First post/premier post
So, finally, my first post. I have been tossing around the idea of starting a blog about my obsession for a while now, but was previously scannerly-disabled. I got a scanner for an early-birthday present today from my boyfriend and am therefore ready to begin!
Said obsession is with the Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey. More specifically, with the intricate (some might say overly-so) description of clothing. I enjoy costume design and have, for a couple of years now, been designing costumes as per the descriptions in the books for the movie being made in my head.
My designs aren’t historically acurate – as the books aren’t strict about this, I thought I could take the same liberties. I take inspiration from all eras and mix them whenever I feel like it. I did this for fun, so I didn’t heed any rules. Though most do have an historical feel, many wouldn’t be out of place in formal settings in modern day.
I have done costumes for all female characters so far, and plan to someday work on male costumes. I will go through all of Phèdre’s first, then move on from there. My costume designs are based on the description in the book, my take on the character’s asthetic, and my view on what kind of outfit the occasion in the book requires. If anyone out there knows of any descriptions that I’ve missed, please let me know!
My plan for this blog is to post one design a week, though this is an idealized timeframe. I have designed hundreds, but haven’t yet coloured and done detailed drawings of most of them. I would like the drawings I post to be complete, so posting time may vary. I’m a teacher, so don’t always have control over how much free time I have. I have also created fabric/accessory mock-ups for each design that I will include in each post.
So, without further adieu, here is my first dress.
This first design comes from Jacqueline Carey’s novel “Kushiel’s Dart”. The description in the book describes this dress as a simple gown of dark brown velvet with a caul of silk mesh and can mostly be found on page 102 of the paperback. This dress is Phèdre’s for Alcuin’s presentation.
This dress has a necessarily simple design because it is a night for someone else to be the center of attention and for Phèdre to be in the background. It has a necessarily high back (not shown) because Phèdre’s marque is yet incomplete at this point.
Below are the fabrics as I envisioned them for this dress.
So that’s it for this dress! Though it isn’t the first costume in the book, it is the first for Phèdre as an adult. More to come!
