#between your poses and the attention to the silhouette of the costume you have made it so so dynamic
Text
Nightwing 83 Review
guess who isn't weeks late this time. my opinion of the series is going up a little bit. it's still not great, but i'm not actively put off by it anymore the way i was after 81. not going to tag as spoilers, but be warned that they are under the cut
i’m sure you all are well aware of this but now, but dear god i love bruno redondo’s art. like, an unhealthy amount. the pink and blue is getting to be a theme with either him or just this run, but i am definitely enjoying it. the movement in this cover is clearly obvious, but well done. you recoznize right off the bat that the cover was drawn to drag your eyes down the page until you get to the bottom, but you enjoy the whole ride there.
also, redondo’s way of drawing a character in stages of action so we can see just how much they’re doing in a split second of movement is quickly becoming something i like to see drawn with dick, and any other character that has that sort of ease of movement and body sense, like cass or sin or maybe a super.
and he’s in action the entire time! there’s shot drawn just to show off a shirtless comic book character, the way nightwing is so often subjected to. he’s shirtless because he’s changing his clothes, and that’s all we see, no more and no less. very practical, very well done. i like it.
he looks so cute right here oh my god. the little squint, the hair curls. it’s adorable.
but also like. unless melinda has specifically outfitted the door spyhole so that the person on the other side can’t see dick looking through it (and in all honesty she might have) then everyone on the other side can see dick looking through that door.
bringing your attention back to the “i can’t see melinda’s fbi file oh no!! it’s redacted!! whatever can we do!!” stupidity. redacted files are child’s play for oracle, and definitely doable for both dick and bruce. so that’s bullshit.
now, melinda apparently grew up with the maroni family, then took down part of the family from the inside. the maroni family is a large and notable presence in gotham, one that bruce pays a respectable amount of attention to. he definitely would have grown suspicious when two members of the maroni family were taken down, and with some investigation, he would have discovered melinda’s plan. and it should go without saying that the majority of things you see batman doing? dick can do it too.
it’s not so much that i don’t like how clever the villains/antiheroes are getting. i don’t like how dc heroes are increasingly written as less intelligent. they seem to be relying on pure fighting skills or luck, which may be the case for a couple heroes, but has never been the case for most of dc’s big name heroes, the bat family included. it’s irritating to me to see this sort of stuff pop up as a major plot point when i know that, if dick or bruce had been written with the amount of skill and power that they canonically possess, this entire mess would have been sorted out years ago.
unrelated but dick and melinda have the same hair
this may just be me, but i was always under the impression that dick doesn’t really have a “double life???”
yes, he’s talented enough to create enough differences between robin/nightwing and dick grayson’s mannerisms, way of movement, voices, and speech patterns so that it’s very difficult to put the two together.
but nightwing has never been separate from dick grayson, not the way bruce and batman is. he’s always leaned more towards clark in that aspect: his hero persona is an exaggerated, stately, larger-than-life version of who he really is. there’s no second persona, no real “dick grayson identity” and “nightwing identity.” they’re the same person with the same goals, ideas, and skills. one just pretends to abide by the law, and one gives up pretense of that.
oh good thank god. if he’d trusted her right off the bat (hehe. bat.) i would have slapped him upside the head. at least he’s still got instincts.
gosh the colouring on this is cool. the red has enough purple and pink tones to it that it doesn’t abruptly ruin the tone of the artwork. but it’s definitely glaring enough to take the reader outside of this personal moment they had slipped into between dick and melinda, to put them back in the present where they’re reminded that oh yea there are people hunting dick down.
the next panel keeps this up too, in a less severe way. melinda’s bodyguard shows up (i forgot her name sorry :[ ) and subtly places us in the middle of an action scene rather than a private, personal scene.
laughing so fucking hard have our little vigilantes grown so accustomed to breaking into places that it doesn’t even register as a crime anymore??? tim coming in through the fire escape to pick bernard up for their date and being very much confused as to why bernard is freaking out.
i really like melinda’s shirt and now despite all the work i have to do and the fucking conference i have to host on monday i want to spend hours scrolling through clothing shops online trying to find this shirt. the mock neck/neckline is so cool i want it
so roland just assumes that a very dangerous vigilante who is highly talented in combat and a very dangerous bodyguard who is also highly talented in combat had a fight that ended with this very dangerous bodyguard being tied up and she looks completely fine? roland just assumes that her having no visible wounds or bruises means that they got into a fight and she lost that easily? uh. aight then
dick what are you doing. legitimately what the fuck are you doing. why are you posing oh my god. you are injured and tired and in absolutely no position to go hand to hand with one of main enemies. jesus christ run away or head to lower ground or something. don’t just stand around letting the floodlights show exactly where you are.
i don’t understand what he’s trying to do here??? blockbuster fully bought the story that dick fought them both, won, tried to get info out of them and failed, then hightailed it out of there. he didn’t have to draw roland out for a fight.
but it does look cool. the way the light just highlights his silhouette and the blue parts of his costume does look badass. he does get style points in my book for this.
w h a t d i d i f u c k i n g t e l l y o u , d i c k ?
very classic superhero line and it does sound like something dick would say in a fit of righteous rage but also it makes me laugh so hard because all vigilantes think they’re so powerful that the law doesn’t apply to them. dick vigilantism is illegal. you’re acting above the law and pretending it doesn’t apply to you. hypocritical much?
it happens so often in superhero movies, tv shows, comics, whatever and it makes me giggle every damn time.
pretty decent comeback but before i start seeing people writing blockbuster as a thug i’m going to remind you that he made a deal with a demon for genius level intellect. if this turns into another bane situation i’m going to be a little miffed. he’s a smart man, which makes him a dangerous and infinitely more interesting enemy for nightwing.
this is so horribly in character i want to scream. (or. at least. it lines up with one of the versions of nightwing i have in my head.) he’s running right towards the bullets, miraculously doesn’t get shot, while making a sort-of pun. i hate this so much. i love him.
this is cool. this art is really really cool.
he leaped from a building right towards a helicopter that’s actively shooting at him, but none of the bullets are touching him. none of the corruption of the city can touch him no matter how hard it tries, because he’s too good to be corrupted. Comic Book Logic Can Be Good Sometimes Actually.
batman’s belt what??? swiss army knife who?? sorry, i only know nightwing’s bright blue escrima.
this is one of my favourite things about heroes with exceptional abilities, even more so if the hero is human. the things they can do are so far beyond the realm of normal human abilities that it’s equal parts terrifying and awe-inspiring every time they act.
he just used modified grappling wires to hook to the door of a moving helicopter, swung around the helicopter safely without hitting the blades, gained exactly the right momentum to swing upward again right through the opening of helicopter, then fought and tied up the men before they had any idea what was happening. that’s near impossible to do.
it’s stuff like this where i just sort of sigh in contentment. no matter how many times they leave out dick’s detective skills or conveniently forget that he’s actually a master planner and team leader and make him out to be this forgetful dude who makes everything up on the fly because of his “circus roots,” at least they won’t ever take away dick’s sheer physical ability honed to perfection.
the art, too! in a few panels, dick’s drawn a little lightened or blurred. he’s moving so quickly and fighting so efficiently that he can barely be seen by the enemy. he’s got perfect form all the way through.
and THIS!
there was a helicopter that had five men shooting at him with what looks like machine guns. most people would be dead. some would run away, and be nimble enough to survive without fatal hits. there are very few people, even in fucking comic books, who can look at that hopeless situation and turn it around so quickly and thoroughly that he benefits from it instead.
i just. love nightwing.
it was funny the first time as a comic reader aware of the meme. it’s really not anymore. why the hell would you, in universe, be wearing a shirt that has a picture of your boyfriend being hit in the face by his father.
okay that was funny.
look at lil bitewing, so concerned for her human!!! love her sm.
also a question as to the timeline of things. is nightwing happening before or after urban legends?
i was so distracted by dick wearing a robe and briefs and nothing else that i didn’t register the second part until later. he slept for two days?? babs, baby, he recently had a very traumatic brain injury. why do you sound so nonchalant?
@TIM X COFFEE SHIPPERS GET FUCCCCKKKKEEDDDDD
ngl i totally forgot about that dude oops
this comic is giving so many reaction pictures. you know how you always use the worst possible picture of your friend for your friend’s contact picture? i’m just getting so many of these.
leslie!!! the titans!!! lucius!!! dick going to go see old friends!!!! the titans!!! this part made me so irrationally happy it really did. gar being the one to just. offer dick solutions with open arms. this was the best
i wish i could just copy and paste this entire scene, but that would take up way too much space, so i’m just going to talk about it instead.
you gave me my name, nightwing, and you gave me some of the best advice i’ve received in my life: beautiful little throwback to nightwing’s origin. you’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t know where the name came from, or who don’t know how much clark means to dick. and the fact that dick still looks up to clark as a hero, recognizes that clark isn’t always perfect and yet continues to hold him in such high esteem, and still looks back on advice that clark gave him fondly just warmed my heart so much.
for a man who has fearlessly stood up to darkseid, bruce will do a lot to avoid a conversation: “grrr. i’m the BATMAN. i’m so DARK and MYSTERIOUS. nobody knows the true me. no one ever will. i will be LONELY for the rest of my CURSED LIFE. such is the price of a hero. ignore my farmer himbo husband in the background”
but i don’t think there’s anything heroic about being a billionaire: another nod to how much dick follows clark’s example rather than bruce. yes, this was a very poignant and important criticism, and i think it’s wonderful that this was published in a pretty popular comic book. but the thing is, there is a way to be a heroic billionaire, but only in fictional universes. the way bruce, ollie, t’challa only ever use their wealth to help people. they donate massive amounts of money to charities that they themselves create so they know exactly how the money is being used. they hire people who aren’t likely to get jobs anywhere else and pay them much more than what a base living wage is. they use their power to help push progressive laws and social change. they are helping.
dick doesn’t fully see it that way. he spent more than half his childhood the son of a billionaire, but still believes that one could be more heroic when one doesn’t have obscene amounts of wealth. whose example do you think he followed to come to that conclusion?
superman looked up to alfred pennyworth?: i mean yea alfred may have been a wildly irresponsible guardian and one hell of an enabler but goddamn if he didn’t love his kid.
you don’t need my input. you’ve thought it all through: ooooooh this line made me grin. for so long, dick’s treated clark as a mentor and a guiding figure. he’s still seen as a kid, an up and coming, snot-nosed titan with dreams of a better world. clark still thinks of him as a kid, despite watching him grow up. but this little line was something i think dick needed sorely to hear. he doesn’t need anyone’s guiding hand on his shoulder, he doesn’t need to ask for permission. he doesn’t need clark to support him the way he did when he was a teenager. he’s all grown up now, and he doesn’t need clark’s help. i imagine it was a bit of a surprise for dick to hear that.
honestly, i couldn’t think of a better role model: ohhh but it doesn’t stop there. clark just straight up turns the tables on dick. imagine you’re dick, and you’ve looked up to this one hero your entire life, and then one day he turns to you and says that he thinks you’re so kind and smart and worthy of a person that he wants you to mentor his son!? goes to show just how much clark trusts dick.
i swear to god dick probably cries every time he hears clark compliment him because bruce is so rare and sparing with his praise that clark giving him the slightest hint of approval is just a dopamine rush.
also, now deathstroke and superman have both asked nightwing to mentor their kids. the juxtaposition is fuckin hysterical. imagine either of their reactions when they realize what kind of company they’re with
lets talk colours for a second, because i absolutely adore how classic colour tropes have been subverted in this comic, and in this general run really.
warm tones have usually (usually, not always) been associated with light and comfort and friendship and,,,,,well,,,warmth. whereas cool tones are usually used to unsettle, or make a scene seem colder and put the reader on edge. this varies if a comic only uses cool tones, or only uses warm tones, but if a comic uses both, this is generally well-used.
that isn’t the case in this run.
dark red, orange, and other warm tones have been used to symbolize danger, action, attacks. hot pink isn’t usually included in this colour group, but it’s definitely part of it in this case. in contrast, scenes that have cool colours give us the impression of slipping into a comfortable, calm scene with babs, tim, the titans, and other allies. even the beginning scene with superman has this blue, but then it transitions into something more golden coloured. dawn broke over dick, as his new idea came to light, and that was reflected in the art (and the sunrise setting.)
have there ever been times when dick’s longed for the comfort of his mask because he didn’t feel confident as dick grayson? i can’t think of any. i may be wrong, but this struck me as pretty ooc.
am i just??? gay and reading this all wrong??
cause i was under the impression that when someone says they are grateful for your friendship you don’t immediately kiss them.
or is this like. normal straight mating rituals.
i mean he’s smiling afterward but still babs aren’t you supposed to at least make sure it’s okay first? you guys broke up a while back after you said something along the lines of “i want to be coworkers with you and nothing more because i don’t trust you or feel comfortable around you as a civilian anymore.” like lmao after you say something like that to someone i would assume that you don’t have the permission to just kiss them whenever you want.
show of hands who else got real sad when they realized dick was talking about himself in this.
sure, he could be referencing the things he’s seen blockbuster pull, and the children on the streets. but “i’ve seen money used for enforcement,” sounds a little too close to dick’s entire life being destroyed by one man threatening the circus to pay protection money for me to completely ignore. and “i’ve seen the poorest and most vulnerable blamed and punished rather than assisted” becomes a lot worse when you remember dick was thrown in juvie for a couple months until bruce was able to obtain legal guardianship, and in there, not a authority figure believed him when he told them his parents were murdered.
he’s lived this before.
a. mother. fucking. typo.
fucking why
i mean i’ve stated my distaste for the batfamily groupchat before but like. this is reaching new levels of ridiculousness. jason sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. tim sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. steph sounds like she was written by someone who doesn’t know the first thing about steph and wanted to include her for “family points!!!!!” damian’s supposed to be completely off the grid, and everyone’s searching for him. i do love the way cass texts tho.
well god fuck now i’m crying
dick got a phone call, a sorry, and a thank you out of bruce. i feel so much secondhand happiness for him, if that’s a thing. we’ll just ignore the way bruce looks ugly af and focus on the good parts okay?
and again with the colour symbolism here!
i’m either going to love this or hate this. who knows, we’ll see.
something something hearts something something pink is an evil colour something something. i need to know more about this guy but there’s definitely symbolism there.
is it just me or does this dude look like the backstabbing traitorous absolutely motherfucking piece of shit villain that killed tadashi hamada in big hero 6?
~~
taggggg list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridge @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy @red-hood-redemption @capricorn-stark @batshit-birds @comics-observer @buticaaba
#river thinks too hard#nightwing#dick grayson#nightwing 83#dc#nightwing review#nightwing meta#dick grayson review#dick grayson meta#nightwing 83 review#nightwing 83 meta#dc review#dc meta
45 notes
·
View notes
Text
the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
ikemen vampire: temptation through the dark
theo van gogh / mc | T | [ ao3 link in bio ]
The challenge seemed pretty simple: to try to befriend the university bookshop’s most sour employee, Theo van Gogh. As a literature major with a boatload of book recommendations on her back, it ought to be a simple task indeed. But as she uncovers what lies between Theo’s pages, the more she finds it harder to become closer to him without having to put the feeling directly into words. What can she learn from Theo about what it means to stay—and how can she teach Theo about what it means to let go? | written for ikevamp big bang 2020!
[ masterpost for all chapters ]
CHAPTER 8 OF 22
And how impossible it still is: to train the heart to sit.
- "The Kindest Thing She Almost Did", Blythe Baird
--
The College of Arts’ student council has rotating schedules on who gets to organize the university-famous Halloween party. This year, it was the Literature Department and the Film Department that paired up to choose a theme, decorate, and make sure the party is getting smoothly—and the very specific, not-required but entirely funny, theme this year was “Film or Book that you’d love to be turned spooky, but isn’t exactly spooky.”
This is why she thought of coming in as characters from the Night Circus. The black and white stripes matched with red really gives off a very Halloween vibe to begin with, but all the circus-y magic that goes on in the book itself also makes it very viable for the spooky vibes.
She’s now standing in front of the College of Arts’ event hall, where the event is set to happen. She tugs at the locks of hair dangling at the side of her face, the ones she couldn't get to obey her planned updo, even with all the bobby pins.
There's something about scavenging a costume on your own that is so nerve-wracking. There's something more when you're portraying a character from a book someone introduced to you. It feels like it's a duty to get it right. She couldn’t find any entirely matching dresses in the thrift stores she went to, so this was the best she could do: some sort of modern but 1890s-inspired fortune teller mash-up of a costume. The dress was fashioned out of this dizzying deep blue-black velvet fabric, with little speckles of silver glitter like stars across it; she wore a striped black and white petticoat underneath it to give it some volume since the dress ended around the knees. She’d re-sewn the sleeves and the neckline to be similar to that of the era, revealing a nice V along her back and a nice, wide boat collar. Then, she’s put on a small, decorative hat with some red flowers on the corner of her head, and then draped a sheer black scarf with little rosy red designs on the ends over her shoulders. Then she put on some knee-high lace-up boots to add a little grunge to the entire attire. Lastly, she had a few Rider-Waite tarot cards in her pocket (The Chariot and Temperance) just for the vibe of it.
(All this costume preparation was really to wind herself down after submitting her initial requirements to the scholarship selection committee earlier that week.)
Just as she begins to spiral in her thoughts, “Sorry I’m late,” she hears Theo’s familiar voice call out, and she looks up from staring at her shoes and gasps out loud.
Theo’s wearing his hair a little curlier than usual, a lightly-tinted pair of green contacts on his eyes and—as he’s promised—a well-tailored suit, in black and white and red, to suit the general aesthetic of the circus itself. She figured he would come in a suit, but—she wasn’t expecting him to take the extra effort with the hair and the eyes, either. She could even see the little silhouette of a journal peeking from underneath his jacket—he’s obviously prepared even to the smallest details! Maybe, maybe he does look like the Marco in her head. Just a little. Maybe if his hair was darker. She finds herself staring at him for a ridiculous amount of time, so much so that he has to cough to get her attention again.
"The green eyes look lovely on you," she comments softly, hand curling up to gently press his finger at his cheekbone near instinctively, allowing her to observe his eyes better. Theo feels himself flinch in surprise, but he does not pull back.
"Thank you, grey-green was a very specific color."
She nods. "I do prefer your usual blue though." Her hand falls back to her side. "Too bad I can't magic it back?"
"You see it blue all the time. Stop complaining when this was your idea," Theo says, but he offers his arm anyway.
"So sour," she pouts. "How unbecoming of you, Mister Alisdair," she says, as she slides her arm into his.
Theo only snorts; he does not hide the half-smirk. "Only to match you, Miss Martin."
--
The event hall is lavishly decorated in some sort of spooky, old vampire mansion vibes, with all the matching spiders and fake candles. It is a little silly to see the DJ on the far end of the hall, with his set-up on top of what seemed like a desk older from three centuries ago. The caterers set up the food on a buffet table—also beautifully decorated, how many fine arts majors did the production team get to bully into helping them out?—to get it ready before dinner at six.
But the bar—the bar is open.
“Do you drink?” she asks casually, already one foot towards the bar.
He takes a nervous gulp she pretends not to notice. “Not a lot,” he answers.
“Then a glass will be alright. I told Arthur we’d meet at the bar. Come on!”
Because her college stupidly attempts to seem puritan, official drink menus are not allowed to actually say out loud that they contain hard liquor, so instead have really creative names. This time, they are references to different, random books and films, with fine-print descriptions of what it is. She orders a glass of Pride and Prejudice and Theo gets a serving of Kafka on the Shore. Both of them had just received their drinks when her phone begins to ring, and with a short excuse me she heads to a quieter part of the room and answers the call.
“Dazai?”
“Hello, Toshiko-san. I’m waiting outside the hall, but you’ve entirely forgotten that I haven’t actually met who I’m bringing in.”
Oh! “Well, I told him to wait on a stone bench there… Dark blue-ish hair, blue eyes, a mole on the side of his lip? He responds to ‘Arthur’.”
“‘Responds?’ Are your bookstore friends all a bunch of dogs?”
“Well, this drools at the sight of meat,” you say, unapologetically. “I didn’t see him there yet when I was still out, but—”
She hears a shuffle from the other side of the line, and Arthur’s familiar voice through the phone, a small “Hello, could you be Dazai?” and her friend’s very, very meaningful pause—she can almost see Dazai looking Arthur up and down—before he answers, “Yes, and you must be Arthur.”
The phone call ends and she grins for only a half a moment before realizing what she’d done.
She walks ever so slowly back to the bar, letting it sink in. But once she’s got her glass in her hand, she downs it in one go, surprising both the bartender and Theo. She shakes her head and then sits back down on the stool, half-laughing.
“Something happen?” Theo asks.
She groans. “I may have made a mistake with Arthur.”
Theo takes a sip of his drink, just the littlest bit smug. “Everything is a mistake if Arthur is involved.”
“I didn’t think he’d—”
“Hello, lovebirds,” says the devil, Arthur coming up behind them with—
With Dazai glued to his hip.
She’s known Dazai for a few years at this point, and because they’ve known each other for so long, there are little things she knows Dazai does that may not seem obvious to the onlooker.
First: Dazai is not fond of touching, but he is rather great at tolerating it. It usually takes a few months before Dazai is fine with being touched by someone. Even she took around half a year before Dazai would allow her to hug him freely. When he’s being touched by someone he does not particularly like, he clenches his hands and fits them into his pockets, so it’s not as noticeable.
Observer’s note: Arthur’s got his hand around Dazai’s waist. Dazai’s hands are wide open, resting at his hip.
Second: Dazai is also good at having his practiced smile. He says he practices it in the mirror, did it every day for a year until it became natural to him; it looks genuine and otherwise believable, that is, if you haven’t seen his actual smile. And even if you have, sometimes it’s still hard to tell. His actual, genuine smile, that goes up to his eyes, crinkling the sides of it, and he flushes sometimes too; it’s so wide it reveals the little dimple on his cheek.
Observer’s note: Dazai’s dimple is very, very visible right now.
Third: Dazai has this thing where the longer he considers a person, the less he becomes attracted to them, for some reason, even if the extended thinking time only makes him feel like they’re a better match by the second. Dazai is only genuinely, passionately, instantly attracted to people he knows will pose him some sort of danger and excitement.
Observer’s note: Dazai met Arthur today.
She bites back the groan that’s bubbling out her throat and grins. “Hello, Arthur, Dazai. Having fun?”
“Where’d you been hiding this cutie all this time?” Arthur teases, squeezing Dazai closer to him. “Much fun now that he’s here. I see you’ve started drinking ahead of us.”
“Just a little,” she says. “Shall we find a table?”
The four of them choose a table in the middle of the chaos—Arthur’s suggestion—somewhere midway the bar and buffet. The tables are for six, and the number makes her remember.
“I couldn’t get Isaac to come.”
Dazai shakes his head. “I told you he said he wasn’t interested. Must be working overtime like he usually does.” He nods towards her direction. “Good attempt, though.”
She frowns. “He should really let loose sometimes… I know he’s good at what he does, but a little, one-night-a-year party isn’t going to hurt him is it?”
“Ohoho, what’s this, have another cute friend I have to know?” Arthur interrupts.
Dazai taps Arthur’s nose gently and she wants to vomit. What has she done. “Isaac Newton, a Ph.D. student from the physics department. Too serious for his own good.”
Surprise fills Arthur’s face. “My, isn’t that Newt? Teaches classes sometimes?” She and Dazai nod. “Small world!”
“Next year we’re really finding a way to drag him in,” she says.
To which Dazai laughs, “you won’t be here next year, Toshiko-san.”
There’s a small sliver of silence that settles in between them, just long enough to be felt but not for the conversation to come to an abrupt halt. It makes Theo flinch a little.
“Then it’s up to you guys, isn’t it?” she takes her second glass of literary cocktail—she doesn’t even know what’s in this one, just pointed at the menu, it was titled Wolf Totem—and downs half of it in one go.
“Maybe if a girl came around to bring him, he’d be more persuadable,” Arthur teases, “Look at my chap Theo over here.”
“So you’re Theo, huh?” Dazai purrs. She throws a glare at him that goes ignored. “Nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Theo only nods as a response and she takes the chance to get the conversation back in a direction that makes her a little safer from their teasing. “But no, really, Isaac? Coming for a girl? You don’t know him at all, Arthur.”
“Oh, even the toughest guys fall back to romance, don’t they, Theo?”
Theo throws a glare towards Arthur; it is shrugged off as the newly-formed suddenly-a-couple laughs in unison.
--
Despite the ruckus, the four of them still have some good fun at the party. Arthur Arthur’s non-stop insisting that they play the party games has them rewarded with many things: a stupid award here or there, minuscule amounts of cash that could be used in the future for dine-outs, and even a nice bottle of high-end “water”—it was definitely vodka, the organizers just couldn’t announce it out loud. She and Dazai had to stand up a couple of times to go meet their college-mates in their department, but the four of them stayed mostly together until past dinner—that is until the dance music started to rev up, getting ready for the long night ahead.
“Excuse the two of us, we’re going to do some actual dancing, like people do at parties to have fun,” Arthur says, but his face is already littered in glitter from the poppers and his face is dusted pink from all the alcohol. Obviously, dancing isn’t required to have fun at all. Taking Dazai’s hand like a gentleman, sliding his arm around the other man’s waist, Arthur makes a comical bow to which she makes a face. The two disappear into the crowd of people dancing on the dance floor, and the sight of them so obsessed with each other makes her lean back on her chair to take a sip on her—fifth? Sixth? Ah, who is counting?—nth glass of alcohol.
Wary of being the killjoy, Theo gently asks, “Don’t you want to dance?”
“I mean… you don’t want to, do you?” she asks, facing him properly, glass still in hand. “I just felt like it’d be great to hang out with you here and if you’re not up for dancing…”
“If you want to we should go.”
“I’m not going if you’re forcing yourself to.”
“No, I’m not, so—”
“Theo, sit down!” she says, laughing. The alcohol’s given her skin a beautiful pink flush, and her smiles have turned wider, more relaxed. “It’s okay, I promise. Just sit here and drink your—drink. It’s just nice to have company.”
He nods as she turns back to watching the crowd. A smile still settles on her face as she watches the mass of people dancing and shouting to the music. Theo asks, “Do you always go here with someone?”
She shrugs, taking another sip from her glass. “I came alone the first time, and then the next I went with Dazai. He’s pretty popular—when he’s alone, without anyone slung on him, you know? Lots of people dance with him.”
“And you?”
“Me?” she asks, forehead wrinkling. “I’m normal. I sit and drink until my liver begs me to stop. And then dance until my legs beg me to stop when I’m drunk enough.”
He scoffs, but only in that friendly way of defeated acceptance. “Sounds like fun.”
“So much more fun with you around though,” she asserts, tilting her glass to him. “Cheers?”
“For what?”
And she’s quiet for a moment, before she raises her glass again, saying, “To friendship and literature, of course.”
Theo thinks that’s good enough. They clink their glasses gently and then drink.
For the slightest of moments, Theo considers asking the one question that had been on his mind since she invited him to the party. Preparing the clothes to wear to the event only made his curiosity even stronger, but at the same time, he didn’t feel like he had the right to ask. Theo feels content sitting in his uncertainty, the mystery of it hanging in the air.
But the alcohol has made him a little more courageous.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot!”
“Why didn’t you go as Celia?”
It’s common for a pair of people to attend a costume party in matching outfits with characters that are paired as well. Celia is Marco’s natural pair in the book. Isobel is not. Why didn’t she go as Celia? Theo would not have minded if she did. Celia was fiery and romantic and could see through Marco’s every disguise.
And Isobel longed and longed and never got what she wanted.
“I kind of felt for Isobel, you know?” she answers, in that hesitant way that makes the asker wonder if it’s because of the embarrassment or because of the half-lie. “She was running away, after all. Didn’t you say that was what I was so fixated on?”
And Isobel is only the circus because she was the way for Marco to get to who he loved. Even before he knew who he loved.
“Wouldn’t have expected that from you,” Theo remarks, taking out his little Marco-journal to dust it away idly. “You seem like the type who always feels extensively for the protagonists.”
It takes a moment for the words to sink in, but then, suddenly, her eyes widen brightly. She puts down her glass and quickly swipes the journal Theo kept with him before pulling him up by the wrist. “C’mon, let’s do the photo booth?”
“What?” Theo staggers up. Why so suddenly? “Who’ll watch over the table?”
She places her little hat on the table. “That’ll save it, let’s go.”
Theo can feel his pulse thrumming under his wrist where she’s holding on to him. Theo does not have the will to argue as she drags him to the makeshift studio on the far end of the hall. Instead, he focuses on her—the way her hair’s held up in an intricate braided bun on her head, the fall of her dress over her shoulders, the feeling of his hand around his arm.
She’s such a weird girl, he thinks.
When they get to the end of the line—a short one, bless the universe—she takes out the two tarot cards in her pocket and hands them to him.
“Switch props for the photo,” she explains.
When they get to the photo booth, they opt for two photos; one for her to keep, and another for Theo. They don't even bother with the poses, both half-drunk, holding up their character props as the cameraman fixes the shot. She settles, standing by his side, arms twined, head leaning toward him as the camera flashes once. And Theo can’t help himself when he turns to face her because of that, and before he knows it—the camera flashes once more.
She’s too far into her drinks to have time to think why Theo’s so concerned about seeing the photos first and choosing which one he wants to keep for himself.
--
It is just a little past midnight when she, Theo, Arthur, and Dazai hop out of the hall. She insisted that it would be better to wait until the end of the night before leaving—making most of the ticket, or something—and the most that they had gotten out of that was a free coupon to a fast-food chain.
That, and this:
She’s half-slung over Theo when she yells at Arthur and Dazai, who are very obviously becoming a little too comfortable with each other, handsy as they huddle together. She shouts: “Jesus, guys, get off each other!”
“Hmm? Right now? Sure, we’d love to, if you don’t mind—”
“NO! NO NOT LIKE THAT!” she yells, pushing away from Theo to nudge Arthur away from Dazai. The new lovebirds just laugh mildly at each other as she huffs and frowns, falling back into step next to Theo. “Oh god, I’ve made the worst mistake of my life.”
“Best mistake of my life,” Dazai says with a slurred laugh, leaning against Arthur. She makes a gagging motion, to which Theo snorts.
Relative to everyone else’s lodging in the university, the van Goghs’ apartment is the one closest to the hall, so the four of them make their way to it, drunk feet stumbling on uneven pavements all the way there. Arthur and Dazai are walking ahead of them—Theo doesn’t know how Arthur knows where he lives, not when he’s never brought him there; that’s a question for a more sober time—and she and Theo walk side-by-side a few feet behind.
She’s not entirely drunk, no, but she’s a little closer to drunk than tipsy, and it shows when she speaks. “Did you have fun today, Theo?” she asks, ignoring the little misstep her conversation has cost her.
Theo has his hands in his pockets, but they’re only seconds away from grabbing her by the arm to steady her. Any minute now. “It was okay.”
She grins. “Great! That’s all I want.” She looks back up in front of them, and Arthur throws one glance upon hearing their conversation, but then quickly looks away. “It’s kinda, uuuuh,” she squints, the words lost. “Different, to hang out with you with ‘thur and ‘zai around.”
See, this is exactly why Theo capped himself off at three drinks. Look—he’s long accepted his less than average tolerance, but to have to babysit a group of drunk college kids… “Bad different?”
“Nuh-uh,” she says. “Jus’ different. Used to only us. ‘t’s nice being alone with ya.”
I don’t want to take care of a drunk you on my own, she hears in her head, and she isn’t quite sure if Theo had actually said it or if it was just a figment of her imagination.
Soon enough, the four of them stumble onto the van Gogh’s front porch, Theo just not-drunk enough to get the key in through the hole. With a click, the four of them are greeted by the bright light of the living room. Arthur must have been the one that hissed. They stagger in, Dazai slamming onto the sofa, Arthur right after him, and she, heading to the refrigerator for some water.
Theo disappears for a moment to check on Vincent in the studio and to tell him that he’s brought his unfortunate group of friends to sober up, and it’s a good thing the drunkards aren’t around with him because the brightness of Vincent’s smile would have knocked them right out.
“I’ll go take a shower,” Theo announces to no one in particular, shouting down the hall as he disappears into his shared bedroom with Vincent. She tries not to think of what that would look like, blaming her wandering thoughts on the alcohol. She’s about on her second glass of water when she spots Vincent headed to the kitchen.
She beams. “Vin-ny~” she reaches out to him and Vincent catches her before she falls.
“Did you have fun at the party?” Vincent asks, half-laughing, as he helps her to sit on the counter—which was what she was trying to do. “How much did you drink?”
She raises her hands up to her face and tries to count, fully knowing she stopped counting after the second glass. “Enough to make me happy,” she answers instead, smiling dumbly at the older van Gogh. “Theo was so grumpy.”
“He was so excited to go, though,” Vincent says, standing next to her. Of course he has no qualms ratting on his younger brother like that. “You should have seen him, preparing for his costume. Did he look just as you imagined?”
“…And better,” she admits, before taking a sip of the water again to sober up a little more. The ice in the glass is helping her brain to chill. “I’m not sure if he had fun, though. I feel kind of bad.”
Vincent hums. “He looks like he had fun. He wouldn’t have brought you guys here otherwise.”
“You think so?” she asks, eyes wide. The blond man laughs.
“I know so.”
By the time Theo comes out of the shower, he’s a little more dressed down, in jeans and a button-up shirt. He looks at Arthur and Dazai, both already long out like a light on the couch, and sighs.
“I suppose you’re sleeping here too,” he asks, looking toward her. She shoots him an awkward grin.
“She can sleep on my bed,” Vincent offers, but Theo shakes his head.
“She can sleep on mine. You sleep on your bed tonight, Vincent. I can sleep in the studio. I’ll just pass by the drugstore a few blocks down for some…” he frowns at Arthur and Dazai, “…Ibuprofen, for tomorrow.”
“Take care on your way out,” Vincent answers, taking a scan at Theo up and down to see if he’s sober enough to go out. Theo really didn’t drink a lot—purposefully, he knew this was going to happen—so he’s standing pretty straight. He nods and makes his way out, the door closing with a gentle click.
After that, she slouches next to Vincent, like she was just holding herself up to seem a little put together for Theo. Vincent pats her on the head gently, like a little child.
“Is something wrong?” he asks.
She sniffles a little, looking down at her shoes. “I was just thinking h’much I’ll miss this.”
“Are you going away?”
“Maybe,” she says, idly. “I want to. Don’t want to. Want to.”
Vincent smiles, the kind of disappointed-but-not-surprised, non-judgmental, gentle smile of an older brother one would give to a younger sibling. Carefully, he hooks her arm around his shoulders, saying, “C’mon, let’s get you to bed,” as he leads her to his shared room with Theo. She is pliant in his arms, legs wobbling but still planted with a balance onto the floor.
The costume she’s in doesn’t look entirely too comfortable to sleep in, so he offers her a loose shirt and some sweatpants to change into. It takes her two minutes too long to fumble into them, but right before he begins to get worried that she’s gotten stuck in the fabric, she knocks at the door to tell Vincent she’s done. He walks in with a glass of water.
“One last before you sleep,” he says, assisting her in drinking. “I hope you don’t have a headache tomorrow.”
But she’s intoxicated, and her brain doesn’t follow along with Vincent, so as she’s drinking the water her eyes are wandering the walls, where various canvases are hung. All of them are Vincent’s, and most of them are unframed, and perhaps have never been seen by anyone besides Vincent and Theo. Once the glass is empty, she turns to Vincent with a glazed look in her eye.
“Do you think there’s going to be something greater for us outside of this place?”
He blinks, taken off guard. She has officially transitioned from clingy, whiny drunk, to having an existential crisis, philosophical drunk. He only laughs lightly, placing the glass on the bedside table as he coaxes her into bed, tucking her under the blanket.
“I sure do hope so.”
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fight Choreography - Wonder Woman
This is sorta just a scratch post, but something I care a lot about is the way fight scenes are filmed and planned in movies.
The big thing I noticed with Wonder Woman as a movie is that it was filmed entirely differently from superhero movies that have been made since Batman Begins. There are a ton of reasons for this, including director Patty Jenkins’ own mission for the movie and for what she perceived as her “true” intended audience (women who wanted their own movie for once), but one of my favorite reasons is because it was made as a criticism of the way most modern superhero movies are filmed -- particularly, in the way costumed superbeings punch each other.
In the Christopher Nolan movies, one of the takeaways of any notable fight scene with Batman is that you don’t really see it coming. Despite being entirely mortal, Batman fights with brutal efficiency in order to take down the maximum number of people in the shortest amount of time possible. This is pretty decent visual character development.
It also made me nauseous to watch, because where the fuck are my eyes supposed to go.
As far as intent is concerned, it works, but in a movie about superheroes where you really wanna watch a good fight, it is not what I would call “fun.” Marvel aped this occasionally, with frenetic fight scenes punctuated briefly with singular, showy “setpiece” moments. Hulk punching Thor suddenly. Hulk slamming Loki into the floor. Hulk... well, lots of Hulk stuff. Because it was important that you understood every moment of Hulk as an outsider. That chaotic film style started becoming more and more prevalent in superhero films, and, frankly, it’s not a lot of fun to watch.
Occasionally, we’d get some pretty clear shots; the Captain America films do a surprisingly good job of this in one-on-one fights, where silhouettes became very important, especially the Baron Zemo fight early in The Winter Soldier; you saw the flourish and the flash, while still feeling the impact. It was pretty great! (Then all the gunfire scenes happened and we’re back to chaos punctuated by setpieces.)
Wonder Woman was very different. The Amazons’ fighting technique can only be described as balletic, but not in the way many traditionally think. “Balletic” is something that, frankly, requires so much strength and endurance and willingness to withstand pain. (If you saw the movie Black Swan, it’s like that; lots of bleeding feet, lots of sweat, lots of crying and then getting back up and doing it even when the pain is terrible.) The Amazons moved efficiently, but with just enough flourish to command your attention and show just how well-greased their wheels were. There were lots of setpiece moments, especially in the beach siege scene early on, but you were never convinced for a second that the people with the guns and heavy artillery weren’t completely outmatched by a bunch of tall, muscly women with horses and bows and arrows.
What the movie did with the soldiers, however, was interesting: their fight scenes were chaotic. Messy. Hard to focus on. Only the Amazons, Diana included, were given a chance to show off a silhouette, to set up a perfectly composed shot of them doing something brilliantly badass. Anyone who wasn’t applauding Antiope leaping over a rock, nocking three arrows, and landing shots against three dudes wasn’t paying attention: it was a called shot before she left the ground, a calculated yet showy setpiece moment meant to make you scream an expletive because of how awesome it was before it even happened. And yet, with the soldiers? Messy. Unrefined. Brutish. Close-up, yet still emotionally distant.
This carries on as Diana, a mythical figure, enters the context of a messy, brutish, ugly war. She still gets these setpiece moments, of leaping incredible heights and punching out entire buildings and tanks -- a show of strength that puts the focus on intent and practice, rather than just on brutishness and murder and violence.
Without getting into specifics (so, no spoilers, don’t worry), the final fight at the climax of the movie bounds between these two filming styles. The balance repeatedly shifts from Diana to her antagonist, and, as she loses ground, it becomes harder to tell exactly what happens with each blow. She’s been knocked down, across a great distance, thrown up, hit with things, and more, and it’s not always readily apparent HOW.
Yet, with each inch she gained in the fight, the camera became more composed, more centered on someone who clearly thought out exactly how to pull off their next maneuver and immediately executed it; silhouettes return, posing returns, shot composition returns. She doesn’t throw a fist before knowing exactly where she wants it to go, doesn’t jump before knowing exactly where she’s going to land. It’s a style of fight choreography often reserved to Wuxia or martial arts-focused films at large (think movies like Ong Bak, The One, a few Bruce Lee films, et cetera -- films that are centered around the art of fighting and the philosophies behind them to create a narrative), and while I couldn’t argue that WW manages to be the greatest in filmed fighting even in a lot of recent movies, it manages to look at the way we have seen these kinds of movies go down, take the familiar shots we’re used to, and make new material just to contrast with it, enhancing the subjects of the film to raise their mythical context to new heights.
WW was a refreshing film in a lot of ways. Whatever criticism I have against it has little to do with the vast majority of its thought and execution, which was in many ways a huge about-face of testosterone-driven action movies of the past... let’s just say “ever,” in terms of American blockbusters. It proved grace and strength could not only occupy the same space, but prove those two components can enhance the other to make a film feel especially fantastical.
33 notes
·
View notes
Text
reproducing 1912 fashions remember titanic sense
Reproducing 1912 Fashions – Remember Titanic!
This April, we will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic. It hasn’t been fashionable in recent years to laud the heroes of that fatal night, but I am glad to see there are many memorial events planned for this year (the Titanic 100 in Branson, Missouri, promises to be a spectacular event, and there are even cruises that will follow Titanic‘s original route and stop at the site of the sinking). I’m especially delighted to see that attendees plan to dress in historical fashions to commemorate both those who died and those who survived the terrible tragedy of April 14, 1912.https://www.pinterest.com/powerpoint_templates/newspaper-template-powerpoint/
I’ve drawn from my personal collection of catalogs and magazines to pull together images to inspire you as you reproduce Titanic-era fashions for your family. A huge thank-you goes out to long-time customer Carol K., who sent me photographs from the April, 1912, issue of The Ladies’ Home Journal, chock-full of fashion images and articles that help illuminate the time period. At the end of the article you will find a link to download a free eBook containing all the images in this special feature, plus an array of extra goodies that will help you gain an excellent picture of the time period. You can print these for your own personal use, and feel free to pass the link around to others. The eBook is free until the end of April!
Women’s fashions in 1912 were in a period of transition from the “S”-bend shape popular in the Edwardian era to the more natural, columnar silhouette of the middle 1910s. In the image at right from a 1908 fashion article, you can see the sway-backed silhouette and the emphasis on a tiny waist. Clothing catalogs of the time period still retain the S-bend fashions that had been popular for over a decade, but fashion magazines tended to feature what was new and grabbing attention in Europe. I have an original copy of a March 1912 issue of La Mode that shows the nouveau empire waistline that was coming into style:
Note the slightly raised waistline and the draped, layered effect of the skirts. These are day dresses appropriate for social calls and shopping. The posture is definitely more upright now with the emphasis on draped details and trims or shawl collar effects around the neckline. These dresses are all listed as "visiting costumes" and appropriate for day wear out on the town.
The blouses below from the May 1912 issue of La Mode show the new “natural” neckline now popular. The high lace collars would still hang on for another couple of years, but they were definitely on the way out:
These looks can be reproduced with my “Beatrix” Shirtwaist Pattern and pair perfectly with the “Beatrix” Skirt. The free eBook includes a feature on detachable collars for shirtwaists as well.
Lady Duff-Gordon in 1912. Note her draped neckline, multiple skirt layers, and filmy shawl.
Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon, was a well-known fashion designer in 1912 and also happened to be on the Titanic (she survived). Her beautiful gowns helped shape the new fashion era of the 1910s on into the 19-teens with their fuller skirts and emphasis on beautiful draping and the use of soft, floaty fabrics. Lucile’s designs attracted stage actresses and the well-to-do. They were also commercialized for middle-class catalogs in America, and Lucile wrote columns on fashion for several prominent magazines of the day. Her easy-fitting, romantic gowns paved the way for the “reform” styles of the 1910s, since she designed a less restrictive corset and did not bone the bodices of most of her gowns. Lucile’s famous claim was that she wanted to “dress the soul” and not just the body. She adored feminine lines and loved to use graceful, artistically draped materials.
Lucile's models pose in a line of tea gowns for 1912. Notice the waistline sashes on several and the natural necklines on all of them.
My 1910s Tea Gown pattern includes diaphanous skirt layers, the slightly raised waistline, and the Asian-inspired sash of the era. Its square neckline and bodice inset are appropriate for very dressy teas and for evening wear as well:
If you plan to attend any formal dinners or evening socials for Titanic, there are a lot of gorgeous extant 1912 evening gowns in museum collections that leave the mouth agape with the lusciously draped layers of silk, satin, chiffon, and velvet. The images below are from the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City:
1912 evening gown by Plaza Gown Parlors. You could definitely make this with my 1910s Tea Gown--just use lace panels instead of chiffon for the overdress and cut the front of the skirt on the fold. Gorgeous! 1912 evening gown by Paul Poiret The back view to show the squared train.
Be sure to check , as there is a beautiful pattern for a 1912 evening gown similar to the one above!
1912 evening gown by Herbert Lucy
If you’ll be mainly involved in daytime events like afternoon teas, steamboat outings, or even theme cruises, you’ll want to stick to day wear appropriate to the occasion. The image below is from a 1910 catalog and shows “lingerie” dresses considered correct for an outing on a ship or by the seashore:
You can see the high collars that had been popular for about 15 years by the time this catalog was published. Those collars would hang on for another few years, so you still see them in the following fashion images from the April, 1912, edition of The Ladies’ Home Journal.
Note that all the skirts have attractive details between the hipline and hem, including wide tucks and decorative buttons. The bodice on the far right shows the draping now growing in popularity. Here is the opening paragraph from the accompanying article:
It is in the first days of early spring, when under the sun’s warm rays we joyfully lay aside our heavy outer garments and furs, that our thoughts turn to a suitable dress for street wear. The material, color, and design must be decided upon with a view to the appropriateness for the time of day and purposes for which the gown is required. Taffeta is the newest silk, and is charming for simple undraped gowns and tailored suits, while the more clinging, supple qualities of crepe and satin charmeuse, and foulard, voile, and marquisette are given the preference for more composite designs.
This lovely brown Easter dress has elbow-length sleeves, a cross-draped bodice (creating a “V” in the center), and the overskirt with contrasting underskirt that would become ubiquitous in 1912-1914.
More hints for appropriate fabrics are given in an article titled, “What I See in New York” by Blanche G. Merritt:
[T]here are certain types of fabrics that are most cool and comfortable to wear: transparent cottons and voiles and thin summer silks; and it is well, when about to make such dresses, to select styles which, while suitable for all times, will be especially so for the warm days.
The fashions above for “stout women” show how beautifully tailored lines flattered all shapes. The asymmetrical front closure on the green suit at left slimmed the waist, as did the long lines of the brown coat. The draped necklines on the gowns at right created a “V” on top that matched the inverted “V” in the skirt, creating the illusion of an hourglass waistline. Beautiful! You still have the high lace collars here, which seem to be normal for “town” or “visiting” outfits.
From the text of the original article:
A long coat should be chosen not only with regard to design, color, and trimming, but also with regard to the purpose for which it is intended. If you can have only one coat, select a simple tailored one like the coat of brown broadcloth with a velvet collar shown above. Such a garment is always in good taste and may be worn for all occasions for several seasons.
Traveling suits are easy to create using my “Beatrix” Jacket Pattern, and it is quite possible to reproduce the asymmetrical fastening with a bit of tweaking as you cut out the jacket front. Feel free to drop me a line through the Contact Form if you have questions about how to do this. Past Patterns also offers a “Vintage Revivals” copy of a long coat pattern from 1911-12.
This sock advertisement from March 1912 shows a ladies’ afternoon dress. The style of the bodice is very similar to my 1914 Afternoon Dress pattern’s silhouette. The neckline features a lace inset, and there is lace at the edge of the shoulder around the armhole as well. The bodice and overskirt appear to have a lightweight, semi-sheer material over a candy pink fabric. Note the natural neckline and elbow-length sleeves. When I made an “heirloom” dress for myself from the 1914 pattern, it was very much inspired by this ad illustration (I added the blue silk belt for contrast):
This May, 1912, cover for The Housewife magazine also shows the natural neckline and elbow-length sleeves popular at the time. Note the beautifully detailed apron!
Amanda Kastner, winner of my 2004 Young Designers’ Contest, created the 1912 Kimono Dress Pattern (now available in ePattern format!). She drew her inspiration from a couple of fashion illustrations from 1911 and 1912:
The two-toned dress on the far left was the chief inspiration for the pattern, which is an absolutely perfect day dress for Titanic events and makes up beautifully as a tea gown in dressier fabrics like silk taffeta, silk georgette, and other materials that drape nicely. I love Amanda’s original illustration, which shows just how charming this easy-to-make dress is (note the optional inset on the right-hand dress, similar to the design second from the right in the illustration above):
Little girls’ clothing in 1912 reflected a trend toward more comfortable designs suitable for play:
I especially like the kimono-sleeve style of the dress on the far left. The neckline, cuffs, and hemline all use a contrasting material. The frock is simplicity itself–a big departure from the fussier dresses for little girls of a decade before. Note the wide collars with a “middy” influence on the two outfits to the right. The accompanying article recommends batiste, chambray, dotted Swiss, linen, and printed China silks for little girls’ dresses. For coats, serge (ridged twill) seems to be the favorite, but there’s also a recommendation to make a coat out of the same material as the dress (which is what you see on the far right model above).
The image below, from an April 1912 French fashion periodical (Moniteur), shows a girl in a dress very similar to my Girls’ 1914 Dress Pattern. The only modifications necessary would be raising the waistline about two inches and adding ruffles to the puffed sleeves. The eyelet collar over the bodice looks detachable, which matches a lot of the ladies’ fashions of the day.
Do not miss Au Fil du Temps on eBay, who graciously provided this image. They have a wealth of original fashion illustrations, including the two below from late 1911:
The drop-waist dress on the left with its wide belt is almost a “sneak peek” of early 1920s fashions for girls. It’s definitely comfortable and easy to wear. The longer “jumper”-style dress on the right goes over a fine cotton blouse. This is a simple style to reproduce, even with modern patterns.
Finding girls’ patterns from this time period is a little more challenging than finding ladies’, but they are out there. I highly recommend Hint of History’s Drop-Waist Dress pattern, which is great for 1912. Patterns of Time carries just about every single historical costume pattern in print and has a lot of girls’ dress and coat patterns from this period.
So what about boys? The sailor middy has been a perennial favorite from the mid-19th century all the way up to the present day. You saw the 1912 version in the Moniteur image above. These are fairly easy to reproduce with a simple double-breasted shirt pattern and a second pattern for knee-length shorts. Adding a middy collar is not difficult, and you can use the easy tutorial on eHow to create one. But the easiest outfit to reproduce by far (and one that requires minimal sewing and needs no pattern) is the classic “newsboy” look of the 1910s:
Real newsboys of the time period were usually poor children living hand-to-mouth, but their clothing (while patched and mended) still resembled what middle-class boys wore.
Up to about age 12, boys wore knickers over long socks (or stockings), paired with an Oxford-style button shirt (and sometimes a vest and/or tie). You can easily reproduce this look with thrift store clothing finds. Here’s what you’ll need:
On the left is a pair of dark brown corduroy trousers with no back pockets and no pleating– just simple, straight pants (dark khakis and wool suit trousers are also appropriate). On the right is a white button Oxford shirt. The collar has no buttonholes, which is important, as the collars of 1912 were starched and did not fasten to the front of the shirt with tiny buttons. Here’s a close-up:
No buttonholes--just a crisp pointed collar.
Have the boy for whom you’ll be making the outfit try on the trousers and stand on a chair. Grab one leg of the trousers about two inches below the knee and mark it, since that’s where the knee-band is going to go on these short pants (you want the trousers to pouf out a bit over the knee):
Using a measuring tape as a guide for your 5/8″ seam allowance, cut across the first leg of the trousers:
Take the part of the leg you’ve just cut away and use it to cut away the exact same amount from the other leg of the trousers. Now you have two cutoff sections:
Cut up one side of each cutoff section and open out flat. From the lower (hemmed) edge of these sections, cut two 3″-wide bands:
Have your model stand on the chair again, and measure the area below the knee for kneebands. These will need to fit snugly around the leg below the knee with enough of an overlap to button. You’ll also need to hem under the short raw edges of the bands, so be sure to leave room for that as well.
Once you’ve marked the bands, cut them to the correct length:
Now take the trousers and use a seam ripper to carefully open up about two and a half inches of the outseam on each leg:
Hem the opened outseam edges to finish them:
I've used white thread so you can see my stitching in these examples.
Now run two sets of basting stitches around the lower edge of each trouser leg, breaking at the inseam:
Hem the short raw edges of each knee band:
Pin each knee band to a trouser leg, right sides together, matching the hemmed short edges of the bands with the hemmed outseam openings and matching each inseam with the center of each band. (The long raw edge of the band will match the raw edge of the trousers.) Pull up basting stitches evenly to fit:
Here's one trouser leg gathered and pinned to a knee band.
Stitch each knee band to its trouser leg, then press the seam upwards (away from the knee band). As you see, the original hem from the trousers makes a nicely finished edge for the knee bands:
Here's the finished knee band, ready for a buttonhole.
Now its time to place a buttonhole in each knee band. Make sure you set the buttonhole on the “front” side of the knee band so that it will overlap the back.
Notice that the buttonhole is horizontal across the knee band.
Now try the short pants on your model and mark the button placement by overlapping the knee band and “buttoning” it closed (carefully!) with a pin:
Sew corresponding buttons in place, and your model is ready to dress up for all the fun! Here’s my “newsboy”:
You can also add a knit pullover vest for a slightly different look:
That iconic newsboy cap has never gone out of style. Here’s an image from the April 1912 issue of The Ladies’ Home Journal:
The description reads:
A favorite cap with the boys is shown above. It shades the eyes, fits snugly and only needs one good tug to put it on in the most secure manner. Then it has the additional attraction of being soft and small enough to slip into a boy’s pocket when necessary, all of which endears this peaked cap to the little man of the family.
You can easily find newsboy caps online or at local shops in a variety of woolens and tweeds. They are the perfect crowning touch to your Titanic-era boy’s outfit. Now, if this entire ensemble just happens to also look a bit like everyone’s favorite intrepid boy reporter, I can only plead guilty:
Okay, let’s take a quick look at men’s clothing from this time period. A quick look is all you need, because men’s fashion has changed so little in the past 100 years (leisure suits aside!). Here is the cover to a 1912 issue of Collier’s magazine:
That’s a pretty straightforward suit with pocket flaps on the front, notched lapels, and cuffed trousers. The key difference is in the collar of the shirt, which sits high around the neck rather than low against the lapel of the jacket. It is still possible to find these detachable starched collars today, or you can just get an Oxford dress shirt with no buttonholes in the collar and fold it a bit shorter to recreate this look. Here’s another image from a 1912 catalog:
Again, these are fairly basic suits with high collars. It is very easy to get second-hand suits inexpensively, but you want to keep an eye out for ones with three or four buttons up the front rather than two, as the suits of this time period fastened up closer to the tie and collar than suits of the mid-20th century. 1912 suits also fit closer to the body with a bit of a nipped-in waist. Bulky, loose suit coats are therefore not correct for a 1912 impression. Long overcoats (if worn) can, of course, be loose, as they go over the regular suit.
Older boys also wore suits with full-length trousers, as you see in this historic image of a newsboy announcing the sinking of Titanic:
It’s quite easy to find men’s hats that look correct for the time period, and men’s lace-up shoes really haven’t changed at all in 100 years, either! Etsy and eBay are both crammed with vintage and reproduction hats appropriate for the Titanic era. So let’s take a look at some hats for women and girls from 1912:
At left is a wide-brim “picture hat” with water lilies. At right is a tall “daisy-covered hat with graceful bow in front.”
You can see that wide-brimmed, flower-covered hats were quite the rage in April 1912 with these two examples. These are very easy to reproduce with a plain straw or “chip” base hat and artificial flowers. Looks like “the more, the merrier” applies here!
Here are a couple of adorable hats for little girls:
Here are the descriptions from the 1912 LHJ:
These hats may be made up in straw, or they are charming shapes for washable cretonne, linen, duck, or pongee.
What fun to dress up a couple of straw hats with wide ribbon bows to frame a girl’s face!
Okay, to round up, let me include some inspiration for 1910-1912 ladies’ hairstyles:
Coiled braids, top curls, and loose tendrils were quite the rage at this time. If you scroll back up to the Collier’s magazine cover, you can see the young lady driving the horse cart has two loose buns at the nape of the neck, while the hair on top is basically parted in the center and waved back over the ears. Women who didn’t have a lot of hair used “switches” created from their own hair (what fell out each time they brushed). So it’s not cheating to use extra braids and curls in a color matching your own hair!
For little girls, loose, fluffy curls and ringlets are perfect. You can learn how to easily set pincurls, but hot rollers are also fine if you’re pressed for time.
There are several excellent sources online that will help you further as you research Titanic-era styles. I highly recommend the following links:
YWU is a subscription-based site that offers hundreds of in-depth articles on reproducing period fashions. Best of all, this year’s focus is 1812 and 1912! There are several articles on Titanic fashions, including one on how to reproduce hats!
Historical Sewing has a fantastic article reviewing available Edwardian and Titanic-era sewing patterns and costuming books. This article is a huge lifesaver if you plan to dress yourself from the inside out for 1912.
American Duchess offers stunning reproduction shoes just perfect for Titanic costumes. The price is a bit ouchy ($110), but if you’re really going all out, this is the style you want to look for!
I hope you enjoy preparing for Titanic memorial events or just creating beautiful outfits to enjoy any time. Click on the image below to download the free eBook, which contains all the vintage images in this article, plus a bunch of wonderful bonus images, articles, and 1912 ads. Feel free to share the link. The eBook is available until the end of April. Happy sewing!
Related
34 comments on “Reproducing 1912 Fashions – Remember Titanic!”
Thanks Jennie for this wonderful overview!
This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and library of images!
Love this–thank you so much for posting it! My great-grandmother came to America on the sister ship to the Titanic (the Olympic) the following year so this is a favorite era of mine.
Wonderful! Thank you for posting all your marvelous research!
Thank you so much! I’ve just had inspiration…Now off to check the patterns.
I’ve been waiting on pins and needles for this article! THANK YOU for sharing so much information and details – I can’t wait to get started sewing (as soon as I finish 4 Star Wars costumes and a set of decorative towels!)
Terrific, thank you! Took several tries to get the download but once I got it, great! Keep up the good work, I love your blog.
Thanks, Sandra! The download got a ton of traffic, so that’s probably why it took so long. Glad you got it!
What a terrirfic article! You really went all out for this one! I had never seen the picture of you in the afternoon gown before – so lovely!
Thank you so much for this lovely resource!
wonderful! I really enjoyed the article and thanks for your hard work. I added a link to the ebook on my “Year of Weldon’s” blog. I’m working my way through a year of knitting projects from Weldon’s Practical Knitter issues, and this article fits right into my time frame.
Wow! I’m so happy I discovered you. I’m making some costumes for me and my children for a volunteer play of Music Man that we are doing, and I was sooo inspired. Thanks for sharing all your hard work.
Could you share some particulars regarding the group shot of Lucile’s tea gowns? I am fascinated by the woman standing on the right (no hat). We could be twins! Is there any description of the dresses or other construction information, I’d love to reproduce it?
Hi, Karen! I still have a copy of my original page on Lady Duff-Gordon archived. That’s all the info I have on this fascinating lady. Randy Bryan Bigham started a book on Lucile many years ago, but I don’t know if it’s been published yet. He’s the expert on all things Lucile. Hope this helps!
It appears his book is or is about to be published.
It’s a bit pricey but looks very interesting. This might need to go on a Christmas/birthday wish list. I will just have to meditate on the picture and see if I can intuit how the dress was made. A challenge!
I love every single thing you do – always. Thank you for educating us all so beautifully about the various eras!
You are too sweet, Barbara! Thanks for the kind comment. 🙂
Thank you so much for the great knickers for boys! I have twin 10 year old boys and would appreciate any boywear patterns or modifications.
Also, at what age did girls start wearing ladies dresses? I have a 14 yo girl.
Hi, Christine! Girls went into “grown-up” clothes when they were old enough to “come out” in society. That was usually 18 or 20. But if you had a 16-year-old who was working as a schoolteacher, she’d wear more adult-style clothing, as she would already be “out” in the world. Hope this helps!
What a FABULOUS e-book and article Jennie and THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing it with us.
Hi i love the movie lots I watch the videos on you tube and i am trying to make rose”s dress jump one but just the black cover and her swim dress if you have any ideas for me on how much fabric i need and whar kind that would be great thanks Donna .
Donna, my 1910s Tea Gown pattern is the best to use for reproducing the “swim” dress. I don’t have a pattern that’s close to the “jump” dress, but you can read how I reproduced one in my “Titanic Project” section. Hope this helps!
Nice post about the 1912 fashion lines. Lady Duff Gordon is my 23rd cousin 10 times removed and she sought the future of fashion. She came up with a slit skirt, negligees, and lingeries, and also invented the catwalk which is still used in fashion shows today. I read the Randy Bigham stories about my cousin and I’m even making my own Edwardian dress! The Edwardian/Titanic Era is my favourite time period!
Wow! That’s amazing, Kristen!
I forgot to make note that the dress I’m making was a white dress with kimono sleeves, a train, and a sash at my waistline. I was researching the edwardian dress and I found the one that I was interested in re-making. After a week when I started attaching the skirt, I decided to look up the name of the designer of the dress I’m making. It was Lady Duff Gordon who originally made the dress. So basically, I making my cousin’s dress for myself. Quite the coincidence, eh?
I forgot to make note that the dress I’m making was a white dress with kimono sleeves, a train, and a sash at my waistline. I was researching the edwardian dress and I found the one that I was interested in re-making. After a week when I started attaching the skirt, I decided to look up the name of the designer of that dress. It was Lady Duff Gordon. So basically, I’m making my cousin’s dress for myself. Quite the coincidence, eh?
I want to know how long the ladies’ dresses were!
Hi, Rebecca! They are ankle to floor length for evening, usually with trains in the back. Hope this helps!
just used your instructions to make some plus fours for my son who is a ‘passenger on the titanic’ in his school assembly. instructions are really clear and easy to follow and the trews look fab (have yet to try them on him but fingers crossed for a good fit!). thank you.
Excellent! So glad this was helpful!
I love your site!
All these are smart fashions, I’d like to know what people wore indoors, did they wear cardigans to keep warm in winter, and if so what style were they?
Hi, Mary! Everyday clothing did, indeed, include cardigans and jackets. I have a 1911 catalog that shows ready-to-wear fashions for everyday use. There are skirts, “waists” (blouses), cardigans, lightweight coats and more. One of these days I will get around to posting that catalog! In the meantime, check out http://www.vintagevictorian.com/costume_1912.html for more examples (including links to patterns and more images). Hope this helps!
Your Cart
Search
About S&S patterns
Contact Us
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
contact[at]sensibility[dot]com
0 notes
Text
Funko’s latest Legion of Collectors box, Superman, arrived at the doorstep today. Thanks goes out to the fine folks at Funko for providing the box (this also serves as a disclaimer that Funko sent this for the purposes of review). To be quite honest, I was not all that hyped for this box because while I like Superman, he is nowhere close to my favorite DC character. I didn’t know if Funko could fill the box with enough to warrant my interest. Let’s find out in our Legion of Collectors Superman Box Review.
Legion of Collectors Superman Box Review
WARNING! If you have not yet received your box and you want to remain oblivious to the content in the box, then I highly suggest you stop reading here. I am going to spoil the mess out of this box, with pictures of every item that is contained within.
LAST CHANCE! Okay on with the Legion of Collectors Superman Box Review.
Legion of Collectors Superman Box Patch and Pin
If you are still reading then congratulations, you are in for a nice treat from this box. Just like each box before, the shipping box itself is a comic fan’s delight. The top of the box features Superman’s silhouette in a nice DC blue color, along with the Legion of Collectors logo. After opening the box it folds open to reveal some classic DC Comics Superman panel art. When I say classic, I am talking Superman from the 70’s to early 90’s.
The first thing you notice when opening this box, and this is across the board with all Funko collectors boxes, is a nice patch and pin. Seeing as this was a Superman themed box, I thought we might get more of the Superman family of characters in some of the offerings, but these are all Superman items.
The patch features Superman in a classic flying pose and includes the famous “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman” slogan around the edges. The pin features another classic Superman look with the Legion of Collectors logo along the bottom. The one thing that worries me lately about this items (more so the pin than the patch), is that during transit, these items tend to pop out of their plastic sleeves. I worry about the pin especially, causing damage to other items in the box.
Again with every review, I have to say that each patch and pin individually may not seem like the coolest thing, but once you get a few together, then display possibilities make them a very nice thing to have in the collection.
Next, after flipping that piece over, you are welcomed to some of the goodies in the box! First let’s look at the shirt. The shirt features POP Superman flying through the skyline of Metropolis with the slogan, “From Krypton, here to save our world!” I absolutely love these shirts, especially those with a POP look to them. I didn’t expect this look with this box, but was thinking we may get a more classic looking Superman instead of the POP. So this was again, another nice surprise.
Next is the POP Heroes Classic Superman. This might just be the best Superman POP Funko has created to date. Not only do we get that classic Curt Swan Superman look, but the movement of the figure is outstanding. The blowing cape really gives the piece some substance. It screams, “let me be the centerpiece of your collection!” I know that Funko is releasing a Batman figure similar to this, so I am glad that Superman got his due as well.
There were small little paint issues, that I haven’t seen as much of lately, on this piece. For instance the top of the boot has blue bleeding on it. While this isn’t as big of an issue since it is on the top, it was a little disappointing seeing as how recent releases have been top notch. Other than that, this is now my favorite Superman POP.
After removing the POP and shirt from the box, the biggest surprise awaits. Of course there was a Classic Superman POP Keychain, and it features a pose that is very reminiscent of the recent Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice Superman POP, I quickly discarded it for the item underneath!
Underneath was the treasure of this box. A 3 3/4″ Superman action figure featuring his costume from Action Comics #1. If you are a regular reader of this site, then you know how much I love this scale action figure. With the recent announcement of Classic Batman TV show figures, might love of Funko has grown even more. Now they have me hook line and sinker, because they are showing a commitment to this scale figure.
Legion of Collectors Superman Box Review
The figure comes on a card (unpunched as well) featuring artwork from the cover of Action Comics #1. The classic Superman holding a car overhead as he dumps out the villains, is one of the most iconic images in comic book history. The card back features a page from a Superman comic, that I can’t identify (kudos to someone who can identify which book and issue this is pulled from).
Funko has done a fantastic job on the sculpt with this piece. They even paid attention to the little design right above the red of the boot, that most people don’t even notice when looking at the cover. The S-shield is accurately captured on the figure as well. It features 9 points of articulation, and the shoulders don’t just move up and down, but are able to swivel in all directions. The bottom of the feet have holes so that you can use stands to help keep him up. The cape is made of plastic, which does tend to lean him backwards, toppling him backwards unless you adjust the legs just right.
This minor quirk does nothing to affect my love of this figure. It has me super stoked for the possibility of even more of these figures, and I hope that this becomes a mandatory inclusion for the boxes.
Next is the obligatory comic book. This one being Superman #1, but featuring a nice POP variant cover. I have said from the beginning that this should be the norm for these comics. A POP variant is a must.
If you are a fan of Superman, then this box will be an awesome thing for you. If you are a general Funko fan, then I think that you will also find some nice pieces in here. It is a toss up for my favorite piece from this box between the POP and the action figure, but I might lean towards the figure since it is right in my wheel house. Don’t forget to sign up for the Wonder Woman box, which you can only get at LegionofCollectors.com!
Check out the various images from the box below!
Legion of Collectors Superman Patch
Legion of Collectors Superman Pin
Legion of Collectors Superman Tee-shirt
Legion of Collectors Superman POP
Legion of Collectors Superman Pop out of package
Legion of Collectors Superman 3 3/4″ Carded Figure
Legion of Collectors Superman 3 3/4″ Figure
Legion of Collectors Superman POP Keychain
Superman #1
SPOILERS: Legion of Collectors Superman Box Review Funko’s latest Legion of Collectors box, Superman, arrived at the doorstep today. Thanks goes out to the fine folks at Funko for providing the box (this also serves as a disclaimer that Funko sent this for the purposes of review).
0 notes
Last Seen Blogs
lonelyinnland
My Tomodachi Life / LonelyInn Island
prodromus-art
Prodromus Art
the-rainbow-chocolates
Six Multicolored Sisters
dumplinglion
DumplingLion
kottaniq
WHAT?!