Our Night at the Academy Awards

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This is a slight deviation from my normal posts, as it doesn’t involve anything Victorian or Edwardian (except perhaps a few vintage-y–ish dresses) but I thought it might be fun and interesting enough to share.

My fiancé and I had the honor of attending the 85^th Annual Academy Awards last night. Granted, this wasn’t my first time, but it’s always fun to dress up, and look the part of a celebrity, and walk on the red carpet, for just one night.

For those who aren't familiar with how the Oscar's red carpet works, and have only seen it through coverage on the tv screen, let me tell you a little bit about the behind the scenes of the Academy’s iconic red carpet. 

First, there are actually three lines, or rows, to the red carpet, each roped off by red velvet leads. The far left row, is the one reserved for A-list actors, directors, writers, and various other ‘well known’ celebrities (or the occasional Academy governor). Those who passed by me, and walked down this particular lane, were Jennifer Lawrence, Steven Spielberg, Hugh Jackman, Reese Witherspoon, Queen Latifah, Steve Guttenberg, Tom Hooper, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and several others.

The thin middle row, is meant for those who wish to get to their seats pronto, can’t be bothered with being held up by the press line, and would rather bypass all the cameras and interviewers of the red carpet, to retreat to the sanctuary of the Dolby theater, where there is no press except in the Green Room.  Those who utilized this line yesterday evening that I observed, were Chris Pine (Star Trek, People Like Us) Kristen Stewart (Twilight) on crutches, Sandra Bullock, and Jennifer Garner.

The far right row, is left for those who are still important, but may not be as well known, or know at all in the public eye. This includes academy members & their guests from the production side of film-making & animation folks, (like us).

Once we were up the steps of the Dobly theater and into the main foyer, that’s when things got exciting.  The highlights of our night were as follows…

We met Peter Lord, the director of Pirates from Ardmann Animation, and he was a riot. I adored him. Such a great sense of humor and personality, we really enjoyed speaking with him.  My fiancé had the chance to speak with Mark Walberg, and tell him how much he enjoyed ‘Ted’ and really thought he was hilarious.

What I had been most excited about, was getting to speak with Tim Burton, and Helena Bonham Carter, whom I both love, and I was also able to discuss with Helena how much I really admire her, and that loved her dress that evening. It was very ‘Victorian/Steampunk in nature, perfectly ‘her’.

We also had the chance to congratulate Brenda Chapman on her dual win with Mark Andrews on winning the best Animated Feature category for directing Pixar’s Brave. I had to tell her how much I loved her blue corseted gown, which was absolutely stunning in person.

After that, we saw John and Nancy Lasseter and were able to tell them as well how happy we were that Brave, won, and also that the animated short Paper Man took the Oscar. I also talked to Nancy about their winery, which, she said, is her greatest passion. Well, who can blame her? Who doesn’t love wine?

The real treat was meeting Tommy Lee Jones, and telling him what a wonderful job I thought he did in Lincoln, and that I truly thought he would win the Oscar, as he was my personal pick and favorite.  He and his wife were incredibly gracious and sweet, and thanked me for my kind words. They were both a joy to chat with. 

The Oscars, or Academy Awards, are really a very special event, and it is truly an honor to be able to attend such a prestigious affair, and meet or speak with such incredible, talented, and gifted people.  Every year, I know how fortunate I am to be able to sit and stand amongst the giants of this industry, and it reminds me of all the reasons why I love this business.

A short comparison of the corset now and then.

In modern times, the act of a woman buying a corset is usually viewed as, her purchasing something sexy, and provocative, and fun, but it is not seen as having any real type of practical or functional use, as an article of clothing.


By Contrast, in the Victorian era, a corset was as much a necessity as a pair of socks, or underwear, and wasn't viewed as anything but a sign of being civilized, and adhering to the strict and repressive dress codes of the time. Women who did not wear corsets, were seen as loose or 'uncultured creatures'. No female would dare leave the household without one. The looks and frown and comments they would receive would be beyond endurance if so. Admittedly, they did try to glamourize the most expensive, best fitting, and most popular corsets for women of a certain stature, but it was never about how alluring it would make one look. Rather, ads would typically cater to a certain class, based on what you could afford, and what social standing you might have.

However, some companies did try to appeal to all levels of class, and not just market to the poor, or middle, or upper tiers.




For example in the advertisement to the left, it says, 'Adapted to the requirements of all classes' meaning they cater to women of all levels of income and standing. I love this ad, as I just think the illustration is so graceful and beautiful.

Here's a closer look at the ad, as the artistry is wonderful. Nothing like hand drawn ads! I think that film posters for movies that were made way back in the day, that were illustrated, were MUCH more appealing than posters of today, with all the photoshopping, and slick look that the all have now.....but that's just me, and just me, going off on tangent.

And here's a small, early Valentine's Day post.

Again from the Ladies Home Journal from February 1901, they had a write in column for questions, where a woman would give female readers advice, much like an Ann Landers of today.  I found this one appropriate, given that it's almost Valentine's Day. Here are Margaret E Sangster's thoughts on women doing the courting on Feb 14th....

"It is a woman's privilege to be courted. Therefore the man sends the valentine, not the girl. Thoughtless and silly girls sometimes overlook this fact that they are to be sought and never do the seeking, and an older observer sees with pain that they employ little arts to attract the other sex; that, save the mark, they behave, here and there, as if everything they could do, should be done to gain the approving notice of the opposite sex This creates a false position and is always cheapening to a girl, not only in the eyes of others, but also in time, when the awakening comes, it is degrading to her self-respect."

So hear that ladies? Make the men do all the work this Valentine's Day, it's your right to be 'courted' and sough after. ;) And men?  Apparently, it's your responsibility to provide all the 'valentine's' to us, to make us happy on Valentine's Day, so snap to it!

 I came upon this little red book, at a Vintage Clothing Expo of all places, and found it rather fascinating.



 It's an entire year's collection, from 1898, of testimonials and case studies from across the country, that attest to the benefits and miraculous effects of the elixir, 'Pepto Mangan'.








 Each page, which has the day and date in bold across the top, utilizes only a small portion of the page for type, and then carries on to the next page, even if the case study continues on for several days, which I found odd and wasteful. Even back then they were killing trees! Thugs.





I actually have several of these books, from a few different years, but from the book of 1899, (with cases and praise from 1898) here is one case I found particularly delightful, in quoting how magnificent this wonder cure-all is.

Dr. Z. E. Kimble, Liberty, PA:

June 6, 1898

Your sample bottle of 'Pepto- Mangan' was received. I have taken in all, while recovering from Pneumonia, seven bottles of your  'Pepto-Mangan' during the past seven weeks and have gained 14 pounds, 3 pounds more than my ordinary weight before I was taken sick. Gude's seems to be especially adapted to my condition. 


I can't really see how gaining 14 pounds would be a desirous side effect to anyone, and I would think, most anyone would recover from Pneumonia after a whole seven weeks of being sick, medicine or not. Either that, or you'd have been dead well before that.

If in reading such accolades for a syrup sounded odd to you, you weren't the only one, so after reading several pages of these case studies or songs of praise in the book, I decided to investigate.

Upon further examination of what this ' wonder cure all' was, I found studies that had been done years later, with legitimate, professional medication, that was meant for the flu, etc. alongside 'Pepto Mangan' and the 'Pepto' proved to have no real effect, and was deemed useless, a fraud, a quack cheap shot elixir that was more alcohol than anything else, as most of those charlatan type medicines were back in the day. Some up to 44%!

So even though people may have been duped by purchasing bottles of this stuff.....
 

At least, it had no disastrous side effects, despite being worthless.

If you think about it, even high quality medicines of today come with warnings that sometimes make you cringe, and wonder if it's really worth it.

For example.... 'may cause skin irritation, blindness, hallucinations, Tourette's Syndrome, sleep apnea, schizophrenia, blood clots, death, and an addiction to Honey Boo Boo.'

Frankly, I'd take death over the last one. 

So for those poor folks of the Victorian era, rather than investing in 'Pepto -Mangan', they could have just taken a few shots of whiskey to get the same effect, but then again, the bottle probably didn't look as cool.