Design Museum, Fifty Shoes That Changed The World

This is probably not relevant to my film but I found it really interesting! 

Dolly's Mothers' Shoes

Out of all the shoes in the costume store these are the pairs suitable for 1920's period, I'm really glad there is a wide range of sizes

Fingers crossed she isn't a size 4! 

Vintage Fashion, foreword by Zandra Rhodes

Vintage Fashion, foreword by Zandra Rhodes 

'Model Dinarzade wearing a sleeveless shiny dress with v-neck, dropped waist and flaring skirt with designs at hem by Edward Moleneux, 1924. 

She is beautiful, she radiates elegance, I love that the picture behind her makes her look as though she has feathers in her hair. I can only imagine that the dress is made from something very luxurious. I think the best way to describe this is Decadent. 

'Illustration of dresses by Jaques Doucet, Lucile (Lucy Kennedy, later Lady Duff Gordon) and Charles Worth, dated 1912, 1913 and 1913 respectively.'  

Poirot dress, very elegant and yet still simple. It is noticable how the waist is hidden, beginning to let go of the shape of the corsets. 

'Ladies 1920's daywear with dropped-waist dresses and pleated skirts with jackets worn with cloche hats. The hem lines are high at just below the knee.'

This shows a definite silhouette, very androgynous and the skirts are so short! A massive contrast to the image above this and I love the cloche hats.

I think the most important thing about this is the change for women and the freedom this clothing gave to them.    

'Ornate Beadwork with lace and flower appliqué on a satin bridal gown, 1905'

The detailing here is so ornate, I think this is something that could be added to something much more simple to give it that decadent feel. 

'Sequins, beads and applique on a skirt from the 1920's. Sequins at this time were sometimes made of wax, and easily melted, in gowns you may find deterioration of the sequins where a dancing partners hand would rest.' 

I find sequins really strange because their use has not changed at all, they're still used in the same way, this could quite easily be on a piece of clothing that could be purchased today, but still they add that bit of sparkle that every girl sometimes needs in her life. 

Meeting with HOD's

There is lots of discussion about location at the moment as this will define the period that it is set in, after speaking to her tutor Maria thinks it may be best to push it towards the 1920's and they have their fingers crossed for a house which is 1925 in style and budget for this would be minimal so there would hopefully be more to spend on costume.

Below is a link to the house, it has recently been used on a grad film called 'Thyme'.

http://www.berkeleys.com/images/properties/sales/documents/1283787443.pdf

They have contacted a young actress called Hattie Gotobed to cast as 'Dolly' and Ellie has worked with before and has recently worked on another AUCB film. 

http://www.kidsccp.com/uk/view.php?uid=306709&fuid=102249

• Send sizing chart to Ellie
• Research 1920's

Little Evaluation

In this process I have learnt that it is imperative for me to be flexible and patient. I really need to be able to adapt to change quickly and not let any changes hinder me in the  process. I need to be able to be contacted easily and I have realised  how important it is to be in contact with the rest of the team as decisions must be made only with the rest of the team in agreement. Most of all it has made me realise how much I want to work in film.

What I will be sourcing..

Dolly

• White dress with collar
• Fur coat belonging to her mother 
• Large hat with orange ribbon
• White tie for hair

Mother

• Shoes
• Stockings
• Corset / Brassire 
• Slip
• Dress
• Dressing gown
• Jewellery 

Lover 

• Suit
• Shoes
• Underwear 
• Watch? 
• Shirt
• Socks

First Meeting with the Director, Producers and Production Designers for 'Dolly'

I am so glad I have such a fantastic team to work with!

Maria Alfonzo Reina is the writer of 'Dolly' and the production designer is fabulous, she has a very clear sense of what she wants and at the same time is open to ideas and learning from each other.

Ellie Rogers is the director she also have a very clear sense about what she wants and has some fabulous ideas and seems to think very deeply and critically about everything, so everything is done for a reason which is fabulous.

Karin Kavanagh and Josh Stubbs are producers of 'Dolly'. These two seem very focused on bringing things together and solving the problems to keep everything running smoothly.

Maria feels that it is important to emphasis the sense of curiosity, she does not want this to be seedy.

This will be set in summer, with a Parisian / English feel, which will be dependant on the location which is available.

The three characters that I have are;

The Mother - Mother of Dolly, She is a middle aged woman 35-45 but is still very sexy, she is respected by Dolly but maybe does not give her the time of day that Dolly wants and occasionally pushes her to the sides

and ignores her.

She will be first seen getting ready for her lover, Maria wants her to be clothed in day wear but with something sexier underneath so she can peel off her layers for the sex scene.

The Lover - He is younger than Dolly's Mother, but very dapper, suave and confident.

Ellie was thinking about a cream lounge suit, and Maria wants him to be very sexy.

Dolly - She is around 10 years old and becoming curios about sex. She is very pure and innocent at first so she can make a dramatic transformation after seeing the sex scene. I think it is important to keep the silhouette as similar as possible to the painting so as to set the image in the audiences mind.

After discussing Dolly's coat, we thought it might be a nice idea for the coat which Dolly wears to be Fur, as there is something very sensual about fur and it is most definitely not innocent. They hat is probably one of her mothers so is too big and doesn't fit well on her head.

Costume Store - 1912

So this has just made life a million times harder, the costume store has one item suitable for 1912, a Silver blue, Polyester (horribly shiny and could look awful on screen) Poirot dress with a beautiful black underskirt. The Productions designer specifically wanted neutral and skin coloured clothing.

Altmans Spring and Summer Fashions Catalog, 1915

Altmans Spring and Summer Fashions Catalog, 1915, B. Altman & Co.

This book is AMAZING, it has absolutely EVERYTHING in it. Children's wear, nightwear, blouses, outerwear, corsets, men's wear, accessories, jewellery and silverware, shoes, bed linen, table linen, table lamps..... EVERYTHING. 

Fifty Shoes that Changed the World, Design Museum