Taylor's Costume Critique: Captain America (The first film)

The vast majority of us are familiar with the Marvel world; it has been all too popular. Superheroes are all the rage, and right now they’re increasing in popularity, seeing as how they’re coming out with Ant Man and The Black Panther. 

After science

I would like to touch on one of the films that came out a while ago: Captain America. Most people have a good appreciation for Captain America the man, with his good heart, and Dorito-like shoulder-to-waist ratio, but I feel as though not much thought is put into how the character of Captain America is developed. I’m sure that Chris Evans goes quite a ways with his great physique and I-just-want-to-cuddle-with-you face, but let’s go ahead and give the costume designer some credit, shall we?

(1) Anna Biedrzyca-Sheppard (that’s a mouthful) designed the costumes for Captain America: The First Avenger. 

Before science

Captain America: The man with a plan

(2) As I was re-watching this movie (of course I’ve seen it multiple times) I started looking at time period and style. The vast majority of this movie is set during World War II, and most people don’t know this, but only the Nazi’s at that time had polyester fabric. The United States wore cotton and that’s about it. Background story: The reason that the Nazi’s wore polyester was because during WWII the supply of cotton went downward and they couldn’t get it imported, really. They, therefore, ended up being quite innovative and thought “hey, let’s spin this plastic stuff and make clothing" and they did, except they would have said, “wir drehen dieses Kunststoffmaterial und machen Kleidung” because that’s how the Germany people do. A really cool small detail that I noticed in the movie was that only the Nazi’s wore polyester, everyone else wore cotton-looking crap. You can tell it’s more cottony by the way it fits, or maybe they just sewed it that way. Anyway, a small detail that I really appreciated. 

Agent Carter

(3) Something that I also loved was the WWII period as a whole as far as fashion goes. I love pin-up style hair and I love the whole red-lipstick shebang. My favorite costume would have to be Agent Carter. She looks Amazing ALL OF THE FREAKING TIME. Even when she’s angry, she looks good. I feel as tough Biedrzyca-Sheppard made sure that she looked good the whole time, because she’s the dame but whatever, her ability to always look good is a tad inspiring.

High waters, haha

Guh, he's amazing.

Another one of my favorite costumes would have to be the after shot of Captain America when science happened. It’s not because he’s shirtless and perfect (I’m lying) but I also noticed that he was in high waters when he was running after that one nazi guy who killed the scientist guy. I feel as though they wouldn’t have done that because he would have looked like a dork, but they totally did. It was the best. My friends and I all noticed it.

Wrap-up

Winter wrap up winter wrap up! let's finish our holiday cheer. Winter wrap up winter wrap-up! (singing pony song that oddly fits)

It seems like the weird pleather i used to create my belt always has meltdowns before an important event. Before my judging at the con, the straps were peeling from the main part because i learned that pleather and any type of glue do not go well together. So i sewed the straps together at the con, but this time before the fashion show, the velcro that held the bags popped off from the pleather! thank heavens for alpha and having safety pins to hold it together long enough for me to walk on the runway. Another trouble I had at the con and the fashion show was the ears staying in place. I loved m hat turned out: so long as the ears remained in place. I probably should have used a stiffer interfacing, but this one is bendable which is its strength (for packing and fold the ears over) and it's weakness. Maybe if i stitched it down in a few more places it will hold his position?

(the beautiful before picture before I had to pack it for the con)

I had too many challenges to count! Such as finding out I needed a certain piece or decal but not having a car or a fabric store nearby... Thank heavens for the sewing center and costume shop though! they were able to have what i needed to get through those small technicalities. I also had troubles with my sleeves at the beginning. I had to redo them several times before I was satisfied by the results. I had lots of challenges, but I was able to get through them rather quickly after some thought or a quick break to cool off.

The judges asked me what I was most proud of or my favorite part about my costume. I shall respond with what I said then: all of it. This was a costume I wanted to create for a really long time back when I first started sewing. I didn't feel ready for it , but when I seriously started thinking about it AND competing in it, I, for the most part, felt ready for the challenge. What boggles my mind is the fact I was able to create it in just 3 months. that doesn't seem long enough to create everything I did and all the time I took to hand-stitch it all together! Miracles do happen. Seeing it come together piece by piece, detail by detail, is the thing I'm proud of most. Seeing it all come together and see it win a competition, how could I not be proud of it all?!?

WRAP UPPPPPP

So, actually a good deal ended up being different than my original design. The dress more closely reflects the classic Cinderella ball gown than the new design. However, I am extremely happy with how this turned. out. So the sleeves do not actually include the puff that I originally planned that would match the material of the skirt. I am a little disappointed because i thought that it would help to tie the outfit together and create more cohesiveness, but it is not a major issue. In the time limits I had it was simply not possible. I also planned to use a tutorial I found on Pinterest to recreate this hairstyle:
:
But again, time constraints were an issue. It just so happened that I had put my hair in a nice bun that morning, with a pretty clip. It worked well to channel the concept of the  older Cinderella look, but I felt like the clip I had added a twist that was reflective of the newer style dress. In all, the look served as more of a combination of the two different Cinderella gowns. I felt like my outfit brought them together harmoniously. I (inadvertently) held true to the Cinderella theme by showing up rather late. However, just like for Cinderella, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. I got a bit of attention for it (I am just going to imagine it was all positive), but what really pleased me about it was that people who didn't know what my costume was supposed to be (because I hadn't presented it yet) came up to me and told me that I looked like Cinderella--before I even had my sparkly shoes with me! To me this was just a confirmation that I had done a good job and succeeded in portraying Cinderella. This was basically the most exciting part of the night. Also, getting to wear those sparkly shoes put me over the moon. Almost literally... I towered over just about everyone!

I am extremely happy with my project overall. I feel like I was able to apply a lot of what I learned this semester: learning to work under a tight time frame, working with what supplies, patterns, etc, that I had available, learning to have less than planned, but still managing to be successful. Also,  I improved as a seamstress. Any project helps, but this one was particularly challenging I had I to use and relearn skills that I did not know, or had forgotten. Overall, this was a screaming success!!!1

Project Post #2

The project was off to a promising start when I picked out the fabrics. I am immensely satisfied with the fabrics that I chose. I think the colors are perfect, exactly what I was looking for. I used a cotton fabric for the bodice. It did not stretch and was thick enough that I did not need to add another fabric underneath to prevent it from being see through. The material I am using for the skirt I am also intending to use as the puff for around the shoulders. This is actually made up of two fabrics. The first is a purple/lavender lining fabric. I chose purple/lavender because in the live-action version of the movie, the dress shows pieces or hints purple and the 'multicoloredness' creates a interesting effect. Over the lining fabric I put a blue stretchy netting. The two colors blended together created the effect I was looking for. It appeared to be a light-blue, but at the same time gave a hint of purple. Perfect! The design for my dress is a knee-length skirt, but both the fabrics are floor length. To fix this and add to the flowyness of the ensemble I folded the lining fabric in half , so that it was doubled up. It ended up making it the perfect length. For the blue over-fabric I trimmed it and instead of hemming it I attached it to the inner layer of the purple skirt. This created a bubble effect that I rather liked, so it stuck

I am off to a good start with pattern adjusting. With a pattern I borrowed and traced from Sister Dooley, I will have a wide-neck effect, almost boatneck style, on the dress. It is not quite off-the-shoulder, like the original dress, but that is not what I want. Personally, it just wouldn't feel modest enough for me, and as it is is already stretching how much skin I'd be comfortable showing around my shoulders, as the designer I say it is good enough for me. I have also adjusted the pattern to create a sweetheart neckline rather than straight across, how the pattern originally was. Also, I lengthened the waistline so that it would come down to the smallest point of my waist, instead of the middle of my ribcage, how the pattern originally called for. Overall, a lot of adjustment went into creating this bodice, but the end result is going to be worth it! So far, I have most of the pieces, I just have to put them all together now!! Yay for sewing machines!!!

Ummm....so to add more pictures, but still keep with the overall concept of costuming, here are some pictures that I took last summer when I went to visit Little India in LA!

Look at all the sparkles and pretty detailing!! I fell in love that day <3 :D

Project Post #1

A few weeks ago I saw the live action movie of Cinderella, I was absolutely enchanted by it! I felt like it upheld the integrity of the classic animated movie, while adding to it interesting and meaningful details that provide background and answer many of the questions the original movie raised.



The main character, Cinderella, was always my favorite as a child. I remember the main theme that being kind and good even when it is hard, and remaining happy despite the circumstances, were particularly impactful to me as a child. The newer movie presents these ideas just as strongly as the old one.




I want to costume this character mostly because I admire her and the ideals she represents, and also because she wears a freaking fantastically beautiful dress, and I also have a pair of sparkly heels that I've been dying to have an excuse to wear. In the newer movie, Cinderella's ballgown gets a bit of a remake. I hope to be able to incorporate some of that into my design.

My design for this costume is fairly basic. To try to recreate the swishy, twirly movement of the gown I will probably make a gathered skirt, and attach to it a princess line bodice. With the bodice I will try to add to it a slight swoop in the front of the bodice, an element found in both the animated and live action versions of the dress. Also, the animated dress has a sweeetheart neckline, which recreating would probably be extremely do-able. Underneath the tulle draping in the live-action version there is probably a sweetheart neckline, also. The live action version features a lightweight drape of fabric around the shoulders that seems to create an airy and floaty feel to the dress. While this looks challenging to try to recreate, I think if I could accomplish it it would enhance the look of the dress tremendously.

perhaps something like this, but with more coverage on the shoulders.



Overall, the design of the dress should look something like this:


What I need to accomplish this is:
*the materials are listed above
*I will need to have or make or adjust a pattern to fit my concept for the design
*Time will be a huge barrier for this project, as I already find it difficult to juggle homework, work, and final projects, but with perseverance I feel like I can achieve this.

Lauren Hadley, Final, Wrap Up

The biggest challenge I have faced with the project was a lack of time. I should have prioritized my time more effectively so I wouldn't have been so rushed. As my time to finish the project was coming to an end, I feel I didn't but as much effort into the finished product as I should have. It still looked wonderful, but if you look closely, you could see that my seam lines aren't perfectly straight.

I also wish the color of the thread was consistent throughout the garment. For the button holes I used brown thread and to attach the buttons to the garment I used black thread.  If I were to do this project again, I would use the same color thread throughout the whole garment.  I should have been more patient and take my time.

I did make one last minute adjustment. Initially, I planned on making a shirt in size XL but because we got the wrong sized pattern, I had to stick with large. As my husband was cutting out the fabric, he feared the shirt wouldn't be long enough and he lengthened the front chest of the shirt. Not thinking, he didn't lengthen the front band (where the button go) also. This resulted in a long shirt but short front band. I had to later hem the shirt to be equal in length.

Despite the bumps in the road and lack of time, I was very satisfied with the finished product. There are many aspects of the garment that I am most proud of because of the fact that it was my first ever sewing project. At first, I was skeptical with the Western touch the shirt had, but I like the detail and

uniqueness the yokes bring to the shirt. I also was proud of how the collar turned out. The thought of making a collar was very intimidating to me, but it turned out awesome. My husband’s favorite part of the shirt is the rough edges along the pocket, which I did not do intentionally. However, it also adds to the uniqueness of the shirt.

Lauren Hadley, Costume Critique

I was in middle school when Mean Girls first aired in 2004. I remember the day perfectly. I went to the opening night in the theatre and saw it with my best friend at the time, Bella. I may be over exaggerating a little, but we fell in love with the movie. The moment we left the theatre, we decided to wear pink EVERY Wednesday. We were crazy!

The costume designer for Mean Girls was Mary Jane Fort. She has also worked on other productions such as the Scary Movies, and Bring It On. Last year marked ten years since the movie came out and Nylon Magazine wanted to celebrate by interviewing Fort. They asked how much research she did before she started designing the wardrobe for the characters and she said, "We read millions of teen magazines and looked through millions of high school yearbooks from all over the country. But real schools are not quite as glossy, and we wanted a little more gloss just given the subject matter of the group." 

I think that Fort did a good job at creating looks which matched the timing of the production which took place in the early 2000s. I can recall seeing similar looks in my school at the time. There were about three major differences I noticed in costume between characters, Cady (Pre-Plastic), the Plastics, and Janice.

Before Cady became a Plastic, her style was very relaxed and casual. It was obvious that looks were not important to her. Although, she still looked very natural and beautiful. This all makes sense because she moved to her new school from Africa. Even her hair was very casual and seen always in a ponytail. She wore plaids, solid colors and a majority of her skin was covered up. When she joined the Plastics, everything changed; from her personality to her style. She now wore much brighter, tighter clothing. Suddenly she had Barbie doll legs and cleavage. Looks were not at the top of her priority list. I really liked how Cady dressed before she became a plastic. I like the natural, laid back look she had. It seemed very comfortable unlike those mini-skirts and high heels she began to wear.


Janice, Cady’s new best friend had a very unique look also. Some would describe her style as punk, or emo. Through her style, it was obvious she didn’t care about what she looked like or what people thought of her. She wore a lot of dark colors such as blacks and army green. Her clothes were baggy and loose which didn’t show off her body shape. She was an individual and she made that known through her wardrobe. Even on her prom night, she wore something very unique and something not many girls would think of wearing, a Barney-purple tuxedo. Although I would not ever wear what Janice wore, I was inspired by her individualism and lack of care.