Well, my “wife” and I have been together for 7 years now!  To celebrate our anniversary, we went on a dinner-movie date last night. We ate vegan yumminess at Blossoming Lotus cafe and then went out to the new Jane Eyre movie at the Hollywood theater. So many wonderful things in one place…good food, good wine, good lady, good movie….I feel blessed! Alright, enough gratitude.  Today’s Inspiration Sunday is about the costumes we saw in the new Jane Eyre movie!!! Have you seen it? The milliner, dressmaker, knitter and Lit major in me totally died. I LOVED IT. Since the movie is about a no-fuss, no-muss governess girl, her wardrobe had to follow suit, so to speak. The fabrics were plain, practical and durable and all of Jane’s dresses were all nearly identical in cut, suggesting that they had all been patterned after one original dress.  There were no patterns in the 1830′s…typically, you took a dress apart, ironed the pieces flat, used them as the pattern for a new dress and then sewed both dresses back up. Easy, right?  This is the face you make when you are done: Of course, I adore lavishly costumed historical movies about rich people but I rarely see things in those movies that I can readily apply to my current wardrobe.  This movie, on the other hand, had a couple good ideas for me in the quotidian here-and-now. Like, OMG, I want to knit her shawl so bad: Apparently, this shawl has become a huge thing on Ravelry right now.  (I mean, Bronte + knitting…this isn’t rocket science…this is a real live niche just begging to be thrown a bone.)  I found a good looking pattern here.  Let me know if you use it. Costume designer Michael O’Conner’s choice of time period for the movie was interesting to me, too.  See, the book takes places in the 1830′s though it was written 10 years after, in the 1840′s.  O’Conner decided to costume as if the action was taking place in the 1840′s.  The reason?  He feels that fashions in of the 1830′s were, well…ugly.  Specifically, he said that all the women looked like “valentines” and that the cut was “unflattering.” I checked that allegation out thoroughly…and he may be onto something there.  Here’s some fashion plates from the 1830′s: “Ugly” might be a strong word here, but, at the very least, I can see how it would be difficult to costume a no-frills type girl in that time period, especially when you compare it to this fashion plate of the 1840′s: So, now you know.  1830′s = valentine’s day ridiculousness.  1840′s = tasteful decadence. The next thing that caught my eye was the undergarments.  I can’t, for the life of me, find a screen grab from the scene where Jane takes off her petticoat, but it looked a lot like this one I found on Wearing History: After doing a bunch of research on cording for my Vintage in Detail guest series on Burdastyle, it was neat to see a corded petticoat in action. Of course Jane wouldn’t wear an encumbering hooped contraption – she’s a servant living in the country for crying out loud!!  Cording just makes sense in this context. (If you want to know more about corded petticoats, this gal really knows her stuff.) Seeing corded pintucks in the movie really made me want to adapt the technique for a nice full skirt or even a hat brim or something.  I’m not talking period-wear; I’m just thinking that it’s something I might want to incorporate into my regular sewing routine.  Frankly, anything I can do to add body and stiffness is something I’m into.  Fusible interfacing has been getting on my nerves lately and I like the different effect cording has too – I imagine the weight is interesting to wear and the texture is totally unique.  I’ve also noticed that corded pintucks can have an edgy, futuristic, space-age effect depending on where and how you use them.  Lots to think about. In other news, the collars! My God, the collars. This is my favorite one: I strongly believe that this shape is particularly flattering to the human face.  Seriously – this girl is onto something. OK, almost done, I swear! The final piece that really rocked my world was Jane’s FABULOUS BONNET at the end. WANT. THIS. HERE. BONNET. “Oh no, the castle burned down!” “It’s OK dear, the bonnet was unharmed.” The only info I could find on this bonnet was that it is a “bonnet made of straw from the period” – a quote form this article about the costumes in Vanity Fair. The article isn’t totally clear but I think what they are saying is that it is an actual bonnet from the actual time period, not a recreation made by a costumer.  Either way, I think it is stunning.  All I could make out was that I think the brim is made out of a net of alternating macrame-type square knots.  I guess the other stuff is plaited straw craziness built on top of the netting?  I’m really not sure.  I would love to know more. Happy Sunday! <3 Erin P.S.  OMGOMGOMG my blog tour for Stripped Down Patchwork starts tomorrow!  I’ll be posting here with day-to-day updates and details, so stay tuned!  I’m nervous, excited, and I dunno…I just hope you like free books!! =)

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