Sunday, 27 January 2013

Victorian Fashions & Accessories1837 - 1901

Whilst researching on Victorian Era's Fashion I picked up these books from the library:




 In general, Victorian style is very romantic and the same time chaotic. Looking at the way women dressed back then their silhouettes changed quite frequently. Foe example, between 1840 - 1850 never in the history of fashion have clothing and accessories been designed to make women appear so helpless, vulnerable, modest and in need for men's help. You can observe from the images that in their clothing everything was done to promote this image

 Slimming bell-skirts and balloon shaped sleeves at the top but long and tight at the bottom. Distinctive hour-glass shape body, which was pushing the chest up and tilting the hips backwards
 The fashion back in Victorian times, when the system of social classification was stiff, was varied from class to class. Class could be easily recognised by looking at clothes and hats. One of the signs of high-society was that women would wear short gloves even indoors (to show that they did not work)
Below image of later day wear style 1895, bell-like skirts, richly embroidered, belted waists
You can see here how the bodice, worn over very tight corsets, was long and narrow with a pinched-in waist, the sleeves look tight and restricting
The use of only two colours and several materials was very fashionable, as the British magazine "The Queen" explained in 1887: " There is no such thing as a dress made of single material". The dress was usually made of a dark shade and its trimmings of a lighter shade
1875-1880 there was change in silhouette. Trimmings began below the hips and extended to a long, mermaid-like, fishtail train. Sewing machines were quite new inventions, so allowed less hand-sewing but more fancy and complex trimmings i.e frills, flounces, quilting, tasseled cords, lace and fur.
Gigot or leg-of-mutton sleeves, which reached maximum width between 1895-1897
Paper hand painted or feather fans were very fashionable. I found that during the Victorian Era fans had their own "language". Here is the link to the blog:
http://b-womeninamericanhistory19.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/african-american-women-language-of-fan.html
Please note, this blog is about 19th-century American women. But since in Britain were those who followed the current European and American Aesthetic Movement, which worshiped these fashionable fans I'm sure this "language" of the fan was spread across globally.

This is an example of a Wedding Dresses



Large shawls, embroider in silk for summer and woolen cashmere for winter, were either worn or carried

Bonnets usually hid the face, i.e. the brim usually sat low over the ears and was far forward, to prevent women from looking sideways or being seen, except from the front. This picture below shows a more face-revealing bonnet made of stiffened lace. Some other bonnets were silk-trimmed and adorned with artificial flowers and leaves
Full skirt, which were supported by many petticoats, look quite restricting. Dresses were either closed, or open (like on image below) to reveal a filled-in bodice and petticoat
Trimming consisted of lace and ribbons, and colours were mostly muted with soft fabrics.
Below image is from 1850-1855. The full skirt looks more frilled with matching sleeves in "pagoda" shapes, with some lace under the sleeves. Apparently, in attempt to relieve the weight of the skirts, some petticoats were stiffened with hoops of horsehair, metal, and sometimes rubber tubes
This bonnet looks much further on the head. This was worn by women during the day indoors. Women wore muslin and lace caps with long lappets and much flowery decorations
During the 1850s naturalism was in favour, all natural decorations, flowers and leaves
Decorations for the head also consisted of concoctions of feathers, flowers and beads
With regards to jewellery, curved corals adorned with gold were very popular; again naturalism. Gold, emerald and diamonds were present in evening jewellery. Also, dog collars and chokers were fashionable. For example a pearl diamond choker style have been created by Princess Alexandra after she married the Prince of Wales in 1863, to conceal a scar on her neck. As she was not only royal, but also beautiful and a leader of fashion, society ladies followed her example.

In general Day Wear was very different than Evening wear. Very long-trained evening dresses were even bulkier than for day wear, fastened with lace, ribbons, artificial flowers, buttons and bows.

Here is a small collage of Victorian hairstyling, from Early Victorian 1837-60 through to Mid-Victorian 1860-80 and up until the Late Victorian period 1880-1901.
I've selected my very favorite ones. For Stella's look I would like to make an early Victorian Bonnet (from 1940). Please click on image to enlarge for details.
The brim is quite small and circular in shape, it has flowers around it and a ribbon. This will perfectly accommodate an elaborate set of ringlets on both sides.Very girly and young style.

Miss Havisham, on the other hand, I need to portray as if she is still wearing her once beautifully arranged up-do hair, which has fallen apart. This would be most appropriate for her character. 

Although the wearing of dress caps was confined to women past middle age, Miss Havisham is stuck in the past time and remain in her young attire. Besides, gradually by the end of 1880s the cap as a head-wear for fashionable women ceased to exist 

I went to Hampshire Wardrobe shop in Winchester as part of my primary research and to see costumes for hire. I've taken some photographs of the costumes I liked the most. Great shop, but they have very limited sizes:

Great Expectations

I am excited about my new project brief 
Pip & Estella, Great Expectations 2011 fanpop.com



Young Estella fanpop.com

 Miss Havisham fanpop.com


Saturday, 26 January 2013

Kate Benton from PAM

Here's video, which I recorded when Kate Benton from PAM (Precious About Makeup) visited us at Solent:
She gave us great insight on ups and downs working as pro MUA:

Thursday, 24 January 2013

London in 1800's

My Moodboard

Project Brief

            In order to pitch my ideas on our new brief I started to read Charles Dickens "Great Expectations" and began to visualise all the characters. I wanted to understand what was happening at the time in England, comical old English language (which was different from working class and elite). 
I learnt the characters as Dickens described them, as well as learn their behaviour and character traits. So far I can see how Dickens's characters are kind, and evil, funny and tragic, grotesque and moreover realistic. According to Dickens if you are not happy and your life is not fulfilled you will die at a very young age.

Estella and Miss Havisham are both crazy women in one way or another. The aspect of the project is to interpret the gothic, the terror and the sense of mystery which both characters imply on.

The context of this project is the Victorian era (mid to late 1800s). I will look into on Victorian women and historical content in more depth. Ladies and gents were expected to have education and behave in particular way. The Victorian ideal woman was the "Angle" in the house. If you are an ideal woman it was considered that you can have a happy life. London and Industrial Revolution in Britain. London was surrounded by smoke; it was everywhere, from glass lamps to coal burners and fire places.

In order to create characters, there's many things to think about and take into account. This includes my personal interpretation (creation of character that will differ from boring). Also, I have to think how the production will be captured. Most importantly in the world of HD the design and make-up application has to be precise, and beautifully accurate.

Additional things to think about the actual audience suitable for viewing: whether it's everyone, family or there is an age limit. The audience must fit the character.

Characters: Stella and Miss Havisham requirements:

Research inspirational images, talk about why I chose it and liked it.

10 minutes PP presentation 15 slides maximum. Explain your interpretation of both characters. Must include one makeup and one hair shot for each character.

PP presentation must include link to my blog. Technical sign off sheet to be shown at the end of the blog.

Everything must be uploaded as a single PP presentation file.

Important inclusions:
Drawings on my blog, makeup templates. This is important as eventually the character becomes more refined and this will allow to communicate more competently about my re-design.

According to the novel Miss Havisham never washed, probably didn't eat much at all maybe anorexic, never come out to see the sunshine and probably had some kind of dementia or deep depression. Her constant hand scratching indicates he maybe harming herself. Her skin is pale and hair ringlets are fallen out as she has not groomed for a long while. Her age is not clear though.
She really sticks out as an interesting character. In Chapter 8, Dickens describes that she lives "surrounded by mould and stopped clocks". 

Whereas young Stella is portrayed as a quite likeable and innocent character somewhere at the beginning of the novel. However, under influence of Miss Havisham and her paranoia about getting a revenge from all men in the world young Estella is grown into a femme fatale later.

I love the idea of this project as there are so many I can produce. There are so much transformations of the characters and I will be looking forward to chose any point of Stella and Miss Havisham's lives and see what I will produce at the end of it.

***
Firstly, I decided to pop around Southampton Art Gallery to get some inspiration and I found this great paintings (please click to enlarge):
























I also picked up this book in the library:
 Here are few notes on Victorian makeup and beauty.

 Victorians didn't wear much make-up and ones who did it was very discreet:
Only "Nature's dewey lip". 'There is no man who does not shrink back with disgust from the idea of kissing a pair of painted lips'.

"None, but the very finest powder should be used, and the lady should be especially careful that sufficient is not left upon the face to be noticeable to the eye of gentleman'.

"If Satan has ever had any direct agency in inducing woman to spoil or deform her own beauty, it must have been in tempting her to use paints and enamelling' Madame (Lola) Montez (1818-61) who died prematurely from paralysis. She was one of the most celebrated beauties of all time, Spanish dancer (born in Ireland). The book of beauty hints bearing her name was published. The book was of Victorian prudery, common sense, conventional recipes, and advice listed from other books.

Madame Montez warned her readers about eye makeup, which she found 'absurd and ruinous to beauty'.. 'Take this fair creature and draw a black line over her softly tinctured eyes, stain their heavy fringes with a sombre hue, and how frightfully have you mutilated nature!...'




 

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Industrial Revolution and British Society

The most important development of the industrial period, which started in the late 18th century, was the increasingly intensive use of hydrocarbon fuels: coal, oil and natural gas.

During the 18th century, the source of power was the most important factor in the location of industrial activity. The manipulation of water in oredr to drive water mills became very important in the UK. All over Britain, rivers were diverted; reservoirs were built in the hills to supply mills.

Development of water-power and its role in the rise of the factory system of production is very important in the history of the British environment. Yet it is secondary compared with the replacement of charcoal, a product from wood, by coal.

Coal mining and use of steam power generated from coal is without doubt the central, binding narrative of the 19th century. However, the trend was set and soon the environment felt the full impact of industrialisation in the form of air and water pollution:


 
Rivers that pass through urban areas became a receptacle for human waste products, both domestic and industral. Sewage was washed out into the streets where it found its way to the rivers with diastorous consequences.

In the first half of 18th century, both London and Paris, the largest cities in Europe with respectively 1 and 2.4 million inhabitants by 1850, experienced a series of recurring epidemics of cholera and typhoid. This was caused by increasing amounts of sewage dumped into the Thames in London and Seine river in Paris.

London was one of the first cities in the world to build a sewer system and improve the quality of its drinking water supply. Drinking water was significantly improved by the 1850s, yet the problem of the Thames hit daily by 260 tons of raw sewage by the late 1850s cause the most stir in parlament.

Joseph Bazalgette was the civil engineer responsible for a project that took about 16 years (1858-74) to complete. Cholera was by then a thing of the past and the general health of the population improved greatly.

Air pollution due to industrial and domestic smoke. London was infamous for its combinations of smoke and fog, combined with the word smog.  London was nicknamed "the BigSmoke". Air pollution caused death rates to rise. During a week of smog in 1873 killed over 700 people in London. However, the largest air pollution disaster in Britain was the Great London Smog of December 1952 which killed approximately 4,000 people.
Source: Environmental History Resources  eh-resources.org

***
Whilst researching about the Victorian Era I came across this website. It is quite gory, I never knew that Victorians used to memorialized dead loved one in postmortem photography. It makes sense, since during the Victorian Era child mortality was extremely high, so postmortem photography maybe the only memory of the child that family ever had. So sad. Please check this link out:

http://www.thehorrorzine.com/Morbid/Victorian%20Post%20Mortem%20Photography.html
***
  
This painting if from the Tate collection. By James Tissot, "Portsmouth Dockyard" (1877) Which is where Charles Dickens was born.
The drawing illustrate the cliche situation of a man trying to choose between two woman. The Sergeant turns away from the sulking-looking lady and looks at the woman speaking to him, suggesting he has made his choice. This painting was quite provocative for that time and it shocked the audience when it was presented at the Royal Academy in 1876, because of the high morals of the Victorian times, and these characters had confused sexual morals:


























                        Child Labor
Child labor was very popular during the Victorian Era. In the early Victorian times some boys started to work as young as 5 or 6 years old.
In  1819 the government first passed an act that made it illegal for children under 9 to work in cotton mills. However, there were not factory inspectors to check the mills.
Later in the 1833 another act was introduced, but this time inspectors were appointed. Children aged 9 - 13 were not allowed to work more than 12 hours a day or a total of more than 48 hours a week. From 1880 it was the law that children had to go to school until they were 11 years old. Many children would still have started work at 12 or 13. what I found quite bad that the fact the government had introduced the law but the parents were demonstrating against this law, because the loss of money what their children brought home.


During the Industrial Revolution throughout Britain and the use of steam-powered machnes, led to a massive increase in the number of factories. Factories wanted to hire children, because children are small and cheap.
Children could easily crawl under the machinery and the fingers of children are rather supple and thin, so they were used to perform precision tasks. In the early years of this century one third of the workers were children between 7 and 13 years old.

Some children, mostly the boys, had to work in the coal mines. One of the jobs children had to do in the coal mines was the trap jobs. The so called "trappers" had to sit all day in a hole and wait for the coal wagons to come. But the work of the coal bearers was worse. These children had to carry big loads of coal on their back. Children who worked in these mines died at average of 25 or earlier.

Other children, mostly the girls, had to work in the cotton mills. Some owners of these mills took orphans to their working places. The orphans did not have anything, so for working very hard the employers gave them food and place to sleep.

Some children fell asleep while working and fell into the machine. Later they were found dead lying on the ground.

One of the most important pioneers who wanted to help the children of the industrialized Britain was Lord Shaftesbury. He was a leader of the movement for factory and coal mine reform and philantropist, particularly regarding children. He pushed the Factory Acts through the Houses of Parliament limiting working hours for children. He was a chairman of the Ragged Schools Union - an organisation that set up over a 100 schools for poor children.

The Legal Position of the XIV Century Women

In terms of law, unmarried women were the property of their father and married woman, the property of their husband.

Men could assert control over women's actions and lives.

Many women of this century fought for changes in the law which would make them more equal. In 1837, for example, Caroline Norton caused a great scandal when she attacked the law which prevented separated women from having access to their own children.

Later in the 1850's there was great demand for a married Women's Property Bill, which would give married women some economic independence. 

On the other hand, there were some happy married couples according to journalist Matthew Moore (Apr.2010). He discovered that while public morality frowned upon discussion of female sexuality, the records show that in private couples took a much more open approach. One woman respondent wrote: "The highest devotion is based upon it, a very beautiful thing, and I am glad nature gave it to us". Another described the act as "preforming the spiritual union".

Also, on a positive note some other historic dates in brief:

1839 - if marriage broke down, children under 7 should stay with their mother.
1857 - women could divorce their husbands who were cruel to them or who had left them.
1870 - woman were allowed to keep money they had earned.
1891 - women could not be forced to live with their husbands unless they wished to.

These, however, were good laws on paper. It would have been difficult for divorced women to keep herself and her children simply because the attitude of Victorian Britain was that women should stay at home. Therefore, few women were skilled in any obvious profession and there were few jobs that paid well for women during the XVI century.