One of our favorite past times here at Frock Flicks HQ is to take a glance a the search terms that people use to land on our website. Not surprisingly, a lot of it is searching for a specific film, or actor, but quite a few searches are a good bit more bewildering, esoteric, or just downright weird. But we love a good challenge, and we’re helpers, so every so often we compile these search terms and take a stab at answering them as best we can. You can read the previous installments of this series here and here.
loincloths in movies
While we haven’t particularly focused on loincloths in movies, allow us to introduce you to the clearinghouse for all things man-flap, Karen’s Loincloth Site.
Women’s Hygiene
We get a lot of these search queries landing at our doorstep, among them women’s hygiene in 1800s, 1200 poland female hygiene, how often did people bathe in the 18th century, how did they wipe in the eighteenth century, and privies in the 18th century.
I mean, these are important questions! Just how did women use the toilet back in the olden times? We covered some of that territory in our very first blog post, The Gross 18th Century, but if you still need a visual, costumer Izabela Pitcher kindly filmed a demonstration on how ladies in big skirts would have gone to the bathroom back in Ye Olden Times:
Now go forth and pee in a corner!
18th century zipper on bootstps
Zippers are a 20th-century invention, so no, they shouldn’t be on 18th-century bootstraps.
aidan turner picture of hair shaved to put on wig for the hobbit movie
We don’t do fantasy movies as a rule, but we do enjoy a good look at Aidan Turner every now and again.
sequence prick under my arms while wearing the frock
Um … What?
costume sex scene/hot sex
Here’s a few of our favorite costume sex scenes, you’re welcome.
And if that doesn’t satisfy you, here’s our expert advice on how to film hot sex in costume dramas.
And if you really want to punish yourself, here’s our Top 5 Weaksauce Sex Scenes.
frockflivks
Well, congratulations, you managed to misspell our URL, but you got here anyway!
the outlander series, season 3, why claires dresses so short on ship
We have no idea. We stopped asking questions about that show years ago.
mandy patinkin nude
Here ya go.
does rufus sewell wear a hairpiece
We got a question back in our first installment of this series asking if he had a glass eye, so now apparently he’s bald, too? I kinda doubt it, but he did shave his head quite close for the role of Charles II in The Last King, so if this is your thing, have fun:
how historically accurate are the costumes that were used in mary queen of scots movie
Got some pressing questions you need answered? Fire away in the comments!
I’ve been in a conversation regarding the hats Michael Kitchen wore in Foyle’s War. My English friend contacted one of the oldest hatmakers in London, Lock Hatters and they said the only difference between trilby and fedora is the width of brim and not the crown. I’m having a hard time with that. We’re thinking that he wore a fedora, but for fishing, it was a trilby. If you can add anything to the hat topic, would greatly appreciate it.
—–The other question is how a man at that time, wore a fedora in England? In the early series, we see the hat flat on his head with a flat brim. Later we see the brim turned down in front and back.
Aha! The weird question is asking how to deal with sequins prickling under the wearer’s arms when they are wearing a sequinsed* dress.
*I know you know the reference.
Forgot about the Trilby. I know it had its origins in the play, but my understanding is that there was nothing in the play about a hat — just a merchandise tie-in. I can’t find pictures from that era either. What is the story behind that hat?
Love this as always. I want to know the top ten worst costume offender flicks and series please. Maybe a piece on each. I swear I have seen some atrocities but my top worst offender is still The Spanish Princess and her windmill dress. Thanks for the lovely recaps and snark over that one. I just want to have a back to back, top worst offenders and their opposites, the best of the best, the ones who got it right for once. Would LOVE to see that.
Also think hair movies is a good theme. Best and worst hair in period pieces. Loved the side part snark recently and bangs as well, hilarious and true as always.
Also I think bonus points for costumes that can be directly tied to a reseller like victorian choice and la esclava blanca. I swear they got their costumes directly off that site. Worse yet, they actually reuse one of the dresses several times on different characters. Oy. Loved that series but the costumes were horrific for the ladies. No one wore undergarments unless sleeping or a slave. Guess I did not realize going commando was all the rage for the rich women. Golly, how comfortable to be laced into a gown designed for a corset and hoop skirt without any undies or a corset, chafing was hot then or something? 😂
As always keep the snark coming.
Any really good FrockFlicks set in La Serenissima besides Death in Venice?
And what the frock happened at the 2020 Oscars?
Have tonnes of fun at Carnivale.
“sequence prick under my arms while wearing the frock”= sequins pricking. Means they are not sewn in on both sides of sequin. Tack those suckers down (and check that they are colorfast, otherwise you end up with multicolored sequins and interesting stains on your arms.) I love this site, I am gonna be a Patron proper as soon as I am gainfully employed again.
You’ve used a picture from a Brazilian soap opera called Uga Uga. Loin cloth. Yes! But it’s a contemporary story. 😉
My theory on Rufus Sewell in Charles II was that men shaved their heads and wore those gigantic wigs. Lice was a problem, and shaving your head seemed to have been the solution. But, maybe Rufus has always been shaven on his head and wore fantabulous wigs in his roles.
lol hilarious. I’ve heard (read, really) that the Emma costumes are good. And they’re by Alexandra Byrne, which begs the question if they’re good why she was so off (with so much explanation of her choices!) on MQoS. Puzzling.
Oh, I can answer the Outlander question. In the original text, since both Claire and Marsali were wearing wool and cotton dresses, the prolonged exposure to the moisture and salt air on the ships caused the fabric to shrink. It appears that Terry Dresbach used the source material as her guide for how to weather the dresses.
I must confess – a pre-pubescent me saw Yentl in the theater with my grandmother and the nude Mandy Patinkin was very much part of my burgeoning womanly feelings. He is so fucking manly and has such a great body in that movie.
I like an occasional telenovela – primarily the historical ones. I have to use captions, since my Spanish isn’t that good. In one – “Alborada” I think – there was a big formal event and a couple of the older ladies retired to the ladies’ retiring room to use the facilities. They had chamber pots on the floor and the ladies just settled their gowns around, sank down, and did what they needed. Had a nice conversation during the process … so I guess the practice of ladies going to the restroom (or whatever) in pairs is a long-standing tradition.
Also – Aidan Turner – he BROODS so beautifully.