone buckle.

I can’t really say that I like the rhinestone buckle with this otherwise ‘soft’ dress – what do you think?

Let me know in the comments below!

Cut! – The Last King – Catherine

Costume poster

The Last King: The Power and the Passion of Charles II

Television miniseries about King Charles II and his court set in Great Britain, mid 1600s.  Another bit of entertainment that I’ve never seen.  I’m beginning to see a trend here, are you? However, since it was a BBC miniseries (four episodes which ran in 2003) it’s not unusual that I wouldn’t have seen it.

I actually didn’t really care for this costume.  I found it kind of bland and boring in contrast to the costumes from the Duchess (which it was displayed near).  The poster (click for a larger version) says:

“Shirley Henderson as Catherine of Braganza

As the wife of Charles II, Catherine of Braganza played an important role in the politics of the day.  Her large dowry brought the port cities of Tangiers and Bombay under British control, a major development in the rise of the British Empire.

This richly decorated black and silver dress is probably influenced by the portrait of her as a young person, painted by Dirk Stoop, but the style of the dress and its decoration are very similar to a dress that appears in the Valazquez painting, Las Meninas (the Maids of Honour).  The King, upon seeing the Stoop portrait and his new wife’s hair is reported to have exclaimed “My god!  They have brought me a bat to marry.”

The large slashed or paned sleeves with the undergarment showing through and the use of lace at the neckline and cuffs were representative of that time.  The skirt is held out at the hips with a farthingale.”

So first off – the Lalazquez painting (Las Meninas) that the dress looks a lot like – is on Wikipedia, and I can definitely see the resemblance – of the dress on the dwarf in the front. The painting is from 1656 and shows a large room in the Madrid palace of King Philip IV of Spain, filled with members of the Spanish Court.

Catherine lived from 1638-1705, and the Stoop portrait the poster refers to is likely this 1661 one, which shows Catherine in a dress of Portuguese style.

Catherine's dress

The costume breakdown would include the dark grey chemise with a drawstring neckline, the dark grey bodice with a large peplum, huge paned sleeves, and huge gold lace collar with a large, wide neckline, along with the long dark grey skirt over a corset and farthingale. The fabric is somewhat ribbed, and reminds me of grosgrain ribbon, in fabric form.

Catherine's dress

The center-front of the bodice had fake ‘buttons’ down the center of the lace.  I have some of these ‘buttons’ in my bead collection – they’re actually filigree balls.  The strands of blue-grey hanging down the front are the ties for the drawstring neckline on the chemise.

Catherine's dress

Loads of different kinds of lace and embellishment used on this one – from the (gaudy?) gold lace trim on the dress front to the heavy cream lace on the collar with the huge bow in metallic cream fabric with heavy gold braid trim.  Above the heavy lace there is a flat lace and even more braid.

Catherine's dress

The neckline of the bodice also has a number of pearls – although I don’t think this is terribly effective/attractive to me – the pearls are too far apart to really bring glamour to the dress, and they’re drowned out by all the lace and other trims.

Catherine's dress

The hem of the skirt, on the other hand, is a bit more attractive to me – with three lines of metallic braided trim.

Catherine's dress

The paned sleeves are also a bit gaudy for my taste… and finally below, another shot showing all of the embellishment at the neckline of the bodice.

Catherine's dress

If you want to check out the miniseries, it looks like most (if not all) of it is up on YouTube. I started to watch part of it, but I was a bit busy at the time, and it felt a little slow to me. I might come back and watch it later…?

Cut! – Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Costume poster

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is not the kind of movie that I would have seen either when it came out in 2008 (I’m really not much of a movie person) and I found the costume from the Cut! exhibit to be pretty underwhelming, though I had a friend who quite liked it.

The poster (click for a larger version) says:

“Amy Adams as Delysia LaFosse

Amy Adams wears a day dress of a colour called “Wallis Blue” named after the Duchess of Windsor.  The short dress has a self bow at the neck and a sash with a tortoise shell buckle at the waist.  The matching hat gives the whole (ensemble) some added oomph”

The movie is set in London in 1939.

Honestly, the only part of the outfit that I cared for was the hat!

Delysia LaFosse's hat

It’s an almost-matching (but not quite) blue with a red hatband, red binding/trim, and a red pin.

This outfit is shown in the movie trailer in a number of scenes.

Cut! – The Duchess – Children

Costume poster

In previous posts I showed the adult costumes from The Duchess, but in the display there were also children’s costumes which were cute – but not nearly as interesting to me as some of the gowns.  All the same I figured I’d share a couple of quick photos with you.

The poster (click for a larger version) says:

Uncredited actor as John, one of Lady Elizabeth (Bess) Foster’s children

The boy’s suit, typical of the style for boys at this time when they would wear a miniature version of a man’s suit is of cut gold velvet figured with a scale pattern and consisting of a long jacket, waistcoat and breeches.

 

Mercy Fiennes Tiffen as Little G, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire

Little G paints a pretty picture in a cream silk dress with sash, purple and lavender cape and buttermilk turban style hat of organza with ruched sating trimming.  This simple dress, worn with a sash, is ever present in portraits of the time.  Unlike the boys’ suits, the girls’ dresses were not miniature copies of the dresses worn by adults but rather a pre-figuration of women’s fashionable dress.  This increasing simplicity in ladies dress is hinted at in the film in the simpler dresses with sashes worn by the Duchess of Devonshire in the film’s later scenes.

 

Costumes for the children in The Duchess

The two outfits.  Although I liked the figured velvet for the boy’s costume, there wasn’t much else that was interesting to me in this one…  It might be interesting to look at only for the basic ‘bare bones’ cut of the suit, upon which to add decoration….

Child's costume

The hood on this cloak is huge – possibly to accompany all of the huge hair of the era?

Child's bonnet

Very pretty bonnet for a child – but too fluffy for me to think of in interpreting in a women’s style!

Mercy Fiennes Tiffen from Hotflick. Click for original

Above is a screenshot from Hotflick.  The child on the left is wearing the costume in question.

Millinery: blocking pins

So just a quick note here about blocking pins.  Our instructor has two varieties that she’s purchased.

Two types of blocking pins

The ones on the left are actually meant as blocking pins – they have the red cap and a short pin.  The ones on the right are aluminum push pins and are the silver push pins with the really long pin.

Although the red ones are sold as blocking pins, the instructor recommends the silver ones, just because the pins themselves are longer, and the ‘push’ part is easier to take out of a block.

I just wanted to do a quick post on this to remind myself, in case I’m ever looking for more pins!  In our class supplies we got the silver ones to work with.

Millinery Class #8 – the last class

Well, the other night was my last millinery class (yes, in order to stay in order, this is a seriously scheduled post! I’m actually writing this December 6th!) and I thought that I’d talk a little about it.

Good intentions…

Fabric rose from the previous class

In the previous class she said we would spend some time working on ribbon flowers, so I brought some beautiful ribbon I picked up.  Unfortuantely we didn’t work on flowers at all. It’s kind of disappointing because there are so many beautiful decorations you can make for hats… you don’t need to buy them all ready-made – but I guess we just didn’t have time.

We also were supposed to take a group photo with all of our hats, but we didn’t do that either.  Instead we put some of the hats that we had brought (work-in-progress or completed) on a Styrofoam head and the instructor took some photos.  We had been told that her photographer husband would be coming to shoot, but he wasn’t able to attend because of a (incredibly valid) personal reason.  We were also supposed to have a guest speaker – Anita, one of the instructor’s former students, but she too was unable to attend.  Being the last class we won’t have that opportunity again.

…but in reality

Instead, only half the class showed up, and we mostly worked on the felts and straws some more. With only half the class in attendance, it was actually kind of nice – it felt as though everyone would have some personal time for assistance with her project.  (Yes, the class was all women.)

I worked on shaping my green felt a little further, cutting off the brim, shaping it, and reattaching it to the green hat.  It’s not anywhere near done – I still need to wire the brim, perhaps add some sort of stiffener to the crown, add the sweatband (and perhaps lining if I do add a stiffener), the hatband, the brim trim (to cover the wire) and any decorations, but at least the bones of the hat are well on their way.  I am somewhat nervous about doing too much more without having the blocks though – the shaped crown seems very delicate, and I don’t want to fuss too much with it (especially with steam) without having access to the blocks to re-shape it.

Won't this look great with a big plume?

I did ask about where to get nice ostrich feathers for my tricorns, and the instructor recommended either The Costume Shoppe (I couldn’t find feathers on their website), or Don’s Hobby Shop (I don’t see them on their website either).  The other day I was at PMS Hobbycraft and they do carry some (I don’t see them on their website either), in a few colours (white, red, purple, pink) but they aren’t very impressive, and I think I would like some big, glorious feathers for my tricorns.

Another interesting thing – I had asked the instructor about Sinamay a few classes ago, and she left me with the impression that the material I had used before was not the same stuff used for hat-making… but while going through her boxes of supplies, there were small rolls of the same thing – and indeed, the stuff I have IS the same Sinamay used for millinery.  Of course, it doesn’t have the stiffener – but apparently this is painted on anyways – and is not part of the material the way buckram with sizing has.

Shopping!

The last thing we did in class was some shopping through the instructor’s plethora of materials.  I’ll admit that very few of the flowers or feathers she had really appealed to me.  However, I did find some really interesting veil material (sort of swirly circles rather than hexagons) in super-dark navy (as long as I’m not putting it on black, I am sure it will pass for black..) some super-wide black horsehair, and some MICRO tubular crin.  I also picked up another roll of wire, and have the sneaking suspicion that that might not even be enough for the projects I still have in-progress.

Overall

While I know that I have expressed some disappointments about this class, I still really enjoyed the class and enjoyed the subject matter, my fellow students, and the instructor.  I know how difficult it can be to try to teach people with multiple learning styles, with various level of skill, and various levels of commitment (or interest in the subject matter).  Despite the challenges, I still would take the class again, and am looking forward to taking the advanced class in the spring.

Millinery Class #7

November 28 was our 7th (and next-to-last) millinery class.  It was odd, because only about half the class showed up – I am wondering if so many days off has messed up the schedules for some of my classmates?  We were supposed to work on straws and felts, but with the power issues we had last week (ahem… apparently we blew a fuse using irons and steamers and blow dryers all at the same time…) not yet resolved (as in, not fixed) and the missing students, we had a late start.

I ended up taking back the green/white/purple straw hood – I just couldn’t think of anything modern and interesting to do with it, and I wasn’t too interested in trying to do something with more of a vintage feel with those particular colours.

I had worked on the remaining straws at home (using my kettle for steam instead of a steamer, which worked fine for the reasonably easy-to-shape straws) so I didn’t even bother bringing a straw hood to class (or the big-brimmed straw for that matter either) and instead knew that I wanted to focus on felts.

Red Felt Top Hat

Steaming the red felt on the block

So I took a look at my millinery wish list, and decided that I wanted to try a top hat, so started to think of how it would come together – then the instructor brought out her puzzle block and offered it up, so I jumped at the chance.  It’s a 23″ puzzle block, so I had to pad it up with my felt for my big ol’ 24″ head, and began working my red felt hood with the steam.

Oh MY it took a LOT more work to shape than the felts!  I was having a very hard time smoothing down the crown, until one of my classmates came over to help.  Between the two of us and a lot of work, we finally got it down and over.  It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good.  At that point I had perhaps an inch and a half down the band, and the instructor came over to let me know that the “short” (crowned) capeline was the wrong one to use with this block, and that I would “never get it worked down much further” and that instead of trying to make a top hat, I should “just work with what the fabric wants to do”.  I was irritated at that, since I was sure she had seen my choice of block when I raised my hand to have my chance at the puzzle block, when I had padded up the block with my felt, and when I had talked about using the red capeline for the hat…  I said that I had no idea it wasn’t appropriate and she responded with “well you never asked”.  And here I thought when I said “so… what do I do here? Is it basically just like the straws?” It should have been close enough to asking, since there was absolutely no direction on how to work with the felts.

The fact that throughout the class she was saying the same thing to the one classmate who is very far behind might have influenced my frustration as well.  My classmate didn’t cover her brim block properly before blocking – and was chastised for it.  She used too much water, and was chastised for it.  All things that with a little more supervision or direction could have been avoided, instead turned into her just wasting her time and materials.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m enjoying the class  – and I am sure that the instructor is a fabulous milliner; she just could use more experience as an instructor.

Ok.. back to the hat!

So I knew that I didn’t want to have this tiny little flat crown and a big huge brim with this red felt – I wanted a nice, tall top hat!  So… I worked.. and worked… and worked… and worked.  I asked the instructor if pins would show in the finished hat – and she said that in felts they wouldn’t.  (Another frustration, once I was done and was taking the pins out, and saw the gaping holes, she said that they sometimes did… and I needed to pin along with the design with the thought of covering them.  ARG… this is why I asked!) I pinned down an inch at a time, pulling and steaming the felt to get it to pull down and shrink in along the padded block.  Eventually I got it down, much to the instructor’s surprise!

From there I didn’t have much material left for the brim, so we started looking at brim blocks.  All of the ones that would fit my large crown were entirely the wrong shape, and the one that was the right shape was too small for my crown.  Frustrating!  I can imagine millinery being an expensive business to start up – since you’d need a variety of head size blocks (in a variety of styles: domed, flat, shaped, etc), and a variety of brims, in a variety of sizes and shapes. I started out using one of the blocks kind of backwards, but it was becoming very tedious and ineffective, so instead I started steaming and hand-shaping the brim instead.  I had a feeling that I’d need further work on it and the chance to wire the brim before I could do much more, so I paused at that point to let the hat cool, and started on my second felt hood.

Green felt hat

Green Felt on the block with the tipper on top

This hood is much shorter – just a hood, not a capeline, which means there’s a lot less fabric to work with.  But, it’s the softest, smoothest, high pile felt, and it’s just gorgeous to touch.   The colour isn’t anything I would normally wear, but when my hair is red, it will be super pretty I think. I started thinking about playing with the one-piece cloche block, but after my less-than-satisfying experience with the straw cloche, I changed my mind before getting too far along.  From there I asked the instructor for ideas, and she suggested… cloche.

Instead I settled with a fedora-like crown with a tipper to get a really interesting shape in the top.  I steamed and set the tip, but that is as far as I got in class, and the hat is still very much a work-in-progress.  Since we only have one more class, I will have a lot to work on in order to get things done when I no longer have access to the blocks!

Millinery: Cloche

Early in the millinery class, the instructor said that we’d be doing cloche’s as one of our projects.  I wasn’t too enthusiastic about that, because I never found a cloche that looked good on me. However, I figured that I would do a little research and see if I could come up with an alternative that might work.  My thought was perhaps none of the cloches that I had tried on worked because they weren’t fitted correctly, so if I were to make my own, I could fix that problem.

Cloche’s are most well known as the “flapper” hat from the 1920s, however the basic shape of the cloche was in fashion from about 1908-1928 (Fashion Era.com).  Helmet-like and closely fitted to the head, the hats were easy to produce because of minimal shaping needed by milliners.

My first inspiration came from the BJD Magazine blog.  (Ball Jointed Doll) I really liked the shape of the oversized hats and the embellishment, and thought that something like this (rather than the very closely-fitted hats I’ve seen examples of elsewhere).

Ball-Jointed Doll in a cloche	Click for original image
Another cloche example	Click for original image
Click for original image	Click for original image

• Doll-size tutorial
• Creator profile
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click for original post - from the 1920s wedding blog

Next up, there was a fabulous decorated cloche on the 1920s wedding blog.  I love this hat so much!!! Ok.. I wouldn’t likely make it up in this colour way for myself (now that I’ve seen it with ‘wedding’ attached, that’s all I’ll be able to see…) but I love the shape, the colour scheme, and the decoration.  I think the white/taupe lace is really the key element in the decoration, setting off the wide satin ribbon, the bias trim, and the flowers.  (The design is symmetrical and there are flowers on both sides of the hat.)

I think this would look amazing in dark charcoal grey and black….. or soft heather grey and mauve…. (ahem, like the first photo at the top of the blog…)

There are also a few examples of nice cloches on the Victorian Trading company website.

• White cloche with black lace trim
• Dark wool cloche (black? green?) with red velvet ribbon.  I like the way the brim is on this, with the little cut out.
• I found other examples online as well, and really liked ones with elements of beaded fringe (usually a 4″ approx. wide strand of fringe under a bunch of flowers) which seemed really ‘flapper’-like too..

Making a cloche

After millinery class #6 I had a black straw to play with, and I decided that I wanted to use it to make the cloche.  We hadn’t really had any instruction until then (or after for that matter) on cloches, so I imagine that the instructor’s initial comments about one of the styles we would be doing being a cloche was somewhat wishful thinking rather than lesson plan, but after doing the research and seeing some of the very pretty options, my mind was made up to make a cloche after all!

I started with blocking the straw using a head form and steam from my kettle, and got the crown shaped.  From there I tried it on and thought it might have been too big, so I put it on my smaller Styrofoam head instead, pulling the straw hood down to re-shape the crown and get more length out of it.  Although I can describe this in only a few sentences, it really was more work than just that!

Marking the shaped hood with tape

From there I tried it on again, and looked in the mirror, marking the areas I wanted to trim.  Right above the eyebrows for the front, and dipping up just slightly at the back (to accommodate my ponytail, bun, or however else I want to deal with long hair + short hair style-friendly hat).  I kept the sides as long as the hood would allow.

From there I folded the hood in half to keep the shape symmetrical (without crushing it of course – while it was still warm from the steam it was quite flexible) and quickly trimmed the hood away.  I then quickly took it to my sewing machine to keep it from unraveling – handling it as little as possible.  From there, another chance to try on, and really see the shape.

trimming away the straw to create the shape

I hated it.

I took it back to the steam and reshaped the crown, and tried it on again.

I hated it.

But... it looks so cute on my Styrofoam head!

It just didn’t look good on me at all!  I popped it on my Styrofoam head – it looked so cute!  I asked my mom to try it on – it looked so cute!  I tried it on me again – and I hated it!  I pinned bias tape around the edge, lace, trim… no good, no good, no good!

Ultimately, I figured that the head-hugging, low style just doesn’t suit me at all.  I am guessing that I have too tall a forehead, and the space between my eyebrows and the visual top of my head is just too long for this style to work on me.  It ends up making me look vaguely like a conehead.  Boo.

So, back to the drawing board with the black straw I went!  Hopefully I’ll have a happy ending to share in a future post!