Black and white.

I love how a character can be so powerful onscreen that you can instantly recognize them long after seeing the film.

Olly Moss, who is a talented artist and frame selector, has created a fabulous series of iconic character silhouettes called "Paper Cuts." There are many, many more on the blog showcasing his last exhibit.  Check it out and see just how many characters you can ID.

 

A double dosage.

{Annie Liebovitz's version of Snow White. Check out all of her Disney Dream Portraits }

Who knew Snow White was so popular? In the spirit of No Strings Attached/Friends With Benefits, Armageddon/Deep Impact and Bug's Life/Antz there are two movies about Snow White coming out right around the same time next year. Both films just released promo shots of actor's in their costumes and it seems the films are at least going in different directions.

First up is The Brothers Grimm: Snow White starring Lily Collins and Julia Roberts. At first glance it looks pretty darn sugar coated with the poofy floral gown and all the pastels. But the director Tarsem Singh's past films were The Fall and The Cell so you can bet it's going to be trippy! Eiko Ishioka, the costume designer, also worked on those films as well as Cirque de Soleil. Ooooooh, maybe the dwarfs will be acrobats?

{Image via Entertainment Weekly }

And then there is Snow White and the Huntsman. This version is apparently the darker, angst ridden version. Snow White dons armor and the Queen is doing her best Malificent impression. Personally I'm much more of a fan of darker slightly twisted stories but I just saw that wretched Red Riding Hood so I 'm now a little skeptical of this version. God, that was the worst movie I've seen in a long time. Even Gary Goldman couldn't make it watchable.

It's the director Rupert Sander's first film but the costume designer is Colleen Atwood! Colleen designs for Tim Burton, but she also did Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha and Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. Needless to say she's one of my favorite designers alongside Mary Zophres and Jenny Beavan. Fun Fact: I met her once and completely geeked out.

James Franco? Is that you?!

You should enlarge this! Check out the feathered collar and whatever wonderful fabric the gown in made out of. Oh and the fingers!

"Yeah. We graduated high school. How totally amazing."

Movie: Ghost World

Costume Designer: Mary Zophres

In no particular order, my favorite costumes from a movie for the deadpan little Enid voice inside all of us.

It's business time.

People judge. I know I sure do. Which is why I get a little nervous about creating business cards. It's what you give people to remember you by and being a designer there's even more added pressure. Be unique! Be well designed! Express your design aesthetic! Am I reading too much into things? Maybe. But then again, people judge.

Above is the design I've been working on but I wanted to see what else is out there before committing. Oh man, it's pretty much impossible to find a "costume" or "fashion" themed card that doesn't have a dress form, scissors or a generic dress sketch on it. But then my friend Caitlin told me about Moo.com.

People, I'm in love! So many clever and wonderfully designed options to choose from. I'm seriously digging the multiple pictured backs and curved edge options. If you're a freelancer, you need to check out Moo.com.

Here are my favorite costume designer appropriate cards. I think they'd also be pretty fabulous for a number of other job fields too. Personally I'm torn between "Hats Off To You" and "Idea Explosion." Your thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

{Hats Off to You }

{Idea Explosion }

{Do It Like Dior }

{Zip It }

{Fabric First }

{Typographic Mustaches }

Oh my, I do declare!

Nathaniel Prentice Banks: Mass. Governor and Union General

Being a costume designer, I do a lot of research and am always looking at old photographs, portraits, illustrations, etc. Well, thanks to My Daguerreotype Boyfriend my job sure got a lot easier on the eyes.

Behold -  historical man candy. All in the name of costume research, of course...

Robert Cornelius, Photography Pioneer and regular visitor in my dreams, circa 1839

 

Alfred and Francis Douglas, circa turn of the  century

Frederick Douglass: Writer, Social Reformer circa 1847

Gustave Doré: French Artist, circa 1855-1859

Lewis Thornton Powell: Lincoln Assassination Conspirator, circa 1865

 

Cowboy, circa 1890 and smokin'

{All images via My Daguerreotype Boyfriend }

I made shirts.

For a Sally Beauty Supply commercial I handmade a bunch of shirts for the stylists. My cat Kipling was there to observe and criticize my work.

Although I was given a PDF of the logo but the image was too small so I recreated it via Photoshop. I then reversed the image and used Avery Light Fabric Transfer paper to print and iron the logo on 15 shirts.

You should definitely try some do-it-yourself iron-ons in the near future because it's super easy, costs $24 for an 18 sheet pack and they look pretty damn good. But there are a few things to keep in mind:

1) Cut the paper carefully. Whatever part that does not have your logo, it will be the white paper instead. I chose to do a rectangle box because I was transferring lettering and it gave it a clean look. You can barely the transfer paper on the white shirt though so no need to stress too much!

2) Be careful not to leave the iron on the fabric for too long (ie. don't do a mini-photoshoot while the iron is on the fabric) because it can singe the transfer paper and leave it looking yellow. 

3) Be prepared to spend a ton of money on this paper because you will be addicted and start an Etsy store with your own artwork transferred on t-shirts and tote bags.

 

{Kipling is not very pleased with my ironing skills}