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Costumes and Personal Effects

Another view of Scarlett O’Hara

December 8, 2015 - Jill Morena

Vivien Leigh wearing a gown dating from 1877 in Doris Langley Moore’s The Woman in Fashion (1949). Photograph by Felix Fonteyn.

Ten years after the release of Gone With the Wind, actress Vivien Leigh modeled real-life, historic nineteenth-century clothes for pioneer fashion historian and Byron scholar Doris Langley Moore for the publication The Woman in Fashion (1949). [Read more…] about Another view of Scarlett O’Hara

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Costumes and Personal Effects, Doris Langley Moore, fashion, fashion history, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Godey's Lady's Book, Gone with the Wind, Gone With The Wind dresses, Helen Larson, hoop skirts, Vivien Leigh, women’s fashion

Behind the scenes: Conserving the “Gone With The Wind” dresses

December 1, 2014 - Alicia Dietrich

The conserved green curtain dress and hat worn by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With The Wind." Photo by Pete Smith.

Tomorrow, the Harry Ransom Center presents a panel discussion to answer the question “How do you care for some of the most iconic costumes in film history?” at 7 p.m. in the Center’s Prothro Theater.

Ransom Center Curator of Film Steve Wilson leads a discussion on the preservation of Gone With The Wind costumes, including the green curtain dress and burgundy ball gown, with independent textile conservator Cara Varnell, Ransom Center Assistant Curator of Costumes and Personal Effects Jill Morena, and independent scholar Nicole Villarreal.

This program is in conjunction with the current exhibition The Making of Gone With The Wind, which features five costumes from the film and is on view through January 4.

In 2010, the Ransom Center raised funds to conserve original costumes from Gone With The Wind, which are part of the Center’s David O. Selznick archive. Donors from around the world graciously contributed more than $30,000 to support the conservation work, which enabled the Ransom Center to display the costumes safely on custom-fitted mannequins in the current exhibition.

The Ransom Center’s detailed and careful conservation work took more than 180 hours and occurred between fall 2010 and spring 2012. A description of some of the conservation work conducted on these costumes is available.

Image: The conserved green curtain dress and hat worn by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind. Photo by Pete Smith.

Filed Under: Conservation, Exhibitions + Events, Film Tagged With: Cara Varnell, Conservation, Costumes and Personal Effects, David O. Selznick, exhibition, Gone with the Wind, Jill Morena, Nicole Villareal, Steve Wilson, textiles, The Making of Gone With The Wind

Behind-the-scenes: Customizing a mannequin, from legs to limbs, to display a World War I uniform

April 22, 2014 - Jill Morena

World War I uniform on display in Ransom Center's exhibition "The World at War, 1914-1918." Photo by Pete Smith.

Presenting a costume or historical clothing on a mannequin may seem deceptively simple at first glance. Yet there is rarely an instance of a mannequin, standardized or made-to-measure, that is ready to use “out-of-the-box.” Each area of the body—shoulders, torso, arms, legs, and feet—must be customized and often requires several fittings with the garment. This is similar to the process of fitting a made-to-order garment to a human body, although in this case the process is reversed as the mannequin must be shaped and conform to the garment.

A World War I uniform, from the collection of the Texas Military Forces Museum and currently on display in The World at War, 1914–1918, presented us with a particular challenge. The physique of most modern, full-body mannequins is too tall, muscular, and athletic for early twentieth-century clothing and footwear. The size of the mannequin must always be smaller than the measurements of the costume to allow for supportive padding and to prevent any stress or strain on the costume when dressing or on display. We made the decision to pad up an adolescent/teenage dress form that was already in our inventory and to construct realistic-looking legs, a crucial element in presenting the ensemble successfully.

This was our first time to use Fosshape, a polyester polymer material often used for theater costume design or millinery. Textile conservators have recently explored and used Fosshape for museum display, and we decided to use this flexible, adaptable material to construct the legs. An approximate tapered “leg” shape was cut, sewn, and placed over the calves and ankles of a full-body mannequin to get a realistic leg shape. When steam heat is applied to the Fosshape, it reacts, shrinks, and hardens to the shape of the mold beneath.

Because the leg dimensions of this particular mannequin were too large to safely fit through the narrow hem of the uniform jodhpurs, we had to “take in” the legs to a smaller circumference, while still retaining an accurate calf and knee shape. Because the definition was lessened somewhat, we made “knee” and “calf” pads to help support and define the shape of these areas. Additional Fosshape pieces were created and steamed to provide more structure and interior support.

The legs were adjusted accordingly and covered with a smooth polyester fabric to aid with dressing, and pieces of velcro were sewn to the inside of the Fosshape legs and the exterior of the mannequin legs for easy attachment.

Arm patterns, taken from an excellent resource on mannequin creation and modification, A Practical Guide to Costume Mounting by Lara Flecker, were modified to fit the length and curvature of the jacket’s arms. Once sewn, the arms were filled with soft polyester batting and sewn to the mannequin’s shoulders. The chest and back were padded out where needed, and a flesh-colored finishing fabric was cut, sewn, and secured to the mannequin’s neck.

The final crucial details were aligning and orienting two twin silver mannequin stands so that they would reflect a natural body stance once the legs and boots were placed. Additionally, the stands were covered with a matte black fabric, so the high shine of the silver bases would not distract from the uniform. Once the stand was correctly aligned and covered, dressing the mannequin could begin.

Constructing, modifying, or dressing a mannequin is never a solitary endeavor. This entire process was a collaboration between the curator of costumes and personal effects and conservation and exhibitions staff. Colleagues Mary Baughman, Ken Grant, Apryl Voskamp, and John Wright were invaluable with their help and expertise.

Top image: World War I uniform on display in Ransom Center’s exhibition The World at War, 1914-1918. Photo by Pete Smith. Please click on thumbnails below to view larger images.

Leg pattern cut from Fosshape. Photo by Jill Morena.
Leg pattern cut from Fosshape. Photo by Jill Morena.
Fosshape leg on mannequin before steaming. Photo by Jill Morena.
Fosshape leg on mannequin before steaming. Photo by Jill Morena.
Fosshape leg after steaming. Photo by Jill Morena.
Fosshape leg after steaming. Photo by Jill Morena.
“Knee pad” made of polyester stockinette and batting. Photo by Jill Morena.
“Knee pad” made of polyester stockinette and batting. Photo by Jill Morena.
Various patterns created and adapted for legs, arms, and neckline. Photo by Jill Morena.
Various patterns created and adapted for legs, arms, and neckline. Photo by Jill Morena.
Arm attached to dress form. Photo by Jill Morena.
Arm attached to dress form. Photo by Jill Morena.
Finished neckline. Photo by Jill Morena.
Finished neckline. Photo by Jill Morena.
Dress form with covered stand. Photo by Jill Morena.
Dress form with covered stand. Photo by Jill Morena.
Dress form with legs attached. Photo by Jill Morena.
Dress form with legs attached. Photo by Jill Morena.
First fitting of jodhpurs with initial Fosshape leg. Photo by Jill Morena.
First fitting of jodhpurs with initial Fosshape leg. Photo by Jill Morena.
Uniform finished and ready to take down to the gallery space. Photo by Jill Morena.
Uniform finished and ready to take down to the gallery space. Photo by Jill Morena.
Uniform in the gallery, for the opening of "The World at War, 1914–1918." Photo by Brooks Naylor.
Uniform in the gallery, for the opening of “The World at War, 1914–1918.” Photo by Brooks Naylor.

Filed Under: Conservation, Exhibitions + Events Tagged With: A Practical Guide to Costume Mounting, Apryl Voskamp, Costumes and Personal Effects, Fosshape, John Wright, Ken Grant, Lara Flecker, mannequin, Mary Baughman, Texas Military Forces Museum, The World at War 1914-1918, World War I

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