Some clients take my breath away when they bring my clothes to life. Dreamy silk gown and hat made by myself, that beautiful face and presence is her own. <3
Victorian Dress
Lily Absinthe Takes a Look at the Movie Dracula
When we originally wrote this back in 2015, we aimed to take a deep dive into some aspects of the costuming from the Francis Ford Coppola version of Dracula and while we think we did a fairly decent job of it, perhaps we were a bit harsh. Over the fullness of time, we’ve tempered out opinions somewhat when it comes to film and TV costuming and we tend to take a more generous view- it’s entertainment and we get it! 😁 So let’s take a look…
F
or a change of pace, today we’re going to take a look at period costume in a horror movie and in particular, Frances Ford Coppola’s Dracula. Released in 1991, Dracula was a fresh take on the Bram Stocker’s 1897 novel of the same name. The costumes were designed by Eiko Ishioka and the film won an Oscar Award for Costume design. Our focus is going to be mostly on the Victorian side of the costumes and to being, while they are rooted in styles characteristic of the late 19th Century, they also incorporate some non-period elements. Finally, it must be noted that most of the action is supposed to occur in the year 1897.
We’ll begin with what is probably the most iconic dress of the movie, Mina Harker’s green dress. First, we have the costume sketch…
And then, the finished product…
Looking at this dress, the most significant thing that stands out is that the dress style is about a decade too early. The bustle and train give the dress a silhouette more more appropriate to the late 1880s. By the 1890s, and especially 1897, the bustle/train had disappeared and the overall dress silhouette had become vertical.
The color choice, however is good one and it provides a clear, light color that stands in contrast to the people around her who are dressed in a dark, drab/muddy palette. It also must be noted that it picks up tones of the earlier dress worn by Elizabeta in the early prologue scene (although that is sometimes hard to immediately see in varying lighting):
From the Hollywood Costume Exhibit. Unfortunately, the lighting was not the best here.
Below are a few more scenes with the green dress:
Here we see more details of the front of the dress. The shirtwaist/coat combination was very common during the late 1880s mostly as a faux shirtwaist/jacket that was actually one unified bodice. The other element that dates this dress style to the late 1880s are the sleeves. During this time, the sleeve caps either smoothly integrated with the bodice or there was a slight “kickout” or puff on the top of the sleeve cap, a precursor to the leg of mutton or “balloon” sleeves characteristic of the mid 1890s. Below are some examples of dresses from the late 1880s:
Peterson’s Magazine, August 1886.
Peterson’s Magazine, September 1886.
Fashion Plate, c. 1886
As can be seen from the above plates, the faux open outer jacket with a faux shirtwaist or similar was one characteristic of the late 1880s. Also, one can still see small bustles and trains and while the silhouette has become somewhat vertical, it’s not completely there yet, in much the same way with Mina’s green day dress. Now, lets take a look at the 1890s:
The Delineator, June 1897
The Delineator, January 1897
The Delineator, December 1898
From the above, we can see that the sleeve caps have increased in size to the “leg of mutton” style. Moreover, the skirts are even and have an even, cone-like silhouette.
To be continued…
Trending for March 13, 1898….
Fashions do not develop in a vacuum and bicycle suits are no exception. With women taking up cycling during the 1880s/1890s, there was a need for practical clothing. One of the key trends seen in cycling clothes was the shortening of the skirt, necessitated by the need to avoid getting the skirt tangled up on the chain plus facilitating mounting and dismounting of the bike. Moreover, the materials used tended towards the more sturdy, practical and possessing some water repellent qualities.
The article below is from the March 13, 1898 issue of the Los Angeles Herald and it comments on cycling clothes as well as other practical aspects of women’s dress. What is most striking is that presents an tiny window into some of the fashion trends that were developing during the 1890s that reflected the rise of the New Woman. Enjoy!
From the March 13, 1898 issue of the Los Angeles Herald.
And For A Little More Mauveine…
As a small follow-up to our previous posting in regard to Mauveine, below are two pictures on very striking example from the 1860s. What is especially remarkable is that the color is so vivid over 100 years later; it’s almost glowing.
Day Dress, French, c. 1860 – 1870; Victoria and Albert Museum (T.118 to D-1979)
Rear View
The color is simply amazing and it’s easy to understand why aniline dyes because popular during the 19th Century.
Dating a Dress – You Be The Judge
One of the key elements of working with historical costume is the ability to properly date items, or at least fix an approximate time frame. Although we tend to accept how museums date their collections, sometimes there are items that just do not seem right for the period that is being attributed to the item.
Recently, I came across the following dress on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website:
Visiting Dress, French, 1867; Metropolitan Museum of Art (1979.93a, b)
Rear View
Side Profile View
Maker’s Label; Gathering more information about the maker would go a long way towards precisely dating the dress.
According to the description on the Met website, the dress dates from 1867. However, in looking at the silhouette of the dress, it just reads Early Bustle Era, sometime between 1870 and 1874 or thereabouts.
Specifically, in looking at the skirt, it is evident that it was expressly designed to flow towards the rear, thus creating a defined train. But this train is not some haphazard arrangement of fabric but rather it is constructed of several separate panels joined together separated by rows of ruffles. The overall effect is that skirt naturally flows and the eye is drawn from front to rear. It is clear that the skirt and train were deliberately constructed to give this flowing effect. Finally, the rows of ruffled trim also help to accentuate the effect and the striped fabric also plays a role in this.
Now before going any further, we need to consider that there could be a number of different reasons why the date of the dress may be incorrect. It is always possible that perhaps it was not displayed correctly or that it’s missing key components underneath. Perhaps it was reconstructed and as a result the silhouette has changed. Like people, museums can make mistakes. With that said, let’s proceed.
So what do some later 1860s dresses look like?
Day Dress, c. 1860 – 1870; Kent State University Museum (1983.001.0129 a-c)
Side Profile View
Rear View
According to the Kent State University Museum website, the date is attributed to the entire decade of the 1860s (perhaps they are hedging their bets). However, knowing that the crinoline silhouette was characteristic of dresses of the early 1860s, it is fairly safe to say that this one is from the mid to late 1860s.
That said, let’s look at the skirt in some detail. first, like the first dress, it also flows in a rearward manner and the hem is also elliptical rather than circular (which also helps place this in the med to late 1860s). The thin stripes and the trim help to give a flowing effect but it is nowhere as refined as that in the first example.
Let’s look at another example:
Day Dress, c. 1865 – 1870 (Although it is noted that the original catalog card notes the year 1865); Kent State University Museum (1983.001.0107 ab)
Side Profile View
Rear View
Once again, we have an elliptical skirt that is drawn towards the rear in a somewhat minimalist train. The effect here is a bit more confused than the previous example but in both cases, we have dresses that can be that can be placed in the mid to late 1860s and one can see the beginning of the evolution towards the elaborately trains characteristic of the later Bustle Era.
Just to round things out, below are some fashion plates representative of the period:
Godey’s Lady’s Book, January 1866
For 1866, one sees very little difference between these and dresses from the early 1860s.
The World of Fashion, 1867
Godey’s Lady’s Book, September 1867
Peterson’s, July 1868
For the above two plates, one can see the beginnings of the train as the skirt starts to shift towards the rear…
Victoria, April 1869
For 1869, we finally are able to see a more completely defined train but it’s still fairly rudimentary compared to what was to come later.
And finally, we reach the 1870s:
Godey’s Lady’s Book , March 1870
Godey’s Lady’s Book, May 1870
Here we see a more complete transition. In the above plate, the dress third from the right is especially striking in the use of a striped front panel to create a flat, vertical look to the front of the dress while at the same there’s a well-defined train in the rear.
Godey’s Lady’s Book, November 1872
In the above illustrations, we have traced the transition from the crinoline to the bustle, or at least a good part of the process. One can seen not just a transition to an elliptical hemline and the development of the train, but a more sophisticated version of this style. This is not a process of gathering up some fabric and creating a crude trailing effect but rather, it’s precisely engineered to achieve a specific effect, an effect more characteristic of the early 1870s.
Naturally, much of the evaluation process is subjective and open to varied interpretation and that is all right. In the absence of hard data such as information about the dressmaker, we can only speculate but we definitely can narrow down the date. Thanks for bearing with us through this somewhat academic exercise and we welcome your comments. Let us know what you think. 🙂