Tuesday, 31 July 2012

What lovely clothes the evil queen has

One of my favourite TV shows at the moment is Once Upon A Time. I have always loved fairy tales and this show has dusted them off and cleverly repackaged them. One of the things I enjoy most about watching this show is the wonderful outfits the evil queen wears.

Laura of Lucky Books (Romania) asked me during a recent interview what I’d change in today’s world if I had the power. I answered...the clothes. Modern clothing is dull. Yet, when I watch the scenes flick between the past and the present in Once Upon A Time one thing stands out. Modern clothes are also way more functional. Just thinking about a trip to the toilet wearing a floor length gown and all those under garments is frightening.


Fashion changed dramatically in the 1920s, when the Depression put an abrupt halt to opulence. Fashion never recovered after the war, though Goth shops such as Mame Clothing (Australia) offer the daring consumer the option to dress like the evil queen. For lovers of medieval fantasy, there are shops such The Dark Angel (United States) which feature beautiful gowns. And thre is also a UK based The Dark Angel which has fairy tale range of clothing, including pirate outfits.



Disadvantages of clothing in ye olde times:

* it took a maid or two to dress you
* you had a million garments on and often fainted in hot weather
* you could hardly breathe while wearing a corset
* you never washed your dresses because they were no washing machines
* you had to wait weeks for a seamstress to measure you and make the outfit
* the dresses weighed half a ton so walking any distance was impossible

Advantages:

* you got to wear lace, velvet, fitted gloves, lace up shoes, frills, ride in horse drawn carriages, walk with parasols.

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