The costume vault

I've wanted to do this for a pretty long time but never quite found the moment or actually believed anyone would submit a single question. Alas, I finally decided it was time, so today I bring to you, dear readers, the Costume Vault's very first Q&A! First and foremost, thanks to all of you who submitted questions! Also, and more importantly, thank you for submitting such thoughtful questions. I was totally expecting silly questions for shits and giggles (nothing wrong with those, I absolutely love them) but actually got very thought out and interesting questions. You're amazing! Secondly but no less relevant, I apologize for the delay in publishing the answers to your very lovely questions. I'm a terribly slow writer who also happens to have very little time to write lately. It's a killer combination. With that said, here we go! What do you look for in a costume design? By Anonymous What I mainly look for in a film costume design is for it to tell me a story. I...

There are many unanswered questions out there. Many, many mysteries that will never be unraveled. But amongst those, the one that keeps me up at night is why was Grace's hair so crappy during the first season of Peaky Blinders ? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Peaky Blinders . I'm human, believe it or not. I've watched all its five seasons (twice) and I'm impatiently waiting for its sixth season with bated breath. And I can vouch for it: it's a quality show. Good storytelling, good acting, great photography... and for the most part, great character design both in costume design and hair and makeup. That's why I'm still baffled by the decision of having Grace's character sporting what amounts to limp California Beach Waves for the whole of the first season.  Because, while it is true that the first season had a considerably lower budget than its following installments, a shitty approach to historical accuracy wasn't the general tone for the ...

A couple of months later than usual due to this pandemic thing that has been messing with everyone's schedules, the nominations for this year's Academy Awards are finally out! And as is traditional in this blog, I'll do a quick recap of the nominees for Best Costume Design. Before we start, just a brief disclaimer. This is neither a review of the nominees nor an actual essay. These are just my most honest thoughts about the movies they nominated this year for Costume Design, two of which I haven't managed to see yet. I might change my mind about them later when I get around to seeing them. It happens sometimes, and that's ok. EMMA. Costume Design by Alexandra Byrne. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Autumn de Wilde's directorial debut adaptation of Jane Austen's novel is the best period film I've seen in a while. It's joyful, charming, romantic, sexy and mean, all rolled in one. It also happens to be the best adaptation of Emma ever...

Once every thousand years, the internet, in its infinite wisdom, brings to my attention something so awful and unexpected, that my immediate need to rail at that awfulness is the only thing that will keep me from gouging my eyes out with a teaspoon.  Catherine of Aragon wearing a breastplate molded around her very pregnant belly for Starz's second season of The Spanish Princess is one of those "somethings". And it's been haunting me ever since I first laid eyes on it. For those fortunate souls who have no idea of what I'm talking about, let me explain.  The Spanish Princess is the latest Starz "historical drama" based on Philippa Gregory's awful "historical" novels. It is meant to be a sequel to 2013's The White Queen and 2017's The White Princess , and centers around Catherine of Aragon, the eponymous Spanish Princess who became Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII. The show premiered in May 2019 and its second ...