The lady who runs the blog for the production company of Anne of Green Gables contacted me for an interview when she found my recent blog post about the Anne Shirley wedding dress pattern that I recently purchased!
After re-immersing myself in the movie the other night, thinking deeply through the questions she sent, I researched and pondered my answers.
I submitted my thoughts to her last night.
This evening, I found the loveliest return e-mail from her regarding my work, which she is publishing in two parts.
Part I is linked here, posted with a picture from the movie of kindred spirits, Anne and Diane.
EPILOGUE
Since the website linked above was recently restyled, I’ve reposted the interview, below.
FINDING FANS OF ANNE
Reading a fan’s personal and beautiful account of why Anne and her story touches them is one of the most important results of Anne of Green Gables.
One example is Teacups in the Garden, a blog written by Laurie.
I stumbled upon one of her posts in which she discusses the costumes from Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story and how, having bought Anne’s wedding dress pattern from Shop At Sullivan, Laurie felt that she had an authentic piece of fashion from the First World War.
I asked Laurie what it is exactly about Anne and the costumes in the film that she appreciates.
Her answers show a deep love for the history and details of the film.
If you have your own thoughts on the film or wish to know about a certain topic, please email me!
Here are Laurie’s thoughts:
What made you a fan of Anne of Green Gables in the first place?
About a year after I graduated from college, I was introduced to Anne of Green Gables by a friend, who shares the same name I do, but with a different spelling.
Her name is Lori Anne, and my name is Laurie Ann.
She always teased me that her name was more special than mine, because she was Ann with an e!
As I first watched Anne of Green Gables, I found myself immediately identifying with Anne.
Having the dreaded stigma of red hair, freckles and being skinny, we both endured tragical taunts causing deep woes in life.
Like Anne I could be on the peak of ecstasy one moment and the depths of despair the next.
We both dealt with sorrows and lived out dreams through books.
We both excelled in school and became teachers.
I too grew up with rather simple practical clothes and dreamed of more fashionable puffed sleeves which were commonly considered too extravagant.
Like Anne, I reveled in places that provided scope for the imagination, allowing thoughts to collect in my mind before putting them on paper.
I too dreamed of being a writer and could identify with her attempts at finding her voice.
In essence, I found Anne to be a kindred spirit.
What is it about the costumes in Anne: The Continuing Story, that strike you?
Most striking to me about the costumes in Anne: The Continuing Story was the historical accuracy to detail in the design process which allowed the costumes themselves to tell the story of WWI, enhancing the actors’ wonderful interpretations…
Although the WWI era is not my favorite for fashion, I found many lovely outfits to drool over.
ANNOYING JOSIE PYE
Annoying Josie Pye wore my favorite styles!
Simple classic lines, cheerful colors (unlike her personality), and a touch of lace and sheerness were gorgeous.
I also loved her big bow hats!
LOVELY DIANA
Diana was ever the quintessential elegant and fashionable lady of her era, wearing the popular layers of texture in sheer fabrics and lace with fancy beads around her neck to showcase her important rank in social class.
ANNE’S STYLISH SIMPLICITY
Anne remained stylish, but simpler, perhaps due to her economic situation.
A special cut away coat enhanced by fabric covered buttons, or white blouse with cutwork embroidery and lace, to stylish hats with an enhancing band of color were my favorites from her ensemble.
Her variety of skirts with simple lines but each with a different type of pleat showcased her frugality while remaining in touch with modern style.
FLAMBOYANT SOCIAL EDITOR, MAUDE MONTROSE
The most flamboyant of all, and the most fun, was Maude Montrose, social editor for The Dispatch in London.
She was the ultimate for fashion in the entire movie.
Wearing the most layers of fabric with richness in texture, she even wore double sets of beads around her neck, the short set and the long set!
Her hats were the biggest and most showy!
Isn’t that exactly how we’d expect a social editor of that era to dress?
I sew many historical costumes for history teaching presentations, and I think Maude’s fashion would be the most fun to recreate when interpreting the era!
Sometimes the older fashions of the earlier 19th century were evident in the shirtwaist and long skirts, most likely worn by those more set in their ways and not given to the latest fads or fashion.
It was fun to see a few of these characters walking about the streets of New York, a remembrance of a recent lovely fashion.
ON THE WARFRONT
Wool uniforms of soldiers of varying ranks, from armies of different nations, intricacy in detail of ribbons worn, insignia, patches…it all told a personal story.
Being from a military family myself, I know that every uniform detail has a meaning, a reason, a story, a history.
Having sewn many military costumes from different eras for my son’s historic interpretations, I’m always analyzing uniforms for specific details.
I greatly appreciated the attention to detail in them also because I come from a military family, resulting in a huge appreciation for the military.
When I lived at a military base with NATO pilots from around the world, I was fascinated even then by the detail of each country’s uniform.
In essence, the costumes told the stories the actors were expressing with their actions and words to tell the great WWI story.
{{{Stay tuned for Part II!}}}
