Costume/Jewelry Review - Game of Thrones, Season 3, Episode 1

I've been watching Game of Thrones and like fans everywhere, tuned in last Sunday night to see the first episode. I subscribed to HBO again after many years just to watch this, and I'm glad I did. Michele Clapton is the talented costume designer.

The pictures posted are a combination of production stills and pictures I took while watching. Shall we begin with Cersei? I'm quite uninformed about the various crests of the Houses and haven't read the books, so I will describe these as best I can. I am in awe of the casting shop in charge of making these pieces - I think it would be a lot of fun!

There isn't a superb shot of this gown, only upper body or profile shots, but it's the metalwork that matters. I love the collar necklace and stomacher piece with full relief that may or may not be real metal. Is it cast metal over hammered and shaped pieces or leather or some kind of plastic or faux plastic? When I worked in craft houses many moons ago we used celastic, which could be shaped but was quite toxic to use because of its solvents. I'm glad that those days are long gone for me.

HD is quite unforgiving, so I think these pieces are real metal. The casting shop worked with the costume shop on this and I hope this gown was comfortable to wear. What's the fabric? No idea, I wil have to rewatch. Are the sleeves velvet? Possibly.

I am not sure about the crest/symbol on this necklace, but it's a nice heavy piece with a beaded edge and raised center figure. The heavy rope chain is both primitive and strong. The embroidery and beaded edge/trim on the neckline adds to the savage richness of this costume.

Here's a good view of most of the red dress. I could have used a good lingering long shot of this gown that took a lot of time to make. Blood red silk velvet never disappoints, and I like the mix of silver and burnished gold together. The silhouettes are Medieval and Renaissance, which serve this genre well. There is something depraved about her costumes, which suits her well.

There used to be a shop on Madison Avenue in New York City that specialized in embossed and painted velvets that made you feel as if you were walking into a Venetian realm. This painted or printed burgundy velvet on Joffrey reminds me of some of their wares, and is truly gorgeous and above all, decadent. This boy loves being king, and the colors are a tribute to his ruthlessness, as are his rings. The rings are hard to capture, but they seem to be jeweled cabochons and large cast pieces with animal heads that scream Renaissance and animalistic human nature. 

I would watch Charles Dance as Tywin read the telephone book, I am such a fan of his. This scene with Peter Dinklage was terrible and wonderful at the same time, and the visuals were gorgeous. Let's begin with this leather coat with a top layer of punchwork that must have driven its tailor mad. One wrong punch 1/4 of an inch off, and you're screwed. 

The hardware on all of the clothing is quite different per person and no doubt house-symbolic. The bigger the casting, the bigger the d*ck. These clasps are beautiful, as is the belt and the dangerous-looking Hand brooch or fibula with its scary spike. This is a costume worthy of a Shakespearean villain, and its period non-specific cut is very flattering on the trim Mr. Dance. Leather photographs beautifully, doesn't it? I notice that there is no fancy cut on this, no exaggerated shoulder line or details. It's pretty straightforward and he looks powerful, not ragingly evil, but the diamond shape of the punching is regular and sharp, which tells us that he may not be all that variable in his nature, despite his interesting relationship with Arya last season.

Here's Peter Dinklage as Tyrion wearing the Hand badge last season.

This seems to be the same jerkin as the picture above, with different sleeves. The jerkin is black leather, punched in a smaller and quieter pattern to suit the actor's size and character's decency and softer nature, with a quilted skirt and smaller cast clasps and leather doublet sleeves. I'm not certain if the leather skirt and sleeves are one piece or faked together with the jerkin for the actor's comfort and lessening of a layer.

Poor Tyrion! I had to include this shot because it's so beautifully framed with all of the desk accessories and hangings, not to mention the stunning lighting.

Aiden Gillen is quite dashing as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. His little silver mockingbird brooch stands out well against yet another black robe which this time is rather monastic in appearance.

I was drawn to the richness of this beautiful belt, which reminds me of pieces I've seen in museums. The metal pieces are ornate and very beautiful and are the only visually interesting part of this plain and streamlined robe.

More fantastic belt and clasp artistry!

Coming up: Danaerys

New Jewelry...at Last!

I've been sidelined by a nasty cold that turned into a lingering cough and have not had the energy to update my blog. The worst of this cold happened just when the Whole Bead show hit my town, so I missed that...not that I don't already have too many supplies., but it's always fun to see what vendors bring. I did manage to score some pretty vintage buckles at the Pier Antique Show that will probably end up in a necklace.

Who knew that there are pills available that inhibit the coughing urge? They exist, and I am on them, but they can make you sleepy, so you have to work around that or just push on through to get things done.

I just finished making a bunch of new pieces, though some are retreads of tried and true sellers, the scarabs. I started listing today and will continue over the next few days.

Purple Majesty

New pieces in gemstones - don't you love the cool, smooth feel of these stones? I used jade in many colors, pink crazy lace agate, amazonite and turquoise, enhanced by brass and copper. I'm thinking of keeping the grape jade necklace for myself!

HOLIDAY SALE!!!

25% off in my jewelry shops on Artfire and Etsy! See links at left. I also have a clearance sale at my vintage and supply shop, Overthetop Overstock, and will add more items every couple of days to that list.

SALE through December 10 only; the shop will close for a week or so after that for some vacation time, so buy now for the season.

NEW BLACK SWAN-Inspired Collection!

Are you a fan of the dark and dangerous BLACK SWAN movie by Darren Aronofsky? I sure hope so, as I have been working on a limited collection of pieces inspired by the film for the past few days.


There are two necklaces, earrings and two bracelets (so far) that for me evoke colors and textures found in the film's palette and costuming. I think that costume designer Amy Westcott did a wonderful job of storytelling with her costume design, as did Rodarte for the film's ballet costumes - at least, that is how the costume design breakdown between the two credited designers has been portrayed in the film's PR. I only wished that there had been less hand-held camera action and more wide and medium shots so that I could better appreciate the production design and see the hard work accomplished on a limited budget. There are a number of wonderful details that are hard to see on the first viewing in set decoration and design that I look forward to seeing on the DVD.



I am enslaved by Tchaikovsky's music for ballet and opera, so I was in pig heaven listening to it during the film, though nothing is better than hearing the entire ballet at one sitting. If you're looking for a recording, I recommend the one I own, available here.



The contrast between dark and light is the focus of this collection, which like the costume design, is made up of ballet pink and a variety of grays and blacks, as well as various textures that evoke for me the grandeur and romance of the theatre and the ballet.



The collection is previewed here and will appear over the next day at both my shops, on Etsy and Artfire.

Spider Bites!

I spent an evening this week turning some glass spider buttons into pendants for a new limited line of necklaces and bracelets for Halloween. I love Czech glass buttons, especially when there is a metal shank on the back that can be easily removed so I can turn them into cabochons. Available in the shop here.

I am Featured in Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine

The Spring edition of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine, chock-full of delicious goodies to covet and inspire, has chosen two of my Steampunk pieces to feature! There's a section called "From the Boutique, A Gallery of Jewelry" and my pieces are there, nicely photographed, within a collection of other wonderful creations. Thanks to Christen Olivarez, editor, for finding my pieces at Flickr, getting in touch, and making this feature happen.

If you're not familiar with this magazine, it's published by Stampington & Company. They put out a collection of delicious craft-focused magazines that spot trends and highlight new designers making original and noteworthy jewelry, clothing, accessories and paper arts. I find their magazines at Borders Books in New York City, but any bookstore with a serious collection of magazines, like Barnes & Noble, may carry them. I'm quite fond of Somerset Memories, their paper arts magazine, as I often make my own cards and can find plenty of inspiration there! It's worth checking out their site if you don't already know about them.

Costume History

As a costume designer, details make me so happy, and I especially love the 19th century. I am addicted to BBC dramatizations of my favorite novels and am glad that they are churning out a tenth adaptation of Persuasion and Jane Eyre.

I started making these widgets last year and looked for images in my costume history books and from digital image sellers so I could make my own graphics. Often the images consist of an amazing amount of layers; item itself (say, a corset), a background layer, maybe some period handwriting, lace, a fabric pattern, type, and added color. They are very time-consuming to make and afterward have to be reduced for the tiny domino tile, yet be readable. Fortunately, I have Photoshop, and have learned by doing, which has worked out nicely for me so far, though I'd love to take classes in advanced techniques someday.

The images are then printed out on heavy paper and attached to the tiles, then sealed. I run brass wire that I have oxidized through the tiles, add bead caps if I want a more period look, and then add the embellishments that I think will complement the subject.

They are rather labor-intensive but are fun to make. I hope to add more costume pieces from other periods - I'm currently moving into the 18th century and slowly but surely intend to go backward as far as costume history allows.

I made a bracelet using a medieval illumination that I found, and it's one of my favorite pieces.