WIP: Halloween
Oh Yay!, I can be as seasonally morbid and as Darkly Victorian as I want to...it's Halloween time.
I've been inspired by, among other things, the great facepaint"clockwork zombie" posted recently. Lovely... http://community.livejournal.com/steamfashion/1029351.html#cutid1
I've got a "zombie head" sculpture I started last year. I think it's time to "ressurrect" her (so to speak). She's going to be completed as a puppet, basically a paper mache cadaver torso. Hoping to be able to strike a balance between gore and dolly cute and to incorporate some steampunk/clockwork elements. perhaps give her translucent skin a slight metallic brassy tone, the ribcage lit and glowing softly from within, maybe some hinge, gear or ball joints to the skeleton, not strictly anatomy bone structure. Make her somewhere between skeleton, clockwork doll and frankenstien girl.
The puppet is going to be bunraku style, which means I'll be dressed in dark colours behind her--I figure I can pull together a ragtag shabby-chic "mourning" outfit with this and that costume bits that I already have, and then concentrate on crafting my companion zombie/cadaver/doll puppet.
Think of the character as a lunatic dollmaker/Steampunk Resurrectionist (bodysnatcher), purveyour of remnant revenants to the medical and mad scientist trade...
I got my recently e-bought gothy-Victorian hat in the mail yesterday; PRETTY!!!
it's a black hat from here: http://mspurdy.com/LittleGemsRidingHats.html But of course I'm going to customize it a bit further, addding some sort of steampunkish ornament to the feathers and bows, and adding a widow's veil that will completely cover my face. Also need to change the elastic hold strap (goes under the hair on the back of the head to keep the hat perched jauntily atop) from white to black elastic. Hrrumph--seems like this would have been a no brainer for the otherwise keen hatmaker. I bet hat pins and combs were the vintage solution.
I've got this great (but too ragged out to wear in its intended form) black lace skirt that I'm going to recycle into the veil. And I'm also going finally get around to altering the tuxedo/tailed frock coat I've had for years. Nip and tuck in the waist, take off the (too long and straight) sleeves and replace with leg o' mutton women's sleeves.
One last if-I-have-time accessory will be a "chatelaine", belt, or holster, for a gardening spade. I've seen some nifty "vampire hunter" costumes accessorized with staking tools, but what would a graverobber carry? Something to dig with, right? :)
Since I've been bold and babbling enough to post this decription, I bloody well better finish the project and then post pics, huh? I think I'm going to have to keep busy, busy, busy between now and Halloween, but it should be a lot of fun.
I've been inspired by, among other things, the great facepaint"clockwork zombie" posted recently. Lovely... http://community.livejournal.com/steamfashion/1029351.html#cutid1
I've got a "zombie head" sculpture I started last year. I think it's time to "ressurrect" her (so to speak). She's going to be completed as a puppet, basically a paper mache cadaver torso. Hoping to be able to strike a balance between gore and dolly cute and to incorporate some steampunk/clockwork elements. perhaps give her translucent skin a slight metallic brassy tone, the ribcage lit and glowing softly from within, maybe some hinge, gear or ball joints to the skeleton, not strictly anatomy bone structure. Make her somewhere between skeleton, clockwork doll and frankenstien girl.
The puppet is going to be bunraku style, which means I'll be dressed in dark colours behind her--I figure I can pull together a ragtag shabby-chic "mourning" outfit with this and that costume bits that I already have, and then concentrate on crafting my companion zombie/cadaver/doll puppet.
Think of the character as a lunatic dollmaker/Steampunk Resurrectionist (bodysnatcher), purveyour of remnant revenants to the medical and mad scientist trade...
I got my recently e-bought gothy-Victorian hat in the mail yesterday; PRETTY!!!
it's a black hat from here: http://mspurdy.com/LittleGemsRidingHats.html But of course I'm going to customize it a bit further, addding some sort of steampunkish ornament to the feathers and bows, and adding a widow's veil that will completely cover my face. Also need to change the elastic hold strap (goes under the hair on the back of the head to keep the hat perched jauntily atop) from white to black elastic. Hrrumph--seems like this would have been a no brainer for the otherwise keen hatmaker. I bet hat pins and combs were the vintage solution.
I've got this great (but too ragged out to wear in its intended form) black lace skirt that I'm going to recycle into the veil. And I'm also going finally get around to altering the tuxedo/tailed frock coat I've had for years. Nip and tuck in the waist, take off the (too long and straight) sleeves and replace with leg o' mutton women's sleeves.
One last if-I-have-time accessory will be a "chatelaine", belt, or holster, for a gardening spade. I've seen some nifty "vampire hunter" costumes accessorized with staking tools, but what would a graverobber carry? Something to dig with, right? :)
Since I've been bold and babbling enough to post this decription, I bloody well better finish the project and then post pics, huh? I think I'm going to have to keep busy, busy, busy between now and Halloween, but it should be a lot of fun.