Category: General

Categories
Assiut/Assuit General

An Assiut Gown: Hedy Lamarr, Edith Head and Delilah

Hedy-Lamaar-WEB

An Assiut Gown: Hedy Lamarr, Edith Head & Delilah

In 1948, Cicil B. Demille, noted film director began work on the Oscar award winning sword and sandal film, Sampson and Delilah starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature.  Edith Head, the top costume designer of the day was selected to create a collection of gorgeous gowns for the role of Delilah.  Along with peacock feathered robes, and rich gowns of gold and purple, Head designed this luxurious two-piece ensemble made of supple and sensual assiut.

HeddyLamarr-Sampson

Delilah’s dress in motion in this
scene from the film.

Hedy was considered one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood and designer Edith Head carefully cut this top and skirt to take advantage of the natural drape and cling of the garment to showcase Hedy’s sumptuous curves.  In the scene from the film, you can see how the outfit drapes when she’s still, glistens when she moves, and clings in all the right places.

Images Above
Left: Screen Capture from Film
Right: Studio Publicity Still of Hedy Lamarr as Delilah
Images Below
Top Left: Studio Publicity Still of Hedy Lamarr as Delilah
Top Right: Movie Poster from Samson & Delilah
Middle Left: Director Cicil B. DeMille directs Hedy Lamarr on Set
Middle Right: Costume designer Edith Head with her record 8 Oscar wins for best costume designer
Lower Middle Center: Studio Publicity Still of Hedy Lamaar as Delilah
Bottom Left: Costume Designer Edith Head surrounded by Sketches
Bottom Right: Costume Sketch for Hedy Lamarr in the role of Delilah

Sampson-and-Delilah-1

Sampson-and-delilah-2

Categories
General

The Belly Dance Reader

Screen shot 2012-12-11 at 9.06.13 AMThe Belly Dance Reader

During the better part of 2012, I was working on a fantastic new publication, The Belly Dance Reader.  This 280 page book is a collection of articles, artwork, photographs and essays from the leaders of the belly dance.  I contributed an article “Practice Makes Perfection,” which I wrote after interviewing two pro makeup artists, Lisa “Firefly” Felten and Adriana Marrelli.  Our mission is to inspire dancers to improve their appearance by experimenting and practicing with makeup.

The goal was to create an informative and inspiring collection of writing from academics, independent scholars and talented pros from around the globe.  I was pleased to join the team of editors working on this groundbreaking project.  Never before has there been  book with such a large and diverse collection writing on belly dance.

I helped editor Lynette Harris with numerous fine details. From writing captions, to editing text and formatting page layouts, we worked tirelessly to get this publication ready before Dec. 5 so we can relax during the holiday season.  Check out some of the content below.

Purchase at Amazon

 

Screen shot 2012-12-11 at 9.04.44 AM

Categories
Assiut/Assuit General

June Havoc in Assiut

June Havoc

in Assiut

As I continue my ongoing research into the history of assiut cloth, one of the themes I’ve been exploring is the use of assiut by Hollywood fashion designers.  One of my all-time favorite appearances of assiut in an American movie is this lovely dress designed by Peter Tuesday for the 1947 movie Intrigue.

Assiut Gown Designed by Peter Tuesday

Peter Tuesday is a mysterious figure in the world of Hollywood costumes.  He did the costume design for only two major motion pictures and while this dress is divine, the rest of the costumes in this rather long and slow film are just okay.

Legendary Actress June Havoc

June Havoc began her career in the world of vaudeville as “Baby June,” a singing and dancing child star and younger sister to the notorious Gypsy Rose Lee.  She went to Hollywood and became a screen siren through the ’40s but later returned to her theater roots to become a Tony award-winning director.

Intrigue: A Film Noir Movie

In Intrigue, June Havoc plays the icy blond and coldly sinister Mme. Tamara Baranoff.  Her dress is lusciously painted onto her star-worthy physique, which lends her statuesque frame a cool metallic quality that supports her hard-as-nails character.  In this publicity shot, you can see the striking late 40’s shoulder pads and the popular dolman cut of the sleeve both of which emphasize her tiny waist.

This scene is lit to showcase this assiut gown to the perfect advantage.  Although dark, the lights set the metal ablaze as she stalks around her office.  It’s the perfect gown to wear while flirting with Hollywood’s most popular gangster, George Raft.  There’s a clip integrated into a music montage, so be prepared for some pop music if you follow this YouTube link. If you find the full film, be warned, the movie is a bit slow-moving but worth the wait to see every angle on this magnificent assiut dress.

Movie Still: June in Assiut Gown

The image above captures June at the height of Hollywood glamour.  This is one of the movie stills released by United Artists to promote the film.  These were printed as 8 by 10 black and white glossies.  Included in press releases and sent to movie theaters for film promotion, you can occasionally find these popping up in the film collectors markets, eBay and etsy.

The montage to the left are screen captures from the film.  Notice how the assiut changes in tone and texture as she moves through the various lighting conditions in the room.

For more about my research on Hollywood and Assiut, check out this article over at Gilded Serpent.
Assiut and Hollywood.

Categories
Design General

Essential Pattern Making Tools

Essential Pattern Making Tools

This fall I have taken in two new apprentices, Poppy and Misia. They are learning sewing, pattern making and design techniques.  One stitch at a time we are working on collaborative pieces, that employ the subtle nuances of building a well crafted belly dance costume.   They are learning that a big component of the design process is making custom patterns. Many sewers treat commercial patterns as if they are the word of law, rarely deviating from the way they are drawn. Pattern making allows a designer to work from an existing pattern, modify a sloper or draft something completely new. There are relatively few things that you need to get started pattern making.  Below are the essential tools that you need to make your own patterns.   Along with a few good reference books, and a class to get your started on the basics, pattern making is a very potent tool in the  costume designer arsenal.

 

Essential Pattern Making Tools
Essential Pattern Making Tools by davinadevine on Polyvore

Categories
Assiut/Assuit Design General Publications

The Cloth of Egypt – The Storyboard

Story Boarding The Cloth of Egypt

I’m a one woman shop and I wear a lot of hats.  One of my least favorite hats to wear, (aside from bookkeeper, which just sucks) is that of book layout and production artist.  I know, I could hire someone to do this, but since I’ve spent all my money buying assiut , vintage ephemera like photographs and maps, and all the supplies to make more than a dozen costumes, I’m pretty tapped out.  What this means is that I will have to do all my own book production!  If that sounds like complaining, it’s not, it’s just the name of the game when it comes to self publishing.

Before I start laying out the material for the book using inDesign, I go old school and storyboard the entire project.  My approach is to work in “spreads” two pages at a time.  To make this go quickly, I’ve devised a two-page template that I use to sketch and notate the details of each spread.  I put these into a binder where I can effortlessly flip through the various pages and get a strong sense of what the final document will look like.  Oh yes, and I always always use pencil.  Once I have finished the entire book mock-up, I roll up my sleeves, grab a cup of coffee and fire up inDesign.   Are you an self-published author?   Check out my templates below.