Saturday, June 2, 2012

Create a Theme

Marilyn Monroe as Theda Bara - Richard Avedon

Hi, I am Kim Brown-Dye and Housewares Czar is my partner in costume-wearing, flea-marketing & estate-sale-ing crime.  

As before mentioned, we  nothing more than prepping for a big costume event & what got us really excited about The Gatsby Summer Afternoon, is you are encouraged to bring a period-perfect picnic!  Now most newbies/first timers would probably be content bringing a blanket and a picnic basket, but as frustrated set designers & curators, we decided to go the whole nine yards including a tent, furniture, rugs etc...

Initially visions of white linen & leather-ala Out of Africa-danced in our heads, but we ultimately decided to spice things up & go with a vintage Moroccan or Eygptian-Revival theme.  I love, love, love  the above photo of Marilyn Monroe posing as Theda Bara as Cleopatra.  All the rich colors and layers, make me seriously swoon.  I can also see where George Lucas got the inspiration for Princess Leia's Slave Girl outfit...

Theme set, we knew our first challenge in creating our picnic set-up would be to find a period-perfect tent or sun shelter.  Nothing kills a mint julip buzz more than baking in the hot September sun, so shade was to be our first priority.  Sadly everything we found was far too modern or expensive, so we decided to resurrect the metal framework from my Edwardian Ball  vending booth.  At 8' x 10' it is the perfect size to accommodate our picnic bounty & posse.  It will also be the perfect skeleton on which to drape yards upon yards of muslin or gauze.  Now onto sourcing that yardage...

xox

K B-D

Topsy Turvy Design booth for the Edwardian Ball. Dry run in live/work space

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