You asked for it, so here’s an occasional open thread to bitch about anything tangentially related to history, costume, movies, or TV shows! Or whatever else is on your mind right now. Note that URLs are automatically held for moderation, but most anything else goes as long as you’re not bitchier than we are!
We’re continuing to deal with the fallout from a hacking incident on this site in early July, and we know that commenting has been blocked for some folks. Hopefully the latest security settings will fix that so you fine folks can participate here, but nasty hackers are still kept out! Fingers crossed…
What’s bugging you lately?
As much as I am behind the new Barbie movie, my sister & I did not play with our Barbies in any contemporary fashion.
Barbies for us were an outlet to recreate historical costume dramas, plays, and operas. We were fortunate to have reproductive period costumes for them, and when we did not, we made our own.
We also had more “Cindy’s”, “Katie’s”, “Skippers”, & “Whitneys” than any of our other peers. Perhaps if they have a sequel, the creators could delve into that part of play which certainly contributed our going on to Theatre & Drama in High School & College – as well as appreciating Historical Sites such as Colonial Williamsburg & SCA enthusiasts.
I wondered if any other Frock Flicks Readers/Writers thought similar.
Hoping the best for everyone out there in these times in particular.
I loved Barbies for the fashion dress-up aspect, for sure. I had just 2 dolls, but tons of clothing, including stuff my mom, grandmom, & I sewed for them. Those were some of my first sewing projects!
That said, I don’t want a Barbie movie sequel. I think it ended perfectly & I really hate the endless sequels for everything that just stretch out ideas.
I was Barbie-obsessed and would have DIED for historical Barbies, but no dice :(
I feel this. I used to make them act out Grimm’s Fairy tales, but the most historic garments were the petticoat, skirt, dress, and shawl that came with my Esmeralda doll. Plus whatever the Princess Barbies came with, I think one of my Kens was a prince because he had a doublet with a removable cape. I had a lot of Disney branded dolls, and my mum got me lots of princesses and ballerinas so we had sparkly dresses. Skipper, Teresa, and Stacy provided the beach clothes! And all the Slippers had flat feet 💁
I wish they made more historical and fairy tale dress outfits for Barbies, those would be so much fun. I had to ask my granny to make them costumes if I wanted something special. Oddly enough they did make fairytale dress up lots back in the day! My mum had a brochure from her 60’s Barbie that advertised a costume dress up kit for Barbie and Ken that had clothes for Romeo and Juliet, King Arthur and Guinivere, pirates, etc. so fun!
Anybody else excited for S2 of Interview With A Vampire? There’s sure to be more Gothic delights awaiting us! Here the teaser for S2! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvA4Vvdg-58
Very excited! But I bet it’ll be delayed bec. of the actor’s strike; looks like they had it half filmed.
https://deadline.com/2023/07/amc-interview-with-the-vampire-pauses-production-due-to-actors-strike-sag-aftra-1235439549/
I stand with the strikers! That said :(
Same & same :(
I’ve gotten into a new historical attire YouTube series. Engineering knits is a fun look into knitting and occasional crochet and sewing adventures. Her 1890s “as many knitted garments as possible” ensemble was particularly fascinating.
Just wanted to recount a recent experience in which I got to apply what I’ve learned reading Frock Flicks! I saw the touring production of “Les Mis” a few weekends ago, and was delighted to realize that I could clock the timeline just by looking at adult Cosette’s dress – death of fashion!! Of course, there was nary a hairpin to be found on most of the women, but in the wedding scene at the end, Madame Thénardier waltzed in with her hair in an Apollo knot. It was neat to recognize that the design staff were using a period-accurate style to convey how over-the-top the character was. And I never would’ve put two and two together like that if it weren’t for the years I’ve spent reading Frock Flicks! Thanks for all the knowledge and insights y’all share with us :)
I guess it’s to show Cosette’s youth and naivete!
Yay, glad to know we’re a useful resource :)
Yay! I was Les Mis obsessed as a teen, and I remember being very confused when I started to learn about the specifics of fashion history because the costumes didn’t look at all “French Revolution”…
I finally got around to seeing “Emily” and historical accuracy aside — what a clunking bore of a story! Why not focus on her wild imagination and have her fantasizing about brooding men instead of having a love affair with a curate which wouldn’t have happened in real life? Also, they did Charlotte dirty.
As a non-Bronte person (okay, I love Jane Eyre, but that’s it) it was fun watching it with Trystan as she twitched through the whole thing…
I hade to roll my eyes at the whole time!
First the complaint: shaky cameras. Why did they start doing this?? Once you notice it, you can’t unsee it. What is the cinematic purpose? And my fun summer find was one season of a British series called “Funny Woman”, based on the book “Funny Girl” by Nick Hornby. Great 60s hair!
I know you all already covered it, but if you ever do another post on Mary Tudor I’d love to see you cover Romola Garai’s portrayal of her in Becoming Elizabeth. She was easily the best part of that show, and her costumes were quite pretty and interesting (especially compared to Elizabeth). She had a yellow and black gown that was absolutely fabulous
Also you guys have completely ruined me for happily watching historical flicks. Since I started reading this site and doing my own these I get annoyed whenever not- period backlacing, metal grommets, all-over machine embroidery, and ugly lace fans cross my screen!💕
Hahahaha! Same. I was watching a movie that supposedly took place in the early 19th century, and yelled, “Is that a zipper?”. Fortunately, there was no one to heart me except the dog (who is used to these outbursts). :)
“hear me” :)