Filming for the PorcelainToy White Zombie music video is happening all this weekend, and so far the experience has been amazing. I have so much to tell you about it! But first I need some sleep. So for now, here is a sneak-peek at the amazement:
You may have notice that this blog has become a little Madge Bellamy heavy over the last month or so. So what’s with my fixation? Well, I’m making one of Madge’s most famous costumes for a client. The costume is Madge’s ‘shroud’ from White Zombie. Isn’t it gorgeous? All that silk, flowing and draping! I love that it has such strong medieval inspiration. It’s the best kind of sewing: I get to do a complete pastiche of the medieval part, but it’s still perfectly historical — just to the 1920s! I say 1920s, because even though White Zombie was filmed in 1932, I am certain that the dress was borrowed from an earlier film. White Zombie was filmed on a shoestring budget, and we already know they re-used one dress from an early Madge Bellamy film. They also re-used sets from a bunch of other films. After watching the movie dozens of time it’s become apparent that the ‘shroud’ is two sizes too big on Madge, and missing some pearls from around the neck, so …
I’ve been watching White Zombie, the original ‘living dead’ film. Made in 1932 on a shoestring budget, it starred the newly famous Bela Lugosi as the zombie master and Madge Bellamy as the titular ‘white zombie’ who “filled his every desire” according to the movie tagline. Yes, this was definitely a pre-code film! Madge wears a series of fabulous ensembles: a tropical appropriate traveling outfit, a to-die-for wedding dress (pun intended), a quaintly old-fashioned frock, and a trailing 1930s does medieval shroud. The quaintly old-fashioned frock caught my attention. It looked so 17th century. I loved the idea of a 17th century inspired early 1930s dress. So I went looking for images of it. I found these: Isn’t that very 1920s does mid 17th century? The sleeves, the bows, the metal lace trim? I wonder what the full view looks like? How charming! How quaint! I had no idea that the 17th century was such a big influence in the 1920s! But wait…what’s this? That’s Madge Bellamy all right. And that’s definitely the same dress, …
