Costume Chronicles March 2009

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|1

Costume Chronicles

{In This Issue…} PG. 02…Lorna Doone - Obsessive Love & Redemption PG. 04…This Month on Masterpiece Theater & Reused Costumes PG. 05…March Puzzle PG. 06…Katie Scarlett - The Anti-Heroine we love to hate PG. 08…Gallery Spotlight & Forum Birthdays PG. 09…Coming soon PG. 10…The Tudors - An Irish Affair PG. 13…Costume Drama Soundtrack Review PG. 14…Month in Review

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|2

The Lessons to Learn in Lorna Doone By Charity Bishop I remember it very well. It was a rather rainy Sunday afternoon and uncommonly, I had the television room all to myself. A&EE was promising to repeat their new costume drama so I settled down with my cat and was swept away into a world that was unfamiliar to me but that I immediately adored. It had all the necessary requirements to make it a classic adventure – romance, mystery,, danger, vengeance vengeance; a beautiful heroine, a handsome, selfless hero and a fantastically twisted, manipulative bad guy with Scottish bra braids and a black leather jacket. The story surrounds a mafia-like like clan of outlaws in the south of England, the Doones. Known own for terrorizing their neighbors, chasing travelers across the moor for “sport,” kidnapping and carrying off women, and generally making a nuisance of themselves, with the local government in their pocket (or rather, their purse) there is no one to stop their reign of terror. Their feisty future leader, the sniveling, manipulative, bad bad-tempered tempered Carver, has set his sights on marriage to his cousin, the mild-mannered mannered Lorna, little knowing she has fallen in love with a local farmer, John Ridd. The notorious rivalry that springs up between the two men over the woman they both desire sets the stage for dramatic tension and inevitable violence. I was twenty minutes from the end and all was well. My dad wandered in, sat down and asked the question we all hate: “What has happened so far?” Ha, ha, ha. Cute, Dad. Asking me to summarize events thus thus-far far right at the end? I never did get to answer that question because the beautiful, perfect ending took a potentially terrible, tragic, shocking turn – and then there wass a commercial break. I sat there there, mouth open, stunned. My dad looked at me and said, “Well, that’s a hell of a place to leave off.” Fortunately, that was not the end of the story, b but ut it was one of the more memorable viewing experiences I have ever had. My father did eventually see thee entire film – and he loved it. I had to wait more than six weeks to see Lorna Doone again (I assure you, it was torture) but happily, ppily, dear readers, you do not have to share m myy fate. The Th wonderful, romantic, beautifully-filmed ed story was my favorite film for many years. I watched it so often my mother pleaded with me to find a new obsession, as she was tired of hearing the music wafting down from my room. And what glorious music it is! While waiting for the e-mail that would inform me that my movie had finally “shipped,”” I decided to read the book. I did not find it as enjoyable as the film for the same reason a dear friend of mine, whom I coerced into watching it with me (the fate of many of my friends… I am not kidding about the “favorite movie” thing) did. The book is told from the perspective of lovesick John Ridd. Reading pages upon pages about Lorna’s perfection and beauty and his unworthiness

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|3 to touch the hem of her garment got rather irritating for this “unromantic” reader. Ironically, for me, the story is all about the different kinds of love: obsessive love, which is ultimately destructive, and genuine love, which transcends even loss to remain strong. Carver’s obsession with Lorna is built of many things – she was promised to him at a young age and he has always seen her as “his property.” I think in some dark corner of his heart, Carver did “love” her in his own way, or at least, in what he understood of love. (And really, what example did he have of genuine love? Certainly not a virtue he would have learned from his brutal father and grandfather.) There was a time, Lorna confesses, when she might have loved him, but his evil actions made her emotionally distant from him, something he could not understand. The Carver of the book is somewhat less interesting, as he already has one wife, but the BBC production paints him as a tormented young man determined to see her reign at his side. Since his love is so ruthlessly focused, I have no doubt that if he had succeeded and forced her into marriage, Lorna’s soul would have been destroyed. Then there is the affection and “love” between Carver and his grandfather – a stern, disapproving man who also, despite his better intentions, has come to have a sort-of-fondness for Lorna. I cannot say too much without giving away a major plot point, but her reasons for being in the valley are significant, and it is against his better judgment that her grandfather consents to her relationship with John Ridd. It is a different affection than he has for his grandson, whom I believe he is both proud of and intimidated by (because of Carver’s immense popularity and potential). Carver’s relationship with his father, likewise, is a complicated one. Counselor is in a sense living through his son – he is not strong, charismatic, or a leader, so he does what he can to influence Carver and maintain control through him, but he does not count on Carver’s obsession leading them to their downfall. Contrast these sick relationships with the solid ones of the Ridd family, particularly of the mother, Sarah. A strong, opinionated woman, she is unrelenting in her attempts to protect her children but allows them to make their own decisions and mistakes. She is not afraid to condemn or contradict but is surprisingly forgiving and tolerant. Rather than rejecting Lorna as a member of the clan that murdered her husband, she opens her house and heart to her. Likewise, the tempestuous relationship between John and his sisters is sincere and loving even when angry words are said. Most of all, we have the love between Lorna and John. The latter is inclined toward his baser instincts, but through his desire to be worthy of her, because she is a woman of virtue, John truly becomes a better man. In the end, it is not about the attempted revolution in England or forbidden love so much as it is about how its title character changed the lives of two men – one for the worse (and not because of her influence but for want of it) and one for the better. It does make one wonder if a woman had taken the time to reach out to Carver in compassion and ask him with all her heart to be better, if he would have had a different ending. Hmmm, maybe there is a bit of a romantic in me after all.℘

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|4

{This This Month on PBS…}

Airing March 29 - April 26, 2009 on PBS Amy Dorrit's (Claire Foy) gentle spirit has never been dampened by the confining walls of the Marshalsea Prison she's lived in her he whole life. Despite the dark shadow of debtor's prison, Amy lovingly cares for her father William Dorrit (Tom Courtenay), the longest serving inmate. A possibly redemptive light unexpectedly shines in the form of Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen), who has been left with the intriguing threads of a mystery after his father's death — threads that will intertwine his family and fate with w the Dorrits. Clennam's exhaustive search for answers involves murder, fortunes gained and lost, the upper echelons and lowest dregs dre of society, and most surprising of all, a tender romance. Adapted by Andrew Davies ((Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice), Prejudice Little Dorrit, based on the book by Charles Dickens, is a sprawling story as timely as it is moving.

The Re--used Costume Files

This gown was made for the movie Elizabeth,, and used again for a photo shoot for the cover of Philippa Gregory's novel, The Virgin's Lover,, though a collar and ruff were added. The gown was used again on Natalie Dormer in The Tudors. Tudors Note this gown fits Miss Dormer better than some of the others she wears that were worn by Miss Blanchett. This is likely due to the fact fac that the gown laces up in the back, and is laced a bit more loose in order to compensate for the difference in size.

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|5

March Puzzle : Word Search

MELANIE WILKS POPE PRINCESS MARY RHETT BUTLER SAINT PATRICK SCARLETT O HARA SHAMROCKS THOMAS CROMWELL TUDORPUNK

ANNE BOLEYN ASHLEY WILKS CARVER DOONE CHAPUYS ELIZABETH KING HENRY LORNA DOONE MARCH

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|6

By Charity Bishop My father once told me it is better to want what you don’t have than have what you don’t want. However true that statement may be, it is also dark-haired haired Katie Scarlett’s greatest weakness. She endlessly wants what she cannot have and then in obtaining it, discovers she did not want it after all. It is what makes her one of the most frustrating, selfself centered and morally askew heroines in the history of literature. Which is why you either love her (as I do) or hate her (as most of my friends riends do). Scarlett O’Hara represents something that exists in all of us, on only ly we are too proud to admit it: our vices, our base nature, our instinctive desires and most of all, our fully human and self self-destructive destructive tendencies. The story revolves around a spirited, selfish young heroine who wants with all her heart a man she cannot have – the poetic dreamer, Ashley Wilks. Her determination to win him over even after his marriage to the quiet, mild-mannered mild Melanie elanie plays out against the horrors of the Civil War. Standing in the wings observing from afar is the unrepentant rake, Rhett Butler -- Scarlett’s soul mate, and second self,, a man who understands “her sort” and admires her for it. When eventually she discovers that her obsession with Ashley has blinde blinded d her to his faults, it is too late for her to make a life with Rhett, who leaves her with those famous last words: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” damn Considered the most classic piece of American literature in our nation’s history, what is it about the themes of Gone with the Wind that resonate with such a huge audience? Certainly, at the time it was written written, people could identify with the humiliation and destruction of the South, as it was not too many years after the Great Depression that they had forgotten what it was like to face extreme poverty and hopelessness. The notion of a resourceful young woman forced to undertake the tremendous weight of family and fiscal responsibility and do whatever she can to keep them protected and fed, as well as to o pay exorbitant taxes on Tara, compels the audience into admiration for her courage. Most of us, when faced with such extreme struggles, would hope to emulate her determination (but not her actions). Then there is the romantic nature of the central coupl couple -- the notion that adoration for an uncaring, disinterested Scarlett transforms the unruly, immoral Rhett into a responsible, respectable husband and father. His tenderness with his daughter Bonnie and his sweetness to Melanie reminds the reader he is a man of deep moral convictions – he merely chooses not to follow them. Rhett, much like Scarlett, is the anti anti-hero hero of the story, the charming but honest rake to her more manipulative temptress. They are a perfect match, but he is blatant in his faults while she attempts to conceal them. Rhett is not afraid to admit who and what he is and if Scarlett had been worthy of guiding him, would have made a transition into goodness. In some respects, Rhett is nearer to salvation than Scarlett, because he knows he is a sinner. So does Scarlett, but she attempts to justify her actions with excuses. Perhaps it is the brutal honesty of her character that shocks us, because she is unflinchingly sincere in her faults and shameless in her actions. Scarlett is not your typi typical heroine.. Her actions are not admirable, ranging from multiple

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|7 marriages (none of them for love) to constant attempts to seduce Ashley away from his wife. Deeper in her nature is an understandable fear of extreme poverty – having experienced it once, she becomes determined never to be penniless again and this fanaticism almost costs her life (and does claim the life of her second husband, Frank). Her actions and business tactics insult and shame Ashley and alienate her from most of their Southern friends. One thing I like about the book is that Scarlett is not without a conscience. The movie never shows her regret over her numerous morally askew actions but in the novel we experience her sincere anguish and guilt as she wonders what her devoutly Catholic mother would think of her. Deep down, Scarlett wishes she could be good like Melanie but can never quite manage it – and because of this, and her inability to fully appreciate Rhett, she winds up alone. It is a terrible price to pay but the story could not have ended any other way, because self-destructive behavior eventually imposes a forced solitude. The reader is left to decide if Scarlett has truly lost everything, or if she can win Rhett back and have a second chance at happiness. Whichever ending you choose, the lessons contained therein are not soon forgotten. The admirable qualities of “Katie Scarlett” as her eccentric Irish father lovingly calls her are her perseverance, courage, and determination. The term “only the strong survive” aptly describes this feisty woman who, unlike many other humiliated Southerners, refuses to lose her self-respect. Her creativity and intelligence is admirable even if one cannot condone her actions. One of her greater virtues is the ability to see her own faults, contrasted with her improving opinion of Melanie. Over the course of the story, Scarlett comes to see her in a new light. At first Melanie is a nuisance, the woman “in the way” of Scarlett obtaining what she truly wants, then a burden, an “almost-friend” and source of constant moral support, and finally, a source of inspiration. Melanie and Scarlett are extreme opposites – one a woman of endless forgiveness who cannot bear to think ill of anyone, especially those she loves, and the spoiled, self-centered, ruthless girl who obtains all she desires only to lose it through her own foolishness. Was the contrast intentional? It seems likely that it was. Only when I was older could I fully appreciate the differences of their characters and the underlining message that while Scarlett may be the focus of the story, Melanie is its moral conscience, its heart, and most importantly, its soul. ℘

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|8

{Gallery Gallery Spotlight…}

The Gallery Spotlight this month belongs to the anticipated premiere of The Tudors coming up in April. Season 3 promotional images and episode stills were posted and quickly became a forum favorite! To the costume fan there aare re many beautiful gowns to drool over and for those who enjoy looking at the boys there is plenty of eye candy! So if you have yet to go view them, go check them out in our Gallery!!

Forum Birthdays!! I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to the following forum members!

1 - whitefalcon 5 - liona5 15 - alittledizzy 16 - Mrs. Boleyn 20 - aelin 22 - maddieb1893 26 - marieantoinette 29 - tricia

Costume Chronicles March 2009 : First Edition|9

{Coming Soon Soon...The Young Victoria}}

We that are across the pond in America hope dearly that we get to see this movie in our theaters sometime within the next year. The forum has been a buzz about the new movie about the earl earlyy life of Queen Victoria. The Official Website (http://www.theyoungvictoria.co.uk/) even has a section specifically dedicated to looking at the beautiful costumes! Let’s hope that we will be able to watch this movie soon! The Young Victoria is a 2009 British costume drama film based on the young life of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The film follows on the life of the young Queen Victoria, focusing on her early reign and romance with Prince Albert. (It stars Emily Blunt, Miranda Richardson, and Jim Broadbent Broadbent.) ℘

C o s t u m e C h r o n i c l e s M a r c h 2 0 0 9 : F i r s t E d i t i o n | 10

By Charity Bishop The set is a muddle of activity. The director peers through the lens and directs the camera man to move in for a closeclose up. Make-up up artists and costumers are standing by to touch up the actors in case they need it. Conversation flourishes. Where to put the lights? How to frame a shot? Does anything need a second take? (JRM says yes! He would love to do that snogging scene again!) In the midst of it all are voices --Irish voices, beautiful lilts that, when the camera is turned on, will vanish into perfect English accents or in one actress’s case, a Spanish one. One would not expect to find Irish actors on the set of an epic four four-season season series about one of England’s most notorious monarchs, but there they are, the best actors Ireland has to offer. Funded by Showtime and written by English screen writer Michael Hirst, who has brought other similar adaptations to the big screen ((the the very pretty but very inaccurate Elizabeth and the equally fabulous The Golden Age Age), the bodice-ripper of a 16th century soap opera has all the classic elements for success: romance (of a perverted sort) sort), deception (on many levels), betrayal (from pretty much everyone), everyone) sex (lots and lots of it), and violence (…). It’s more accurate than inaccur inaccurate (depending depending on who you ask) ask and has created the Tudorpunk movement with its fashion (more modern than historic) but for the most part is a soapy drama about the one king everyone loves to hate – Henry VIII. Known for his expanding waistline and penchan penchant for dumping his wives (and neglecting to pay alimony – hard to do when you’ve whacked everyone),, he has also the disillusionment of the monasteries (aka, lots of broken statues of the Virgin Mary, and homeless priests) and several hundred years’ worth of Protestant-Catholic wars on his conscience (if he had one) -- and all because he wanted a notch on his bed post with “Anne Boleyn” written on it. Yup, England broke from Rome at the height of the Reformation over a woman. Not just any woman, woman either – a woman later accused of incest (ouch), adultery (meh) (meh), and witchcraft (ooh, cool!) and sentenced to death, all because she could not deliver what was promised: a healthy, fat, living son and heir to the throne. Standing in the way of his perfect happiness is another woman, this one much more formidable – his wife. (You didn’t really think he was single, did you? Of course not! There would uld be no story if that were so! so!) The first season follows Henry’s courtship of Anne ((he was somewhat less than subtle), his attempts to persuade Katharine to give him an annulment (you you can imagine how that went over over), his massive and frequent temper tantrums (no comments, please), ), his pleas with Anne to give him some lovin’ (in which she tells him to get lost, and maintains her wholesome, intact virginity, all whilst flashing lots of cleavage and thinking fondly of the emo poet guy who Served No Purpose), his continued friendship with Thomas More (who has more patience than I ever would have, but likes to BBQ Protestants in his spare time), ), and Papa Boleyn generally acting like an uber uber-creepy creepy pedophile (please tell me that was not just my imagination – he belongs on Tudor England’s Most Wanted Wanted)… … plus, lots of mistresses: blondes, brunettes,

C o s t u m e C h r o n i c l e s M a r c h 2 0 0 9 : F i r s t E d i t i o n | 11 ladies in waiting, random chicks, just to prove what a major reprobate player the oh-so-handsome (gag me + eye roll) king is. Then too there was a plot having to do with the king’s very-tan sister and (sometimes, when he’s not in Big Trouble) best friend. The second season has Anne as Queen (depending on who you ask), wearing oh-so-discreet rubies around her throat *cough*blatant foreshadowing*cough*, the Pope trying to assassinate her with the aid of one of his super-cool secret agents (who actually winds up succeeding, in a really perverse and almost funny twist), a very-pregnant Katharine eventually going to her eternal reward (happily, she seems to have skipped purgatory, according to Chapuys), Henry “wenching” around with a Barbie-esque blonde and then chubby brunette (what the…?), Cromwell and Chapuys going from mortal enemies to BFF’s (nothing brings people together like mutual hatred) and the Boleyns being royally pwned and poor Mark Smeaton tortured on the rack. It all ends with lots of blood and screaming… and a roasted swan, who really did not appreciate the symbolism of its death, or the ham-fisted final shot. Playing the lead in this steamy melodrama is Jonathan Rhys Meyers, best known for Generally Creeping Me Out in various uppity costume dramas (who can forget him sitting on Meg Tilly in The Magnificent Ambersons? Ugh!), but has finally found a role in which I feel justified in hating him. Why? Because Henry has managed to win my much-coveted “OMG, Just Shoot Him Now” Award; I have envisioned the character’s death, multiple times. Falling out of windows, being trampled by raging nuns, not waking up after that tumble he took in episode 2.8. My personal favorite is even possible given the oversexed nature of the show. Some virtuous non-willing (there has to be one!) maiden sneaks a dagger in under her frilly dressing gown (stolen from Shakespeare in Love) and stabs him with it! Better yet, they can take that really awesome rifle from earlier in the season (you know, the one that hasn’t been invented yet in that century) and shoot him with it. Or smash him with the shiny, brand-new flat press that also has not been invented! … Yes, I am a history fanatic. Shut up. Jonathan does not fit the physical description. The real Henry was over 6 ft tall, had copper-red hair, and was in his paunchy forties by the time his sausage fingers quivered with the excitement of touching Anne Boleyn. But there is no fat suit in this actor’s future, at least not in our lifetime. His towering rages are surprisingly convincing despite the fact that he is no taller than his costars. I actually believe his greatest bit of acting is shortly before the death of Sir Thomas More, when an angry, unrepentant Henry rages at God at the unfairness of what he must do. (Henry, you should have repented; that was your conscience calling.) I love what he said in his most recent interview, that playing Henry in the third season is especially ominous because he’s become so powerful and corrupt that he can do anything without fear of the consequences. “If you don’t like it, he’ll kill your family. If you still don’t like it, he’ll kill your family AND your friends.” The real Henry was a monster. Maybe not in his younger years, but by the time he had a dotted line drawn on the neck of Wife #2, he had officially passed into Lunatic Territory. Fortunately, one thing to love about Jonathan is that in real life, contrary to the angst-driven loathing on the series, he is very fond of his Irish co-star, Maria Doyle Kennedy. (I’ll bet he’s just as bitter as we are about the kiss they cut between Henry and Katharine.) I don’t blame him. I like her too, or maybe it’s just her depiction of Katharine of Aragon. After accepting the role, she did a lot of research on the Spanish Queen and chose to go by Antonia Fraser’s representation of a good woman severely wronged. Personal bias aside (and I assure you, I am biased) I think it was the right decision and I know her depiction more than once brought me to tears. (Not hard, but always significant.) Her most glorious moment was in the courtroom when she faced down her accusers with relentless courage. When she sweeps majestically out of that room in her glorious blue gown, I want to stand and cheer. Maria has been in a number of small roles in various productions over the years but is best known for her singing career in Ireland. She bears no resemblance to the real Katharine, who was tiny at 5’2”, had golden-auburn hair, and enormous blue eyes, but her Spanish accent is flawless (whatever critics might say) and she literally ruled the first season with her quiet dignities and emotional moments. Interestingly enough, learning Spanish must have paid off, because she recently

C o s t u m e C h r o n i c l e s M a r c h 2 0 0 9 : F i r s t E d i t i o n | 12 moved to Spain with her husband and children, the most recent of which is a son. (Ironic when you consider she was pregnant on-set, a fact the silly filmmakers at Showtime made no attempt to hide!) Playing their beautiful daughter Mary in the second and third season is a true up-and-comer, Sarah Bolger. An Irish brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty who managed to land a leading role in the recent Blockbuster The Spiderwicke Chronicles, this young woman’s heartfelt performance is truly wonderful, especially in what I have seen of the third season. (Her telling Anne Boleyn where to stuff it wasn’t bad either.) Sarah’s performance is one of concentrated beauty and understated elegance. Her Mary is so much like her mother that Katharine is not truly gone after all. Other notable Irish actors like as Peter O’Toole round out the cast. He said it was wonderful to play the Pope on-location in Ireland because of the sheer number of superstitious Catholics on set who treated him with reverence whenever he wore the scarlet robes. (We loved you, Peter! No one could deliver that droll “Why doesn’t someone just get rid of her??” like you did! Not to mention that statement about the former pope being drug through the city streets and stabbed. Even though it was insanely morbid, we still laughed.) They make up not only the good guys (the wonderful Bosco Hogan, who broke my heart as the courageous and steadfast Cardinal Fisher; Catherine Byrne gave a radiant but brief performance as Alice More) but also the villains (the extremely talented, super-sinister Nick Dunning, otherwise known as Papa Boleyn, hails from the Green Coast, as does Padraic Delaney, playing his twisted son – sorry I couldn’t mourn your death, George, but it was your own fault). In recent years, an Irish friend of mine complained that there are very few successful actors from Ireland. I beg to differ. If the tremendous performances on The Tudors are any indication of the talent in the Emerald Isle, I think we all have much to look forward to in the future. ℘

C o s t u m e C h r o n i c l e s M a r c h 2 0 0 9 : F i r s t E d i t i o n | 13

{Costume Costume Drama Soundtrack Review} Review

Growing up, I had much different taste in music than my friends. While they were listening to N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys (and don’t get me wrong, theyy have their place) I was listening to movie soundtracks, which my friends marveled at, unsure if they should laugh at me, or just be disgusted. Of course, what we were all too young to understand at the time is that a soundtrack and score is integral to the entire tone and feel of a movie. If you have ever seen a rough edit of a television show or film before it has had been scored, you know that no matter how wonderful the acting, no matter how beautiful the cinematography, something just doesn’t work. A movie can rarely stand alone without the score, but interesting enough, movie scores can often stand alone as music. One film for which the score and the movie itself will always be entwined for me, however, is that of The Piano. The movie is about a woman an who refuses to speak, but plays out all of her emotions on her beloved piano. If she is happy, the music she plays is light and airy, and if she is angry, the notes are thunderous and frightening. That is to say, the score of The Piano took center stage,, because it had to. The voice of the main character was her piano, and therefore the score became the entire voice for the film. Composer Michael Nyman (The Libertine and The Draughtsman’s Contract) was given the seemingly impossible task of composing a score that not only spoke for the entire film, but spoke for the main character as well. It is a task in which he succeeded on every level. Not only does the score make the movie all the more moving and powerful, it is a highly enjoyable piece of work all on its own. The music is comprised of mostly piano pieces for obvious reasons. The notes are powerful and haunting, and while the entire score is excellent, The Heart Asks Pleasure First and The Promise prove to be the most emotionally moving. If you are a fan of beautiful piano pieces, or just a music lover in general, Michael Nyman’s The Piano promises not to disappoint. ℘

C o s t u m e C h r o n i c l e s M a r c h 2 0 0 9 : F i r s t E d i t i o n | 14

Month In Review This month at Tudorphiles we have made a few changes in hopes to get things hopping around here. Charity and I really want to see this forum succeed and we want to thank those of you who have stayed during this dry patch from the bottom of our costume fanatic hearts! Updates in March: + Rearranging and Condensing the forums to make them more user friendly. + The first edition of a Costume Drama Newsletter. [duh!] + We have added a massive costume drama gallery that is only for the members of Tudorphiles. Our latest additions feature high resolution images from all 3 seasons of The Tudors, Marie Antoinette, Troy, The Young Victoria and the new Sense & Sensibility. I hope that you have enjoyed the first edition of Costume Chronicles and if you would like to discuss anything pertaining to the newsletter please visit the comment thread for this month! We welcome any comments or suggestions! As a personal note, I would like to say a special thanks to Katie and Charity for their article contributions this month! ℘