Costume Critique 3

I got to watch the movie South Pacific this past weekend. The costume designer was Dorthy Jeakins. The movie was hard to understand in terms of why they would do all these crazy color changes during the songs they'd sing. The costumes were fun, they were WWII era. The sailors outifts caught my attention because they had altered their daily wear so they wouldn't over heat! It was very related able!
My favorite costume was Stew Pots. I never would have thought to put a big guy like him in a crop top with his name written on it. I have no idea why they did it but it was very comical. It was nice that they kept the white and blue theme of the navy uniform in more subtle ways.
I really liked how they distinguished the main characters by giving them distinct accessories that would help you remember oh that's the one guy and obviously stew pot. The other major character that I felt stood out was Lt. Cable he came in a very well pressed uniform. He was an officer after all! The man in the first image to the left with the white bracelet and the necklace was very unique they used his love of earthly possessions to really make him stand out. I mean how man men in the navy do you know where necklaces and bracelets? It was really funny getting to know his character as Luther Billis. He was obssesed with going to the island Bali Ha'i where there were more bracelets made of boars tusks and necklaces. I could not make sense of very much because it was very very slow paced but this is my opinion that they did a great job of making the costumes fit the personalities written for the characters the actors represented.
I

Lab Journal #2 - Yoshimi

This week, I worked on making a cod piece for Emilia and tracing an usher's vest.
Searching for pictures of a codpiece was very interesting because I had never heard of it. So far, I finished cutting the fabric and to serge the main part of codpiece. I could not get to sew the ribbon part, so I will continue working on completing them.
To be very honest, I was very happy to find a pair of red nickers so I do not need to sew one. hehe

Tracing an usher's vest, I think, went well. I first forgot to have space for drawing a cutting line on the edge, so I had to re-do the work on the other side of the paper. On the pattern, I put

"User vest
 Front
 Small
 Cut 2
 Yoshi & Sis Dooley"

I also drew an arrow to indicate a grain.

Costume Critique #3 / Psycho-pass

I watched Psycho-pass, a Japanese cartoon. The story is located in Tokyo, Japan, a hundred years from now. The form of the government in Japan installed the Sibyl System, which scans people's psychopath level so the society can avoid having criminal action by isolating those who have high psychopath level. The main character is a recently hired police woman, and she works hard to solve criminal situations.
Stuff and casting information does not declare who did costume designing for this show. But, it declares that character designing is done by Kyoji Asano, so, I assume that Kyoji also designed costume for each character.
What people wore in the show was very similar to what we usually wear, and I often forgot that the story is about a hundred years future, which confused me sometimes. At the same time, it was very effective to create very strong link between our society now and the society in the story; the link helped me to take problems I found in the story as real (or as something that can really happen in the future). So, I basically liked the costuming. One thing that I could not really accept is their shoes because their shoes always look to be too fancy to chase a criminal.

Lab Hours 2

So this past week I got to start working on one of the headpieces for Emelia. She has this beautiful pink and gold gown that I was also able to find a gold shimmery see through fabric that helped inspire me into the colors to use for her headpiece. I started off with a head band but got frustrated with just that and the fabric. Ingrid suggested I try using the party cone hats to prop it up into shape. Out came the choppers and away I went! I found the hot glue gun and started getting excited. I didn't get to finish it all the way during the first  chunk but its started off looking like this:            

Side view

Side View                               Front View

The finished product felt so good!! It took so long but was well worth it. I found some pearls to embellish and line to add the more pinky up look. Especially since she is one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. The secondary decoration i found came from the jewelry closet and it had been glued to a satin collar that I took apart and glued to the rest of the headpiece. It coordinated enough to my linking with her pink and gold gown. It was so nice to see the change that the first picture shows all the way to the end result. It was such a relief and amazing that I was able with lots of helpful insight from Sis Dooley and Ingrid. It was amazing how this class has already changed my perspective on what I can and cannot do. Ingrid told me that its all just problem solving. Once I looked at it that way I was able to breeze through more relaxed.

Lab Hours 1

  I forgot that I had worked on the earlier costumes. My first one was with Anne. For hers we went up to the closet and fiddled around with some dress ideas. We checked through what felt like every dress until we found something that fit her!! She is going to be wearing a black dress with almost a creamy gold design for the accents on the dress.
  We also found this attachable secondary skirt that added volume and puffiness. Then there was this green ruffle type thing it was really interesting that we played around from having it worn on top of the overskirt or under the overskirt. The overskirt is black and i felt the green ruffle thing looked better under the black overskirt it blended better but still kept a flair of color. It was cool to see how the gown came together and when we added the petticoat it was perfect. It was hard to try and picture what gown to use and the colors after actually seeing anne and running into the size problems.    
   However it helped keep me on my toes thinking about what would create the look of a wealthy country wife. That day we also had Armin and Heminge come in. They were very entertaining and cooperative! They are pictured first in their gowns for the rehearsal that takes place during the play! Anne is seen below and the bottom image is our own Robert Cecil. I didn't feel he was tied together until we added his medallion as an official of her Majesty the Queen of England.

Lab Journal #1 Yoshimi

First of all........I forgot to take a picture!
Last week, I helped Ingrid to find costume for Cecil after class on Tuesday, and Tom on Thursday.
For Cecil, we found a black apron that becomes like a skirt. While Ingrid was trying to make the apron look pufier, I went up to the storage to find something that can cover his back so we can hide strings.
When I went to the storage yesterday, I found a grey jacket that might match Cecil's black apron. Also, I found a beautiful red nickers. I cannot think of any costume that might go with it, but I kinda want to use it because it is so bright and beautiful.
In the storage, I pulled out a box of dance wear from the never land, and left it on the floor to be sorted becasue it over flowed.

Costume Critique #2 -- the Maze Runner

I watched the Maze Runner this weekend. The story begun when a boy named Thomas was sent to a small village, where about 30 boys are living together. At first, Thomas remembers nothing about him, just like the other boys are. They are allowed to remember only their name but nothing else. The village is surrounded by a hube maze. Not understanding much about their situation, boys have organized themselves while they look for a way to solve the maze to get out from the village.
Costume designing was done by Christine Bieselin Clark and Simonetta Mariano. Christine also did costume designing on Disney's Tron: Legacy in 2010. Simonetta Mariano often does costuming on TV shows; her first experience as a costume designer was for The Best Bad Thing in 1997.

I liked how the costumes were designed. It matched with the sorrounding environment, which is isolated mam-made wilderness like a camping locations. Their attire was not too new, which easily represent that they live with nature, where they need to work with mud and trees without having access to laundry machine (so they must wash everyting with hands).
What I liked the most about the costume in this movie is the combination of these two characters. The girl is Teresa, the last one who was sent to the village after Thomas. Thomas and Teresa are special among the all kids because, even though they remembers nothins at the beginning, they see dream about their past when they sleep at night. The color and the style of their shirts are very similar, and it gave me an impression that they must be thea key personnels in the story. Those to were found to be the smartest among the kids before they were sent to the village; the shirt color blue, I think, also represent their intelligence, comparing to the other color like brown.
From analyzing costume designing for this movie, I noticed that costumes must be carefully planned even when characters wear something that are very similar to our daily fashion because its color use, shape, and accessories always send message to the audience.

 

Costume Critique # 2

The movie I saw was Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The costume designer was Alexandra Byrne. My favorite costume was one she wore briefly but she was going into the church for her prayers and had this kind of tulle with a wire running through it to give it the round shape and it flowed behind her almost as if she were an angel. I loved the dress choice the designer went with because it really drove home the image that she is the virgin queen. That she is pure and floats like an angel would. I loved that Alexandra went with a bone color and the more open collar ruffle because it let her face and neck be highlighted like a pedestal. It was awesome to see her as she walked through almost like it was her divine calling. I thought it was perfect because that is the exact look they were shooting for Elizabeth the 1st.

The other costumes i loved were the dresses her favorite lady in waiting Bess wore. It was almost like they were trying to hone in on the closeness of that relationship by making Bess almost match the queen's gowns in the beginning by doing the patterns and colors very close but Bess always had the more modest version of Elizabeths. Elizabeth was always the most extravagant and most regal but right there next to her was Bess which I feel worked very well for her position having the queens ear and all. As the movie went on we see they differ as Bess goes after the guy the queen really liked. At that point is when they no longer coordinate and I felt that was a great way to demonstrate a slight strain even if the queen did not know Bess and Mr. Raleigh had become a thing. Even later though when the queen is distressed over having Mary Queen of Scots killed she begins to coordinate with the queen again because she has cut ties with Mr. Raleigh. 

I felt the costumes were spot on for the movie except for the fact after we watched the documentary last class about the clothes she wore i feel her hoop skirt was too long and gave the dress that pop that it didn't have in that time or the fullness.

Costume Critique #1 Yoshimi Koide

I looked at costumes from the recent Cinderella, which came out this year. Sandy Powell, a British costume designer, did the costume designing for this movie.

 This lizard man's makeup and hair color was my favorite among the costumes. The color green on his hair and face easily tells us that he is originally a lizard, and the color worked very well especially in the darkness. I also like how his teeth look like because it looks a little more sharp than normal man's (I am not sure if he had any change on his teeth though).

I felt that costumes represented each characters very well. For example, Cinderella's daily dress is a little behind the trend; it represents that she does not (or cannot) pay attention to her fashion but she express her beauty by what she does and thinks. The step-mother's dress at the dance party in the palace is another example that represents a character. Looking at he dress, I felt that she loves herself so much and is very confident about her appearance that she thinks she may be chosen by the prince by wearing trendy nice dress. However, I did not like her dress because it seemed to be too modern comparing to the other characters.

Introducing Yoshimi Koide (Yoshi)

I like visiting castles and historical places, watching plays/musicals and concerts, and eating. I also like computer, programming, machines and robots. I study Information Systems as my major, and Music as a minor here in BYUH, and am graduating this November. I am so excited to go back to Japan and work there!
Although I do not sew very well, my mother is a great tailor and she tried to teach me a little before. She used to make Kimonos (Japanese traditional dress) for living before she got married to my father. I am learning a little bit of Kimono sewing from her. It will take more years till I become confident to make one by myself but it is one of my goals that I really want to achieve in my life.
I am so excited to learn about costume because, as I worked in the auditorium and watched shows, I always thought it is very cool that costume people come up with great ideas to represent a character on stage. I will try my very best not to break sewing machines and to be creative enough to help making March Tale one of the unforgettable play that students can watch on this campus.

Introducing Ingrid Veliz

Hello! My name is Ingrid Veliz.  I am from Anaheim, California. I am 26 years old and I am the youngest of four children. I am also set to graduate this semester with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Minor degree in theater. I am the costumes assistant/costume closet manager/ TA for the costume construction class. I love my job and I love learning new ways to create wearable works of art. I have recently developed an interest in stage makeup. When I want to costume myself or anyone else, I cannot leave anything incomplete. Hair and makeup are meant

to compliment the costume and complete the look.  I still consider myself a novice because I am still learning how costume construction works. I love the Theater! It is one of my top passions, as well as The Gospel of the Jesus Christ and all things Disney. I do not rate them in that order of course. I have been official costume assistant for one year but I have been volunteering backstage with costumes for two years. I am looking forward to working with all of you!

Costume Critique: The Queen

This weekend I watched the movie The Queen starring Helen Mirren.  I didn't know much about the show other than it was an Academy Award Winner. I was expecting it to be a period piece. When it arrived in the mail from Netflix and I read the sleeve description I was surprised to find out it was about the most recent Queen Elizabeth and the royal family's reaction to Princess Diana's death. So much for a good costume critique, I thought.

I thought wrong.

The costumes were not dazzling and ritzy and breathtaking. They were real.  So real in fact that it was easy to become totally immersed in the story.  Extravagant costumes would have been distracting from the message of the film. Instead the costumes made this story of a modern day royal family and their grief more relatable to the commoner.

My favorite costumes were worn by the Queen herself.  She was always dressed like my very stylish Gramma. Her clothes were not only stylish and refined looking but they were also subdued and conservative, just like the queen. Her colors were mostly earth toned, she usually wore pearls and of course had the characteristic large eye glasses of the time.

I couldn't find a picture of my favorite piece of clothing: her robe.  Not her royal robe mind you--her night robe.  I thought it was just adorable that in the middle of the night when she is awakened to the news of Princess Diana's death she puts on a simple puffy quilted grandma robe. You know, the kind that buttons all the way up to the neck and has a peter pan collar.  It really reminded me that she was just a normal woman put into an extraordinary position.

This film reminded me that costumes should not always be a showpiece. Sometimes subtlety and restraint do more for the whole of the production. In this case the costumes were an essential to the viewer's experience, reminding them that royals are normal people.

Consolata Boyle, an Irish designer, was the costume designer for this movie.  She was nominated for an academy award and a BAFTA award in 2007 for this movie.  She also costumed "The Iron Lady" (2011) which is next on my que.

Introducing Sister Dooley!

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Mother, Learner, Surfer. Introducing Sis. Dooley!

Bro. Dooley and Sis. Dooley at Makapu'u Lighthouse

I can't believe I am the mother of 4 children ages 12-19! Time has flown by so much faster than I ever imagined it could. My oldest son is on mission in Nova Scotia and my baby is in 7th grade, her first year at Kahuku High and Intermediate. Growing up, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, "A mother". I have thoroughly enjoyed this lifelong career.

I love learning. I am always trying new things and my favorite thing to read is non-fiction. Yep! I know I'm weird. Some of the things I have taught myself to do over the years include: baking perfect chocolate chip cookies and home-made bread; maintaining roses, grape vines, and now tropical flora; remodeling houses and refinishing wood floors; budgeting and pinching pennies. My newest foray in learning is graduate school. I am studying at University of Arkansas--online of course--and my course of study is Apparel Merchandising and Product Development.

Some other things I enjoy are running, biking, hiking, and surfing. Surfing is a new skill I learned just a few years ago. It took me 2 months of dedicated strength training and practice to ride my first wave unassisted. This year I made the goal of surfing everyday. I don't go on Sunday's and I was gone for 6 days to take my son to the MTC but I have otherwise met my goal. I am up to 180 days of surfing this year!

I am looking forward to working with ya'll on costuming March Tale.  It is my first Shakespearean styled production so I'm sure it will be an interesting challenge. I hope you enjoy your semester in the Costume shop.  See you in class!