Star-Struck
I love my Canon A-630, but I need a camera phone. Oh, the pictures I could have taken on the sly this afternoon when I was the only person wandering around!
And why did I not go see the “Star-Struck” exhibit before today? I spent two & a half hours there, and that wasn't nearly enough time. I only managed to sketch a few of the dresses on display, and take mental notes of most of the other gowns. It was a “no photography” exhibit, so I had to pick and choose what I studied, instead of taking pictures like crazy of everything.
The most surprising gown in the exhibit was from the 1934 production of “Cleopatra,” with Claudette Colbert. Absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever seen fabric quite like that before-the outside was black, while the inner side was silver, and it was sheer. (Not sure which was the right or wrong side for it.)
A stylized bird-faclon, perhaps?-is attached to a thick silver chain, and acts as the collar of the gown. Attached to the underside are two lengths of the black & silver fabric, which cover the breasts, wrap around to the back, twist together once at the waist, and then wrap back around to the front, where they attach to the back of another stylized bird. (The twist at the back is such that the right piece of fabric attaches to both silver birds on the right side, and the black side remains facing outwards. The silver does show in back due to the twisting, but it's predominately the black you see.)
Both birds are made of silver, and are set with stones. The cabochon in the center is the color of red clay (might be jasper), and the wings and two stones on either side of the tail are black (could be onyx). The chain is made up of solid loops (like jump rings), paired together and linked like those paper chains you make in kindergarten for Christmas decorations. Not a skimpy chain.
The skirt is floor-length, and appears to pool in a train. There are two slits that extend almost to the hips. On the mannequin, both slits were on the left side of the mannequin, with the fabric in between centered along the left leg; in film stills, the slits are in front, extending up each leg. In back (or on the dummies right, as displayed), the skirt trains. The waistband of the skirt is beaded, with a combination of black faceted squares and small faceted rounds, silver bugle beads, and navy beads in the shape of elongated diamonds. A band of the trim, which is roughly an inch & a half wide, goes straight down the center back seam of the skirt (or down the right seam as displayed).
The outfit from “Moulin Rouge” on display? The Gothic Tower gown. So elegant. This is the one I spent the most time studying. It's pure black velvet (short pile). The seams on it are what makes it so interesting. The bodice has princess seams with a second dart an inch away, that extends slightly farther down the bodice. Although part of it is hidden by the sash, it appears that the top center of the bodice is shaped like a bowtie-there's a visible seam on the right-hand side that angles upwards from the princess seam towards the center of the neckline. There are also two rounded godets, one inside the other, on each side that make it sit funny at the hips on the display mannequin. At the top, they're maybe three inches apart; by the hem, the seams are roughly six to eight inches apart at the front of the gown. I'm not sure how much the godets flare at the back, due to the way the train was draped & the lighting. (I think I need to start carrying a mini flashlight with me to exhibits...)
The sash is not a true red. I'm not even sure it's red at all-there's a layer of black netting over it, which made it hard to decide exactly what color I was seeing. To my eyes, it seemed more of a rust or even a milk chocolate color, than anything I would consider red. The sash only extends from the top right of the bodice to the left side seam.
Where the sash meets the fur over the right shoulder, there is a jet embellishment (could be a broach pinned in place, could be sewn directly to the gown). It looks like it was hand-beaded to a backing before being put in place. Because it was up on a roped-off platform, I couldn't see it as clearly as I would have liked. The embellishment is round, with a round bead in the center surrounded by faceted teardrops. (Silly me forgot to count how many I could see.) The outer edge is made up of small round beads; there may be more filling in the spaces between the teardrops and the edge.
The brown fur draped around the right shoulder is actually two pieces; on the mannequin, they had one over the shoulder and one draped around the arm. The nap on the top “strap” goes over the shoulder to the back, and around. The bottom “strap” has the pile (?) facing the opposite way. Around the hemline, the pile is clockwise. The fur around the bodice ends at the left side seam, as already mentioned. It doesn't follow the back of the gown, but angles downward like the sash does in front.
Scarlet's barbecue gown from “Gone with the Wind” is the Bob Mackie reproduction. You can definitely tell it's a modern version because of the (ugly) large, white zipper in the back. In person, it's so frothy and girly, even with the ugly zipper. The skirt might be larger in circumference than the on-screen version, although I'm not positive about that. It's been a while since I last watched the movie.
Supposedly it was made for the Carol Burnett skit “Went with the Wind,” but none of the gowns she wears as Starlett looks like it.
The green velvets used are two different colors-olive green for the around the neckline & the bows at shoulders and bust, and emerald green for the belt, hat tie, and the ribbon trimming the flounce around the collar. The collar flounce is made up of the sheer dress fabric, ending in a band of lace with the emerald ribbon woven through it just above a ruffle that matches the background color of the main fabric (an ivory or ecru). The pattern of the repro fabric doesn't really match the original-the sprigs of flowers have blue in them and they aren't thick clusters. (The repro flowers are also more like round circles than actual flowers.)
The belt comes to a point on the center top edge, but the bottom edge is straight all around. In the front, it looks as if it is a separate piece from the rest of the gown, because you can see the waist seam. In back, however, it's obviously attached to the dress-the zipper runs through it. Looking past the zipper, the dress is obviously larger than the mannequin used to display the gown; they pinned it along the darts in back to fit it.
The hat ties are attached to a band of the same velvet that runs around the inside of the hat. Even with the generous bow, the ties are long enough to hang down past the waist of the gown.
My love for Rose's Flying Gown from “Titanic” is renewed by seeing it in person. I did manage to get a few sneaky photos of the left side of the gown (I was hidden from the one lone security camera I noticed). The color on screen is nothing in comparison to the actual fabrics. The underskirt (both layers), sash, sleeve cuffs, and collar are all royal purple (with blue undertones) satin. The kimono jacket is a royal blue velvet (no purple undertone).
The embroidery on the front panels of the kimono and on the back left corner of the overskirt is a lot less complex than I would have thought. (Something else I haven't seen in recent memory.) A rather stylized design of flowers, branches and leaves on the front panels, and what looked like an angular rose on the overskirt. I didn't get to sketch the flowers or study the overskirt design very closely because I almost got locked in. (Not that I would have minded at all. Although it would have been nice if the woman who turned the lights off didn't decide to wait for me to leave. I felt so rushed! And I could have sneaked in a few pictures...) The flowers were a pale blue, with navy centers, while the leaves and vines/branches were worked in a sapphire shade. The “rose” on the back was worked in all three blues.
Millie's red, black, and white (more like ivory, really) flapper gown from “Thoroughly Modern Millie” was on display. Very 1920's simplicity. The only shaping to the dress is in the form of side bust darts. The sleeves are very, very full, gathered into a tight cuff with three round, black shank buttons at the wrist. At the dropped waist and the bottom of the sleeves is a black & white checkerboard pattern three rows high. The squares, roughly 2” wide, are stitched together. At the bottom of the dress hang black “ribbons” the same width as the squares. They are sewn to the dress only at the top edge, free to swing around and show off the red under layer of the skirt when in motion.
The hat Millie wears with it is more of a wide headband than an actual hat. It's made of black and white fabric woven together in a checkerboard pattern to match the design on the dress. Short widths of the black weave in between two long bands of the white. They're held in place on the inside by black grosgrain ribbon.
They had the dress displayed with a sheer red scarf tossed around the shoulders, but in the movie it was worn with a giant red corsage.
The gown I know Maggie wants details of is one I didn't spend much time studying, having not seen the movie yet. The wedding gown from “Marie Antoinette” is absolutely stunning, so much so all I could do was stare instead of analyze. I can't decide if it is pure white, off-white, or cream. So much tone-on-tone, and the white wall behind didn't help very much. There is a narrow (shiny) stripe in the fabric, and the snaking trim down the center is pinked on the edges. Silver accents. I think the wrinkles on the bodice were due to being pinned to the mannequin and not a characteristic of the fabric. Not much of a chance to study details from any side other than the front, anyway. It happened to be at the center back of the platform containing the Gothic Tower gown and the three kimonos from “Memoirs of a Geisha” (another recent movie I have yet to see).
The hat for the racetrack gown from “My Fair Lady” is just gigantic, and covered in lace and ribbon and feathers. There's a lace mob cap that peeps out from underneath. The dress is another replica; the original disappeared sometime after a Hollywood costume exhibit at New York City's MoMA put together by Diana Vreeland. The lace has a large floral pattern couched all over in white. The bands of black & white don't meet in back.
Three (matching) halter gowns from “Dreamgirls” were on a smaller platform, arranged in a circle backs together. The newspaper article that was in the Star-Telegram said they were from the finale. The article also said they were gold; they're not. I'd describe the color as pewter or a gunmetal grey. Not a bright silver, but definitely a metallic something. The bodice fabric is unadorned so you can see the metallic threads catching the light, while the skirt is covered in sequins in a chevron pattern, starting at the empire waist. There are two colors of sequins used-that pewter color and a muted gold. Every one, maybe two, rows of the pewter sequins is a single row of gold. The collar and straps are studded with rhinestones.
The gown from “Raintree County” had an interesting bodice. It was a fitted bodice with bell sleeves, with two loops or ribbons of fabric hanging down from the front and looping around the sides to the back of the bodice. The skirt fabric, a sheer ivory with a tonal floral pattern, showed through in the openings. The bodice was probably a shell pink when originally made; it's taken on a brownish tint with age (as has the skirt).
The dress on display from “Walk the Line” is the one June Carter wears at the awards show, when she performs with the zither before introducing Johnny Cash. Sleeveless dress, wide belt, circle skirt with poinsettias all over it.
Barbara Streisand's showgirl gown from “Funny Lady” looked like it would have fit in perfectly at the Moulin Rouge. Red, purple, and black with lots of jet beaded trim.
Estella's strapless green dress is pretty, a light spring green trimmed with white ribbon. Pretty, but I didn't spend much time studying it.
I didn't spend much time studying the two dresses on display from “Persecution,” either. Both 1970s lounge wear to my eyes. One was leopard print, the other was cream with a rhinestone collar.
I also didn't spend much time studying the three kimonos from “Memoirs of a Geisha.” (And yet another movie on the list of recent costume movies I haven't watched.) They were quite pretty, but in front of or next to gowns I wanted to study more (those being the “Moulin Rouge” and “Marie Antoinette” gowns). One was Sayuri's, the other two belonged to Hatsumomo.
The exhibit also had a lot of design sketches from various movies. The two from “The Sound of Music” are of the Baroness' gowns. The one from “Thoroughly Modern Millie” is of Miss Dorothy's yellow lace party dress from the “Tapioca” dance scene. “The Dead” and “The Reivers” had some really pretty late Victorian & Edwardian gowns. One of the two sketches from “Splash” was of Madison in her mermaid form. Other movies illustrated: “Camelot;” “Paint Your Wagon;” “Hello Dolly;” “Bittersweet Love;” “The Man Who Fell to Earth;” “Being There;” “Broadcast News;” and “Barton Fink.”
Overall, I loved it. The gowns were so close, even the few marked off by a thin rope. I obeyed the “Do not touch!” rule to the letter, although there was no sign posted saying you couldn't stare at something inches away from your nose or fan it with paper to see how the fabric moves. More than once I wished I brought some colored pencils with me. Or a Pantone swatch book like Kay Dee does! Plus a ruler for gauging sizes and a tiny flashlight for highlighting seams. Next time a good costume exhibition comes through, I'll pack all of that. And see it more than just once on the very last day.
And why did I not go see the “Star-Struck” exhibit before today? I spent two & a half hours there, and that wasn't nearly enough time. I only managed to sketch a few of the dresses on display, and take mental notes of most of the other gowns. It was a “no photography” exhibit, so I had to pick and choose what I studied, instead of taking pictures like crazy of everything.
The most surprising gown in the exhibit was from the 1934 production of “Cleopatra,” with Claudette Colbert. Absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever seen fabric quite like that before-the outside was black, while the inner side was silver, and it was sheer. (Not sure which was the right or wrong side for it.)
A stylized bird-faclon, perhaps?-is attached to a thick silver chain, and acts as the collar of the gown. Attached to the underside are two lengths of the black & silver fabric, which cover the breasts, wrap around to the back, twist together once at the waist, and then wrap back around to the front, where they attach to the back of another stylized bird. (The twist at the back is such that the right piece of fabric attaches to both silver birds on the right side, and the black side remains facing outwards. The silver does show in back due to the twisting, but it's predominately the black you see.)
Both birds are made of silver, and are set with stones. The cabochon in the center is the color of red clay (might be jasper), and the wings and two stones on either side of the tail are black (could be onyx). The chain is made up of solid loops (like jump rings), paired together and linked like those paper chains you make in kindergarten for Christmas decorations. Not a skimpy chain.
The skirt is floor-length, and appears to pool in a train. There are two slits that extend almost to the hips. On the mannequin, both slits were on the left side of the mannequin, with the fabric in between centered along the left leg; in film stills, the slits are in front, extending up each leg. In back (or on the dummies right, as displayed), the skirt trains. The waistband of the skirt is beaded, with a combination of black faceted squares and small faceted rounds, silver bugle beads, and navy beads in the shape of elongated diamonds. A band of the trim, which is roughly an inch & a half wide, goes straight down the center back seam of the skirt (or down the right seam as displayed).
The outfit from “Moulin Rouge” on display? The Gothic Tower gown. So elegant. This is the one I spent the most time studying. It's pure black velvet (short pile). The seams on it are what makes it so interesting. The bodice has princess seams with a second dart an inch away, that extends slightly farther down the bodice. Although part of it is hidden by the sash, it appears that the top center of the bodice is shaped like a bowtie-there's a visible seam on the right-hand side that angles upwards from the princess seam towards the center of the neckline. There are also two rounded godets, one inside the other, on each side that make it sit funny at the hips on the display mannequin. At the top, they're maybe three inches apart; by the hem, the seams are roughly six to eight inches apart at the front of the gown. I'm not sure how much the godets flare at the back, due to the way the train was draped & the lighting. (I think I need to start carrying a mini flashlight with me to exhibits...)
The sash is not a true red. I'm not even sure it's red at all-there's a layer of black netting over it, which made it hard to decide exactly what color I was seeing. To my eyes, it seemed more of a rust or even a milk chocolate color, than anything I would consider red. The sash only extends from the top right of the bodice to the left side seam.
Where the sash meets the fur over the right shoulder, there is a jet embellishment (could be a broach pinned in place, could be sewn directly to the gown). It looks like it was hand-beaded to a backing before being put in place. Because it was up on a roped-off platform, I couldn't see it as clearly as I would have liked. The embellishment is round, with a round bead in the center surrounded by faceted teardrops. (Silly me forgot to count how many I could see.) The outer edge is made up of small round beads; there may be more filling in the spaces between the teardrops and the edge.
The brown fur draped around the right shoulder is actually two pieces; on the mannequin, they had one over the shoulder and one draped around the arm. The nap on the top “strap” goes over the shoulder to the back, and around. The bottom “strap” has the pile (?) facing the opposite way. Around the hemline, the pile is clockwise. The fur around the bodice ends at the left side seam, as already mentioned. It doesn't follow the back of the gown, but angles downward like the sash does in front.
Scarlet's barbecue gown from “Gone with the Wind” is the Bob Mackie reproduction. You can definitely tell it's a modern version because of the (ugly) large, white zipper in the back. In person, it's so frothy and girly, even with the ugly zipper. The skirt might be larger in circumference than the on-screen version, although I'm not positive about that. It's been a while since I last watched the movie.
Supposedly it was made for the Carol Burnett skit “Went with the Wind,” but none of the gowns she wears as Starlett looks like it.
The green velvets used are two different colors-olive green for the around the neckline & the bows at shoulders and bust, and emerald green for the belt, hat tie, and the ribbon trimming the flounce around the collar. The collar flounce is made up of the sheer dress fabric, ending in a band of lace with the emerald ribbon woven through it just above a ruffle that matches the background color of the main fabric (an ivory or ecru). The pattern of the repro fabric doesn't really match the original-the sprigs of flowers have blue in them and they aren't thick clusters. (The repro flowers are also more like round circles than actual flowers.)
The belt comes to a point on the center top edge, but the bottom edge is straight all around. In the front, it looks as if it is a separate piece from the rest of the gown, because you can see the waist seam. In back, however, it's obviously attached to the dress-the zipper runs through it. Looking past the zipper, the dress is obviously larger than the mannequin used to display the gown; they pinned it along the darts in back to fit it.
The hat ties are attached to a band of the same velvet that runs around the inside of the hat. Even with the generous bow, the ties are long enough to hang down past the waist of the gown.
My love for Rose's Flying Gown from “Titanic” is renewed by seeing it in person. I did manage to get a few sneaky photos of the left side of the gown (I was hidden from the one lone security camera I noticed). The color on screen is nothing in comparison to the actual fabrics. The underskirt (both layers), sash, sleeve cuffs, and collar are all royal purple (with blue undertones) satin. The kimono jacket is a royal blue velvet (no purple undertone).
The embroidery on the front panels of the kimono and on the back left corner of the overskirt is a lot less complex than I would have thought. (Something else I haven't seen in recent memory.) A rather stylized design of flowers, branches and leaves on the front panels, and what looked like an angular rose on the overskirt. I didn't get to sketch the flowers or study the overskirt design very closely because I almost got locked in. (Not that I would have minded at all. Although it would have been nice if the woman who turned the lights off didn't decide to wait for me to leave. I felt so rushed! And I could have sneaked in a few pictures...) The flowers were a pale blue, with navy centers, while the leaves and vines/branches were worked in a sapphire shade. The “rose” on the back was worked in all three blues.
Millie's red, black, and white (more like ivory, really) flapper gown from “Thoroughly Modern Millie” was on display. Very 1920's simplicity. The only shaping to the dress is in the form of side bust darts. The sleeves are very, very full, gathered into a tight cuff with three round, black shank buttons at the wrist. At the dropped waist and the bottom of the sleeves is a black & white checkerboard pattern three rows high. The squares, roughly 2” wide, are stitched together. At the bottom of the dress hang black “ribbons” the same width as the squares. They are sewn to the dress only at the top edge, free to swing around and show off the red under layer of the skirt when in motion.
The hat Millie wears with it is more of a wide headband than an actual hat. It's made of black and white fabric woven together in a checkerboard pattern to match the design on the dress. Short widths of the black weave in between two long bands of the white. They're held in place on the inside by black grosgrain ribbon.
They had the dress displayed with a sheer red scarf tossed around the shoulders, but in the movie it was worn with a giant red corsage.
The gown I know Maggie wants details of is one I didn't spend much time studying, having not seen the movie yet. The wedding gown from “Marie Antoinette” is absolutely stunning, so much so all I could do was stare instead of analyze. I can't decide if it is pure white, off-white, or cream. So much tone-on-tone, and the white wall behind didn't help very much. There is a narrow (shiny) stripe in the fabric, and the snaking trim down the center is pinked on the edges. Silver accents. I think the wrinkles on the bodice were due to being pinned to the mannequin and not a characteristic of the fabric. Not much of a chance to study details from any side other than the front, anyway. It happened to be at the center back of the platform containing the Gothic Tower gown and the three kimonos from “Memoirs of a Geisha” (another recent movie I have yet to see).
The hat for the racetrack gown from “My Fair Lady” is just gigantic, and covered in lace and ribbon and feathers. There's a lace mob cap that peeps out from underneath. The dress is another replica; the original disappeared sometime after a Hollywood costume exhibit at New York City's MoMA put together by Diana Vreeland. The lace has a large floral pattern couched all over in white. The bands of black & white don't meet in back.
Three (matching) halter gowns from “Dreamgirls” were on a smaller platform, arranged in a circle backs together. The newspaper article that was in the Star-Telegram said they were from the finale. The article also said they were gold; they're not. I'd describe the color as pewter or a gunmetal grey. Not a bright silver, but definitely a metallic something. The bodice fabric is unadorned so you can see the metallic threads catching the light, while the skirt is covered in sequins in a chevron pattern, starting at the empire waist. There are two colors of sequins used-that pewter color and a muted gold. Every one, maybe two, rows of the pewter sequins is a single row of gold. The collar and straps are studded with rhinestones.
The gown from “Raintree County” had an interesting bodice. It was a fitted bodice with bell sleeves, with two loops or ribbons of fabric hanging down from the front and looping around the sides to the back of the bodice. The skirt fabric, a sheer ivory with a tonal floral pattern, showed through in the openings. The bodice was probably a shell pink when originally made; it's taken on a brownish tint with age (as has the skirt).
The dress on display from “Walk the Line” is the one June Carter wears at the awards show, when she performs with the zither before introducing Johnny Cash. Sleeveless dress, wide belt, circle skirt with poinsettias all over it.
Barbara Streisand's showgirl gown from “Funny Lady” looked like it would have fit in perfectly at the Moulin Rouge. Red, purple, and black with lots of jet beaded trim.
Estella's strapless green dress is pretty, a light spring green trimmed with white ribbon. Pretty, but I didn't spend much time studying it.
I didn't spend much time studying the two dresses on display from “Persecution,” either. Both 1970s lounge wear to my eyes. One was leopard print, the other was cream with a rhinestone collar.
I also didn't spend much time studying the three kimonos from “Memoirs of a Geisha.” (And yet another movie on the list of recent costume movies I haven't watched.) They were quite pretty, but in front of or next to gowns I wanted to study more (those being the “Moulin Rouge” and “Marie Antoinette” gowns). One was Sayuri's, the other two belonged to Hatsumomo.
The exhibit also had a lot of design sketches from various movies. The two from “The Sound of Music” are of the Baroness' gowns. The one from “Thoroughly Modern Millie” is of Miss Dorothy's yellow lace party dress from the “Tapioca” dance scene. “The Dead” and “The Reivers” had some really pretty late Victorian & Edwardian gowns. One of the two sketches from “Splash” was of Madison in her mermaid form. Other movies illustrated: “Camelot;” “Paint Your Wagon;” “Hello Dolly;” “Bittersweet Love;” “The Man Who Fell to Earth;” “Being There;” “Broadcast News;” and “Barton Fink.”
Overall, I loved it. The gowns were so close, even the few marked off by a thin rope. I obeyed the “Do not touch!” rule to the letter, although there was no sign posted saying you couldn't stare at something inches away from your nose or fan it with paper to see how the fabric moves. More than once I wished I brought some colored pencils with me. Or a Pantone swatch book like Kay Dee does! Plus a ruler for gauging sizes and a tiny flashlight for highlighting seams. Next time a good costume exhibition comes through, I'll pack all of that. And see it more than just once on the very last day.