Harajuku fashions for historical costumers

When I first heard about the costume guild's upcoming Tokyo Pop event, my first thought was: "sounds like fun, but what on earth would I wear!?!"  Since I mostly focus on historical costumes and have no interest in anime, I was worried that this event might not hold any interest for me costume-wise.  But then I started looking into Harajuku street fashions, and I was amazed by how many diverse and historically influenced styles there are to choose from.  I'll share some of the info that I've gathered in my search this past month, and maybe it will give some of you other folks who are new to this cultural phenomenon a place to start as well.  Here is a quick rundown of some of the major styles that might appeal to those of us who are beyond our teenage years and looking for something more historical than anime for inspiration:

Visual Kei - a style inspired by Japanese rock musicians that is characterized by the use of elaborate costumes, make-up, hairstyles and costumes. The look often has a very androgynous feel.  Think 80's glam rock, but even more theatrical. Most of the rock bands are made of guys who look like girls, but the Harajuku visual kei style is mostly made up of girls dressing up like their favorite rock guy (who dresses like a girl).  Got it?  ;)  A lot of the visual kei looks are very modern punk or goth looking with a hard edge, but others are more "pretty" and historically inspired.  The Japanese visual kei band Versaille has some especially fun looks ranging from 18th c. through Victorian.

Gothic Lolita (also GothLoli) - this style is characterized by lots of Victorian-inspired black and white clothing, short flared skirts, anything with ruffles or lace, elaborate hats, veils, and bonnets, oversized handbags, parasols, stockings, and platform shoes.  The wearers often try to invoke the "cute" looks of children or porcelain dolls... but with a gothic edge to it.  Victorian blouses, corsets, and accessories fit in well with this style.

Classic Lolita - This style is a more mature and less "cute" version of the loli look.  The silhouette is similar, but the dresses can be more A-lined or princess cut, and there aren't nearly as many ruffles or frills.  This style also uses more variety in colors and some floral patterns, and the accessories aren't as costumey.  A lot of 50's looks would work really well for this style.

Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA) - Again, a more mature subset of the gothic lolita style with an emphasis on historically-inspired elegance.  Colors are still predominantly black and white, but skirts are often tea or floor length and slimmer, and long tailored jackets are common.  The style is very androgynous at times, and you often see EGA outfits that make use cravats, tophats, or walking sticks, but corsets and traditional Victorian womenswear is common as well.   This style has a lot of similarities to the gothic fashions that we have seen in the US for decades now.

Pirate Lolita (PirateLoli) - Another loli subset that combines eye-patches, tricorns, frock coats, and other pirate garb with the short, flared loli skirts.  Arrrr... so piratey, and cute!  If you've ever made a pirate costume, you probably already have some pieces that would work well for this one.

Dolly Kei - This style uses a lot of vintage garments, extreme layering, and Eastern European or gypsy styles to create an rich and eccentric combination.  Pretty much anything goes with this look!  It is very bohemian-looking.  I could see a lot of Renaissance faire garb working well with this style - especially when combined with other thrift shop or vintage pieces.  

Mori Girls - This style is supposed to look like the wearer would be at home in an enchanted forest.  Colors are light and neutral, and the clothing is layered and loose fitting.  Victorian or Edwardian petticoats or camisoles, 1910's lingerie dresses, neutral colored shawls, vintage fur stoles, and earthy 70's clothing all could be used as staples of a good mori girl outfit.

I hope that gives you historical costumers out there a few more ideas to get you inspired for our Tokyo Pop event.  Once you know the names of the styles, it is easy to look for more pictures and webpages dedicated to these fashions on Google, Flickr, Tumblr, LiveJournal, or elsewhere.  The hardest part for me was just knowing what to look for in the first place!

I have tried to focus my search on styles that have a historical influence and that would be more appropriate for adults, but there are TONS of other Harajuku styles that are more modern and youthful.  The main thing that I have learned about Harajuku fashions is that creativity and personal style is treasured, and there are no hard rules for anything.  If you don't like any of these styles, create your own!  Who knows, you might start the next Harajuku fashion trend!

Easy Anime Costuming

In honor of the upcoming All-Con and Tokyo Pop events this spring, we give you a guest post by Coleen Swafford on easy anime costuming:

My daughter loves anime and anime costumes.  I have made 3 so far and thought I would share what I have learned.  Since I don’t watch as much anime as she does, I rely on pictures she supplies and any additional details that she feels are relevant. Obviously, the important thing is to come up with something that is easily identifiable as the character. Materials and methods are of less importance.

All three of the characters she requested are from Naruto. The first costume was to be Sasuke. She gave me these pictures. Well, this outfit was pretty easy. I made knee length baggy white shorts. For the top, I went through my patterns until I found a blouse with a stand up type collar, then over exaggerated it. I made the top large and pull on. Then I cut out the fan shape and appliquéd it on the back. The arm bands were white cotton with elastic in the blue end pieces. We polished it off with a cheap wig found on ebay and a headband we found there as well. Footwear was our biggest problem. They don’t sell toeless ninja boots at Target. But we did find knee hi toeless socks there and paired them with a pair of black slippers.

  

The second character was Sakura. For this outfit, I decided to see if I could find part of this at thrift shops. A trip to Goodwill netted me a short pink skirt and a red sleeveless tank. I opened the side seams on the skirt and made small straps with fake buckles on each side. A pair of bike shorts worked well under the skirt. Since it wasn’t necessary to have the top unzip, I bought a long white zipper and sewed it on the outside. I could have bought soccer pads for her elbows but instead made them from old sock tops. Some black gloves, the Saskue footwear, and another cheap Ebay wig and I was done.

The third character was TenTen. I decided to make this one from scratch. I found a pants pattern that had cut down pockets. I made the pants out of burgundy cotton. I used white cotton for the inside of the pockets and made the lines with rows of stitching. Then attached a grey strip of fabric over them. I finished the legs of the pants by blousing them mid calf.  I’ll admit the jacket didn’t come out exactly as I wanted. I probably could have found a store pattern for this but instead used a Chinese jacket I found at Goodwill. The jacket was too small and the wrong color, so I took it apart and used it to make larger pattern pieces. I didn’t get the neckline totally right but it was enough that anime enthusiast recognized exactly who she was at Anime Fest.

OMG That Dress!

I'm still new to the whole Tumblr thing, but I stumbled across an amazing Tumblr blog this weekend: OMG That Dress!  OMG is right!  I've wasted hours at this site already.  What wonderful eye candy!

The other Tumblr site that I've been enjoying for awhile now is Edwardian Era.  Have y'all found any other good ones?  Or cool costume-related blogs in general?

Downton Abbey

If you haven't found this already, you might want to check out the new online episodes of Downton Abbey. It's packed full of wonderful Edwardian costumes, and the story is really interesting too!  It reminds me a lot of the reality series Manor House, which I loved as well.  I just watched that series this past summer by checking the DVD's out from the Dallas Public Library.

Although I adore the clothing in both of these, it sure does make me grateful that I'm not an Edwardian!

Georgian Picnic costumes on the cheap

On Nov. 13, the DFW Costumers Guild is hosting a Georgian Picnic at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens.  This is the second year for this event.  We decided to make it an annual event after we had so much fun basking in the fall gardens last year.

The costume turnout was of a wide variety of 18th Century.  Some people came to the event in Marie Antoinette inspired frocks and some came in more American styled clothing.  And then some came in later 18th Century fashions more of the Jane Austen bent.  Everyone looked Fantastic!

As always, we hope that as many people who are interested in the period will come to our picnic, but sometimes people worry about being "Period Correct."  Don't let that worry you.  For one, costumes are encouraged at all of our events, but not required.  And in addition, 18th century garments can be just about the simplest costumes to make if you know how to cheat.

Exhibit One - the Chemise Dress (Chemise A La Riene):

Marie Antoinette, the queen herself, in a Chemise Dress

Also Marie Antoinette in a simpler version of the Chemise Dress

Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, Marie Antoinette's portrait artist, in a different kind of chemise dress.

Izabela Lubomirska, a Polish noblewoman in a lovely Chemise Dress

Madame DuBarry in a higher necked version of the Chemise Dress

Madame Seriziat in another Chemise Dress without much lace, but with a fichu.

Reconstructing History makes a pattern for a Chemise Dress, which I believe also includes a pattern for a fichu.  That pattern should be pretty period accurate.  However, if you already have a white chemise for your Renaissance Faire garb, you can save that $30 for the Reconstructing History pattern.  All you need to is find a nice wide ribbon to tie at your waist, some ribbons to tie the arms, and then a small amount of muslin to make a fichu.  You could also add lace to the neckline and wrists of your chemise if you are willing to take that particular chemise out of your Ren Faire Garb closet and permanently transition it to 18th century.

Exhibit Two - Empire Waisted Dress:

Period correct Regency dress includes a light under dress, a pair of stays, and then the dress.  However, if you get dark enough material for the dress, you can skip the under dress, and frankly, the Regency stays were designed to do Exactly what our modern bras do - lift and separate - so you can skip the stays and just wear a good bra if you don't have the time or inclination to make all of the correct underwear.

Here's a photo of us at this year's Regency Tea.  One of us in that picture may or may not have skipped the period underpinnings.  But you can't tell can you?

For those distiguished gentelmen who will be joining us:  Slim fitted slacks, top hat (stovepipe Victorian is close to the same look in regency), altered vest to be straight across at top of pants, and I purchased the Rocking Horse Farm 1790-1820 Tail Coat pattern that took me just a few days to put together (pictured above).  My other thought was to alter a tail coat from the thrift store.  My next step is to make shoe covers that look like tall riding boots (made with faux leather from joanns). 

And again please don't worry about being "period correct"...notice my HOT PINK skirt from last year lol:

Please feel free to post any questions or suggestions to yahoo groups message board :)



Looking forward to seeing everyone!!!

From students to Pros

On Oct 7th I had the great fortune of speaking to a class of Theatrical Costuming students from Plano West High School.  And I really do mean great fortune because my speaking was the result of meeting a family member who volunteers with the class and we may never have connected if another, closer, family member hadn't mentioned she should talk to me about costuming.  Funny world isn't it?

The ladies in the Theatrical Costuming class are true beginners.  They've been set on a path of sewing napkins and aprons.  Honestly, I can't think of a better first project than those.  I think I started on a gathered doll apron myself in my Theatrical Costuming class in college.  Learning to handle those straight lines is one of those things I still mess up on occasion, but when I really need to focus, I transport myself right back into that workroom in Commerce, TX and keep an eye on the marker on the sewing plate.  It's like I'm in 1999 again.

The main purpose for my talk with the class was to discuss costuming in general as well as to discuss costuming outside of High School.  These students are just starting, but some of them are already eager to know if they could still enjoy the trade once they graduated.  I was happy to inform them that there are many opportunities to keep using the craft if you want to.  And some of those opportunities will even put some money in their pockets.

Many costumers will work to produce costumes on commission.  DFWCG founder Traci Baker does just that. You can see her creations on her website as well as on the bodies of many folks all over the country.  Other costumers choose to teach.  I lecture at local conventions.  Jennifer Thompson, our  guild president, blogs and has written articles for well known online costuming publications.  And some costumers in the DFW area enjoy the extra outlet of working their craft in the theatre and film arenas.

To get started with taking commissions, you should get examples of your work out in the world and seen by any means possible.  Build a website and join networks.  Make friends at conventions and events where people wear costumes.  Pass your business card out to Haunted Houses and Renaissance Faires.

To get involved in teaching and writing articles, start a blog and make friends with people who run conventions or host publications.  Submit an article.  See what happens.  Many costume groups will be delighted to have a new voice offer to teach something.  Conventions are great places to begin teaching and so are local recreation organizations.

In both theatre and film, the best way to start out is to volunteer your services for free to llow or no-budget productions.  I am not personally familiar with the process in theatre, but in film, the idea is to get on set doing Anything.  Even just as a PA hauling equipment.  By just doing your job and having a great attitude, you will be asked to join future productions.  Eventually, you will have the chance to shine as a costumer.  And just as in any profession, you will have the opportunity to advance in the ranks and maybe even get paid for your work.  Once you start getting offered paid gigs, then you can really get serious about applying for big jobs.

In preparing for this talk with the Theatrical Costuming class, I spoke to a fellow costumer who has made that next step from hobbyist to film professional.  I met Jennifer Dryden through mutual friends and conventions.  She has a long list of theatre and film work attached to her name that she worked on for little to no pay.  A few years ago she decided to make the jump and try to go pro.  She is slowly making her way to bigger productions with each job.  Here was her advice on getting your foot in the door:

• Find out about the state film office if there is one and look at their ‘hotline’ for jobs every day and send a letter and resume to every production that shows up on said hotline
• Join the local ‘production partnership’ if there is one.
• Contact the local chapter of IATSE and ask what has to happen for you to join.
• Find out if there is a local film production resource guide, get your hands on a copy and cold email the folks in the department you want to work in.
• If offered a job, don’t say NO. If it is at all possible, take it.
• Network, Network, Network. Join Facebook (and keep it professional), LinkedIn, and any other local message board or website that promotes film production in your region. 

You'll find links to all the resources you need on the following pages:

http://www.austinfilm.org/for_filmmakers/filmmaker-resources

http://www.dallasfilmcommission.com/

http://www.shortfilmtexas.com/

I have to say it was pretty wonderful meeting these new faces just as they are getting started.  I hope that I get to see the progress of these new costumers and that they bring great things to DFW area costuming.

Antique Elegance Show September 18th!!!

                                    

Just a few weeks away!!!  We hope that you can join us for the next Antique Elegance Show that will be held the weekend of September 18th, 2010.  The Guild will be meeting for the Tea Tasting that will take place on Saturday the 18th at 1:00PM.  We suggest arriving around 12:30PM to get a seat at our table(s).  I'm really excited to see all the new goodies (or should I say "old" goodies) from the antique vendors!. 

Costuming is of course optional, though if you do choose to get quirky and fabulous.... Regency through 20th century vintage costumes are encouraged. 

Cost: $5 for admission on each day (pay when you walk in)


Location: Richardson Civic Center (see the official webpage for directions)

Side note from the author::: I still can't decide what to wear to this event!! I had so much fun at the Steampunk Social I may go a little victorian steampunk :) ....something with a nice victorian bustle anyways :)