Brielle's Notions

Treasured Item: Zorro's Sword

Greetings!

Today...this post really has nothing to do with sewing a costume, but....I was dusting my weapon rack and wanted to share my Zorro Sword with you all.

Simply, because I thought there might be a few Zorro fans out there who would like to see it.

I don't recall what shop I purchased it from online....

Um.....5 years ago? Maybe 4 years ago.

The sword was made in Spain and features the authentic prop replica stamp upon it.

 

It is a bit stiff to pull out of the sheath, but it does work very well if pulled out quickly.

Here is my version.....

*side note, the blade in the pictures looks shorter than it really is.  The full length of the blade is actually 35.5 inches. * I hope that answers your questions, to those of you who asked.

The sheath looks like this...

Love the detail on the hilt...it completes the Spanish look.

 

You can see the movie version below...

I would really like to find Elena's Sword from Mask of Zorro as well. It would be fun to have both of them on the sword wall.

Thanks for reading...

....and taking a peak at one of my favorite swords. 

 

 Have a magical day!

 

Should I channel my inner Snow White?

Greetings everyone,

So I have been keeping an eye out on the new movie

"Snow White and the Huntsman". movie info here

You can see my other post about the costumes over here....

The costumes are looking fantastic!

(but of course they would be....Thanks Colleen Atwood!)

I am really tempted to add her costume to my "costume wish list".

It would be really fun to wear to go see the movie...yeah, I do stuff like that.

The nice thing is I wouldn't have to do anything to my hair! Her hair style appears to be long and sort of wavy messy...I already get called a vampire, so the white skin is all good to go. lol.

The main reason for dressing up as Snow would be the costume.

Her costume appears to have leather like leggings too...

....A light blue under tunic/blouse and of course that lace up bodice with the "classic snow white sleeves"....love it.

The bodice fabric appears to be a suede maybe? I need to look at the pictures a bit more to actually figured that out. Any thoughts? Looks like it could possibly be boned as well...that would make sense. The sleeves are classic stripes with silk ribbon binding and what appears to be gold studs?

I am guessing the blue blouse/tunic is a silk linen...or some such thing. Lots of detail at the neckline.The fitted sleeves lace up the arm...so cool!

It is fun when movie costumes are layered in detail.

However, it does cause a problem when trying to recreate a look.

Here is what Colleen has to say....source here

Oh you can kind of see the boots here....

*Not the best picture, but you can see the costume at least.

Anyway....I saw these images and thought this costume was kind of my style. Just add a sword...or two and the look is complete.

Oh,...and a cape. I think Snow White should have a cape. A velvet one.

So what say you?

Should I go for a Snow White Inspired look?

The movie comes out on June 1st so that would give me a little bit of time.

 

 Thanks for reading and have a magical day!

 

P.S. as a side note, Kirsten Stewart is not my favorite choice for Snow White...but, we shall make do with what we get I suppose.....I wish they could have found an actress that looked like a young Liv Tyler! Now she would have made a perfect Snow. More about that in the comments if you like...

Movie Costume Monday: Elena's Riding Outfit

Greetings,

I was feeling in a bit of a "Zorro" mood, so I decided to choose one of Elena's Costumes for this movie costume monday feature.

Now, I absolutely adore all of her costumes in The Mask of Zorro (1998)

I would like one of each please..... 

The reason I picked her "riding outfit" is that it is a bit less well known (than her "dance dress" or that stunning blue creation at the end of the movie)

She wears this classic Spanish looking outfit when she meets Alejandro (Zorro) for the first time...on her way to confessions.

The white gathered blouse on the upper part of the white dress is layered over the top with a leather vest. Her jewelry is a pretty shade of silver and the necklace pendant is strung on a dark brown/red cording.

The costume designer for this movie was Graciela Mazon. She did an amazing job on creating a new and fresh take on the classic "Zorro" image.

When was looking up images for this movie I forgot how old it is now! I remember when it came out and it doesn't seem like that long ago...but I guess it was.

I happen to own a very nice quality replica of Zorro's Sword. Mine was made in Spain and is an official replica from the movie.....if any one wants to see pictures I shall take a few. I know there must be a few of my readers out there who also enjoy swords! :)

 

Any movie suggestions for "Movie Costume Monday" costumes?

Thanks for reading!

Movie Costume Monday: Indiana Jones

Greetings,

I hope your week is full of adventure....

...and on that note I thought we would start the week off with a Movie Costume Monday featuring one of the best true adventure heros. Indiana Jones.

I am such a history geek...and I grew up watching these movies. The ride at Disneyland is pretty awesome as well...one of the best! Oh and I can't stand snakes either. *Shudders*....

Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite, but they are all pretty good. So I shall probably only feature the costumes from the first movie here today.

Indiana Jones Costume/Outfit

The Classic Indiana Jones look. Fedora + Leather Jacket + Whip = awesome.

The ladies in these movies get some fun 1940's styles as well.

I personally think that Marion has the best looks out of all the ladies. (ok, I guess Elsa the Nazi girl does have some nice suits...but who likes her?)

She goes from classic pants and a mens loose shirt, to those silk red pants and embroidered blouse and then is forced in a fluffy white gown that soon gets destroyed. (fire and a snake pit will do that) oh, not to mention another white silk gown and finally a classic fitted jacket and skirt.

I should make this costume. It would be fun! Maybe I could find a monkey for the photoshoot lol... I've never made silk "princess jasmine style pants" before....I love the red color in this outfit.

*A bit of fun trivia.

"Tom Selleck was offered the part of Indiana Jones in Steven Spielberg's 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, but was reportedly too busy filming his TV show Magnum P.I. to accept. The part of the swashbuckling archaeologist went to Harrison Ford instead"

 

Thanks for reading!...

Have an awesome day wherever you adventures may take you!

gadgets and gizmos aplenty...

Greetings,

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

I don't often talk about items not pertaining to costumes on this little blog, but I thought these items were great and I figured why not?

So this will be a once a month post on the Notions Blog...

Yes, lots of sewing is going on too! Costume items will soon be making their way to the kind customers who purchased them. I just don't have pictures done yet. ...oh, and a few fairytale costumes!"

So here is a post on my current "favorites" of this month....err, last month too?

- The Three Musketeers book by Alexander Dumas. I took a break from sci-fi and decided upon a fun swashbuckling, classic adventure filled read. I wanted a cool leather cover, but I went with this one because it was 50% off instead. This was a great read if you like classics. It actually made me laugh, the sarcastic remarks made by the Musketeers was very Shakespeare-esque. *the book was better than the movie!

- Sweet Mint Balm Perfect for a natural pretty lip, without chemicals! You can find it here. This scent reminds me of candy canes...

- China Glaze Nail Polish in Emerald Fitzgerald. You can find it here. This polish was a gift from my cousin back in February, but it seemed so perfect for this wintery season that I wanted to share it. Super pretty dark green.

- Sword Earrings I bought them in May right before POTC4 came out. They are my go to earrings that match everything...and who doesn't want a touch of pirate everyday?

- Tea!! Coconut Chai from Zhena's Gypsy Tea. One of my favorite brands.  Perfect boost of caffeine for the day too...plus it tastes delicious. You can find it here

- Macadamia Natural Healing Oil. You can buy it here at Ulta. This product is awesome! Totally restores my long hair in the dry winter months. I highly recommend.

- Dracula by Brom Stoker. Isn't is cover awesome? I recieved it for Christmas. You can find your own copy here. Leather bound books make me so happy. The detail on this one is very nice.

Do you have any Current Favorites?

Please feel free to leave your favorites in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

 

*Disclaimer, this is not a sponsored post. Just stuff I liked this month. :)

oh! Isn't this a cool picture? For my fellow LOTR fans I am sure you shall agree....

I don't recall where I found it in my wandering online, so I can't credit anyone for it. Sorry!

 

 

Movie Costume Monday: Aramis

Greetings!

Well it is Movie Costume Monday yet again on the studio blog and I have decided to feature a costume from the new Three Musketeers Movie.

This movie is one that many people liked...and many people hated.

I found the movie to be a fun, airship battle filled story that was glazed with Princess Bride style humor, plenty of sword fights..and elaborate costumes.  Just don't watch it thinking you are getting a historical, realistic, serious....anything. lol.  And watch it with some friends whom you can laugh and have fun with.

However, one must at least agree that the costumes were over the top. Honestly, the amount of silk, satin, ribbons, gold buttons and general costume bling that was showcased in this movie was amazing. Wow.

The Costume Designer was Pierre-Yves Gayraud. (Bourne Idenity etc...)

I have never been much of a fan of the Ladies costumes from this time period.  M'Lady did have some lovely gowns, but I thought we would focus on one of the Three Musketeers instead.

So if you want to see the ladies silk gowns check out the movie for some fun looks!

I thought all the Musketeer costumes were perfect.

Porthos ____  Athos____ D'Artagnan____ Aramis

My favorite Musketeer was Aramis, who is also a part time priest.

I just liked the over-all look of his costumes best and the priest thing was a fun twist. 

His Costumes consist of black textured silk fabrics, leather jackets and pirate style embroidered shirts. The black wool cape is worn off the shoulder and slung to one side.

A golden cross necklace symbolized his Priest status.  He also wore slightly steampunk-esq glasses (not pictured) while reading. 

Of course no Musketeer's look would be complete without that classic hat that is so iconic of this story...and a giant pair of black leather boots. 

His sword was in the shape of a cross on the hilt. Great design detail done there by the sword designers. You notice it the most when he is kneeling down after killing dozens of guards.

Before I wrap things up I shall leave you with a few more costume pictures from the movie.

M' Lady has a lovely and puffy golden cream gown here.

I must admit though I really did laugh out loud when I saw The Duke of  Buckingham. (Orlando Bloom).

His ensembles were entertaining colorful and....slightly peacock like. However, he does end up in some more manly styles towards the end of the film. But my hat is off to his hair dresser... his hair was always extra quaffed for each occasion. Hairspray any one?

Lots of fun colors of silk there. Although King Louis XIII costumes were much more  flamboyant and shall make you laugh.

 

 

Thanks for reading and have a swashbuckling Monday!

So who is your favorite Musketeer?

P.S.

I am currently reading this book right now by Alexandre Dumas. I have read (and own) The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask, but somehow I never got around to reading The Three Musketeers. So I am reading that to find out more of the written story.

Has anyone else read it?

Our Journey to Middle Earth....

*Update! You can see more pictures of my elven cloaks here*

Suiliad! (Greetings in the tongue of the elves)

Turns out that last night my cousins and I took a journey to Middle Earth. It 'twas a bit of a last minute/surprise birthday present for my cousin who is having her sweet sixteen as well.

There was a concert of The Fellowship of the Ring scheduled in our city and it looked like so much fun we could not pass it up.

Of course this meant dressing up as well......

We certainly could not travel without our "Fellowship" capes. So being I am part elf I was able to obtain 3 elven cloaks for our journey.

We decided to keep our other garments more modern. So our capes were more of the costumes.

Here is what I wore....simple black dress, evenstar and Elven Cloak!

This cloak is so much fun to wear...it swishes and swirls just like the movie cloaks.

Upon arriving at the event we soon noticed that many other LOTR fans had come from all over. "Tis one of the nice things about attending slightly "geeky" events is that everyone likes the same thing.... or at least can appreciate seeing and hearing the beautifully composed music for "The Fellowship of the Ring".

Here are a few pictures for you to get a little glimpse of how it looked...

The huge screen was placed above the orchestra and they played live music for the film. I was so surprised that they played the whole movie (well the shorter edited version)..

The music was amazing. I had so much fun just watching everyone play the instruments, the violinists were insane! Lots of fast playing and perfect timing.

During intermission we found that there was a display of items from the movie. Of course the 3 of us ran out there to see. We were greeted by a very impressive Lurtz statue/wearing the real costume. Wow, that guys was really tall.

A ringwraith was also in attendance, a fact I was most pleased about. I have always like the ringwraiths.

I ran out of space on my camera card. ah! So I don't have as many pictures of the props as I would like. However, you can see some of the cool stuff below.

I love swords. alot. so the fact that there were many LOTR swords there, I was super excited. It was odd though that only one Legolas knife was on the table. The shards of Narsil looked pretty awesome. I think I need those for my collection.

Here is another shot of the swords...and the backs of our capes!

Over all we had an amazingly fun time traveling to Middle Earth.

Thanks for reading!

 

Lightsaber Hairstyle

Greetings!

Today my geeky sci-fi side wanted to share a new hair toy I purchased over at thinkgeek.com

I have been eyeing them for months now and finally decided to just buy myself a set.

Who wouldn't want red lightsabers? In a mini hair sized version of course.

My favorite light sabers have always been the red ones, so I had to get a set of those. Although, the purples are pretty cool...as are the green styles.

 
They are actually chopsticks....but, you can use chopsticks as hairsticks!

 
 

The sabers were great as doubles for this hair style... and a single saber worked perfect as well. 

What I enjoy most about hairsticks is I can do a quick updo without any bobby pins or hair ties.

 

 May the force be with you! ;)

Pirate Sword Ring

I like swords. Sword earrings, sword rings and real swords.

Here is a recent addition to my collection. Surprisingly I bought it at Hot Topic  when they were having a sale on all Pirates of the Caribbean merchandise.

I am really happy with it, adds a perfect touch of pirate style to any outfit. It is a double ring so it fits on 2 fingers, I got the size 6 and it works nicely.

 

It is a small replica of Blackbeard's Sword. Although, the magic powers are not so powerful in the small ring version. Not sure if it works on commanding a ship, I shall have to try it out.

 
My favorite part is that the sword actually comes out of the sheath. How cool is that?

 

Now, bring me that Horizon.

My Sword Hairstick

I suppose this isn't a "sewing" related post, but I wanted to share one of my favorite hair toys.

For me the fastest and easiest way to put up my hair when working or sewing is with one of my hair-sticks.

This one is from Nightblooming on etsy, she makes lovely items! I highly reccomend her shop and great customer service.

 The reason I like hairsticks so much is I can put all my hair up quick without a single pin!

You can get your own sword hair-stick from Nightblooming's Etsy Shop 

Also, this was not a sponsored post...I simply really like Nightbloomings work and wanted to share it with anyone else who might be interested in fun hair toys. :)

 Thanks for reading,