Saturday, February 25, 2012

FIDM's 20th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition

We were greeted by this beautiful confection of a dress, Anne Hathaway's gown as the White Queen from last year's Alice in Wonderland film. It was surprisingly not nearly as white as it looked in the film. {picture}

Today was a red letter day. I not only got to see real live movie costumes, but I also got to meet a fellow sewing/costume blogger for the first time ever! I met up with Ginger, the Seamstress of Avalon, at FIDM's costume exhibit, and let me just say that I was not disappointed. Ginger is just as awesome IRL as she is online, and the costumes were just as spectacular as I was hoping they would be. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures at all, so I've combed teh interwebs for pictures of the lovely, lovely frocks I saw.

From The Artist. {All exhibit photos from here.}
From Jane Eyre. 
From Anonymous. There was a lady there who pointed out that the blackwork on the queen's sleeves was done by machine and not by hand. She seemed quite put out about it.
We also got to see this amazing gown (among others) from the film W.E., about Wallis Simpson. The line matching on this gown was A. MA. ZING. Especially the back. {photo}


It was a treat to be able to put my nose up to these costumes and see the level of detail put into the beading, the pleating, the laces...all the things that make my heart go fluttery. Best of all, it wasn't just movie costumes -- they also had several historic gowns on display, mostly from European royalty.

The wedding gown worn by Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Consort of Romania, in 1869. {photo}
One of Queen Victoria's classic black mourning gowns, from 1897. Goodness, I knew she was a short, stout lady, but this dress is practically hobbit-sized! I think if I met her, I would, unfortunately, burst out laughing and offer her a pint and some Longbottom leaf. {photo}

All in all, a totally inspiring exhibition, even if it was a bit small. But hey, it was free. If you're ever in the LA Fashion District and have an hour to kill, check it out! And now, back to work on my own Alice in Wonderland dress.

8 comments:

  1. What a great exhibition! I would love to see the insides of these dresses.

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    1. I know! That's always the best part. Maybe I should suggest that they extend their exhibit for a week, only flip everything inside out :)

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  2. Very cool! Even if they're not historical, the costume designers obviously put a ton of work into making them look that way

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    1. Yeah, something doesn't necessarily need to be historically correct to still be awesome. I can understand where costume nazis are coming from, but it can definitely be scary being scrutinized by one...

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  3. These are gorgeous! Elisabeth of Wied's wedding dress is unbelievable-- I can't imagine how much work must have gone into that!

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    1. I guess if you're marrying the king, you can afford to have a bazillion little hand-rolled paper flowers on your gown!

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  4. Wow all costume is amazing and beautiful. I like most wedding gown by Elisabeth of Wied. Its very pretty and cool. You have done amazing work.

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  5. In response to Queen Victoria's gown - I believe she would laugh right along with you as well as drink you under the table.

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