Costumes - Games of Thrones

One of my favourite programs at the moment is Game of Thrones. It's based on a series of novels called "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George RR Martin. Set in the the mythical Seven Kingdoms of the Westeros, it chronicles the violent struggles of the kingdom's noble families to gain control over the Iron Throne. Its brutal, complex and fascinating. You can read and see more about it here.

What I think is fascinating from a costume point of view, is that although the series has a medieval flavour to it, it also has a key fantasy element which allows the clothing to be less about period costume and more about the story and the characters. It's a blend of styles from many countries and period making it a fantastic looking series.

Costume Designer: Michele Clapton

Here's a fabulous video with Michele discussing the costume design detail for the series including the though process behind the colours, textiles and styles selected for the characters.

I really enjoyed it, I hope you do to.

Designing Woman

One of my favourite "vintage" movie for the costumes is the Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck film called "Designing Woman". It's about a sports writer and designer who marry quickly only to discover they don't have much in common.

Not a great film as such but the costumes designed by Helen Rose are stunning, and worn to great effect by the statuesque Ms Bacall. Helen Rose also designed for a number of other movies including High Society and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. More about those movie costumes at another time. You can read a great biography on Helen Rose here. In the meantime enjoy the elegant Ms Bacall and Ms Rose's costumes...

Great suit with matching beret

love those sheer sleeve and high waisted skirt

The Look

The Silhouette

Grace Kelly Rear Window gown

Grace Kelly always looked amazing in her films and her costumes were beautiful. In Alfed Hitchcock's Rear Window she plays the girl friend of a wheel chair bound photographer with a broken leg who is spying on his neighbours to pass the time, only to become convinced that one of his neighbours has killed his wife.

In the opening scene, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) makes an entrance wearing a black and white evening gown. The dress is three quarters length and incorporates a black V neck, slightly off the shoulder top and full white skirt with black beading. Hitchcock wanted this dress was to emphasise the character's love of fashion and social status. The designer was Edith Head.

Design by Edith Head for black and white gown 

In the design drawing you can get a better sense of the design of the beading of delicate floral branches. I love the simple elegance of this dress and the drama of the black and white. By the way, Edith Head's drawing was sold at auction in Nov 2010 for around $13,000!

Slip dresses

When I think of slips, I think of Elizabeth Taylor in the silk slips in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Butterfield 8 (1960). In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof she plays the neglected wife of Paul Newman in the Tennessee Williams play. She looked stunning in a white slip in one scene.

She won an Oscar for playing Gloria in Butterfield 8 in 1960, playing a model come call girl who has an affair with a married socialite. Once again, stunning in a slip.

The slip became popular as outerwear, and copied by designers such as John Galliano, who even dressed Princess Diana in a slip dress. 

If you're a fan of this delicate and sexy look, you can reproduce it with lingerie patterns from the 1950s and 60s like this one.....

-source-

The Vintage Fashion Guild also has a nice article on slips which you can read here. 

Scarlett O'Hara - Prayer Dress (white ruffle dress)

I've always loved Gone with the Wind. Scarlett, Rhett, the Civil War and the sweeping melodrama of it all. Very recently a Hollywood pattern of the white prayer dress Scarlett wears in the opening scene was for sale on an auction site.

The dress itself on the pattern didn't look too special to me (too many tiers) but when you see it in the movie pics it looks divine. The delicate ruffles and the red accents - so pretty on Vivien Leigh.

The costumes were designed by Walter Plunkett who was an expert in period costumes and also was the designer for films like Little Women, Father of the Bride, Kiss Me Kate, Showboat and many others. From what I can gather the dress needs over 30 meters of white cotton and the hem circumference is over 6 meters! Each tier is trimmed with lace, the bodice is boned and the dress requires hoops. Wow, a labour of love I would say.

I kept a eye on the pattern and did a bit of research, toying with the idea of bidding for sentimental reasons. Two things surprised me:-
1. The pattern ended up selling for around $100!
and 2. The number of people making, selling, wearing reproduction dress from the movie. Here's a sample

I had no idea of the ongoing popularity of the film or the costumes. But it's fun seeing the time and commitment people make to reproducing these costumes.