Behind the scenes of Pride & Prejudice! Mock-ups...

[labricoleuse]

We're hard at work on our first round of fittings for the final production of the season, Pride & Prejudice. Now that our costume designer, Camille Assaf-Doshi, has seen my mockups, i can share some pictures from behind the scenes!



Here's a bonnet mock-up made from oaktag and butcher paper,
wired with millinery wire and tape, and trimmed in scrap china silk.


Left: ruffled cap mockup in organza ribbon and lightweight broadcloth
Right: bonnet mockup of oaktag, wire, tape, a pulled buckram cap form, and scrap fabric


Parasol canopy mockup in (hideous) chintz, which was the best approximate "hand"
of the actual fabric to be used, a lovely heavy silk taffeta.


This is no mockup! I went right into the actual fabric for this canopy,
a ten-paneled crossweave silk dupioni in such a great red.


Aww, look at that sweet scalloped edge. I love this parasol!
So plain but so striking, too.


And, unrelated, but worth sharing: look at this beautiful vintage handkerchief,
a gift from the costume designer of the recently-closed Glass Menagerie!



I guess i'd be remiss in self-promotion or something if i didn't mention that, should you be interested in learning to create your own parasol canopies, i've written what is to my knowledge the only resource in print on the topic, available from Lulu Publications in paperback or as a downloadable file. I can't wait to get the "real" canopy onto that other frame; the striped silk the designer's chosen is downright jawdropping gorgeous! (Photos forthcoming when i do, of course.)

And, I'd also like to wave hello at spikywheel, who's serving as our overhire tailor on this production, creating the military uniforms for a couple of the gentlemen! It looks like she's possibly going to be blogging about the creation of those under a "p&p" tag in her own journal!

Hope you enjoyed this quick look backstage! I'll have more detailed info on some of these projects later on, and of course the usual stage-shot roundup when we open in April.

Comments

[curiouschilde.livejournal.com]

OoooOoooooohh!! I want to come play with you. I love the mockups. And the parasol is beautiful!!

[lovefromgirl.livejournal.com]

...you are still not dissuading me from studying costume and fashion, here. :-)

[icprncs.livejournal.com]

Oh, the red parasol is stunning.

And of course I want to see the striped silk!

[vanessa-lynne.livejournal.com]

I love parasols. Where did you get the frames for those?

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

These, i got from eBay, but i also sometimes get them from estate sales, junk shops, antique marts, etc. And, we also get quite a few donations to our clothing archive, so i've had a few parasols come in that way, too, but yes, these two were eBay scores. The red silk one has a horn handle, and the other is a beautiful carved wood design.

[trystbat.livejournal.com]

Ooooo divine! The scalloped edge on the red parasol is a great touch.

[catnik.livejournal.com]

Ha! Blue Roses!

I'm having trouble telling from the angle - but is that second bonnet heart-shaped? It looks like it'll be a lot of fun.

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

The mock-up is heart-shaped, but that bonnet is changing shape in various ways, one of them being the loss of the heart-shape. Unfortunate, in that i was excited about doing that shape, but the finished one will be differently excellent so i'm not too sad!

[spikywheel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the shoutout!

documenting this will be good for me.