This is a truly special gown, I used this portrait for inspiration. Days of intense drafting, pleating, old silks, and antique lace later, I get to see it in motion on the big screen in: The Memoirs of Madam Moustache at the Wild Bunch Film Festival. And the finished product:
Fiona approves!
One of the less glamorous sides of the film business is wrapping out. Wrapping out is the process of ending a production, removing all the various equipment, props, et al. and returning the location/set to its initial condition. For us, wrapping out not only involves the set, but it also involves returning the various wardrobe items to their original sources. For our most recent production, that meant returning wardrobe to our associate’s place out in Agua Dulce after we had laundered most of the costume pieces and inspected everything for damage.
Fortunately for us, we have a system for quickly returning items to stock so it didn’t take very long to get everything put away, a major plus since it was over 100 degrees in Agua Dulce today. Currently, there isn’t anything new on the horizon production-wise so we’ll be able to take a long-awaited rest.
This past April, we worked on a short film for a good friend, Manuela Schneider, entitled The Memoirs of Madame Moustache. This is an adaptation from her book of the same title and it tells the story of a one Eleanor Dumont who earned the famous nickname “Madame Moustache” during her early life as the most well-known of all blackjack dealers in the West. This film was shot in and around Tombstone to include No. 11 (of course), as well as the Schieffelin Monument and Gammon’s Gulch. Below are just a few pictures from the production:
And here’s something from YouTube:
We never realized that there was so much loaded in a horror movie from a costume perspective…so now here’s our fourth and last installment. 🙂 Dracula, like Bram Stoker’s book of that name and the legends surrounding vampirism in general, has a heavy erotic element to it that both excites and repels at the same time. While we tend to identify with the plight of the hero/heroes, we are also excited by the villains. In Dracula, we not only have the sometime suave/sometime repellant Count Dracula (depending on what guise he’s assuming), but we also have his minions. Dracula’s “Brides” definitely fill the bill as we see below:
Monica Bellucci
Michaela Bercu
The above three “Brides” are dressed in outfits reminiscent of the Classical Greek Peplos, and Chiton, garments consisting of loose draped fabric. Naturally, the fabrics used in the movie are sheer that serves to heighten the Brides’ eroticisim. Below are examples of the Chiton:
The Brides’ headpieces have more of a Byzantine feel to them which is consistent with the film’s backstory. Here are some examples:
We conclude with the following picture that sums up a lot of the themes running throughout Dracula in which we see both innocence and purity mixed up in evil:
Jonathan Harker and the Brides of Dracula
And after the story has unfolded, we are left with ultimate redemption and triumph of good over evil. From a costume perspective, we see the how the costuming helps to tell the story. This is not your old school Dracula wearing a tuxedo and top hat; no this is a more “real” vampire who has a story and a strong set of motivations for what he does. While we may have issues over historic authenticity of some of the wardrobe, it’s not a serious detraction from the movie and it still works.
In looking at the Victorian Era clothing of the film, we’re left with the feeling that while the selection of fabrics, colors, and styles were well thought out, it suffers from the tendency of people to mash the decades together and this is especially true when it applies to the late 19th Century. A bustle is not just a “bustle” as the decades pass and neither is a train and by the 1897, bustles and trains have for the most part disappeared. This is a key lapse that could have been corrected for in a number of ways. We hope that you’ve enjoyed this and we look forward to bringing you more commentary on other film costuming in future posts.
In the past two installments, we took a really good look at Mina Harker’s wardrobe and pointed out the historical elements. Today, we turn our attention to Mina’s ill-fated companion, Lucy Westenra who is distinct contrast to the more virtuous Mina, oozing sexuality and breaking every rule of Victorian Era propriety. Naturally, Lucy’s wardrobe reflects this to varying degrees and we first start with two dresses that are somewhat tame, giving just a hint of what’s to come with the off-the-shoulder sleeves:
Lucy’s dress was designated as the “Snake Dress” by the Costume Designer because of the decorative trim pattern. Also, as an aside, Mina’s dress on the right only shows up briefly and there’s no other documentation or pictures of it. Here’s a better view of the Snake Dress:
This appears to be an attempt at an evening dress and while it sort of reads “1890s,” it just doesn’t work. Combining a off-the-shoulder neckline with full Gigot sleeves appears awkward and simply looks like a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen.
Day Dress, English, c. 1816 – 1821; Victoria & Albert Museum (T.55-1934)
Lucy’s dress in the above picture is more reminiscent of the Romantic Era of the 1820s – 1830s with the sleeves which are a combination of the Demi-Gigot and Marie sleeves. The off-the-shoulder neckline would most likely be seen with evening dresses and ball gowns although it sometimes showed up in day dresses. Here are a couple of examples:
The contrast between the demure Mina and the more forward Lucy and it shows in the dress. In both shots, Mina is covered up (especially in the one above).
Now, things escalate a bit with this completely fantastical dress:
This dress is the perfect symbol of Lucy’s transformation in a vampire in thrall to Dracula and her dress screams this out to the audience. Color-wise, this is not really a good match for a red head but, as more than one commentator has noted, it was probably selected because it shows up nicely for the night scenes. In terms of Victorian morality, Lucy has definitely gone off the rails here. Can we say “Vamp”? 🙂
And now for what is probably what is the most disturbing dress (at least for us) in the whole film: Lucy’s wedding dress (we touched on a lot of this in a previous post so this may be a bit repetitious). Here are the concept sketches:
The dress is an ocean of layered white fabric, tulle, and lace topped off by an extremely wide stiff lace collar reminiscent of an Elizabethan ruff. This dress oozes the concept of the virginal white wedding dress and it’s impossible for the viewer to miss. In this picture, we see it in its most innocent guise when Dr. Seward visits Lucy while she is being fitted for the dress:
Unfortunately, because these are screen captures, the dress is not that clear but one can still see the elements and especially the close, upright collar that was typical of many 1890s dresses. Here’s a closer view of the collar:
The seeming very picture of innocence…
Here we see the pearl choker necklace, or “dog collar”, characteristic of 1890s style.
Now we shift to a darker guise after Lucy seemingly dies from being drained of her blood by Dracula. Lucy is then interred in a crypt wearing the wedding dress. However, as we find out, she’s now a vampire herself:
Lucy, now deceased…or is she?
The vampire Lucy stopped short by the crucifix.
Vampire Lucy attempts to use her charms on her helpless bridegroom Arthur.
These images pretty much demonstrate the horror that has befallen poor Lucy and the dress underscores this dramatically. From what is supposed to represent the epitome of innocence and beauty has been transformed into a grotesque garment of horror. Here, the costume designer has succeeded brilliantly and it definitely supports the impact of the story. In our next post we’ll be winding everything up so stay tuned and we hope we didn’t shock you too badly. 🙂
To be continued…