Re: No Place Like the O.Z.–The Sequel

Zooey Deschanel as D.G. in the Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, “Tin Man”. A better shot of the Spanish-style black-over-red dress she borrows to infiltrate the nightclub.

KLCtheBookworm was kind enough to pass on to me some screencaps she had gotten from moirariordan at LiveJournal. The screencaps show some of the “Tin Man” costume details I had been unable to find other photos of.  Enjoy!

KLC points out that D.G.’s dress seems a little big for her–a detail I had missed–but which is consistent with her borrowing it from DeMilo’s stash.

“Search your feelings, D.G. You know it to be true.” Okay, wrong movie ….

I thought initially that the dancers were wearing a one piece bodysuit, but they actually appear to be wearing a camisole top and high cut briefs, Las Vegas showgirl style.

Love the little poofy sleeves. The beading around the tamborines seems to be the pre-strung beading you can find the upholstery section of large fabric stores.

I thought that the dancers were wearing metallic caps, but these appear to be metallic scarves instead.

A brief glimpse of the ballroom style shoes the dancers are wearing (”Tin Man”).

“They went that away. Let’s get some horses and head them off at the pass.” Actually, a nice screencap showing that elusive insignia (”Tin Man”). See some other views below.

Ah, a man who enjoys his work. Zero (Callum Keith Rennie) prepares to give Wyatt Cain (lower right hand corner) an attitude adjustment (”Tin Man”).

“Just click my heels together and I’ll be back in Kansas, eh?” Zero (Callum Keith Rennie) gets up close and personal with Azakadellia’s secretary (”Tin Man”).

The pin up of the Sorceress all of the Longcoats have in their lockers. Kathleen Robertson as Azakadellia (”Tin Man”) showing her beaded nightdress and mermaid skirt. I suspect that the nightdress is actually an Indian khameez split up the front. The skirt looks to be a simple straight skirt with a line of runching on the front.

In a later scene, Azakadellia (Kathleen Robertson) is shown wearing a lightweight black robe over her nightwear ensemble.

Airofday, the Indian fortune teller/informant, that our heroes meet in the Realm of the Unwanted.  Her outfit most closely resembles an Indian-influenced bellydance costume–straight skirt, costume bra, and big, metallic veil draped across her body and over her shoulder. In the movie, Airofday is part of a trio of dancers which would make this outfit a fun group costume.

A closeup of Airofday’s makeup which we don’t really get to see during the film.  The design comes off as metallic eyeshadow on screen when it is really the outline of an open eye on her eyelid, the pupil done in metallic blue. Very cool, very freaky.

Re: What Does a Steampunk Bellydancer Wear? Part 2

Stretch lace gauntlet from Tombo Designs. You know you want it.

Because Gothic and Steampunk fashion share a fondness for some of the same time periods, you would not be off base in choosing a Gothic theme for your Steampunk bellydance performance and costume. For all things gothic and bellydance-y, I highly recommend Laura Tempest Schmidt’s appropriately named Gothic Bellydance Resource. Tempest analyzes the elements of Gothic bellydance costuming, talks about Goth performance elements, has a collection of dancer images, and provides links to definitions of the Goth subculture.

My major recommendation, if you are planning to go the Gothic route, is to beware of doing an all-black costume. Remember that when the stage is dark-colored, the backdrop is dark, and the lights are down, you and your black costume are going to disappear almost entirely. Do your audience a favor and wear colors that can be seen at the back of the room. These can be “Gothic” shades like wine red or intense purple or you can go for broke and wear all white.  If you must go the “basic black” routine, consider making everything on your costume–and I mean EVERYTHING, not just your bra and belt–as shiny, sparkly, mirrored, sequinned, or LED-enhanced as humanly possibly. You want your audience to see your entire body move, not just stray patches of skin.

Up until now, I’ve been talking about essentially using other time periods as a basis for your Steampunk costume. While it can be very useful to have a prototype to work from, another–and very fun–approach is to seize upon the fantasy element of steampunk and build a costume (and a character) from entirely from scratch.

Imagine if you were living in an alternate reality and you wanted to put together a Middle Eastern dance costume, not knowing anything about what a “bellydance outfit” should look like. You would know, for example, that you wanted to highlight the movement of your hips and shoulders so the question becomes how best to do that. What kind of outfit would you construct? What materials would you use? Metal? Leather? Gears? Flattened beer caps? Washers? Bits of brass? Fringe? What would you be able to find lying about that you could cut up or reuse?

Elizabeth James poses in her handmade, snake dance (as in dancing with an actual python) costume. Posted on her blog, Altered States.

Costume bra decorated with washers and metal chains by Basha (Tribe.net). Nice use of diagonal lines on the cups.  She made this outfit for a goth industrial number that she did.

Matching choker by Basha (Tribe.net) crafted from washers which are wrapped and then linked together.  This design would also look good made from brass or copper. When you are a Middle Eastern dancer, a trip down the hardware aisle of your local department store can be very inspirational.

Bodice made from an old leather coat that has been cut up and re-purposed. Posted by Jazuchan on (Etsy).  Second hand leather garments have the advantage of already being broken in so they are soft and comfortable.

The standard Turkish-Arab vest re-done in faux leather by Velvet Mechanism (Etsy).  I’ve seen similar vests made with just canvas or polyester straps in which case they are usually referred to as “harnesses”.

What I’m talking about is not just a theatrical approach to costume making, but a theatrical approach to CHARACTER building. Who is your character? Are you a dancer in a converted factory on the outskirts of town? A saloon hall entertainer in a science fiction-influenced western as portrayed in TV shows like the “Wild, Wild West” (1965) or “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.” (1993)? A clockwork robot? A retro-futuristic space traveler?

And what kind of music are you dancing to? Drums? Electronica? Sound effects such as the wind, spacecraft landing, etc? Trash can lids being hit with hammers?

All of these considerations are going to influence the kind of costume that you make and the kind of performance that you give. Below are a few ideas for steampunk character costumes.

The dancers of Barbary Coast Shakedown (Mira Betz, left, and Elizabeth Strong, right) post in their California saloon hall girl costumes.  The granny boots add that extra panache. Posted by foca71 on (Flickr)

Mira Betz again in a 1920s, jazz hall-influenced costume. She has sleeked her hair back and drawn in pincurls on her forehead with a makeup pencil. The cool hair ornaments are actually appliques that are secured to her hairdo with bobby pins. (Flickr)

Fayzah Claudia as an android in a retro-futuristic space suit reminiscent of the 1920s-30s.  See more images of her body suit, complete with helmet and raygun on her website.  See clips of her performance on “Fantasy Bellydance” by World Dance New York (Fayzah appears about 1:58 in). You can also see a brief glimpse of Sarah Skinner in her Salome costume as well.

Re: What Does a Steampunk Bellydancer Wear? Part 1

The answer is “anything she wants” because the music and costume you choose as a dancer for your steampunk number really depends on how you choose to define “steampunk”. Like many other American bellydancers, I’ve been bitten by the steampunk bug and what follows is my research into how best to translate steampunk into a Middle Eastern dance context.

Silk shantung ghawazee coat worn over paisley cotton voile undertunic. Made by Kathleen Crowley (see blog on sidebar), posted on Tribe.net. Notice how the floor length coat resembles Western dresses of the Victorian era. You could leave the accessories as is or steampunk them up, substituting washers and gears for the coins on the belt and bra, for example. Another possibility would be to go with a knee length coat worn over a full skirt with ruffled pantaloons underneath.

To start with, you could legitimately go 100% ethnic. Steampunk fashion is generally based around a Victorian/Edwardian look and the traditional costume and music of the Middle East have not changed that much in two hundred some years.  My suggestion would be to pick a Near Eastern country that Europeans of the 19th and early 20th century would be familiar with such as Egypt, Turkey, or Northern Africa and use the costume of those regions as a jumping off point.

A second approach would be to base your costume and performance on Middle Eastern dance as seen on the American stage of the late 19th and early 20th century. Thanks to the American Memory project at the Library of Congress, we have actual footage of what early dancers were wearing at the time. Here Princess Rajah balances a chair (notice that she does some floorwork as well) and  Ella Lola does a Turkish dance. You can find second hand copies of these silent films on YouTube, but I prefer to point people to the actual Library of Congress site as it has more context information.

Princess Rajah spins during her chair balancing dance (American Memory, Library of Congress) . Although her ruffled skirt appears short, it is actually ballet-length, falling a little above her ankle.

Ella Lola does her Turkish dance (American Memory, Library of Congress). Her knee-length skirt appears to be made of assuit.

This is the dance as it existed when it was first crossing out of the ethnic immigrant communities and onto the Western vaudeville stage. The costumes are variations on either 19th century street/stagewear. The movements are still done today and are completely recognizable to a 21st century Middle Eastern dancer.

A third possibility is to base your costume on a more Orientalist theme–the Near East as seen through Western eyes. “Salome”-style costumes were very popular on the 19th century/early 20th century stage at this time and have a fantasy element that is very in keeping with the steampunk aesthetic.

Sarah Skinner models her Salome-inspired bra and belt ensemble which she created for her seven veils dance.  Click here and scroll down to the June 24, 2008 entry (”Salome Costume”) for her blog post about the construction of this outfit. Follow her links at the end of the post to read more about Salome and her take on the dance of the seven veils.

Andrea Deagon, an academic and a dancer, has done research on the origins of the Salome story. Her slideshow, “The Salome Dancers: An Eastern Dance Takes Western Roots”,  which showcases a number of the images and performers of the era is available here.

Princess Farhanna (Pleasant Gehman) posing in her turn-of-the-century bellydance costume.

Princess Farhana also created a beautiful, 1900s-era costume. She writes about making this ensemble on her blog (”Creating Flash Out of Trash, Feb. 23, 2009).  A dancer after my own heart, she used materials she already had and a lot of gold spray paint. The end result: a costume that looks expensive, but only cost $36.00. Click on the Feb. 12, 2009 photo (”It’s a Small World After All!”) for a closeup of the costume including the lace rosettes she hand-glued onto the skirt.

Other Orientalist-inspired eras to look at for costuming ideas would be Art Nouveau and Art Deco. I’ve often thought, for example, that Queen Latifah’s costume from the movie “Chicago” would make a great, 1920s-style beladi dress.

Queen Latifah as Matron “Mama” Morton belting out “When You’re Good to Mama” from the movie musical “Chicago”. Notice the fabulous arm drapes.

Re: Happy Blogday to Me!

Photo by Gordon Parks taken March 03, 1950. From the Life Photo Archive found on the Google search engine site.

I can hardly believe it, but my little blog is one year old this month. Ah, it seems like just yesterday when I first started making the clickety-clicks on the keyboard and now here we are, still going and still growing.
Time for a little housekeeping. As you may recollect, I ran an entry on Fashion in Politics in which I made mention of the Sarah Palin wardrobe scandal that garnered a lot of airtime during this past presidential election. According to Ken Vogel of Politico.com, the final auditing has been done and Republican National Committee has disclosed that it paid $173,000 for clothes for Palin and her family. No followup on what happened to the outfits afterward. The total was $23,000 less than initially thought, but that’s still a freakin’ great wad of cash. No word on whether any jobs were created by the RNC “stimulus spending”.

Here are some cool costume items that don’t fall into a overall category, but which I was very taken with, nevertheless:

Star Trek corset by EveningArwen, posted on Etsy.com. Follow this link to see other photos of this great costume piece.

This fabulous Red Rose coat was made by ejacqui and posted on Craftster.org. Follow this link to see other photos and read more about the construction. She actually made all those roses by hand.

Re: No Place Like the O.Z.

Come to the Dark Side. We have better outfits. Kathleen Robertson as Azkadellia flanked by her bad boys in the Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, “Tin Man”.

Why do I love the Tin Man mini-series? Two words, friends: Steampunk Oz. “Tin Man” is an original mini-series from the Sci-Fi Channel. The mini-series re-imagines L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz as a much darker, more dystopian, yet ultimately hopeful tale. Briefly, the story follows our heroine, D.G., who is transported to the O.Z. (Outer Zone) and must discover her past in order to survive. Along the way, she is helped by Glitch, a former science advisor to the queen who had his brain removed as punishment, Wyatt Cain, a former Tin Man (Central City police officer), and Raw, a fearful, lion-like psychic.

From a costumer’s point of view, the character costumes created by Angus Strathie are delicious. I’m surprised that more fans haven’t re-created these costumes. If you have made a “Tin Man” costume, for heaven’s sake, post some pictures to the Net so the rest of us can enjoy them.

While I’ve written this post from sf/f costumer’s point of view, steampunk enthusiasts seeking inspiration will want to watch this movie repeatedly. “Tin Man” is probably as close as we will ever get to a steampunk documentary. The series covers what I consider to be the “steampunk era” (Victorian/Edwardian, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s) with a healthy dose of 21st century sensibility thrown in.  If you look closely at the Queen’s blue dress, for example, which she wears on her island prison, you will note that while the dress appears Edwardian, the corset which would normally not be seen  is actually part of her outerwear–a nod to the 21st century’s penchant for wearing underwear on the outside.

Kathleen Robertson (Azkadellia) shows off three of her five outfits, all to die for.

A photo of the black, feather-decorated dress Kathleen Robertson (Azkadellia) wears in the show.

A close up of the same dress, showing the cool, multi-colored sheen of the shoulder feathers. The whole outfit reminds me of a raven. Notice the Queen in her blue dress in the background.  Her top looks like it may have been made from an Indian khameez.

In the O.Z., crime does pay–in the form of a fabulous wardrobe. Kathleen Robertson as the sorceress Azkadellia undoubtably has the best clothes in the film. We first see Azkadellia wearing her gold dress with the armored collar. She subsequently changes into her black coat dress, her black feathered dress,  and, for the big finale, her chail mail dress. She also has a wonderful Indian-inspired nightgown which I was unable to find good, clear photos of.

A closeup of the black coat dress from commercial costuming company, Fan Chaos.

Although Azkadellia’s outfit appears to be one piece, it is actually a long, black dress-like coat over a fitted peach bustier and black skirt.  The peach bustier suits Kathleen Robertson’s coloring. However, I think it could be changed to pale, true pink and still be recognizable.

Azkadellia’s tattoos change into flying, bat-winged monkeys–how cool is that? Of course, that means many unneccessary shots of her heaving bosom–can we say “sweeps week”, boys and girls? Yes, we can.

Photo of the “Tin Man” cast from Alexia Fast’s website. From left to right, Zooey Deschanel as D.G., Alexia Fast as Young Azkadellia, Alan Cumming as Glitch, Raoul Trujillo as Raw, and Neal McDonough as Wyatt Cain.

While Azkadellia’s costumes are probably the most complex in the entire film (leaving aside Raw’s makeup), there are plenty of other less work-intensive choices for the costumer. D.G.’s street clothes, as seen above, could easily be put together from purchased sources. If you wanted to wear something that is more obviously “Wizard of Oz”, try her waitress uniform pictured below. It’s a direct tip of the hat to the original Judy Garland’s Dorothy costume. D.G. wears her Other Side street clothes most of the time although she briefly changes into a red cocktail dress with a black sheer overlay when she infiltrates the Mystic Man’s nightclub. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a clear picture of that dress.

D.G. in her diner waitress uniform (”Tin Man”). A sly wink to Judy Garland’s costume in the “Wizard of Oz”. I’d recommend wearing this outfit with red sneakers, just for fun.

Wyatt Cain’s (Neal McDonough’s) costume is the next easiest to do. Again, most of his clothes can be purchased, although you may have to specifically shop for Western or Victorian wear in order to do it. Cain’s vest and sidearm say “gunslinger”, but his overcoat and slouchy, fedora-like hat say “private eye”.  I wasn’t able to get a good look at his footwear, but my impression was that he was wearing heavy-duty walking shoes, not boots.

Cain (Neal McDonough) in (mostly) full uniform, minus the hat. The leather vest really makes the outfit.

Cain, minus his coat, showing off his striped, collar-less shirt. Cain’s colors are very muted–soft greens, olives, washed out blues, and browns.

Alan Cumming as Glitch. The zipper headpiece really makes this costume and transforms it from “vagabond” to “steampunk”.

Glitch (Alan Cumming) has a very multi-layered costume that has been heavily distressed. He is actually wearing a 19th century frock coat that is very high cut–it stops at the rib cage as opposed to the waist. Immediately underneath his coat is an elaborately decorated red vest which we see clearly only once while he is drying off around the fire after jumping from the cliff. Under the vest is a long-sleeved white shirt and under that is a red and black or possibly red and navy striped undershirt. If you are planning to re-create Glitch’s look, I highly recommend making all the layers very light weight as this costume can get hot quickly.

Don’t lose your head. Glitch’s outfit and head from a publicity display for “Tin Man” (Flickr). You can just see the edge of Glitch’s vest peaking out from underneath his coat.

Raoul Trujillo as Raw and Zooey Deschanel as D.G. Sci-Fi Channel photo by Art Streiber. Notice Raw’s furry feet.

Next to Azkadellia’s corsets, Raw’s costume requires the most technical skill because of the makeup and prothesises involved. The actual clothing–furry vest and knee breeches–is not that difficult and you can get a good look at it in the full cast photo above. Notice that in the cast photo he is wearing shoes while the above two-shot with D.G. shows his feet.

The great thing about “Tin Man” is that you have option of doing either “alternate versions” of the main cast or re-creating the striking costumes of the supporting characters. For example, we see Az, D.G., and their mother briefly in a flashback scene with the girls’ tutor.  Those outfits would be a great family group costume to re-create.

Young Azkadellia (Alexia Fast), the queen, and young D.G.  Part of the queen’s skirt is made of bronze sequinned fabric. I really like young Az’s dress, but young D.G. also has an attractive gown. Photo from Alexia Fast’s website.

Azkadellia’s long coats–her imperial troops–would make another good group costume. The soldiers’ most striking uniform element is their long leather dusters with red/silver ornamentation and occasional bits of body armor. The overall effect is very Nazi storm trooper. The high mandarin collars appear to be part of the coat rather than a separate shirt. Underneath, as far as I can tell, they are wearing sleeveless black T-shirts, black pants, and black combat boots.  I wasn’t able to find a good still showing the insignia, but I would suggest taking a look at the sets in Az’s tower as I think the circle shape is being replicated on some of the screens.

Some men bring flowers, others bring lockets. From left to right, Azkadellia, her chief hench guy, Zero (Callum Keith Rennie), and her secretary (actor unknown).  I thought initially that her secretary was wearing a variation of the longcoat uniform, but he’s actually wearing a variation of Glitch’s costume–high cut frock coat with a vest and shirt underneath. The coat is leather, but the outfit appears to be very similar to Glitch’s.

Our heroes are shocked to discover just how good they look in black leather and begin to reconsider joining the imperial guard. Another view of the longcoat uniform.

Callum Keith Rennie as Zero in all his evil-y goodness. Rennie plays villains so often these days that most people forget he played good guy detective Stanley Kowalski in the television series “Due South”. Notice the half-armor he sports. The armor seems to be largely ceremonial, but Zero does use it to defend himself when he and Cain throw down.

For a colorful and memorable group costume, I would suggest the “Tin Man” Munchkins. Although they only appear briefly at the beginning of the series, the Munchkins are very original and interesting looking. The body paint would take time, but the clothes themselves are relatively simple and have an overall “American Indian” motif.

D.G. surrounded by Munchkin resistance fighters of the Eastern Guild (”Tin Man”). Notice the Kiowa-style feather harnesses. The buckskin pants and sleeveless shirts wouldn’t be hard to replicate.

Munchkin leaders interrogate D.G. whom they think is a spy (”Tin Man”). Notice the striking face paint and chest armor.

“Well, if it isn’t the great and terrible blah, blah, blah himself.” Richard Dreyfus as the Mystic Man (”Tin Man”) flanked by his lovely assistants. Although the dancers have a great number, this was the only still I could find that showed their outfits. The “panniers” they’re wearing are actually tamborines they use to beat out a drumroll for the Mystic Man’s entrance.

As a dancer, I was struck by the Art Deco flamenco costumes worn by the Mystic Man’s assistants in the Central City nightclub D.G. goes to. This would be another neat group costume to do for a duo or a trio.  The Mystic Man is dressed like a very formal 19th century stage magician. He wears an evening tuxedo with a white vest and white pin-tucked shirt. One hand is bound up in a black pouch. I’m still not sure what that is supposed to symbolize. Over the top of his tux, he wears a Chinese robe and a Turkish smoking cap.

Richard Dreyfus as the Mystic Man (”Tin Man”) showing off his fantastic Chinese robe. I wants it, precious, yes, I do.  Folkwear has a great pattern for this robe (”Chinese Jacket”). I got this photo from the Dye Dept , the Canadian company that did some of the distress work for the series. If you go to their website and look under “textile arts, dyeing, and costume breakdown”, you will see a photo of Glitch’s coat which they also worked over.

Re: Major Cover-Up

One of the first questions prospective Middle Eastern dance students ask me is “do I have to show my belly?” The answer is no, there are a number of long tunics that you can wear. In fact, I often recommend hip-length or ankle-length tunics to my beginning dancers for several reasons. They are easy to make, relatively cheap, and they camouflage the fact that the dancer doesn’t have more expensive and harder to make items like a costume bra.
Tunics come in a variety of styles. The easiest one to make is the unfitted beladi dress. This is two lengths of rectangular fabric sewn together with an opening at the top for your head. The sides can be left open at which point it becomes more like a medieval tabard or they can be closed down the sides with armholes. The side from the ankle to the mid-thigh or the just below the hipbone can be left open for ease of motion. You can add sleeves or leave it sleeve-less.

From the Artemis Imports website, dancer Melanie models a dress made from two veils trimmed with coins. This is the glitzier, nightclub version of a beladi dress.

To sew up a beladi dress very quickly, use a long rectangular veil or veils. Depending on your height, you may be able to get away with using just one 108 inch long veil. Otherwise, use two. This will produce a short-sleeved dress. Use a third large veil or two smaller ones for sleeves. If you would prefer a shorter (hip-length) tunic, use smaller (36 inch long) rectangular veils.

The nice thing about a beladi dress is that it can be made more cabaret or more ethnic-looking by the kind of fabric used and by adding other costume pieces. Opaque fabric in solid colors, stripes, and paisleys is more ethnic. Anything sparkly or see-through is more cabaret. Harem pants, a coined hip belt, and painted-on facial tattoos will make the dress more tribal/ethnic looking. High-heeled dance shoes, bare legs, a beaded hip belt, and matching head band will give a more cabaret/showgirl feel.

Kalilah of the Calgary, Alberta troupe, “Daughters of the Nile”, poses in her Saudi thobe at Global Fest 2008 (Flickr).

In America, the term “thobe” or “Saudi thobe” refers to a loose, T-shaped kaftan with a heavily decorated front panel. In the Middle East, “thobe” means the high-necked, long-sleeved robes worn by both men and women. A Saudi-style thobe is a “thobe nashaal” or “big robe”.  You can make your own thobe, but most dancers buy one from Middle Eastern dance suppliers.  Thobes usually run in the $100-150 dollar range depending on the material that they are made from and the amount of decoration that they have.

A thobe can be left loose or it can belted (worn with a shawl, hip scarf, or costume hip girdle) and worn as a loose beladi dress. The sleeves of a thobe are large and open so you will need to wear a leotard or other top underneath.

An Egyptian-style dance dress made from a velvet evening gown by Dina Lydia, otherwise known as Dina the Costume Goddess. I highly recommend her site which is full of good tips and great pictures.

In Egypt, night club dancers favor what are essentially evening or cocktail dresses with strategic cut outs and beading at the bust and hipbone line.  Dance dresses can cost anywhere from $200-600, depending on the style and designer. However, you can easily make a similar dance outfit yourself by getting ahold of a second-hand evening gown and glitzing it up.

A splendid example of a traditional Ghawazee coat modeled by dancer Tamara and posted to Tribe.net.  Ghawazee coats are usually worn over a chemise as seen here. However, there are many variations on this garment.

A Ghawazee coat is a fitted tunic that can come either to the hip or to the ankle. It is worn over a long-sleeved undertunic and can be cut either over the bust or under the bust. The under the bust style is usually worn with a decorated, costume bra. Because a Ghawazee coat is fitted, I highly recommend making a muslin–a test garment–first before cutting into your good fabric.

Re: How to Save Money on Clothes*

*…and why there’s no easy way to do it.

Let’s start by examining the commonly accepted methods of penny-pinching. First off,  you can either save time or save money, but you can’t do both. Eventually you have to ask yourself what your blood, toil, tears, and sweat are worth. The bottom line here is what is it worth, not to the market, not to your friends/family, but to YOU?

• I can make that myself! (Or so you’d like to believe). Sewing your own clothes is a prime example of this time/money conundrum. On the plus side, most mass-produced clothing is so badly made that no matter how limited your own skills are, chances are good that you can still make a very serviceable garment that will wear better than most of what’s available in the market. As the seamstress, you can (at least in theory) also control the fit, color, and pattern. The down side is that unless you have the 3-D kind of mind a sewer needs, you won’t be making any garments at all or you won’t be making them without a major struggle. Getting the proper fabric can be a hassel–not to mention an end in itself. Sewing at home also requires an investment in tools and equipment, some of which such as sewing machines and cutting tables can be quite expensive. Bottom line: if you are naturally sew-y, go for the gold. If you are craft-y (preferring a glue gun to the needle and thread), just admit it to yourself and get someone else to do your sewing. If you’re not sure where you fall on the sew-it/craft-it continuum, try both out before you commit to anything expensive.
• Hunting the elusive bargain in its natural habitat. Shopping at thrift stores, garage sales, clearance racks, and, in my corner of the world, dumpster transfer stations can net you some bargains–amazing bargains. A friend of mine once got a beautiful embroidered Saudi thobe at a thrift store for $30.00. Thobes normally retail from $100-150 U.S. Another friend once found a brown, cashmere cardigan at the transfer station, still perfectly good. That’s the upside. The downside is that shopping in this manner is a major time sink.  For every great find, there are at least a hundred pieces of rubbish. To be this kind of bargain shopper, you need to have immense patience, energy, and a keen understanding of the market. You need to know the true worth of an item in order to know if it’s a bargain or not. If you’ve got kids, second hand clothes are the way to go. Children outgrow their clothes so quickly that you can get a lot of like-new items for very little money. Bottom line: If you don’t enjoy the thrill of the chase, don’t join in the hunt.
• Save money in the long term by buying good, if expensive, clothes. Buying quality and taking care of it is a pricey strategy, but one that can pay off for you over time. The plus side here, particularly when it comes to costume items as opposed to everyday wear, is that you will get a custom-tailored piece that will last many years. This strategy works best with classic pieces in natural fibers (cotton, wool, silk, leather) you can wear several different ways or for several different occasions. The down side, obviously, is that buying quality requires a lot of money up front.  Also if you are outside the “average” size range, you may not be able to re-sell your custom-made item when you no longer want it.  Bottom line: Be honest with yourself. If you aren’t going to be wearing this thing over and over again for the next ten years, don’t shell out the cash.
• Make do with what you’ve got. No fashion-on-a-budget story these days is complete without some terminally perky expert urging you to “shop your closet”. This strategy works really well if you’re a pack rat. Look in your closet. Do you still have your prom dress from twenty years ago? For cryin’ out loud, get rid of it and while you’re at it, toss out everything else that is too small, too shabby, or is older than your children. If, on the other hand, you look in your closet and what you see is a great, echoing cave, you’ve got problems–the kind only purchases can fix. Embellishing old clothes to give them a new look is another aspect of making do. This can be a lot of fun especially if you have an artistic or crafty bent. Combining several items to make a new one, say cutting up several old T-shirts and resewing them into one, or repurposing an old item of clothing (e.g. turning a skirt into a handbag) are other possibilities. Swapping clothes with friends is a good idea if you have a bunch of friends who are about the same size as you. Bottom line: getting organized is a good idea, but you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear if you don’t have two sow’s ears to rub together.

Re: Why So Sartorial?

Heath Ledger as the Joker (Batman: The Dark Knight) holding one of his inspired props–an ordinary playing card he gives out as a business/calling card. Of course, it has no contact information which means that the Joker “holds all the cards”.

One of the things I enjoy about watching movies is seeing how the costumer uses the characters’ clothes to tell us things about the characters and the changes that they undergo during the course of the film. In “Batman: The Dark Knight”, most of the costume buzz was about Batman’s re-designed batsuit. The re-design itself is actually part of the story and is cleverly incorporated into the flow of the plot. However, I was much more interested in Heath Ledger’s wardrobe as the Joker and, if Halloween 2008 was anything to judge by, so was most of the viewing public.

The Joker disguised as an ordinary bank robber.

When we first meet the Joker, he and his henchmen are stealing money from a Mob-controlled bank. The Joker’s identity is initially hidden from the audience. He wears a nondescript suit in what I would characterize as sort of a slate blue color that echoes the blues in the clown mask he wears.  His shirt is buttoned up to the neck, but it doesn’t suggest a buttoned-down personality. Rather it implies someone who is under a great deal of pressure and is liable to blow at any time.

The next time the Joker takes the screen, he is wearing his signature suit of purple. The suit, as we learn later on, has been custom made for him–the result of his successful haul from the bank.  It’s worth spending time analyzing the suit because it says a good deal about the character. Unlike the Chechen, for example, the Joker doesn’t wear working man’s garb although he mostly likely has lower class origins. Passing up a leather jacket in favor of a suit jacket suggests the Joker’s ambition: he’s not dressing for the job he has now, but the one he wants–the head of Gotham’s underworld.  Unlike the well turned out Maroni or Gambol, however, the Joker doesn’t wear a traditional business suit which suggests that he’s not interested in being a traditional kind of gangster.

The Joker’s outfit in action. In these pictures, you can see his suit jacket which is largely hidden from view for most of the movie. It’s not clear to me from the film if this is supposed to be a new jacket or the old jacket from the bank heist.

The Joker’s suit actually reminds me of a Zoot suit (in some pictures you can see the extra long watch chain he sports). The Zoot Suit was the uniform of rebellious teenagers in the 1940s. The Zoot Suit Riots were racially-charged clashes between soldiers, police, and Black/Hispanic youths in L.A. and Detroit during the early days of World War II. So immediately the Joker’s suit tells us that he is both younger  and more rebellious than his counterparts while at the same time fitting into the 1920s/30s gangster look that permeates the rest of the film.

As opposed to the muted colors that the other men wear, the Joker prefers bright colors. The bright colors signify that the Joker is theatrical, that he is a nonconformist, and that, on some level, he is depressed and is trying to lift his spirits with his wardrobe. In my experience, the more someone suffers from depression, the more likely they are to surround themselves with bright, often clashing, colors.

The Joker’s purple coat is lined with orange and paired with a violent green vest. While purple and green can look good together in softer hues (think lavender and light green, for example), strong shades of those colors paired together hurt the eye. The effect is garish, painful, off-putting, even nauseating. By utilizing these colors, the Joker becomes someone our eye is drawn to and yet someone we want to look away from.

The Joker in the holding cell at the Major Crimes Unit.  At a distance, he appears to be wearing solid colors, but up close you can see the multi-patterned nature of his wardrobe.

A closeup look at the Joker’s shirt showing the filled hexagon pattern. Incidentally, this is the clothing item costumers have the most difficulty finding or re-creating. Be prepared to stencil your own shirt if you want an authentic-looking Joker costume.

If you look closely at the Joker’s ensemble, you’ll notice that he is wearing a lot of patterns. His shirt, for example, is covered in hexagons which are themselves filled in with different patterns (stripes, dots, etc.). His tie is dotted with diagonal hash marks, his socks are argyle and his pants are pin-striped. All of the patterns work because they are tied together by a common color scheme (green, orange, purple, gold), but the overall effect is unsettling. We are subliminally being told that underneath the surface, the Joker is a mass of seething, anarchic energy.

No description of the Joker’s costume can be complete without talking about his makeup. The two iconic emblems of the Joker are his purple suit and his white clown face makeup, particularly his frozen grin. In the “Dark Knight”, the Joker’s hair is colored green, but it is not coiffured in any way. It’s lank and looks unwashed, again suggesting the Joker’s underlying depression.

The Joker’s white face, black eyes, and overly wide, red slash of a mouth make him look ghoulish and frightening, but he also looks like he’s suffering a great deal.  In the interrogation scene, for example, he looks so pathetic you can’t help but feel sorry for him even though we, as audience members, have just witnessed him wreaking havoc through Gotham’s streets. Unlike Batman whose makeup and cowl mask two-thirds of his face, the Joker’s makeup highlights his eyes and mouth, drawing our attention repeatedly to his expression.

The Joker disguised as a policeman. Throughout the movie, the Joker often relies on the twin camouflages of a uniform and a panicking crowd to move around largely unnoticed.  The Joker is no master of disguise, but he is an accurate judge of human psychology.

We do actually see the Joker briefly without his makeup when he disguises himself as a policeman to assassinate the mayor. Apart from his scarred mouth which is not as obvious as you would think, the Joker has an unremarkable, average Joe kind of face.  It’s only when he puts on his “warpaint” that he becomes a larger-than-life villain suggesting that beneath the surface, every villain was once an ordinary citizen. Or, perhaps, that every citizen has the potential to become a villain given the proper motivation.

Re: Tips from Style by Jury

One of the benefits of having made the digital conversion is that I can now receive the CW channel which features “Style by Jury”. If you haven’t seen this show, the premise is this: women with serious fashion problems (and believe me, “serious” is understating it) appear in front of a hidden jury of average Joe Citizens who comment on the first impressions they make. The women are then given a seven day makeover (clothes, hair, makeup, dental work, some cosmetic surgery, some psychological coaching) and are brought in front of an all-new second jury (a family or friend is generally included) who then give their feedback on the women’s new look. Their new look, I should add, is usually a dramatic improvement on the old one and a big part of the show’s appeal is viewing the Before and After pictures. I freely confess that I’m a big fan of Korby Banner, the show’s makeup artist, who exudes a cool, fun vibe you generally don’t associate with makeup artists.
While I disagree with “Style by Jury’s” emphasis on cosmetic surgery (botox should never be an option, in my opinion) and their glossing over of the psychological issues involved with the women’s appearance (you can’t change the habits of a lifetime in a week), I have learned things from the show. To wit:

• No matter what your shape, wear clothes that skim the body as opposed to those that cling or are too baggy.
• A good smile is critical. Take good care of your teeth and don’t hesistate to have major dental work done if necessary. (I suspect free dental work is a big draw for the participants).
• In both fashion and cosmetics, the middle ground is the most flattering. Too shapeless and blah and too made-up and overdone are both bad.
• Consider getting a new hairdo (both color and cut) especially if your current hairstyle either has no shape or if you have had the same style for the past ten years.
• Before you can successfully start over, you have to ask yourself why you’ve been clinging to the past. Letting go of outmoded ideas is how you go forward.
• Never underestimate how a change of clothes and a bit of styling can change the way not just others see you, but how you see yourself.

Re: My Peacock Obsession

Painting of Ruth St. Denis in her peacock costume which shows a strong Indian influence. Miss Ruth was one of the first American dancers to present actual Indian dance on the stage–and was roundly denounced for it.

This all started when I saw Troupe Mirage, a group of fabulous dancers from the southern part of my state, wearing skirts with a peacock feather design. While I didn’t want to imitate their costume, I did become intrigued with the idea of creating a peacock-inspired dance outfit of my own. My immediate problem then became how to create an ensemble that was danceable, flattering to my figure, and that said “peacock” to the audience.

One of the things I noticed right away as I was searching for peacock images is that you can’t be too subtle. Small peacock designs don’t cut it. You need to be big and bold.

Another problem is how best to convey the tailfeather fan image that says “peacock” to everyone. Costumers seem torn between the upper torso fan and the lower torso skirt or train.

This commercial peacock costume gives you the best of both worlds–wear the tail up or down.  Points have to be taken away, though, for the rest of the romper-style costume.

Balticon Feather Lady 2008 by catface3 (Flickr)

I like the idea of a floor-length dress and I covet–how, how I covet–that splendid fan she is holding. She must have made it herself as I’m pretty sure that you can’t buy fans like that.

I was very impressed by her headress as well.

Peacock belt by meadow sweetie (Flickr)

I like the belt for this costume.

Peacock Dress 2007 by angelica star (Flickr)

Another stunning dress. Electric blue and teal-green seem to be popular colors for this type of project.

Peacock Feather tights from ModCloth.com

One of the problems with projects like this is that you start seeing peacock images everywhere. These tights are from ModCloth.com. They also come in black.

My biggest hold-up right now is finding the proper fabric (or fabrics). I was hoping to find some Indian-style fabric that would do, but I just don’t see what I like at the local JoAnn’s.