And Now From The House of Worth

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment
charles-frederick-worth-english-fashion-designer-active-in-paris

The Master Himself

Today we take you across the ocean to Paris, the capital of fashion in the late 19th Century for a brief look at one (of many) creation by Frederick Charles Worth. Worth was one of the first “name” fashion designers who pioneered what ultimately was to become the Haute Couture system that ruled the fashion world for almost a century.

Along with creating his own dress designs, Worth also commissioned his own custom fabrics and in particular he patronized the French silk industry centered in Lyon1Unfortunately, the silk industry in Lyon has diminished since the late 19th Century and today, Prelle et Cie is one of the few silk weavers that remain. Prelle’s silks have been used to restore a wide variety of historic sites worldwide and they even recreated many of the silk fabrics used in 2006 film Marie Antoinette.. One such creation that Worth commissioned from the firm of Morel, Poeckès & Paumlin in 1889 was the Tulipes Hollandaises (“Holland Tulips). The design was intended to push the silk weaver’s art to its limits, the design has a three-foot repeat in the pattern which made it difficult to weave.

Below are two pictures of the textile’s design:

Worth Evening Cape 1889_3

Worth Evening Cape 1889_4

The tulips are depicted in bright colors set against a black background and some commentators have characterized it as an “aggressive” design intended to make a bold statement, especially given the size of the design repeat.

As part of the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, the products of French industry were exhibited and naturally the textile and couture industries were part of it. The above textile was put on display and it ultimately was awarded a grand prize.

Paris_1889_plakatThe above fabric was ultimately made into an evening cape that was designed to show off the tulip design to its maximum advantage:

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Front View- Evening Cape, House of Worth, 1889; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.1708)

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Rear View- Evening Cape, House of Worth, 1889; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.1708)

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Here’s a view that’s a bit less sterile than what is normally encountered in a museum setting.

The above evening cape shows off the silk textile to its maximum advantage. Some could argue that it’s excessive and perhaps even gauche but that was the nature of Haute Couture in the late 19th Century and given the spirit of the time, anything less would have been dismissed as banal. Less was definitely not more during the Belle Epoch. 🙂


Lawmen, Madams and Those Who Are Going to Show Them How It’s Done…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Great_train_robbery_still

We have been in the costume game our entire adult lives, and believe us, we’ve seen it all. One of the oft-repeated phrases we hear from people who are new to the genre is the passionate cry of “We’re going to show them how it’s done!”

We do appreciate their enthusiasm and passion, however costume interpretation is subjective and history is always redefining itself. Here in Tombstone, specifically in the gunfighter genre (yes, crime has a name) the concept of transformation applies here. Here, any adult can strap on a pistol, wear shiny clothes and become a “lawman”, “cowboy”, or just plain “outlaw”. And on the female side, it seems that every woman becomes a madam in a bright red shiny  dress.

While we can appreciate the joy in someone time traveling to the 1880s, what we do find disconcerting is the selfish cry of “We’re going to show them how it’s done!” Generally this is said by visiting troupes of the gunfighter genre, fueled for competition to see who can be the biggest, baddest, and most wicked gunfighter or madam in competition.

For many gunfighter groups, being able to perform in Tombstone has taken on the status of a holy pilgrimage to the point where each considers their particular performance to be the “one true gunfight.” Over the years, the City of Tombstone has been host to many gunfighter groups and there have been many excellent performances given.

Unfortunately, some of the groups’ manners leave a bit to be desired. We have seen groups berate the announcer, event organizers, and even the town in general over perceived grievances both big and small ranging from a simple mistake in announcing the group’s name to when their performance was to be scheduled. The gunfight events held in Tombstone are organized by volunteers and mistakes are bound to happen, that’s just the nature of the beast.

Worse, are some groups’ after-hours manners. We have witnessed many an alcohol-fueled tirade on Allen Street over the years, none which there was any call for. This does not bring credit to the group in question nor the event. In fact, such rude actions only fuel some Tombstone residents’ desire to eliminate the events all together (many outsiders seem to regard Tombstone as some sort of Western-themed amusement park like Disneyland rather than a functioning town with real people).

So for all you gunfighters and madams, if you are going to reenact law-breaking activities, please show some respect for the town and its citizens for giving you the opportunity to perform. They do not have to permit this- it is a privilege, not a right.

In the end, nobody can show anyone “How it was done” since none of us were there in Tombstone in October 1881. Only the Earps, Clantons, and McLaurys can do that. 🙂

Lily Absinthe Goes to Africa…Part 1

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Out-of-Africa-Gallery-5

With the incredibly warm and humid weather we’ve experiencing lately and for a change of pace, we’re going to take a look at a different sort of film: Sidney Pollack’s Out of Africa. Released in 1986 and starring Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and Klaus Maria Brandauer, it is based on Karen Blixen’s book of the same title about her life in Kenya from 1913 through 1931. The costumes were designed by Milena Canonero and the she won the Best Costume from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

With Kenya as the setting, it’s natural that safari-style clothes styles would be given pride of place and Canonero does not disappoint. With the exception of a few scenes, Streep is pictured wearing outfits that are all based on women’s casual styles that were extant during the late teens and 1920s modified for the tropical/near-tropical climate of East Africa. According Canonero, she tried to keep the clothes of lead characters in neutral colors- khakis, whites, and ivories; in a few scenes Streep does wear some black and navy for Streep. The brighter colors for the Africans.

Below are some of the various outfits:

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Meryl Streep6

The above outfit is a direct descendant of the shirtwaist/skirt combination that was characteristic of the 1890s but now more relaxed and without the corset.

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The coat in this picture appears to be a little more fancy that the other ones with the collar trim and appears to have been made of linen.

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The coat in the above two pictures appears to have been made of linen.

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It’s difficult to tell what fabric this coat is made from- either linen or cotton, most likely cotton along with the matching breeches.

And of course, things would not be complete without a pith helmet. 🙂

What is especially striking from the above pictures are that the colors of her outfits harmonize with the background and she seems to almost blend in with the countryside.

Just for comparison, below are some pictures of the real Karen Blixen (Dinesen):

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Karen Blixen and her brother Thomas Dinesen, c. 1920s.

Karen Blixen and her brother Thomas Dinesen, c. 1920s.

Karen Blixen and

Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hat­ton

As can be seen from both the movie wardrobe and original pictures, it is obvious that the style of these garments were practical and harmonized with the local environment. In many respects the styles are almost timeless and have influenced fashion to this day. In fact, around the same time that the movie was released, Banana Republic developed a line of updated “Safari Clothing” that was very popular during the mid to late 1980s.

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From Banana Republic Catalog No. 22, Spring 1985.

From Banana Republic Catalog 22, Spring 1985.

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Banana Republic Catalog 23, Summer 1985.

From Banana Republic Catalog

From Banana Republic Catalog 21, Winter 1984.

The interaction between costume for film and fashion in general has existed since the advent of movies and the influence of Out of Africa is no exception.

In the next post, we will take a look at some more costumes from the movie that are not “safari style”. 🙂

To be continued… 

The Power of Color, Texture, and Light

/ Adam Lid / 1 Comment

Successful garment design is a combination of several elements: design, fit, fabric, texture, and luster (i.e., shine). We here at Lily Absinthe propose to add one more to the above: suitability for a given place and time. The elements (indoor/outdoor) affect the appearance of the garment. Some fabrics were never meant to be viewed in natural light, they were meant to be seen in a ballroom or other indoor venue that is lite with either candle, gas, or electric light.

When one transgresses these boundaries, the end result give a harsh and unnatural result. For example, shiny satins worn in the noonday sun only serve to look harsh and glaring; the end result is a visual effect that  is the equivalent of running one’s nails across a chalkboard. However, this same fabric when shown to its full advantage indoors looks rich and beautiful, if not luxurious.

Below are two examples of different fabrics and their appearance:

Karin_Lilac Dress1The above dress is meant to be seen in natural light. Matte, sheer cotton layers create non-reflective surfaces that absorb sunlight, not reflect it.

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Dana Delany from Tombstone.

In contrast to the first dress, this dress is meant to be seen under artificial light. It is rich and highly reflective, utilizing the available light to its full advantage (note, lighting of the late 19th Century is much more dim than what we are used to today). However, in sunlight it would look like cheap tinfoil.

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Saloon girls from What Have I Done.

Here is an example of when the rule is intentionally broken showing the harshness of the shiney reflective fabrics in the noonday desert sun.

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Meryl Streep from Out of Africa.

Above is another example of color at work. Here the colors of the outfit are matte and remain muted in the harsh sunlight and brilliant foliage of Kenya.

Whether designing for a  production or simply making something for yourself, one must be mindful of the interaction between light and fabric.

A Little Late Night Re-Design Work…

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

I’ll be working here in peace for the next two days, creating new, refashioning old, and enjoying the monsoony thunder. This old house really brings out my creativity. <3

Usually, when I have a dress that just doesn’t work out for me, I either put it in the the studio rental collection or sell it. But this dress deserves a second chance: it’s made of three different dyed-to-match pieces of silk. All the flowers and lace are hand embroidered and the suite of lace are all antique originals and I can’t bear to let them go. I didn’t like how I photographed in the dress and I feel that I would better in shorter (evening) sleeves. Because of its intense color (which was the height of fashion in the 1870s with the development of aniline dyes) the dress never photographed well and looked flat even though it’s a three-dimensional object. With digital photography, the color is so intense that it vibrates/moires (i.e. shimmers). In order to give the dress more dimension on film, some other colors need to be introduced into the embroidery along with a few more textures. By doing so, this should reduce the vibrating effect.

Below are pictures of the dress both in color and black and white:

Karin_Fuschia Dress1

Notice in the above picture that the details are blurred- this NOT because of the camera being out of focus or some other malfunction.

Karin_Fuschia Dress3

Karin_Fuschia Dress2

In the above two black and white pictures, note how the details of the dress now stand out. It is my goal to make the dress stand up to film and not vibrate by color balance.

Here are some more “before pictures” taken in our Tombstone studio. The color in these pictures is not true, they are actually much more bright:

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Dress3

Dress4 Dress2

It is my plan to replace the current sleeves with shorter (evening) sleeves so that the emphasis will be more at the shoulder as opposed to the arm. As a note, during the late 19th Century, people would often order two sets of sleeves, the first being a more full set of dinner/reception sleeves and the second being a shorter set for balls. Dresses were expensive and having two sets of sleeves was a practical money-saving measure.

I will update you as I progress with this project.