The 6th Annual Exhibit of Television Costume Design

I love to go yearly to the Fashion Institute of Design ( FIDM ) in Los Angeles, California to see their exhibit of Academy Award nominated costumes. I am not a fashion industry girl, I am a theater costume girl. 

And this year for the first time I got to go to FIDM's Primetime Emmy Nominated Costume exhibit!

The exhibit has over 75 costumes from 16 shows that represent many different TV genres and time periods. Although this is the first year I heard about the exhibit it is actually the 6th year FIDM has showcased nominated costume designers and supervisors; and a few of the nominees are FIDM graduates!

I admit I was most excited about seeing the Downtown Abbey show costumes. The show is on PBS and the costume designer is Susannah Buxton. She states her goal is to make sure the actors " don't look like they are in costume ". The details of the costumes on display are beautiful but, I wish there were more hats.

And I confess out of the 16 shows I had never seen almost half. However that did not diminish my enjoyment of the costumes. The kid show The Fresh Beat Band  on Nickelodeon had fantastic fantasy costumes and head pieces designed by Joyce Kim Lee.

This costume collection from Once Upon a Time on ABC and designed by Eduardo Castro with his assistant Monique McRae is pretty impressive. The orange tutu outfit is also from this show.

I downloaded these images from facebook ( hope that's legal ) but, there are lots more at

 6th Annual Art of Television Costume Design exhibition on facebook.

However, images do not do justice to all the amazing, inventive details of these costumes. Images also do not communicate the size of the actors ( Christina Ricci from Pan AM on ABC is tiny! ) and the wonderful textiles. 

The costumes are on exhibit until October 20, 2012 and admission is free. 

A Century of Millinery Style: Hats from 1820's-1920's

Hats always capture my imagination and I truly try to wear hats as often as possible. And vintage hats are so wonderful because hats were worn daily, literally the crowning accessory to any outfit. 

There were numerous hats included in the Emmy exhibit and especially memorable were the Boardwalk Empire hats. The show takes place during the 1920s which was a time of great hats. However imagine my surprise when a guard ( who was watching me suspiciously because I stood ogling a Boardwalk Empire hat for about 10 minutes ) informed me there was an entire separate exhibit of hats!

In a not very noticeable small room off the main exhibit there are 25 hats, bonnets, cloches, and toques spanning over 100 years from 1815 to 1930. The hats are a small part of the Helen Larsen Historic Fashion Collection which FIDM is working feverishly to acquire.
The exhibit is mainly hats, with some period photos, interesting hat accessories, and a few mannequins in outfits to complement the hat.
This hat is labeled J.W. Robinson Co. and is from Los Angeles, California dated 1917. The hat is made of metal sequins, silk velvet, and lacquered stripped ostrich feathers.
I also love the tassels on the collar points because currently I am quite mad for tassels.

This bonnet is from Great Britain around 1830. Bonnets were so darn practical and it's a shame now only babies get to wear  serious bonnets. Although I guess sun hats evolved from bonnets.

Anyways, I obviously downloaded these images from the FIDM website because no photos were allowed :(  There are many more dynamic hats on display.

The exhibit is ' A Century of Millinery Style: Hats from the Helen Larsen Historic Fashion Collection 1820's-1920's ' showing until October 20, 2012. And admission is free!

More info at fidmmuseum.org/exhibitions/current/

THE FASHION WORLD OF...

I finally got a chance to visit the exhibit of the French designer Jean Paul Gaultier at the de Young Museum in San Francisco and it is terrific.

The eight rooms of the exhibit house 140 haute couture and pret-a-porter designs starting in the mid seventies and spanning thirty years. 

Equally amazing to the garments are the 30 animated mannequins that talk, whistle, wink and sing.

This exhibit is memorable in so many ways...

and unfortunately it is leaving the de Young on August 19th.

Upon entering the exhibit you immediately see the stripes and nautical looks that I always associate with Jean Paul Gaultier. But the following rooms contain so much wit, workmanship and innovation that it is indescribable. 

The designer never had any formal training but, Pierre Cardin saw his talent and hired him as an assistant.Suffice to say the designer is incredibly versatile and his ideas and topics are diverse, amusing and amazing ( when you say things in threes you just sound smarter LOL ).

Of course the other classic Gaultier is the conical corset made famous by Madonna on her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. Apparently this look was popular with both women AND men and one of Gaultier's earliest looks. The exhibit even has his childhood teddy bear that he affixed these conical shapes to it's little torso. 

And he was mad for plaid and punks.

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER...

DO NOT click on this video if you are going to see the show.

It is a very short clip of the amazing Jean Paul Gaultier talking mannequin.

These incredible hologram mannequins were sprinkled throughout the entire exhibit. 

These are the future and I will not be surprised when department store mannequins start talking and telling customers to buy, buy, buy.

FROM THE SIDEWALK...

There are eight rooms filled with different ideas and completely different types of garments. I took so many pictures I almost forgot to really look at the garments and appreciate the wonderful workmanship. 

There were just too many looks to document so here is a smattering of the wildest outfits.

"Immaculate" gown from Virgins Collection, haute couture spring/summer 2007.

Worn by Kylie Minogue in " Like a Drug " video.

And yes, the eyes blinked and watched from under the mask.

" La Mariee " wedding gown, haute couture fall-winter 2002-2003.

Every bride should wear a feather headdress. 

These body stockings with the skeletal, muscular and veins as the embellishment are fantastic. 

The idea is fantastic and the execution of the idea is even more fantastic.

Morphing Collection haute couture fall/winter 2003-2004

to THE CATWALK.

Not only were the ideas for the garments completely amazing but, also the materials used and manipulated to create the garments were equally awe inspiring.

This leather and feather jacket is from Jean Paul Gaultier's 1998-99 collection. 

This is one of my favorites because I love faces and when you look closely the front of the corset is a total face!

This is another favorite because it is so simple yet so effective. The stripes on this dress are created by sewing hundreds of buttons in vertical rows with smaller buttons at the top descending into larger buttons. Sequins would have been predictable.

I honestly walked by this dress twice before my friend dragged me back and pointed out that the leopard skin was actually composed of zillions of tiny, tiny seed beads. And in the ear is a tiny beaded portrait of Gaultier.

This exhibit is a wonderful glimpse into the imagination of a creative genius who does not take himself too seriously; although he has serious talent. 

1095 days of Blogging!

Three years ago today I innocently attended a faculty workshop at Saddleback College to learn more about using the Internet. Many topics were covered and when the instructor spoke about blogs she suggested participants create one as a learning exercise.

Of course I was pretty impressed with myself when I came up with WeSew because it's the same forward and backwards ( I can never remember the term for that ).

I also discovered that I really enjoy blogging and hope people enjoy reading my blog. And what I really hope is that 1,000s of people sign up to follow my blog ( hint, hint ) leading to paid advertisements, guest columns in magazines, an invite to NY fashion week, a book publication, an interview on the Tonight Show, paparazzi chasing me....

Hey, a girl has to dream :)

IT'S BEEN A GREAT BLOGGING THREE YEARS

And  I have posted my three favorite sewing tips to celebrate three years of WeSew.