Marie Antoinette-Selfish for the Most Important Things

Clothing! Jewelry! Champagne! I don't know about you, but who wouldn't love that lifestyle!? Throughout her reign Marie Antoinette was known as the fashion icon of the 18th century and Marie Antoinette staring Kirsten Dunst shows how extravagant her life was. To bad that the French couldn't forgive her. The movie's Costume director was Milena Canonero and she had over 65 costumes made for the movie and that's just for Ms. Antoinette! Every costume is made with such elegance and simplicity, it's absolutely perfect! I believe that the costumes in this movie capture the youth and beauty that Marie Antoinette was known for and still held a sense of power and refinery. It's hard to choose one specific piece that's my favorite but if I had to choose just one...it's just not possible!! No wonder these costumes won an Oscar!!

**I found a site on Marie Antoinette and 18th Century Clothing that I fell in love with, it's called Antoinette's Closet and I loved it! You can also check out the Marie Antoinette article in Costumer's Guide.**

Antonement: Green with Extreme Envy

Although I've missed the second half of the movie I've seen enough of the clothing to pick out my obvious favorite; the emerald green dress worn by Keira Knightley designed by Jacqueline Durran. It's a very exquisite piece for the 1930's-1940's, it's very well done and very captivating. The jewelry made the dress feel complete, and those shoes are killer! According to an Entertainment Weekly Article: "Durran created a gown of featherweight silk satin, custom-dyed emerald. Since the Ian McEwan novel on which the film is based treats the frock as a character unto itself, partly responsible for igniting the couple's passion, Durran felt it was crucial that "instead of being constructed around Keira's body, the dress skimmed her [frame] and added to a feeling of semi-nakedness."" I totally agree; if it look like it was specially made for Keira, it probably would have lost its' appeal. The dress was very elegant and is its' own character. I definitely need to finish the movie and read the book for my own knowledgeable feel of the dress.

**For more information on the emerald dress check out Sunday Couture and Costumer's Guide; each one has a more detailed look into the structure and making of the dress.**

A Great & Terrible Beauty Indeed!

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to? This book is very interesting-the cover first drew me in and I loved the corset, so I decided to give it a shot. After that I couldn't put it down; it was so interesting and addicting that I was dying to know what would happen next. The plot is exciting, Libba Bray is a genius, slight tension between Kartik and Gemma is somewhat obvious and yet romantic. And just as a bonus, the movie is going to come out in 2010 but that's never soon enough! I'm reading the next book and can't wait to see what happens!

**For a quick summary of the book (because you're too lazy to read the book yourself) check out Wikipedia, AllReaders.com and LibbaBray.com.**

What makes a Cinderella? It's the dress! Duh!

One of my favorite costumes is the gown that Drew Barrymore wore to the masked ball in Ever After (the one they call "Breathe"). The craftsmanship is exquisite and flawless; Jenny Beavan did an excellent job on the detail of the sleeves and the bodice. The bodice is beaded with tiny pearls and seed beads, made of an antique gold lace and white muslin, and the teardrops on the bodice are actually seed beads and not rhinestones as everyone seems to believe. The sleeves are made of crinkled organza to give it the puff, beading with white iridescent rocaille beads, faceded silver beads, and a white mesh (the gold flowers are actually appliqued to it) and the pearl cuffs are border lined with a lace which may be the same lace used on the bodice. The underskirt is made of silk satin and is in a bias cut and hemmed with five rows of french knots. So much detail and time was put into this dress and the results were totally worth it to see it on the big screen.

**For a more detailed look at the dress you can go to: EverAfterCostumes.com (one of my favorite sites) and see if you can make a knock-off (I highly don't recommend it because a knock-off is never the same as the original)**

'Like I Give A Frock'

"Wonder when a baguette became a bag and not just a hunk of bread? (Fendi, 1998.) Or when it became acceptable to wear a tracksuit to the supermarket? (It didn't.) Fishnets at work? How to conceal the misfortune of the fat ankle (aka cankle)? Michi has all the answers. She's sharp and funny. (And maybe just a tiny bit opinionated) She's a shopping queen, weather-watcher, and quite possibly the best, most brutally honest advice-giver you'll ever meet. If you're wearing a tracksuit as you read this, run, don't walk to the checkout line-your outfit is designed for it. --- I've read this on my trip back from New York City and instantly feel in love with this, it was honest and it's a book that every fashionista should read, and keep it at the top of their reading list if they ever want an honest view on fashion.

Me o Me

Ever since Hollywood started making movies, costumes began to make the movies. As elaborate as Danielle's "Breathe" gown of Ever After to the Hindi costumes of Moulin Rogue. And when there are elaborate costumes, there are costume obsessors, and I'm among them. I'll research some of my favorite costumes and my favorite movies, and I'll comment on them as honestly as possible. Maybe I'll talk about the fashion influence or maybe the next book to movie, only way to find out is to sign in and watch.