My movie is "The Witches" brought to us by Angelica Huston. But how did we get here from Bacon? Well, Here are the links to the other stops leading up to now. Go read...
Stop 1: FreeNotion
Stop 2 : Creative Counselor and Wining Wife
Stop 3: A Jennuine Life and Rebel and Malice
Stop 4: Climbing the Willow and Cindy Parrett
Stop 5: Lauren via Sew the Show and ME!!
Ok, Awesome! Now, Onto the show! When I signed up, I saw "The Witches" and knew straight away that I hit the jackpot. I absolutely ADORE Ms. Huston and this movie. It's pretty dark for a kids movie, but I thought it was awesome when I was like 8. Its better than my baby sister loving the Poltergeist series at 4 (no, seriously), but I digress. The thing I remembered most about the movie was that children smelled like dog droppings to witches. YOU GUYS! That is seriously the grossest smell on the planet. Their poo is the exact reason I won't own a dog. If I had to walk around and smell that all the time, I'd start hiding children in paintings and turning them into mice, too. So, you see, I sympathize with the witches. And so I based my look on two flat-toed ladies that really couldn't be more different: The Grand High Witch and her secretary, Miss Irvine.
The Grand High Witch played by Angelica Huston, had a very strong and powerful look. Her black dress with a commanding shape really made her striking. She also had that dark hair, red lipstick and, well, wore an awesome hat at her entrance...I love hats. It was very indicative of her personality- dark, domineering, and strong. At the opposite end of the witchy spectrum is her secretary in a floral peplum dress with blonde floofy hair and a stupid grin. She was dainty, submissive and weak. (or so we are made to believe)
When making my look, I wanted to include the strong but had to also keep it a bit dainty because I'm dressing a little girl. I took some elements from Eva Ernst (Grand High): Black background, tighter fit, and tighter long sleeves to mimic her gloves. Then, I added a bit of Miss Irvine: the floral and the peplum. The result is a look suitable for a child, that captures the feel of the characters.
I got the fabric from Purple Seamstress on Facebook (LOVE her!). I used a modified mixture of the Uptown/Downtown dress by Sew Straight and Gather and the Peggy's by Create Kids Couture to make the dress. I'm always combining and changing stuff until I get EXACTLY what I want because life just can't be easy...especially when everything smells like dog droppings; so gross. Its just so gross.
Even though I made a practical dress that my girl will wear 100 times, I had to (of course) add a little whimsy and theatrics with the hat and tights. Besides, the Grand High Witch was VERY theatrical. Both witches needed to be represented in an accessory, too. You wouldn't have forgiven me otherwise. They were both store bought because...no excuses...I just wanted to buy them. BAM! Truth hammer dropped!
Now, by the end of the movie these clothing stereotypes throw the tables a little bit (I'm not gonna spoil it). Luckily, my girl had the best of both- she will not be vermin.
Make sure you check out our other contributors coming up! It's all in good fun and maybe you'll find yourself inspired the next time you turn on your favorite flick =) Click on the picture below to see what Michele over at Falafel and the Bee sewed up!
-Crystal-
