looking for costume references -- 1930s

V

vgriffin

Registered Guest
hey all :)

i'm hosting a murder mystery party set in the '30s and i need to locate costume references for the following...


ocean liner stewards and stewardesses
maids/servants


thanks and cheers :) tamara
 
Hey Tamara!

Wondered where you were! It is great to 'see' you here!

You have got to post some of those fab items in your collection in the
RAG BAG forum!

As for searching on the web - try www.vivisimo.com

It is a relatively new search engine that will cluster the results for you
and makes it a lot easier (and faster) to research things.

Sue
 
Hi Tamara -

Try this site: The Costume Gallery for Fashion and Costume since 1996 with five main areas. In addition to hosting over 6000 web pages and 26,000 images of fashion and costume, they offer on-line classes in fashion history and design, an on-line library and a Designer's Hall that contains Websites owned by costume designers.

Cheers ~ Maureen
 
hi jonathan! :)

yah, but i'm afraid i get a lot of pages that aren't pertinent to my search. i think the area i'm looking for is so specific, and most folks searching on those terms are looking for other things.

btw, if that valentio coat had been anywhere near my size, i would have bought it. really sensational. :)

btw, i recently saw the "dangerous liasons" exhibit at the met's costume institute in nyc. i loved the costumes, of course, and seeing the costumes in the period rooms was fantastic -- from both the perspective of seeing those rooms "populated" again (i also have a strong interest in architecture and period interiors) and to see the costumes in situ. however, i thought the installation choices, the choices for the tableaux, were a bit too sensationalistic and over the top. i think they were really trying to sex the exhibit up. imho, they went just a little too far. otherwise good. :)



hey sue! :)

i've not tried (nor heard of) that search engine. i'll try it out. the collection hasn't grown much in the past couple of years, as i've pretty much reached my capacity for storage. i just can't bear to add more (though it kills me when i see something wonderful) until i can care for it decently, so that means i have to do some weeding.

weeding has its perils, 'tho, as i've been seeing more and more people purchasing vintage (perfectly good vintage) for "personal creations." makes. me. want. to. cry.



margaret! :)

how are you doing? :) did you ever hook up with my english customer? the gown i sold her originally came from england, so it was neat that it went back to its homeland. the vfg site looks great. you all have done such a great job with it.



maureen, hello :)

thanks so much for the link. :) i'm familiar with the costume gallery, they've been on the web for+evah+!



for my party, btw, i'm the host, so i have to run things, rather than function as someone trying to solve the mystery. i have cast myself in the role of the "cigarette girl." that should be fun.

a few (very few) people coming to the party are "vintagers," so they'll make an effort to do the period right. it's more important for folks to attend the party, obviously, but i must say, when i see the guest really get into period-appropriate fashion, i get very, very thrilled. :)


if anyone has any good ideas for period details for adding atmosphere to the party, feel free. :)

the setting is an ocean liner in the '30s, just before the outbreak of war.

i've got the ship's officer crew, ship staff, ministers, etc. 'twill be very fun. :)


cheers :) t
 
Hi Tamara!

Ther is a film set on a 30s ocean iner - The Imposters? that might be fun to check out. Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt plus loads of others.

Hollis
 
that was my thoughts on the MET exhiit as well...

Ironically, I have two white uniforms that I think may be steward's uniforms. Unfortunately, they aren't photographed and i amsans puter at the moment... this is a laptop i am using and it doesn't have my photo program on it.... ut if you can wait a few days, i might be able to get some photos.
 
hi hollis :)

thanks very much for the heads up on the film. i hadn't heard of that one at all. :)



jonathan :)

thank you very kindly. :) the soiree isn't until nov 6 (believe me, i'm not starting too early). being without all the computer powers one is used to posessing is tough...just think about the withdrawl you'd be going through if you didn't have web access or email access. when the network is down at work, i feel marooned. ;)


btw, what did everyone think of the costuming in "gosford park"? i also love the a&e mysteries for '20s and '30s clothes.


cheers :) t
 
Oh great, you have time than...!

Here's a load of links on the 30s...films...exhibits...etc....you might find some good pics...

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/INDEX/index.html

Another idea would be to look at 30s clothing patterns too for the pictures. a search for a 30s clothing pattern might bring you more specific search results...and you can always check ebay and the vc-mall too.

I would looove to see pictures of the party afterwards. Sounds so Agatha Christie.


Chris
 
(((Tamara)))!

Very long time no see. Very happy to see you visiting us!

Though I don't have any help for you, I have to say that this sounds like SO much fun!!! And I really, really hope you'll share pictures afterwards.

It <i>is</i> all so Agatha Christie!! LoL!

Really, really nice to 'see' you again.
 
chris :) thank you so much for the link. i'm checking it out now. i did do a search on patterns on ebay (i thought that was a really smart suggestion), but so far came up empty. i'll keep trying, though. ;)


justine! :) hello. :) great to see you too. sure, i hadn't thought of pictures (i am +so+ camera adverse), but i think you guys are right. i just snagged an old navy officer's jacket for my SO. i hope it fits.

i also am going to rent gosford park. that will give me a lead on at least approximating service wear in the '30s, even if it's not liner wear.

btw, re menu....i just discovered black vodka. i have never made anything with it, but i'm going to be using it for the pary. if anyone else is throwing a halloween party, i recommend it. the drinks made with it look especially eldritch.

cheers :) t
 
Gosford Park's costuming was done by Jenny Beavan, who I have been following for quite some time. She did most of the Merchant Ivory films (Room with a View, Maurice, Howard's End) and all but one of the Jane Austen Movies when they were being spit out annually in the late 1990s. I have found her work to be extremely good at capturing the essence of the characters and getting the feeling right for the era. I know she uses a lot of real garments in her costuming too. At times I think she is amazing, like the machine made green lace dress which was supposed to look cheap, and it did but at other times I can't quite figure out why she so often relies on cliche's, like putting older ladies in hats that are 10 years out of date to get across the idea that they are conservative and old fashioned. She also did Tea with Mussolini, which I didn't like the costuming in as all the old English ladies were over the top in their out dated clothes, while Cher's brash American character was equally over the top in her wild Hollywood style. Not subtle. I would say she is my second favourite costumer of historical dramas.

My first place winner is Anna Shephard who did all the WW2 films of the past 10 years (Schindler's List, Band of Brothers, The Pianist) She totally amazes me how she manages to choose costumes that suit the characters, are 100% authentic looking and even express place. There are subtle but very real differences in how German, ENglish and American women dress during the 1940s and she captures that extremely well in her costuming. She is central European herself, so perhaps she understands the differences better, but I actually watch the costuming in her films to learn about European style in the 1930s and 1940s.
 
Hee...I was thinking the same Jonathan!

Dont' have anything to add to the above Tamara, but keep us
posted on how this is going (and of course we want pics from the
actual event, which sounds like it will be spectacular!)

Sue
 
(OT - I've met Jenny Beavan briefly - lovely, very quiet. She's done the costuming on Stone's Alexander movie. I'm told the battledress is all fabulous, although unfortunately the court costumes weren't researched as much and are really just cliches based on Orientalist tradition (I just think they didn't have time - she was a last-minute replacement for somebody else)). But I thought Gosford Park looked amazing, costume-wise.

(Hello Tamara, we haven't 'met'! Sorry for the hijack)
Lin
 
neato. :) i'd love to have a chat with a costume designer for big pics and see how the particular needs of film affect costume choices. :)

btw, did anyone see "the golden bowl"? it was a bad, bad film (nick nolte, uma thurman, kate beckinsdale, jeremy northrup in a henry james novel), but i thought the costumes were impressive. to my eye, it looked like they used a lot of actual vintage. also, there was a portion of the film that depicted one of those fancy-dress balls that the very rich used to throw themselves. it was fantastic seeing that on screen.

i'm still looking for some things, costume-wise for my party.



clothing --

vintage, short aprons for the female stewards.
collar/cuff sets for the female stewards.
a steward's jacket (something white, with metal buttons)



non-clothing wants --

'30s-type telephones
a telegraph


cheers :) t
 
Tamara...

If you check in I just saw Jonathan has a some type of white stewards shirt on ebay right now...I hope you check in. Your email address is not in your profile so i could not email you directly

Chris
 
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