Blackface is the infamous form of stage makeup used by white actors and actresses when playing a black role in raunchy and offensive ways.
Since its inception in the 19th century, it has inevitably been seen as entertainment amongst the general public (mostly white audiences), especially in Britain, but was more admired in the United States since minstrelsy came to be on stage.
Continue reading BlackfaceFedora hats, simply known as fedoras, are general hats that have been usually worn by men since its inception in the late 1800s.
Note: Fedoras are not to be mistaken for Trilby hats and Porkpie hats for their similar looks and often confusion throughout the older times hat fan community!
Fedoras have soft brims and intended crowns. They are derived supposedly from bowler hats and the name “Fedora” was used for this hat as early as 1891.
“The Magazine of Magic” vol. 4, 1916 is a copyright expired how to magazine of the 1910s graciously shared for free download in Google Books. They have also volumes from 1915, 1917, 1920 and 1921. This snippet can be found by searching for “Quick Change” in volume 4.
When people put on these racist shows such as minstrel shows which exploited racist stereotypes of minorities in America, that were apparently popular before civil rights protests came to be in the 20th century, well, it turned out that the Jewish community wasn’t safe from these theatrical insults either.
Continue reading Jewface
The Frock Coat is generally a long coat that is mostly suitable for cold winters.
The early variations of frock coats were simply known as just “Frocks”.
Frocks were worn by both men and women, mostly as overcoats. Around the 16th century, frocks were associated mostly with women’s dresses (usually gowns). For men, frocks somewhat derived from banyans and were used as overcoats to contrast or blend in with the fancy frilly suits they were wearing. The buttons made it so that the coats stayed fastened like it should if it was necessary.
Continue reading The frock Coat
The cravat, a neckband, is the predecessor to both the bow tie and the neckband we know the best today, the necktie. The cravat derives from a type of neckwear style that was worn by the members of the Croats, a 17th-century military unit based in the Habsburg Monarchy, which is now broken into Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
To make things perfectly clear, the cravat is NOT EVER to be confused with the Jabot, a similar piece of neck-wear that was worn by men in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some cravats look like Jabots, but they certainly are not jabots.
Continue reading The Cravat
The jabot and cuffs were generally attached to the white dress shirt that was worn by men. The Jabot was tied around the neck or a ruffly part that was part of the shirt.
Continue reading Jabot and Cuffs ComboThis was an answer I made to a letter sent to me back in the 1990s when the Costumer’s Manifesto site was new, Here is the original Question: Dear Professor Maginnis, I’m trying to determine why people have embraced “retro” style right now and whether it’s a manifestation of a larger trend or perception. I’m trying to go beyond Faith Popcorn’s analysis that we are embracing anything to do with nostalgia because we are ambivalent about the political uncertainty and technological innovations in our world. Can you suggest some books or articles that address this topic?
I think that Popcorn is essentially correct, that the overwhelming dependency on fashion revivals that seemed to kick in during the 1980’s, and which we haven’t lost since, is a reflection of the backlash against change that began around that time, but I would agree with you that it is far more than that.
Continue reading Comments About Vintage Fashion and Fashion RevivalsThis is the Smoking Jacket. A Victorian men’s coat that mostly men wore when they were said to be smoking tobacco most commonly in their pass-times.
This is a page copied from my Stage Makeup class at Diablo Valley College on the Canvas Learning Management System for distance education. If you teach using Canvas, this page can be downloaded freely on Canvas Commons, and adapted to your own courses. If you are not on Canvas, but stuck teaching your Stage Makeup Class as a Distance Ed thing now, feel free to copy and paste all or part of this, or send students here to get instructions. This page is the second of two parts: Pt 1 HERE.
Continue reading Drama 112 Stage Makeup Class – Making Your Face Outline Sheets for Makeup Renderings: Part 2 – Drawing
