Reign

I am a huge fan of Historical dramas and history in general. I love visiting stately homes, Castles and Historically interesting places. There is something alluring about the past. The different pace of life the horrible and thrilling things that have come before us and shaped us into being what and who we are today. I adore learning about the intricacies and quirks of the different rulers and the numerous plots and conspiracies of the past, I find much inspiration from the past, aesthetically and as points of reference within my work. Whether it be belief systems or the fashions of the past I find it fascinating.

Because of this and another (slightly less boastful) hobby of mine; watching films and Tv shows by the hundred. I stumbled across a television series called 'Reign'. It follows the story of the young Mary Queen of Scotts and her life in France. It is a period of history I have basic understanding of but know nothing in depth so I was interested. I am fully aware that this adaption would have few to no links to reality but it has to be entertaining eh? Plus there was a rather beautiful actor involved so I was watching it historically accurate or not.

As I settled into the series I began to realise that though the narratives were entertaining and the acting was good there was something else that was keeping me hooked to the series. It was the incredible costume design. The Dresses, Oh! the dresses! They were stunning, Each outfit seemed to upstage the last, Not only in the main cast but supporting actors and actresses also seemed to have my dream wardrobe of taffeta, lace, billowing skirts and opulent coats. I found I was looking forward to seeing what they would be wearing next. I was laying in bed at night thinking about these dresses and which ones I would wear, who's I liked best. It was distracting me from day to day activities (Fuelling my obsession with ballgowns is never healthy). But who was I to blame for this? Who was the costume co-ordinator for this program, I had to find out more.

Meredith Markwork- Pollack is the costume designer in question, she has also worked on Gossip Girl and Heart of Dixie so her talent is undeniable. She says that she was inspired by films such as 'Le Reign Margot',the Dolce and Gabanna and  Oscar de la Renta collections at the time. But Where did she get some of the gowns? and could I afford them (potentially)? Apparently a lot of the dresses came from Vintage stores in Toronto where much of the series was filmed but others came from Free People, Basil Soda and Alexander McQueen *sigh*. Meredith also says that she gets a lot of outfits from online sites such as Web net - a porter, The outnet and BHLDN. Please excuse me whilst I go and spend a lot of money I don't have on stunning dresses to fulfil my childhood dream of being a princess.