Re: He Looks Like Angel

He looks like an angel/Walks like an angel/But now we’re wise /He’s the devil in disguise.

Jude Law stars as Cardinal Lenny Belardo who is elected to the papacy as Pius XIII in The Young Pope.  This TV series poses the question: what would happen if someone like Donald Trump became Pope? The answer is “a lot of well-dressed chicanery in beautiful surroundings.”

While the settings are spectacular and painterly, the costumes deserve a mention in their own right.

If there’s one photo that sums up the series, it’s this one of Lenny casting some shade (literally) in his papal bling and sunglasses. The whole pose has a certain gangster vibe which suits the character.

Here’s Lenny’s more everyday wardrobe–a white cassock with gold trim and a white shepherd’s hat. Next to him is Sister Mary (Diane Keaton), the foster mother who raised him. If you’re not Catholic, you may be wondering “what sort of awesome outfits do nuns have?” The answer is: “you’re looking at it.” Nuns don’t get bling because women, even a fairly high-ranking woman like Sister Mary, have no political power within the church. With great power comes great embroidery.

Even when he’s dressed more informally, Lenny wears some version of white–in this case, a cream-colored tracksuit.

The following sequence shows Lenny getting dressed for his big speech to the College of Cardinals.

He starts with a shirt and knee breeches, adds the shoes, and then goes for the cassock layer.

Over the cassock goes a second one made of white lace. He then adds the heavy mantle. Lenny is a hyper-conservative traditionalist so he favors very medieval-looking vestments.

 

And for the crowning touch, the triple tiara representing the pope’s temporal power. Set aside over 40 years ago by a previous pope, Lenny has it returned to the Vatican for his big address.

Finally, here’s the costume (and the actor) in action. Lenny makes a grand entrance into the Sistine Chapel.

 

 

Re: Take Back Halloween 2016 Costume Contest

Yes, Take Back Halloween’s 5th annual costume contest is here and they have two new categories: Best Madam President (dress up as one of the women who’s run for the presidency over the years) and Best Future Take Back Halloween Goddess/Mythological Figure (dress up as a goddess/mythological figure that the TBH folks haven’t done yet). Deadline is November 6th, 2016 and winning entries will be published a week after so get a-costuming, friends!

Re: Election 2016 in T-shirts

At this point, the best that can be said about the presidential election of 2016 is that high emotions and high unfavorability ratings lead to a lot of T-shirts. Here’s a sampling via the Teepublic site. I did check other sites, but coverage seemed about the same.

There is general unhappiness about both the Democrat and Republican nominees. Independent candidates are not making much of a dent in the electoral angst.

Sadly, there will be no end to this wild ride until November 8th.

Of course, refusing to vote just means that the pool of people who will shape this country’s future just got a lot narrower.

Help us, Bernie-Wan Kenobi! You’re our only hope.

But since a Sanders’ candidacy isn’t going to happen, we’re going to have to explore some alternatives.

After all, who would know more about the troubles of our evolving republic than two of the original gangsters themselves–Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr?

Bottom line: our choices are down to two–Hilary Clinton …..

….and Donald Trump.

So far the only political idea put forth that the entire electorate can get behind. Hold on to your hats, folks, the finish line is in sight. Get out and vote on Election Day!

 

 

Re: Channeling Your Inner Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich and Susan Calman. Photograph: Phil Fisk/The Observer and Getty. Printed in the Guardian 4/24/16.

Recovering lawyer-turned-comedian Susan Calman penned this great article in the Guardian on how Marlene Dietrich inspired her to start dressing in menswear. It’s a story about how fashion reflects our inner selves and how we have to embrace who we are in order to find our style.

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Re: Need a Plus Size Halloween Costume?

Here’s some place I bet you didn’t think to look: Torrid on-line. Click here to be taken to the site. Yes, the provider of all things Goth and trendy has aged up a bit and expanded (no pun intended) its line of plus size items. Tops go up to a 5 or 6 (4x and 5x) and pants go up to a 6 (5x).

• Need Day of the Dead wear? Not a problem. Torrid has an entire line of skull print clothing (leggings, dresses, tops). Just put in “skull” as a search term.
• Want to dress up like a Disney character? Torrid has a whole line of Disney-themed merchandise. Click on their Pop Culture tab.
• Want a superhero dress? Check under Torrid’s Halloween and Cosplay sections. Halloween has its own tab and Cosplay is under the Pop Culture tab.
• Need some retro items that you can wear to work? Torrid has a nice line of dresses with a 1940s/50s feel, but it also has other retro items from time to time. Put in “retro” as a search term.
• Looking for a bustier or corselet? Torrid has them. For bustiers, look under Intimates. For corsets, use “corset top” as a search term.

As a side note, if, like me, you are in constant need of fun leggings for your workout and casual wear, check Torrid’s Clothing tab under Bottoms and then under Leggings.  The Activewear tab looks promising, but the sizes only go up to 5 while the leggings go up to 6.

Standard disclaimers: I’ve recently started ordering from Torrid, but receive no compensation from the company for recommending their site.

Re: Halloween Costume Prediction 2016

There are times when Halloween costume inspiration is low on the ground and hard to find. And then we have years like this when the Costume Gods are simply showering mana down upon us.

• Political costumes are sometimes hard to predict, but this year I feel very safe in saying that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump costumes will be flying off the shelf. Look for some pop culture cross-over–Trump as the Joker, Hillary as Hillary Quinn.
• Interest in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland series has remained strong, perhaps because of its Goth overtones. Expect an uptick in Alice costumes now that the sequel, Through the Looking Glass, has come out.
• Superhero and anti-superhero movies have been big this year. I predict Avengers, Deadpool, and Suicide Squad costumes to be very popular.
• In the kids’ aisle, Zootopia has provided Judy Hop and Nick Wilde costumes. The release of Finding Dory will see an increase in Dory and Nemo costumes.
• The Ghostbusters reboot will see a resurge of interest in Ghostbusters costumes, both old and new.
• Perennial favorites: Day of the Dead and zombie costumes.

Re: Getting Phryne’s Style

Inspired by Miss Fisher’s Mysteries? Want to dress more like Phryne? Luckily, adding a 1920s flare to your modern wardrobe has never been easier.

Inspector Jack Robinson (Nathan Page) and Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) in a black and white coat with an Oriental design.

Add a jacket or cardigan. One of the things that immediately strikes the viewer is Phryne’s wardrobe of eye-catching jackets. The jacket, duster, or cardigan frequently functions as the statement piece with the rest of the outfit solid-colored and simple. Jackets are very in fashion nowadays, but you’ll have to use a number of different search terms to find them. Use “kimono”, “jacket”, “shrug”, “cardigan”, and “duster” and see what you can pull up.

Another option is to create your own shrug or jacket from a long, rectangular scarf, shawl, or stole. Fold the stole in half length-ways and knot the short ends together to form sleeves. If the shrug is falling off your shoulders, tie another knot about 6-12 inches away from the first one, further down the arm of the jacket. Slip your arms through the sleeves and voila! instant shrug. When I was a young dancer, we would use small veils (about 72″ long and 36″ wide) to make shrugs for our bellydance costumes. You can also sew the sleeves partway closed in order to form a more permanent jacket.

Phryne (Essie Davis) sports a scarf made of assuit, a vintage Egyptian textile very popular in the 1920s, over her cardigan.

Add a scarf. Indoors or out, Phryne is often seen wearing scarves, usually long rectangular ones. If your local department store isn’t carrying anything you like, try the on-line shops of major museums (e.g. the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Museums often sell smart scarves as part of their revenue-generating efforts.

Use your costume jewelry in innovative ways.  One of Phryne’s brooches, for example, will appear variously as a hat decoration, scarf pin, and robe closure.

Phryne in another one of her fabulous coats, this time a long black duster with embroidered trim.

Experiment with ethnic designs and textiles. In the 1920s, there was a lot of fascination with the Far and Near East on the part of the general public and the fashions and accessories of the time reflect that. This was the era in which King Tut’s tomb was discovered among other things. Today, there is a similar vogue for ethnic designs so take the opportunity to add a print blouse (or scarf) to your wardrobe.

Go for a clean, streamlined look with strong, intense colors. Although Phryne can and does wear pastels, more often than not, she favors deep colors such as navy blue, black, and winter winter. Black and white together is a favorite color combination for her. When she wears prints, they tend to be simple geometric designs such as circles. And while we see her wearing fancy ballgowns from time to time, mostly she wears very non-fussy pieces–wide leg pants, sleeveless blouses, short jackets, tear drop earrings.