Creating costumes LED lights blacklight paint

Creating Light Up, Illuminated Costumes

The LED Stickman Costume is one of the most popular and enduring of the light up costumes. We see it for the whole family. You can adapt it by adding features to the look. There are different methods for making the costume. It may be easier to buy one already made. For a party, a con or another event you'll get the attention you want.

Start with the clothes that you're going to alter. A dark sweat suit? Will you create something from scratch? Whether you're painting it with black light paint or adding LED lights, the foundation is important for your comfort but also to make the look work safely and correctly.



Look for LED strip light the LED strip and power source (some configurations use the AA 12V power pack) online or find the materials locally.

Tron Legacy
How to make a Tron Costume, EL Wire
Also use the wire to make the 'stick figure' costumes; design your own



Make an accessory such as Fairy wings using EL Wire / Electroluminescent Wire

With reflective fabric

A ready-made
Tron Legacy costume

Reflective Fabric and fabric tape Apart from being a feature for costuming such as the one above, the tape has long been sold as a safety feature. 

Added to clothing and accessories, such as book bags, shoes and jackets. Add it to dog and cat collars & leashes.  

The tape helps you be seen by traffic regardless if it's dawn, dusk or nighttime. It may also be helpful to help your family, including pets being seen by oncoming traffic in a storm.

Be safe when walking to school, walking the dog, riding your bike or motorcycle, trick or treating.


You can create the look in a black light environment by wearing all black and adding black light paint. Will the paint work on your morph suit / second skin suit? I don't see why not, but it should work fine on a sweatshirt or T-shirt. I'm hearing that you have to use blacklight reactive fabric paint.  

4oz Deluxe Neon Blacklight Reactive Fabric Paint Combo Set

Glow in the dark or fluorescent paints don't show up under the black light. It all depends on where you're going to be, will you re-use or pass along the clothes?

Companies like UVGlow and Tulip make an assortment of paints that get good reviews, including a Blacklight Reactive Fabric Paint Combo Set. 

If you're looking for face or body paint or paint to use on walls and other art projects make sure that's listed on the label and/or in the product description.

As with everything, check on delivery dates and see if the paints come with any accessories.

Sapphires Old Hollywood and Now Girls Best Friend

Sapphires Were and Are a Girl's Best Friend

Carole Lombard 8x10" Photo

In the golden age of Hollywood, sapphires were some of the most popular gemstones. They were coveted by the top actresses from the 1910s - the 1940s in particular.

Sapphire is the birthstone for the month of September.

I've found the sapphire listed as modern and/or traditional gemstone associated with different signs of the zodiac, probably most often with the sign of Virgo which is the month of September. 

Also showing the sapphire are the signs of Capricorn, Taurus and Aquarius. You may see other blue stones such as lapis lazuli.

Symbolism, Gemstone meanings
Fidelity and prosperity, energy, wisdom, peace and protection from evil. Those whose favorite color is blue and who wear a lot of blue or complementary colors and those who have blue eyes particularly love sapphires. They're among the Ayurvedic healing gem stones.

The stone may be used as an engagement ring alone or with other gems. Think of how a sapphire means faithfulness and sincerity.

Star Sapphires
Sapphires are from the mineral family Corundum. They can show a phenomenon

Star sapphire cabochon
displaying six-ray asterism

called asterism, or the star effect, rutile needles, referred to as silk. "The star effect can be seen in ruby or any color of sapphire and it arises from white light reflecting from numerous tiny, oriented needle-like inclusions."
-- Gemological Institute of America

You might see other gemstones such as rutilated quartz, which can look like a transparent quartz with darker strands included in it. Choosing something like this is an unusual and attractive one of a kind gem.

We have cats who are Siamese and Tonkinese. They have beautiful blue eyes that remind me of sapphires sometimes. Wonder if my love of this breed of cats influences my love of sapphires? Our Tonkinese has eyes that are more violet and friends want to call her Elizabeth, after Liz Taylor!

The 1920s Hollywood enjoyed the Great Gatsby flapper look, big necklaces, brooches and rings were very much in style. Blue gemstones are some of the most beautiful.

Women were declaring their independence in what they wore and how they behaved. Fans wanted the appearance of their favorite Hollywood actresses with jewelry that was lower cost but had a similar look.

Joan Crawford
8x10" Photo

Stars known to have collections of sapphire jewelry: Joan Crawford, Mae West, Vivien Leigh, Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Mary Pickford and Jean Harlow.

Mae West had a sapphire and diamond brooch worth over $10,000 in the late 1930s.

Who had the biggest sapphire in Hollywood? Newspapers and fan magazines talked of a rivalry among the stars of the early-mid 1930s stars for the largest one. For a while, the papers

Vivien Leigh 8x10 Photo

said it was Mae West with a 150 carat sapphire ring.

Joan Crawford was such a fan of sapphires, and the color blue. Many of her dresses were in shades of blue. The papers started using a phrase, Joan Blue. 

"Sapphire blue, a new color created especially for Joan Crawford was designed to form a perfect background for star sapphire jewellery. Miss Crawford wore a gown of this color and the accompanying jewels to the Hollywood opening of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, Romeo and Juliet." 
-- Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser  February 15, 1937 New South Wales, Australia

Wallis Simpson, who married Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor also had a shade of blue named for her. "Wallis blue is an individual shade between medium and pastel. The bride's deep blue eyes say fashion experts are one of her greatest charms." It is the color she wore on her wedding day in June 1937.

"Myrna Loy's favorite for the races is a new swagger coat dress. The color is the new sapphire blue and again a light-weight woolen is the fabric. ... Miss Loy flaunts a swagger coat of matching woolen and with the same matching silver button trim. Darker blue shoes, hat, gloves and bag result in deflecting masculine stares from the nags to Miss Loy." 

The article also mentions that Maureen O'Sullivan was seen cocktailing at the Beverly Hills Brown Derby with Johnny Farrow. They married later that year and went on to have seven children together.  
-- The Milwaukee Journal, January 28, 1936

I want some red roses for a blue, blue lady
Send them to the sweetest gal in town
And if they do the trick, I'll hurry back to pick
Your best white orchid for her wedding gown

-- excerpt from Red Roses for a Blue Lady

Another actress with a love of the color blue that transcended her love of sapphires was Carole Lombard.

Carole Lombard
Fine Art Paper Print 13x19"

In 1932, Barbara Stanwyck observed that Carole Lombard wore a star sapphire ring "that was the size of a hen's egg."
-- from A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940, By Victoria Wilson 

In 1933, she called the police because a sapphire ring valued at $5,000 was missing. The ring, given to her by then-husband, William Powell, turned up on the grounds of Paramount Studios, so I read.

"One of the biggest star sapphires seen around these parts in years, 150 carats has just been purchased by Carole Lombard, who rivals Joan Crawford in the worship of these stones. Carole Lombard already owned a massive sapphire in a ring Bill Powell gave her. 

"The new stone will be mounted for a triple use as ring, brooch and pendant. Carole's love of the color blue incidentally extends further than jewelry. As a nice gesture Paramount is using a blue motif for the sets in her new picture Hands Across the Table."
-- The Reading (PA) Eagle, September 6, 1935 King Features Syndicate  

"Carole never wears more than one ring at a time and often doesn't wear any. Her favorite is a huge star sapphire in a simple setting. I don't blame her. If I had a stone like that it wouldn't have any rivals for my affection either."  
-- "Carole Lombard's Idea Of Beautiful Hands,"  The Milwaukee Journal, December 1, 1935

Engraved Birthstone Necklace - Custom Made with any Names
There are many options for personalized birthstone necklaces
for Mothers, Grandmothers, etc.
Real gemstones, simulated or crystals.
Some you add a gem one at a time.

This is part of a short series.*Updated March 2015

Related Links of Interest:

Gems on The Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness Diamond, Sapphires, Emeralds, Opals, Amethyst...

Colored Gemstone Sapphire & Emerald Engagement Rings, Princesses Diana and Catherine, Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Taylor, Halle Berry and Penélope Cruz ....

William Powell and Carole Lombard married 1931-1933; their sapphires, My Man Godfrey. Pre-Jean Harlow and Clark Gable

William Powell, Jean Harlow and a Diamond Ring

George Carlin serves blue food on the first Saturday Night Live

Bill Powell, Jean Harlow and a 152-Carat Sapphire Ring: Hollywood's biggest star sapphire 

Blue food dinner party, the joke so nice Alfred Hitchcock played it twice

The psychology of Blue Food, Blue Plates, Weight Loss

The Ring on The Waltons; amethyst part of the Tuesday Flashback Feature

Mae West: It Ain't No Sin by Simon Louvish  


Sources not cited:
The Evening Independent June 3, 1937

Knit with Joan Crawford Star Inspiration

Knitting with the stars

Do you share a hobby with a favorite celebrity? I'd like to put a photo of a favorite person or character on a bag I take when I'm traveling, when we're making jewelry at a friend's house, taking photos, whatever we're doing. It's the cross-collectible route and a real conversation piece.

This is something I thought of for a close friend who knits and loves classic movies. She brings her yarn, needles, her tablet (computer :)) and other accessories with her when on the go. I could add her name or a movie quote that I know she likes.... Her very favorite actress is Joan Crawford.

"Her lovely pink-and-white afghan is an Alice Maynard design and the Alice Maynard shop is one of the oldest and most exclusive needlework shops in New York, with some of the most beautiful designs you've ever seen, not only in knitted and crocheted items, but in needlepoint and crewel as well. The shop is located on Madison Avenue which is loaded with elegant and expensive shops...."

Joan Crawford 1970s knits Tee Shirts by Jakestuff
Design your own tee shirt online at Zazzle
*White shirts will show the true color of the image.
You may get a hint of color showing through
here and there if you choose something else.

"... Women who love fine needlework are the same friendly and helpful souls the world over, whether they are in sophisticated New York or casual Kansas. A charming Cuban lady, Miss Otilia Ruz, worked out the instructions for Joan Crawford's afghan, so we could bring them to you."
-- excerpts from Lady's Circle article, cover image on items

The Evening Independent, December 16, 1937

A fan of Joan Crawford's decided to make "the young actress a sweater. Her plan was to knit 1000 stitches for every picture Miss Crawford made. The sweater required 26,000 stitches so, after seeing The Bride Wore Red last week, Miss Violet put on the last 1000 stitches and sent the garment."

Joan Crawford 1970s knits Canvas Bags by Jakestuff
See more Joan crawford Bags at zazzle.com

 

Vintage Knitting PATTERN to make a 1940s Joan Crawford Knitted Dress
(NOT a finished item) This is a pattern and/or instructions to make the item only

"The main attraction here [Alice Maynard Yarn Shop] unquestionably is Otilia Ruz, resident at Maynard since she emigrated from Cuba in 1968. Otilia is reputed to be New York's best knitting instructor. 

"She is delightful and patient. (These are not qualities, alas, among the instructors who work out of local yarn shops. Many other store teachers - and sometimes sales staff - have reputations for gruffness and impatience.) She provides custom pattern instructions for suits, her specialty, or any other knitted garment." ... 
-- excerpt from New York Magazine January 26, 1981 

Joan Crawford signed personal letter on stationary 1971
A reassuring note

More tips from Ms. Crawford via the Lady's Circle Magazine....
 
"Joan has often told me she cannot understand women who rule out any experience or emotion likely to bring wrinkles. 'That isn't for me! I don't want to look as if I'd been punished by life, but I do want to look as if I'd lived.'

"She repeats this thinking in her book, The Way I Live (a.k.a. My Way of Life), Joan Crawford writing: 'All my nostalgia is for tomorrow, not for any yesterdays...There's nothing I regret or would change. If it hadn't been for the pain I wouldn't be me. I like very much being me.'"

Joan Crawford stylish portrait 1930 movie star Greeting Card 
Invite friends to a party
Browse more Joan Crawford Cards

Related Articles of Interest:

Flying with tools, musical instruments, Knitting Needles on a Plane

Sweater Days: Knit it Up, Be a Sweater Girl from the 1940s, Remember Mr. Rogers

Knitting with the stars in the Jazz Age A collection of Roaring Twenties stars knitting, trivia of the time, Wallace Beery - Mary Miles Minter. The 1922 death of actor/director William Desmond Taylor.

1950s Housewife/Mom June Cleaver Top 10 TV Moms

Joan Crawford Entertains 1935 Clipping from Magazine orig 2pg : Tips for giving a Successful Dinner Party

You'll find some mention of Lady's Circle Magazine aka Ladies Circle in the interesting book, Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators ... by Anthony Slide

You'll occasionally see Joan Crawford magazines on sale on Amazon, eBay and elsewhere. Check locally, you may be able to find them at your library or a shop or sale in town. 

Think about knitting your favorite guy a striped sweater. All the cool guys are wearing them.

James Bond 007 Sean Connery 8x10 Photo in striped sweater

Johnny Depp 8x10 Photo torn jeans red sweater #1
 
Robert Englund "Freddy Krueger" has a Signed Sweater

Nirvana Autographed Signed Kurt Cobain Red Sweater Poster

Hands in Film Fashion Surrealist Influences

Fashion and hands forever linked

The human body has always served as an artists staple subject matter. Styles

Bejeweled hand clasp
on a swimsuit cover up
Fashion show in The Women 1939

change and the depictions are different.

One of the most public and still most personal body part is the hand. We may be adorning our own with rings and bracelets or the very latest in nail art. Put a ring on it. Hand work in art and fashion is prized.

Religions join hands in ceremonies, hands are seen in iconography, we pray, shake hands, wave hello and goodbye. Palmistry is used to foretell your future, whether you're a believer or not. 

The Beatles will forever want to hold your hand. It makes them feel happy inside. Delightful as it would be to hold hands with any of The Beatles (is there a place where I can sign up?), holding hands with someone can be one of the sweetest, most loving, even most comforting things we do.

The hand and heart is popular in folk art even as a cookie cutter design. What the hand is doing, how it's positioned, as Fonzie knew - be it thumbs up or down, can be vitally important.

Rosalind Russell won't miss a thing in this dress

Fashion designers have incorporated the hand into their clothing and accessories for years. Influenced by Surrealism, Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli incorporated hands, among other things into her accessories in the 1930s. 

Her hand themed buttons and belts are museum pieces and collectors items now.

The Women
Gloves with golden extensions

We can't ignore Cedric Gibbons' contribution to The Women. As art director, his set designs added glamor, ambiance and just the right environment to each scene.

In The Women, major developments happen early on in a scene with a manicurist. 

The theme of fingers, claws and Jungle Red nail polish carries throughout, so it's fitting that Gibbons created an outstanding piece of glowing hand sculpture to catch our eyes. 




The spa and department store sets were said to take up several rooms alone. Why couldn't Mary's husband keep his hands off of Crystal??

Hands, and a nod to Schiaparelli's designs of the day, also served as inspiration for the costume designs in films such as The

My department store
doesn't have
a display like that

Women (1939) and 1942's The Man Who Came to Dinner. 

Adrian produced outfits for a Technicolor fashion show in the middle of black and white movie The Women, much to the chagrin of director George Cukor. 

Like The Wizard of Oz in the same year, The Women was a black and white film that had a color segment included. Though some find it jarring, most viewers adore the fashion sequence.

He was costume designer for the entire film.  Rosalind Russell wore an eye-popping three-eyed dress early in the film. This served to define the character but also gave a nod to the Surrealist fashion movement. 

Norma Shearer Photo

Schiaparelli designed a line of gloves with elaborate ruffles and even mock fingernails. Gloves with 3-D nails or claws can be found today, be they fancy dress costume-quality or high fashion designer quality with the price tags to match.

Some of the film's fashion show is online. The Women (the original from 1939 particularly) is a great film that's pretty regularly shown on television, be it PBS or channels such as Turner Classic Movies, TCM. 

Just some of the stars are Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, Lucile Watson, Butterfly McQueen and Mary Boland. 



One of Schiaparelli's famous accessories was a simple silk evening belt with a plastic hand clasp from the designers fall 1934 collection. "The wearer is literally embraced around the waist by the belt," they said.

Ann Sheridan
The Man Who Came to Dinner

Orry-Kelly was costume designer on The Man Who Came to Dinner. Ann Sheridan wears a blouse with hand-shaped buttons. 

She and her pretentious behavior frustrates the characters played by Bette Davis and Monty Woolley.

Some reviewers of the day referred to the garments as faux Schiaparelli gowns. Do you remember other movies with outfits like these?

Schiaparelli created a silk dress with a larger-than-life hand-painted lobster on the skirt for Wallis Simpson's trousseau when she was to marry King-Emperor Edward VIII. 



The lobster motif is reminiscent of a  brooch Joan Crawford wore in, I believe, Mildred Pierce. Fashion and accessories, especially for those who could afford the very best, was getting more surreal in the 30s and early 40s.

The Man Who Came to Dinner Movie Poster

The collections of designers Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2007 and Hussein Chalayan in 2010 have incorporated hands in unique ways. 

Kawakubo's hands are more decorative while in Chalayan's looks they may serve to be utilitarian as well. (This is based on seeing their partial collections.) Jewelry designer Margaux Lange is one who incorporates parts of the iconic Barbie doll into her jewelry.

How about the hand in architecture? The entrance to the car park of Estonian State Opera at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn has barrier gates. When you've paid for admittance they raise and allow you inside. Some of the gates are fashioned in the shape of an oversized hand holding a conductor's baton.  

Barbra Streisand Fine Art Paper Print

from The Owl and the Pussycat, with George Segal 1973
Not quite the same thing, but a famous costume

Joan Crawford in Bathing Suit Wristlet Purse
Several sizes/styles. By Jakestuff

The book, Architecture and Film has a section on Cedric Gibbons. This is now available on Kindle. Film buffs will enjoy how many eras are discussed and historians, especially those who are makers and builders will really love it. Who built Mr. Blandings' Dream House?

George Cukor, Master of Elegance: Hollywood's Legendary Director and His Stars by Emanuel Levy is just one where you can the director's feelings about the technicolor fashion show sequence. Imposed by the producers, Cukor felt that "it made the black and white footage that followed look bad." Since color was a novelty in 1939 it was inserted at least partly to get added attention for the movie.

Shocking Life: The Autobiography of Elsa Schiaparelli Her autobiography is on Kindle. Are any of her pieces at your local museum?

Chromatic Cinema: A History of Screen Color is a good guide to early use of color in film.

 

 

Related Links of Interest:

Philadelphia Museum's Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli

Check out the Lobster Dress at The Philadelphia Museum

Remember Max Factor SophistiCat and Schiaparelli Perfumes? 

Comparing The Unknown & Edward Scissorhands; Lon Chaney and Johnny Depp

Six movies where characters have possessed hands 

It's spreading New Viral Art

Hand Shadows Lamps and Shades Customize or Create new A little bit of light or a lot
 
Palmistry Bagettes Bag Wristlet Purse by EndlessVintage
Browse Palmistry Bagettes Bags online at Zazzle.com

Here comes the bride wedding fashion museum shows

'Tis the Season... Wedding Dress Shows
at a Museum Near You

Or at least on a computer screen near you

Grace Kelly's bridal gown,
Her wedding in Monaco
April 19, 1956

 

Whether it's in honor of Valentine's Day, springtime or gearing up for Wedding season we're always in the mood to look at wedding dresses. With an interest in costume and a jewelry maker, I'm always on the lookout for shows to feature.

Check with your local museum, art gallery and library to see if a wedding themed show or exhibit is in the works. 

An auction house may have a wedding themed auction. More likely wedding items on display would be part of another auction. 

Here are three current museum exhibitions featuring wedding dress exhibitions. 

In this earth-friendly age of repurposing and recycling, artists are creating wedding gowns out of all sorts of materials. We're apt to see clever, thoughtful and whimsical ideas on display when least expected. Television challenge shows, especially fashion themes like Project Runway often will have a wedding theme of some kind.

Featured are other ideas to

Joan Crawford 8x10"
What era is your favorite?

 find some amazing wedding looks. 

The Jewish Museum in London has For Richer For Poorer: Weddings Unveiled February 13-May 31, 2015


Maybe you want ideas for your upcoming wedding or you're interested in history. Are you into fashion design, a romantic at heart, a film fan or a fashionista? Some may be custom made, some may be celebrity dresses, costumes, the chic, the outrageous, the iconic.



** BLISS: 19th-Century Wedding Gowns from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection. February 11-April 26, 2014

This exhibit took place in the FIDM Museum & Galleries (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles campus). 

Ms. Larson was a fashion collector and historian. Also visit Bound to Impress: Corsets from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection. The exhibit highlights unnatural fashions between the 1760s and the 1820s. What would Scarlett O'Hara say about this?

Listen to a 2012 Costume Cafe Podcast Kevin Jones FIDM Curator discuss The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection.

For film students and film lovers, a benefit of attending a show at the FIDM Museum & Galleries is that you may find a show with film and or television costume, particularly when it's the time for industry awards. 

What is your favorite wedding movie?

Father of the Bride Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett
Family wedding films that are bound to be remade

Their Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Show ran through April 2014.


"Featuring over 100 costumes from more than 20 films, this annual exhibition celebrates the creative accomplishments of costume designers and offers visitors an up-close view of the costumer's art. 

"This year's exhibition includes all five 2014 Academy Award nominees for Best Costume: American Hustle (Michael Wilkinson), The Grandmaster (William Chang Suk Ping), The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin), The Invisible Woman (Michael O’Connor) and 12 Years a Slave (Patricia Norris).

"It includes costumes from selected films of 2013 will be displayed in this annual exhibition of film costume design. Highlighted in the exhibition will be the previous year’s Academy Award® winner for Best Costume Design, Anna Karenina, designed by Jacqueline Durran."

Frankenstein 1931 BW Movie
Planing a theme wedding, Goth?

A family member of ours graduated from FIDM, and you may recognize that Tim Gunn's new Project Runway show, Under the Gunn takes place on a campus of FIDM.

** The Victoria and Albert Museum in London will host Wedding Dresses 1775-2014, exhibited May 3, 2014 through March 15, 2015. Learn about the history of fashion, the personal tradition of marriage and the couples themselves. 

What's involved in maintaining a garment that is hundreds of years old? What's involved in starting and maintaining a marriage, anyway?

"On display will be the most romantic, glamorous and extravagant wedding dresses from the V&A’s superb collection and will include some important new acquisitions as well as loans including the purple dress worn by Dita Von Teese for her marriage to Marilyn Manson and the outfits worn by Gwen Steffani and Gavin Rossdale on their wedding day."

The V&A Museum has one of my favorite web sites. Their thoughtful discussions on a variety of topics are often transcribed and uploaded. Those of us who can't visit in person can get a good sense of what it's like to visit an exhibit or participate in a discussion. The role of a museum has changed with the advent of the internet.
 
Prince William and Princess Catherine have celebrated the birth of baby Prince George. The final stop in the tour of Diana a Celebration was the Cincinnati Museum Center. The show ran February 14-August 17, 2014. 

Charles and Diana's wedding July 29, 1981 at  St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Princess Diana's wedding dress, complete with accessories and a little bridesmaid's dress are on display. 

Also in the exhibit are personal photographs and mementos, jewelry, some of her tiaras and other iconic dresses and gowns.

In 2012 and 2013 a traveling exhibit of Princess Grace Style Icon visited the US, Canada, Australia and, of course, Monaco. 

Along with outfits in Grace Kelly's personal collection and costumes she wore on screen, in her roles in Hitchcock and other film roles a replica of her famous wedding dress was included in the show.




Fans saw some resemblance between Princess Grace's dress and the gown worn by Princess Catherine when she married Prince William.




Just as you're apt to see a wedding dress in a fashion show, you may see at

MGM Designer Helen Rose
works on Grace Kelly's
wedding dress

least one in an exhibit of a designer's work or that of a style icon. 

If you were lucky enough to see In the Valentino: Master of Couture exhibition, included was the 1995 bridal gown created for Princess Marie Chantal of Greece. 

Twenty-five of Valentino's seamstresses worked on the dress, created with pearl-encrusted ivory silk, 12 kinds of lace and incorporating a half meter train.

Watch press releases from auction houses. There was an auction of the amazing dresses worn by stars such as Elizabeth Taylor. 

Even if you can't bid, some auction houses bring their collections to different parts of the country. You may be able to see the items in person. Sometimes an item's provenance is fascinating.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Wedding Poster Photo
Famous Americans Posters

The fashion worn by our political leaders is of historical significance, and wedding dresses would be of particular interest. At the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, artist's reproduction of Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding gown done completely in paper. 

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy’s gown was the work of Ann Lowe, an African-American dress-maker from Alabama.

Jacqueline Kennedy’s actual wedding gown, part of the Kennedy Library’s permanent collection, is now too fragile for display and was last featured in a 2003 exhibit marking the 50th wedding anniversary.

Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave and collaborator Rita Brown created an exact paper replica after visiting the JFK Library. They made careful measurements and notes before production. The paper was manipulated, dyed with tea. The intent was to mimic the texture and color of the original silk. The paper dress was on display in Honor of the Kennedys' 60th Wedding Anniversary.

Similarly you may find specially made dolls in all price ranges who've been carefully crafted, the dolls themselves, the dresses and the details of their accessories to correspond with what famous brides wore on their wedding days.  




Just as some designers rush to knock off what's seen on the red carpet at events such as the Oscars, famous wedding gowns are often imitated as quickly as possible. These days, a studio may or may not work with outside designers to get a dress in stores for fans.

When The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn, Part One was released, designer Alfred Angelo was prepared to give prospective brides the dress they'd seen in ads and trailers as soon as the film opened. Couples could have a wedding resembling that of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson). 

Angelo also offers a collection inspired by Disney characters. He, and others have created a copies of Kate Middleton's Alexander McQueen gown. When it is as iconic as Kate Middleton's gown, there are even Halloween costumes made.

One of the top stories in bridal film fashion is the semi-hush-hush situation where British designer Vivienne Westwood was commissioned to create a gown

Miss Piggy and Kermit
An earlier film, a different dress

for none other than Miss Piggy. It's for her new film, Muppets Most Wanted. The dress is described as an ivory couture gown that is not only stunning but environmentally sound. 

It was made from recycled plastic bottles, decorated in paillettes and is accessorized with a tulle veil. Westwood reportedly created other outfits for the star to wear in the film. 

Whether the wedding would really take place has not been confirmed and the groom, Kermit the Frog has been unavailable for comment.

How are weddings altered by traditions changing through the years, through families, cultures, simply by individual personality? Was the bride a traditionalist, a trailblazer, a bit of both? How can you tell? Are you like she was? 

Regardless of how times and tastes and traditions change, we can usually take something from those we admire and imbue them into our own look. Ever hallway a runway, never so much perhaps as when you're talking about the wedding aisle.


Exhibition Information, Related Pages of Interest:

For Richer, For Poorer Weddings Unveiled The Jewish Museum London 
February-May 2015

The Victoria and Albert Museum London Wedding Dresses 1775-2014; Through March 2015

Norma Talmadge Stretched Canvas Prints and posters by shelbysemail2
Look at more canvas art prints at zazzle

Tiaras turn you into a princess on your wedding day: tiaras and crystal headbands are so popular now more than ever between the influence of royalty, the celebration of handmade and artisan crafters, programs like Downton Abbey and films like The Great Gatsby. They are for all eras, all styles and budgets.

Paper Art version of Jacqueline Kennedy Wedding Gown information

Paper art replica of Jackie Kennedy bridal gown 


Grace Kelly Costume Barbie: To Catch a Prince, Bridal Doll

British Comedy Weddings on Film and Television

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