Elizabeth Walpole <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >But seams are the easiest and cheapest thing to get right, no matter how >shoestring your budget is princess seams are no cheaper than a period cut >(in fact they would be marginally more expensive as they take up more >fabric) I can understand things like substituting synthetics for authentic >fabrics, so long as it looks OK on film and for any costume that's not going >to be seen close up synthetics will probably be fine. But if there were >curved seams going over the bust that will throw off the entire silhouette...
My guess would be that the biggest reason for inaccurate costumes is simply that it's easier for costumers to make something familiar. If their experience is entirely with modern cuts and fitting, those techniques are going to seem "easier" to them because there's nothing to learn -- whether they are, in fact, easier or not. And if they're in a hurry, or under pressure (as who in the industry isn't...) familiarity may win out. Now mind you, for a historical film, especially one that aspires to accuracy, taking this route qualifies in my book as laziness. But I can see how it could happen, and I'm not completely unsympathetic. I just wish producers would stop claiming "accuracy" for things that aren't and "educational value" for things that distort history. One of my costuming friends commented about the film "Elizabeth" that the film's website actually said that the director _forbid_ the costumers to consult historic sources for costume, because he wanted "a fresh vision." The amusing thing, my friend said, is that the director clearly didn't know enough about the period portraits to spot when the costumers _did_ lift something straight out of a well-known historical source :) ____________________________________________________________ 0 Chris Laning | <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> + Davis, California ____________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
