Photos taken at Oak Hill Cemetery in San Jose, courtesy of my dear husband, Thomas.
Posts Tagged ‘Arwen’s mourning gown’
Arwen’s Mourning Gown
Posted by Trystan on March 10th, 2003
Final pieces
Posted by Trystan on March 8th, 2003
Finished the crown. I printed out tiny versions of the White Tree of Gondor and practiced painting over the print with dimensional gold paint. Had to trim a lot of branches from the tree so the details didn’t blur together with paint (what kind of sacrilege is that, to lop off parts of the White Tree?!? ;-). When I got one that I liked, I cut it out and decoupaged the painted tree onto the center front of the crown.
Then I used the dimensional paint to make a wide chain design on the sides of the crown. Over all this, I painted a couple coats of old gold (same paint I used on the lace trim of the gown). The dimensional paint showed up just enough to evoke the look of molded metal. And all for literally pennies, because I already had the materials, except for the paint.
Making an easy, inexpensive Crown of Gondor
Posted by Trystan on March 2nd, 2003
Started the crown and veil. Got sidetracked by Valentine’s Day and my birthday, but I finally had a half a day free to work on these pieces.
Template for crown
Making the crown, step by step
A while ago, I made a paper template of the crown and cut it out of buckram. Because I didn’t have a long enough piece of buckram in my stash, I had to sew two strips together. This actually made it stronger, so a problem turned into a benefit. I also sewed the center point piece on, having cut it out separately.
Over the buckram frame, I added several layers of papier-maché. For this, I used plain white computer paper dipped in white glue thinned with warm water. I let the papier-maché dry on a styrofoam wig head that I’d covered in tin foil. The wig head helped the crown keep its shape (it got very floppy during the papier-maché process), and the tin foil kept it from sticking.
As that dried, I sewed the veil from three yards of black chiffon. The shape is a long rounded rectangle that I cut freehand. Once again, I learned the power of having the Right Tool — I discovered that my machine does have a rolled-hem foot, even though the manual has no instructions for using it. But I fiddled around and figured it out to use it for the veil’s hem. Turned out pretty good, for a first try.
All but accessories
Posted by Trystan on February 9th, 2003
I finished sewing the gown! This must be a record time for me, especially since I spent so long fiddling around with the trim. Today I spent six straight hours hand-sewing the hem and the final parts of the trim.
Also this weekend, I bought the black chiffon for the veil. Went with the dirt-cheap poly chiffon, having decided that silk chiffon was out of my budget right now. As with the trim, I can always upgrade later, if so desired.
Purchased some dimensional paint and a gold-leafing kit for the crown. This will go over a buckram frame that I might reinforce with papier-maché for strength and a smooth surface.
Next up, a rolled hem for the veil and making the crown itself!
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- Completed gown
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- Sleeves, side of gown
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- Closeup of trim
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- Front of gown
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- Bodice
Trimming the mourning gown
Posted by Trystan on February 2nd, 2003
Painting lace
I gave up on the trim embroidery idea. Here’s the sordid, stupid story of this gown’s trim…
Because I couldn’t find any trim that really looked like what’s on the costume, I tried to improvise. I bought two yards of unbleached, cotton, crocheted lace and used fabric medium and acrylic paint to turn it an old gold color. This also filled in some of the lace pattern to give it a chunky look (which I wanted). Then I sewed the lace over the red fabric.
My plan was to embroider curlicues and dots over that to approximate the texture and colors of the original trim. But I hadn’t embroidered since I was a kid, and my attempt came out far more imperfect than I desired. Would have been ok for a stage costume because, from a few feet away, it had a pleasing effect. The colors and texture were right. However, up close, it looked sloppy and random.
So I ripped out all the embroidery and decided to use the gold lace by itself. To add some depth, I sewed narrow gold braid along the bottom edge. I have (not enough) gold cord that I might later use to make a criss-cross pattern over the medallions of the lace design. Also have iridescent black beads that I could add at some point. Maybe someday I’ll even practice my embroidery and further embellish to the trim. In the meantime, what I have is reasonably evocative of the actual costume, so that will have to do.
Sanding buttons
In other trimming news, I decided to sand the gold plastic buttons so they weren’t so shiny and fake-new-gold looking. This gave them a more subtle, antiqued look (that barely shows up in the photo). Not bad for 45 cent buttons.
Mom also helped me pin up the hem (never easy to do on oneself). I had cut the pattern out at the original, intended length. Being that I’m only 5’2″, that length is about 6″ too long. That was nothing new to me, and this time, I used it to my advantage. Mom pinned up the hem to a good walking length in front and left a demi-train in the back.
Posted in Fantasy, Lord of the Rings 
Tags: Arwen's mourning gown, embroidery, trim trim trim 
No Comments »Having the right tool helps
Posted by Trystan on January 19th, 2003
Mourning gown in-progress
Finished sewing the main gown, except for hemming it, sewing on the buttons, and the trim. All praise the Mighty Walking Foot!!! I finally got one for my sewing machine, and I’m kicking myself for not buying it a decade ago. Makes sewing velvet much easier. There’s still some side-to-side shifting, but none of the horrible velvet creep that makes one piece of the pattern 4″ longer by the time I finish sewing the seam. Sometimes having the Right Tool makes a big difference.
The gown is really lovely, if I do say so myself, and I’m proud of how good the fit is. I’m also pretty surprised that I got all of the sewing — including that #$&%@! red inset — done in just one weekend. Not bad for the World’s Slowest Sewer :-)
Start me up
Posted by Trystan on January 5th, 2003
I used Simplicity 9891 for the body of the dress and McCall’s 3663 for the sleeves. Luckily, I discovered that I had enough black velvet in my fabric stash already (it was leftover from my husband’s wedding frock coat). Also had enough black lining in my stash. Only fabric I needed to buy was the silky dark red fabric for the sash and the contrast in the neck and arm trim.
Completed the muslin for the bodice and sleeves. The dress pattern needed quite a bit of fitting in the bust because my healthy weight loss program really changed my body shape. In addition, I split the center front piece to get the look of the red triangle insert at the neckline. This also gave me a seam line to sew the buttons along. Lastly, I modified the sleeve pattern a lot to get the desired length and shape. I don’t like to draft patterns from scratch, but give me a pattern that’s halfway there, and I can tweak it to achieve the look I want.
Posted in Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Tags: Arwen's mourning gown, makin' a muslin, pattern drafting No Comments »Mourning gown beginings
Posted by Trystan on January 4th, 2003
Immediately after seeing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, I decided to recreate Arwen’s Mourning Gown. It was the one costume that really stood out to me, even among all the gorgeous costumes in the movie. Partly, it’s the most classically gothic outfit in the two movies so far. Of course I wanted to be a goth elf!
But even more than that, I love this costume as a symbol of the tragic romance between Arwen and Aragorn. Her fate is not kind, but she chooses it out of love. The doomed pairing of Elf and Man has resonated with me since I first read the tale as a child. To see it come to life on the big screen was magical, and I wanted to bring it to life in my own wardrobe.
This was not a costume intended for a specific event. I figured I could wear it to BayCon, at the very least. I will probably wear it when the next movie comes out in December 2003. And PEERS has a Tolkien-themed ball scheduled for early 2004, so I may get to wear this outfit a few times.
On this site is far, far too much detail about the process of making this gown. It’s the first actual recreation costume I’ve ever made. All my previous costuming has been purely creative ideas, visions out of my head. Even with historical costume, I’ve never sought to imitate a specific portrait or somesuch. But this one truly spoke to me. After finishing it, I realized recreation costuming has a unique set of challenges that are enjoyable to try and meet. So I have plans for at least one more recreation — another LotR, of course!
The Scene in the Lord of the Rings Books and Movie
Peter Jackson lifted the whole story of Aragorn and Arwen from the appendices of The Return of the King and put it in his movie version of Lord of the Rings. Purists may complain, but I think it’s wonderful. And hey, it still is Tolkien’s story, so it’s not like PJ invented it ;-)
In the movie Two Towers, after Aragorn’s presumed death when he dreams of Arwen, there is a sequence between Arwen and Elrond. Her father tells her how she will be alone if she chooses to stay in Middle Earth with Aragorn. She is an immortal elf, Aragorn is a mortal man. The elves are leaving Middle Earth to sail westward to the Undying Lands. Elrond is leaving and wants his daughter to join him. In the first movie, she said her choice was to take a mortal life with Aragorn. In the second movie, it appears that she recants on this choice. But if you’ve read the book, you know this isn’t how it turns out.
In Appendix A, part v, The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, Arwen stayed and married Aragorn when he became King of Gondor and Arnor after the final War of the Ring…
The Third Age ended thus in victory and hope; and yet grievous among the sorrows of that Age was the parting of Elrond and Arwen, for they were sundered by the Sea and by a doom beyond the end of the world. When the Great Ring was unmade and the Three were shorn of their power, then Elrond grew weary at last and forsook Middle Earth, never to return. But Arwen became as a mortal woman, and yet it was not her lot to die until all that she had gained was lost.
As Queen of Elves and Men she dwelt with Aragorn for six-score years in great glory and bliss; yet at last he felt the approach of old age and knew that the span of his life-days was drawing to an end, long though it had been…
Going to the House of the Kings in the Silent Street, Aragorn laid him down on the long bed that had been prepared for him… Then all left him save Arwen, and she stood alone by his bed. And for all her wisdom and lineage she could not forebear to plead with him to stay yet for a while. She was not yet weary of her days, and thus she tasted the bitterness of the mortality that she had taken upon her.
In the movie of The Two Towers, this scene is shown as Elrond tells Arwen of her future loneliness. This flash-forward shows Aragorn laid on his death bier with Arwen standing beside him in the long black gown with a long black veil and her crown as Queen of Gondor and Arnor. This is the costume I made, and this story is why I wanted to make it.
Research on the Movie’s Mourning Gown
Description:
This is a long, fitted gown with a full, draping skirt that has a bit of a train in back, and it has very long, full sleeves — all vaguely Medieval in style (but the movie designs are not strictly historical). It appears to be made entirely of black velvet and has a heavy gold/black trim over a red backing that lines the low neckline. The same trim is repeated right above the elbows, before the sleeves flare out. There is a row of small gold buttons (which don’t appear to be functional) from the neck to the waist, and a narrow, red fabric sash is tied at the waist. The gown is worn with a long, black chiffon veil over her head, and the veil is held on by an etched gold crown.
Research:
In addition to the TTT movie, I saw this gown in a behind-the-scenes TV show (the one on the WB, which was also shown on another channel; I watched it both times ;-). This showed Liv Tyler, backstage at a photo shoot, wearing the Mourning Gown. The footage showed her from about the knees up, so I could view most of the gown. This is what I made my full-length sketch from. Also, the second time I saw the movie, I took a notepad and a tiny flashlight so I could sketch right there. In particular, I looked for details about Arwen’s crown, as well as things like how long the gown’s sleeves and the veil were. I cleaned the crown sketches up in PhotoShop.
There is a small, full-length picture of the costume in the LotR Photo Guide — it’s an Arwen sticker in the back of this children’s book. A friend was kind enough to give me her sticker, and I scanned it for the top picture on this page. Many websites have the close-up portrait of this gown, which is perfect for getting the trim and neckline detail.
My sketches:
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- Mourning gown sketch
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- Sketch of crown’s center with White Tree of Gondor
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- Sketch of crown’s side
Reference sites:
- LotR Costume research page (tons of info. and more picture links)
- from Lovely Liv Tyler:
- portrait (head and shoulders only)
- German magazine ad (trim closeup)
- screen capture 1 & screen capture 2 (crown and veil closeups)
- Oscar ad with tomb (full-length with veil)
Fan sites from LotR_Costume:
- Maggie‘s exhaustive Mourning Gown study (second only to ACS!)
- Jessica’s Mourning Gown
- Naira’s Mourning Gown
- Donna’s costume gallery including her Mourning Gown
- Brandyleaf‘s Mourning Gown
- Kristen‘s Mourning Gown study and experiments
- Kat’s sketch of Arwen’s Mourning Gown
The real thing:
The LotR Costume site added a page of photos from the FIDM exhibit of actual costumes from the movie. Included are several pictures of the actual Arwen’s Mourning Gown.
Updated after finishing the costume: Looking at these photos, I think I got pretty darn close in my recreation. The original is blue velvet, but it looks black in the movie, and that’s what counts to me. The trim is much fancier, of course. The red sash is a little wider than I made mine, but it looked narrow in the earlier pictures. The sleeves and train are longer, but I purposefully made mine shorter for practicality’s sake (also because I didn’t have a ton of fabric ;-). The shape of the sleeves is a bit more full than mine too, but I don’t think they’re circles — more like the pointed shape I made mine in. All in all, my gown is very true to the original.
