Here is my finished beaded collar with ribbon fastening. I used a black felt fabric for the underside of the collar, to give the collar some stiffness and help keep the shape and a sheer mulberry coloured organza type fabric for the top layer. I felt this top fabric was perfect for the collar as it is glamorous and luxurious. I have then added a diamond shaped pattern to the collar with 3 different types of beads. I think the pattern definitely looks very 1920's and art deco inspired with the repeating effect and geometric shapes and lines. The collar ties and unties at the back with a ribbon, which further adds to the delicate and feminine style of the collar.
I have included various photos below showcasing all the features of the collar with close up shots to show of the detailing and beadwork and both front and back views of the piece. I also included a photo of how the piece would look on top of a garment, and would add sophistication and glamour to any outfit.
When making my final piece, I took photos to keep track of my progress and the steps I took.
Here I used a t-shirt that I own with a neck the size i wanted the collar to fit and traced the size and shape from the centre of the front neckline to the centre of the back neckline with the garment folded half-ways vertically.
Using the line I traced from the neck of the T-shirt, I then drew a parallel line 7cm down from this and joined up the two curving lines with two shorter straight lines which would be the edge of the collar
This next step shows the pattern piece for the collar with added seam allowance
I then cut out the pattern piece, pinned it to a double piece of the backing felt fabric and cut carefully around the fabric. I did the same process with my mulberry coloured fabric, taking extra care when cutting as the fabric slips easily and is therefore hard to cut accurately.
I then paired one piece of black fabric with one of the sheer fabric pieces, pinned together and then machine stitched around 1.5cm from the edge. I repeated this process with the other two pieces.
Here, as you can see from the top piece, I trimmed the edge quite close to the seam. This was so that, when I turned the piece the right way round, the seam wouldnt be too bulky. I then turned the pieces inside out.
Next I stitched the front of the collar together using black thread and only through one layer of the felt so the stitching wouldn't be seen on the right side of the collar.
The next step was to start embellishing the collar. I added three different types of beads in a sequence, keeping the pattern fairly simple with diamonds and lines, but also still referencing the art deco 1920s theme.
Finally I stitched the ribbon into the back where the collar would be tied and untied to take on and off
I decided, after looking at all the images and researched I have gathered, that I wanted to design and make an accessory rather than a full garment. This is for two reasons, partly because accessories were very important in the twenties, most of the key pieces of the time were accessories. Secondly, because, as the era was all about glitz and glamour I decided I wanted to do an embellished piece. This, on a full garment would have been too much for the time constraints. So I decided to go for an embellished accessory, and chose to make a collar.
After I decided on making a collar, I started sketching some ideas down for possible shapes, details, patterns and embellishments that the colour could have.
I chose this design to produce as I thought it would look effective with beads, not too over the top.
A British period drama currently airing on ITV. Set in the years leading up to the 1920s, the programme tells the story of Harry Selfridge, the american who came to Britain and founded Selfridges, the high end department store and the trials and tribulations he faced along the way. The show has also covered issues I have already discussed on this blog such as the female empowerment/civil rights urge from the suffragettes. The costume design is key to the programme as fashion was so important at that time, the costumes are glamorous and fancy, and give a good representation of what the upper classes in England would have been wearing at the time.
The highly anticipated Baz Luhrman remake of this film is about to be released and as the original novel was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who himself was an icon in the 1920's, it gives great insight into the period known as 'The Roaring Twenties.' One of the characters of the novel is millionaire Jay Gatsby, whose lifestyle epitomises 1920's culture, always hosting lavish and extravagant parties. The film trailer shows how decadent life in the 20's was for some people, and perfectly highlights the fashion that were around at the time. I particularly like the art deco patterns the company have used on the trailer beginning, as I feel it sets the scene perfectly.
I found this collection of photographs from the 1920's on Pinterest. I think they sum up the style of the era, the glamour that surrounded it and the glamorous look that the women of the time aimed for. The pictures also show the careless attitide and frivolous lifestyle the women had. Each picture also demostrates how impeccably well the flappers presented themselves, they always had perfect make up and styled hair to enhance their glamorous style.
1920's style fashion still impacts lots of designer and high street collections, and is very popular amongst celebrities and consumers alike. I think this is because of the glamour of the trend and every girl wants to feel glamorous for some time or event.
The first two images are an article I scanned in from a River Island magazine I picked up in store. This feature is introducing the new collaboration for River Island with designer William Tempest, intevriewing him about the collection and what inspired him throughout the designing process.
He discusses how his muse for it was Louise Brooks, an icon of the time who I have already talked about on this blog. He talks about his use of 'dropped waists and Twenties references' and how they are updated to be 'more in the present.'
The third image is an article I scanned in from women's fashion magazine GLAMOUR, in their do's and dont's feature. The article is describing 20's fashion or 'Great Gatsby Chic' as a 'do'. The article includes pictures of lots of celebrtities such as Carey Mulligan and Georgia Jagger dressing in flapper style dresses, showing that the style of that era was very fashionable at the time the magazine was published. All of the dresses are made from luxurious fabrics and contain some sort of heavy embellishment, as they did back in the 1920's.
Flappers were independent women, they made their own decisions in everything from their fashion and beauty choices to their attitudes to life. The flappers were unique and stood out from the other women because of their bold attitudes and behaviours, behaviour which was frowned upon by many. This was due to their wearing of excessive make up, excessive drinking and attitudes to smoking and casual sex.
The typical flapper was usually seen wearing short shapeless dresses, that wear easy to dance and move around in. These were also usually heavily embellished with beading and sequins which made the dresses eye catching and expensive looking. They wanted to be envied and looked at by others and these dresses achieved that.
Dropped waist dresses, which were introduced by Coco Chanel, were also common amongst flapper culture, contrasting to the form fitting high waistlines seen in fashions previous to the 1920's. The silhouette in the 20's drastically changed, to a looser less feminine style.
The fur coat was another wardrobe staple for the flapper girl, which she would layer over any outfit, day or night and would further enhance the glamour that they were all about.
Beauty wise, the flappers had short bobbed hairstyles, which could sometimes be curled to achieve a glamorous look. For make-up they wore a lot more than had ever been seen before this time, with red lipstick, dark eyeliner and mascara and bold eyeshadows.
Accessories were also very important to the typical flapper. There would rarely be a flapper seen with a cloche hat on their head. This was a piece that originated in the 20's and is still seen today as a symbol of that era. Cloches would usually be worn as daywear, however, in the evening on more glamorous occasions, sparkly, embellished headpieces or headbands would be worn.
Lace-up flats were the go to casual shoe for a flapper for walking around during the daytime, on an evening they opted for Mary Jane style pumps which were appropriate for all the dancing they used to do.
