#ofmd costuming

[ipomoea-batatas]

There were a lot of posts about Frenchie’s military jacket being a Hendrix reference but I haven’t seen anyone mention that his purple vest/waistcoat is one too!!

[zstraps]

absolutely love that the same costuming department that went so fucking hard with period details in stede’s wardrobe also looked at fang and were like “….yeah put a hot topic belt around his head. perfect.”

[demolitionwoman-blog]

Brb screaming forever

Video from Leslie’s instagram 👑

[ontologicalsynaesthesia]

Shoutout to the incredible looks a lot of the background characters were sporting in the Republic of Pirates. I'm pretty sure the ones in the 7th and 9th screenshots are Spanish Jackie's trans husbands.

As a bonus, I think the woman in the first picture is also one of Jackie's husbands?

That's her in the scene where Jackie waylays Stede stealing the chest of indigo. When they leave, Jackie says, "Let's go, husbands" to the whole crowd.

[confusedraven1]

i absolutely love that jim is the one to keep the heart of stede’s crew alive while ed did everything he could to destroy it.

one of the first comments ed makes to stede’s crew in season 1 is “everyone’s covered in rope!” so what does jim do? literally covers themself in rope, to remind ed that, as long as they’re alive, that hope and love isn’t going anywhere.

not only that, but, in the bible, rope is a symbolism for trust and security. jim became a secure place for the crew to tie themselves to while just trying to stay alive.

of course, i then had to look into why they have a fishing net around their shoulders as well, and found The Fishing Net Parable from the Book of Matthew (13:47-52):

"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”

“This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

jim amputates izzy’s leg, despite having never done it before. they quite literally separate him from the rotten bits to save his life.

jim says, “he was your friend.” they separate ed from who he was before from who he’s allowed himself to become, not to punish him, but to remind him of the consequences of his actions.

jim tells izzy point blank, “you’re in an unhealthy relationship with blackbeard.” they aren’t trying to break them up; they’re just bringing to light whats true so things can (hopefully) get better.

jim shows archie that, just because pirating is normally done a certain way, doesn’t mean it has to—they separate archie from the toxic belief that “that’s just how things are, it’s just life,” and “why save him if he’s a dick?”

jim tries to separate the idea from the crew that ed is fine, because they immediately recognize that things are about to get much worse: “so, do we think he’s better?” “FUCK no!”

jim immediately says, “wasn’t the wedding thing a bit over the line?” they know they’re all pirates and have questionable morals anyway, but knows it was fucked up of them to massacre a wedding, an event that’s supposed to be joyful and full of life and beginnings, not death and destruction. they’re, again, dividing up the way things are vs. how they could (and should) be.

ed tries to pin them all dying on jim cause they wouldn’t kill archie, but they bite back with, “you would’ve done it anyway!” they know exactly where the lies are, and separates them from the truth, and ed can’t deny it.

jim separates themself (and olu) from the bounds of monogamy through their honesty. olu is still their best friend and lover and family even though they found and did things with someone else.

jim holds out their hand for olu to take when they’re escaping the red flag. olu’s interest in zheng yi sao isn’t bad and jim’s not trying to separate them, but is trying to keep together the things that are good: their family.

(later addition, edit) jim is also the one that “kills” ed. they’re the one to make that final choice, to say, “it’s you or us.” jim’s actions and choices entire first two episodes led them to that moment, like it was the “final judgment” of blackbeard.

jim is the rope and net of the crew. they’re trust and security and honesty, everything that stede was trying to get the crew to understand from day 1, everything stede is always trying to embody (and i dare say is starting to succeed at).

[cheers-mdears]

Because I've only seen a couple other people allude to it:

Reblogs appreciated of course :) Explanation under cut

Sackcloth was donned in the Jewish Bible as a sign of deep mourning, repentance, or humility. Xtianity also used it in a punishing kind of way afaik.

It's basically like a purposely crappy shirt with "I'm really really really sorry" written on it in sharpie. Although with Ed, maybe more like "my bad :( :( :(" lmaooo

[womans-armor-workshop]

Making Gentleman Pirate corset

[chocolatepot]

THE Captain Bonnet suit is, of course, the light turquoise one from the first and ninth episodes, the one most fanart depicts him in.

This is wildly different from what he wore in his old life! The color is vivid - colorS, actually, because the waistcoat is slightly different in both iterations - and the coat and breeches are made of very shiny satin. The coat is also dripping with braid, and actually has shaping to accentuate his waist and flare out into skirts. Each end of his cravat has two lacy ruffles, and they are not hidden at all. He's still wearing the secondary tie, but it's much thinner than the others, hardly covering the main cravat. There are rosettes on his shoulders, like military epaulettes but more delicate. And the shoes, of course, have adorable white bows rather than buckles.

The other outfits Stede wears as a pirate have lots of similarities. Very bright colors, contrasting in the same outfit. The lacy cravats, frequently without a colored necktie on top (especially after he gives the black one to Ed). Closer fits. Velvets and satins. Embroidery. The all-white "man for sale" outfit!

It's tricky to situate these costumes with regard to normative English masculinity of the period. Duller colors go all the way up the social spectrum ca. 1717, but satins and velvets and embroidered waistcoats were very much a part of elite men's fashion; at the same time, the idea of the proper English gentleman went along with plainer things - see the example portraits from the last post. There were a number of effeminate male stereotypes in the 18th century, even before the macaronis of the 1770s, usually incorporating a supposed feminine interest in fashion and an affected way of speaking and acting not unlike more modern stereotypes; it wasn't unusual for them to be referred to as "neuter" and assumed to be either (what we would now call) asexual or homosexual. In that sense, the issue is less exactly what Stede would wear, and more that he clearly cares a lot about it, amassing a large wardrobe and being exacting in having it made up a certain way.

Within the context of the show and the way other gentlemen dress in it (not counting the party aristocrats because they're basically clowns, but Stede's father and the men in Bridgetown), Stede's pirate style is definitely not normative. It's queer. It's not just Stede bringing his aristocratic/gentry style to sea and reveling in his class privilege, it's him taking up a style that he is not allowed to wear as a supposedly heterosexual patriarch. It's even in his nightclothes - the nightshirts he wears on the Revenge have ruffles and lace, and the ones at home range from "basically just a shirt" (1x10) to "well, there's a tiny bit of embroidery" (1x04 flashbacks).

There is one outfit - well, technically three - that does something really subtle with this.

Stede apparently owns three fairly similar coats trimmed with gold braid and two matching waistcoats, one on sea and two on land. The one he wears in 1x05 is made of a damask (you can see the pattern woven into the fabric if you look at it full-size) and uses two different types of braid; he also wears it with a prominently knotted cravat that ends in a van dycked lace, which matches the lace on his cuffs. The 1x10 suits, on the other hand, are wool broadcloth (or something approximating it). The collarless one, which is bluer onscreen, has gold trim without as much of a pattern, and the trim on the one with a black collar is actually black with gold details.

Crucially, in 1x10, his cravat is tucked completely into his waistcoat to hide any potential lace on the ends, and his sleeves have plain or barely trimmed ruffles. He's squeezing himself back into the straight mold society requires, but at the same time ... this is a more exuberant look than his flashback outfits. The only teal he wore in them was in the family portrait, and that coat was totally unfitted and had no trim. He's fundamentally changed, both from getting to be himself on the Revenge and from the kiss on the beach - that's good and bad, encompassing both his realization of his own queerness and, you know, the whole "unhand me or bleed" thing. Instead of burying himself in books and quietly crying by himself, he's now doing things like getting drunk and confidently making scenes in public. "I don't fit here anymore, do I?" he asks Mary when they have that nighttime conversation.

I definitely get where people are coming from when they portray him as more rugged, and I'd be surprised if s2 had him acquire a full wardrobe again immediately, unless it picks up after some time's gone by. a) This show isn't overly concerned with realism, but I mean he did just arrive at the island in a dinghy with absolutely nothing and b) we do need the symbolism of him starting over. But be careful of interpreting his clothes as just a representation/extension of his class, as @appleteeth pointed out here. The way Stede dresses throughout most of s1 is very much part of his self-expression.

(Part I)

[cobaltaugustao3]

I understand why a lot of people don't like how Stede dresses in season 2. l've been thinking about it quite a bit recently, wondering why I don't feel the same way, and l've realised it's because I don't believe he will stick to the pirate/traditionally masculine clothing. We see in S1 that Stede adores his clothes but we also know that in his life prior to piracy he wouldn't have had much choice in how he dressed. He actively chose clothes that pushed right against the boundaries society placed on him, but he still had to follow dress codes. We watch him moving further away from these restrictive rules as S1 progresses. He wears more colour, has a few outfits that are completely outside his usual clothes, such as his theatre outfit and his explorer ensemble, but he still continues to wear clothing that is more or less what would have been expected of him in that era. When he gives his wealth away to Mary he sheds the last of his old life. His clothes were a uniform, and now he's graduated and wants to go a little wild. He's every kid who was forced to wear a blazer in school. He might like the colour, and the fit, but it's still a reminder of when he was beholden to rules that were suffocating him. So he ran to the opposite end of the spectrum. He wants to wear rough and ready clothes, with open collars and rolled up sleeves to show the skin he's always had to keep covered. He wants to feel like a real pirate, like he's truly left his old life behind. I'll be shocked if, in S3, we only see him in the same clothes as S2. I think we'll see him realise he doesn't need to follow the rules of pirate clothes - the same way he doesn't need to follow the rules of his previous life. He'll start to wear what he truly enjoys seeing himself in. Outfits that fall between the fineries of before and the practicality of pirate wear. The colours will come back, the frills too, but his shoes might be leather boots, to make walking on deck easier, his coats will be for protection against the weather, not just to match his breeches. I think we've yet to see exactly who Stede is, and I'm so excited to follow him on his journey.

[amuseoffyre]

I got thinking last night about Stede's clothes in S1. I'd written before about his clothing before he runs away to sea, but I've ended up going on an even deeper dive for the whole of the season by contrast to S2.

Before he ran off to see, everything about his outfits was made to make him blend into the background: a green cravat in an identical shade to the plants, the ruffles and lace of his cravat and cuffs matching the tablecloth and curtains, the colours of his suits matched to the furniture and drapes and other surroundings, the pattern of his suit blending into the fabric of the carriage.

The implication being that he was like an accessory in his own life, property for his father to use, a piece of the furniture, an object to be ignored and overlooked.

Based on S1, it made it feel like his clothing choices at sea were him expressing himself for the first time, but on the re-watch, I realised how much that isn't necessarily the case.

Yes, he adores clothes and fashion, but there's something about the aesthetic choices that made me go oooooo. Let's start at the beginning. This could get long :D I'll stick with episodes 1-3 just now, because bad arm makes typing ow.

Episode 1:

First up we have the beloved blue suit, very flashy and frilly and delightful. But he's a man who has run away to sea and the first outfit he puts on to be a sea captain is... Caribbean sea coloured. The extreme white lace cuffs and cravat even resemble seafoam on the shore. Our man dressed up like the sea, once again matching himself to his surroundings. With gold trim, because of course, booty is the aim (😏).

The Battle Jacket. ngl, the framing here makes me gnaw bricks. Look at the folds and ruffles of his cravat matching the drape of the curtains and the folds of the pillows, while the ripply gold edging of the battle jacket matches the ripply gold edging of the painting on the wall and the jacket itself matches the colour of the wall. Once more, blending himself into his surroundings.

Also fun fact: yellow was seen as the colour of cowardice. Stede goes to hide in his room and he puts on his yellow robe. Man is scared and even if he doesn't want to show it, his outfit is showing his true colours.

Bonus shout-out to the fact that he "dresses us up like fancymen" to blend in with the officers from Nigel's crew. Not just fancy-men. He tells Pete that he's a Lord. He's trying to match the aristocratic company, to dodge a bullet. (It doesn't work).

Episode 2.

Having feelings about Stede being in purple/gold the first time we see him hearing about Blackbeard. Especially given purple as the significant colour of love later in the season. (and in the fireworks in 2x06 - purple and gold)

But also, again, with matching the background - the gold of the cravat matching the gold of the lanterns, frame by dark edges, with white light coming out on either side. (the symbolism of Stede as a lantern/lamp/light in the dark again makes me gnaw bricks)

tfw the patterns on your waistcoat are not unlike the seaweed dangling from the hull of your grounded ship.

Also shout-out to the first time we see Stede without his cravat on. There's a whole mess of significance about Stede and neckwear that I'll save for another day.

Episode 3.

We see the return of the battle-jacket in Stede's ornate gold room, with his ornate gold furniture. He even matches his journal to the wall XD

And, of course... the white suit. "A power move - make people feel underdressed and suddenly you're the one in charge" says the man who has never been in charge of anything in his life, including his own crew.

For the first time in his life, he's choosing an outfit to actively stand out because he sees clothing as his weapon. An outfit like this might work to impress in his social circles in Bridgetown, for the sheer expense of something so pristine and intricate, but here? Noooo. He doesn't know his audience. He doesn't know what kind of look would impress them here, especially when we see every other pirate is almost uniformly in shades of washed out colours or browns.

Jackie, on the other hand, dresses to impress this crowd. She stands out and in a way that matters. Blood red as threat, warning and alluring. And the fact that Blackbeard and his entire crew show up entirely in black leather contrasting to Stede's white lace? Extra emphasis.

Episode 4

[sad-yehaw]

This is my attempt on making Blackbeards knee brace. All is leather, the braces themselves are hardened with beeswax. All is put together with buckles and rivets.

Functionality wise i was surprised how actually really great it is to wear. I have a problematic knee myself and it got to bend so much lighter and easier and at the same time its greatly supported. The middle strap is very important for it all to work well too tho and its not that visible on the show so thats an important bit. Overall 12/10 🏴‍☠️✨

If you want to see the whole making process, you can head over to my Twitter

[vincentbriggs]

A while ago I ordered some of the bird velvet for the pirate dressing gown, but I got the purple version because I liked it better than the pink. It was this colour in the photos on the website:

And this colour when it arrived in the mail:

Hrm. Ick. NOT what I wanted, and it doesn't go at all with the black cotton sateen I got for the lining.

Thankfully my mother is a textiles teacher, so I have easy access to a lot of dyes, and I did some dye samples.

The first 3 I did were bad, but the 3 after that were great!

The Mixing Red was bright and pinkish, and the Scarlet and Turkey Red were nearly indistinguishable, but both were a bit of a duller red. They made the background a much better colour, and made the print less harsh, while still keeping it clearly visible. In the end I went with Scarlet at 2% and Mixing Red at 1%. (These are all PRO MX Fibre Reactive dyes.)

Much better!

I've cut out my robe pieces, but am not in any particular hurry to sew it up, since it's currently the hottest part of the year.

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

I am honestly sad about one thing in OFMD season 2, costume wise

No men in pastels? :( Obviously Stede wore only pastels in those beautiful suits but also Frenchie's lavenders, The Swede's pink onesie, Lucius' cute stripy top, Stede's nightclothes, Buttons' outfit etc

Everyone's all wearing black, dark blue, why

I do really love Frenchie's new colorful outfit a lot

[cataclysmic-cathexis]

If you’re at MCM Comic Con in London and you see me, come say hi 🏴‍☠️🐈‍⬛

[theshiningbeacon]

Tutorial for my OFMD Breakup™/Bird Robe

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional sewer or costumer, so any weird methods of execution are entirely due to my own (mis)adventures in sewing. Also all of the links for the fabric and research are in the replies bc I have no idea if tumblr is still ~suppressing~ posts with links.

The basic design for my Breakup Robe™ was based on heathervanderstitch and  hannahgreenecostumes‘s instagram posts (two of the costume designers on OFMD) who said that their bird robe was a modified 1940′s kimono pattern with a box pleat in the back to give more movement at the bottom without being too baggy at the top. So I took that info and essentially worked backwards by comparing screenshots from the show and a bunch of online kimono patterns. (The most helpful ones were Ralph Pink’s free Satchi kimono pattern and The Tailoress’s Giselle Kimono). 

--- 🦜 ---

I found a helpful starting place for pattern piece sizes was a twitter post from another fan (fiftyfathomkinit), however I ended up making my own modifications because I found her drafting slightly confusing (she includes armhole cutouts in her back panel which i could never figure out). I also adjusted the sizing to better fit my own measurements and I added an extra seam on the sleeves so one side of the pattern wouldn’t be upside down.

On a personal note, don’t be afraid of making mistakes! I didn’t realize I needed to adjust the pattern measurements until after I’d started making the lining - which was an oopsie on my part and could have saved me a little bit of money on fabric for my lining. You can get around this error by making a mockup in cheap fabric, or you can do it like me and start off with larger pieces and make them smaller as you adjust to your own fit.

Speaking of the lining, the original robe has a fuchsia dupioni (coarse) silk lining and a hand dyed, block printed 100% cotton velvet outer shell. I found the velvet from (I believe) the same seller on Etsy. It’s a little pricey, but they also have a regular cotton version for those who want a cheaper option. 

For the lining, I wanted silk to match the original, bc it breathes better than polyester satin, and I believe it’s longer lasting. But I wanted something softer than the dupioni, so I went with... literally the smoothest silk in the closest colour I could find at a local fabric store. (I literally just rubbed my fingers against every fuchsia silk they had). But you can go with whatever lining you’ll be most comfortable with (satin, cotton, etc). 

I got tassels from that same fabric store and the thread and orange bias tape from Fabricland, but you can make your own tassels with yarn if you prefer.

I bought 5 yards of the bird velvet (bc they don’t do half yards) and 4.5 metres (5 yards) of the silk. I ended up using most of the silk and about 4.5 yards of the velvet.

--- 🦜 ---

I started by making my own patterns from some super cheap brown wrapping paper with gridlines on the back, which I got from the dollar store. You could also probably just measure and cut your fabric directly, but having paper patterns made me feel better.

Your own measurements will vary (I’m 5′7″ and 120 lbs), but I wanted it to be quite oversized, with the sleeve shoulder seam hitting a little ways down my arm, and the overall length sitting just above my ankles, the same way it does in the show robe.

You can see in the above graphic I have a neck opening cut into the front panel that ends halfway down - this is how long I’m also making my collar. (Pro tip - cut the collar longer than you think you’ll need). Meanwhile, the sleeves have an 11″ x 1″ diagonal cut on the sides that will be attached to the main body of the robe, as used in a lot of kimonos.

Here are my pieces cut out (minus the sleeve diagonal bc I forgot to do it while I was cutting everything - but that was a very easy error to correct later):

--- 🦜 ---

For the inverted box pleat, based on screenshots and insta posts, I went with 3″ on either side of the centre point and guestimated that it ended a little lower than the armpit. So mine ended about 10″-11″ from the top of the back panel.

I basted some stitches along the three points (centre back, 3″ to the right and 3″ to left, so it was easier to keep both sides equal). Then I pulled the two sides of the fabric together so they met in the middle at the centre point of the back panel. I pinned them together, stitched the sides together by hand with a ladder stitch, and then machine stitched a line across the top of the panel at my ½” seam allowance.

I then machine stitched the sides together down the middle with a really small zigzag stitch to make sure it was extra secure.

I cut a 1″ x 7″ inch neck dip after doing the box pleat, which is probably not the proper way to do it, but it worked out for me!

I didn’t take a picture of it, but this graphic is an approximation of how you’d go about it:

--- 🦜 ---

To sew the actual robe, it requires very simple straight line sewing to connect all these rectangles. 

Firstly, you’ll want to attach the front panels to the back panel at the shoulders (right sides together).

Next, you’ll want to sew across the top of the sleeve panels (right sides together). Make sure you’re matching the diagonal sleeve indents so that when you open up the sleeve panels, it looks like this:

Then you’ll open up your robe body so the right side is facing up:

You’ll then attach the sewn sleeves to the front panels (right sides together), ensuring you’re matching the sleeve seam with the shoulder seam. Make sure you’re sewing the side of the sleeves with the diagonal cutout so when the garment is flipped right side out, the diagonal is next to your body. You’ll sew from the marked line to the marked line.

Next, you’ll want to sew the sides of the robe together to close it. However, this was a tricky part for me, because I had tried to sew the body and sleeves at the same time when I was doing my lining, but the armpits ended up bunched and slightly twisted around. So I tried getting around this issue by stopping about 1″ from the armpits, leaving a gap, while sewing the sides together. (You’ll close this gap at the very end of your project).

For the collar, attach both pieces together at one end, right sides together, to ensure the pattern isn’t upside down on one side. Once done, the right sides of the attached fabric should look like this:

Then, take the collar and fold lengthwise so the right sides are together. Sew a straight line across the two bottom ends. Then, flip the collar inside out so the wrong sides of the fabric are together and the bottom edges are nicely hemmed. It should look (more or less) like this:

(Ignore the weird cuts on the bottom right and left hand corners  - this was my first attempt with a collar that I realized was too short. [Pro tip - cut the collar pieces way longer than you’ll think you’ll need!] I forgot to take a pic of my second attempt, but you get the general idea of what it’s supposed to look like).

For the bias tape, this is probably not the proper way to go about it, but it was the only way my CFS brain could figure it out and it worked for me! (As the disclaimer said, I’m not a professional sewer - I’m more concerned with whether something works than whether it’s the 100% professional method of execution).

So, take your bias tape, open it up, and pin one edge against the raw edge of your collar. Sew these together a little bit lower than your seam allowance (1). Then you’ll want to fold the bias tape up so both edges are facing the sewn edge of your collar. Then pin and sew your collar, bias tape side down, to your robe (2). (When doing so, make sure to match the seam at the back of the neck on the collar with the middle of the back panel).

This way, when you attach the collar using your seam allowance, you’ll still be able to see a small amount of the bias tape peaking through around the collar when it lays flat against you, like so:

For the bias tape on the sleeves, I attached one edge of the bias tape to the right side of the fabric, stopping an inch past the 9″ marking on both sides of the sleeve. (I sewed this about 1/4″ from the edge).

I then flipped each sleeve inside out (right sides together) and sewed it together, stopping about 1/2″-1″ away from the armpit (as previously mentioned) and at the 9″ measurement on the opposite side. For the side with the bias tap, I flipped the bottom part of the tape over onto the wrong side of the fabric and sewed it down as I was sewing the entire sleeve.

At this point, if you flip the entire robe inside out so the right side is facing outwards, it should look like this:

--- 🦜 ---

For the lining, follow the same steps as you did for the velvet (minus the collar). But when you do the box pleat, make sure the inverted side (the side you pull together) is on the wrong side of the fabric. 

Once the lining is fully constructed, you’ll want to attach the lining to the velvet, right sides to right sides, along the collar and centre front.

Once you’ve sewn the lining and velvet together, flip your robe inside out so both right sides are showing. 

As you can probably see in the photo, I already started the next step. Which is hemming the bottom of the robe. I’d recommend doing so while it’s hanging (either on a hanger, dress form, or another person), to ensure you don’t have any weird spots where the lining is pulling up on the velvet. I attached the lining and velvet by hand stitching.

For the sleeves, I folded the bias tape down onto the wrong side of the fabric, folded the lining under itself to make a nice little hem, and sewed both together. I did so by hand with a really simple stitch. (As with the bottom hem, make sure you’re only picking up the bias tape and lining so you don’t poke through to the other side).

Then for the final touch - the tassels! Mine came with a large loop that I had to remove. I cut it off and then encased the shorn ends in hot glue to ensure the entire thing didn’t somehow unravel. 

I let the glue harden and then attached the tassels by hand to the corners of the sleeves and collar.

Now we’ll finally close those ~1″ gaps under the armpits. I did this with a very simple hand stitch, making sure I grabbed a bit of fabric from each side of the fold and pulled the thread taught.

--- 🦜 ---

And voila, you should now be the proud owner of the infamous breakup/bird/wrap robe.

--- 🦜 ---

And that’s it! Hopefully this all makes sense and if anyone has any questions either send me an ask or add a reply to this post and I’ll do my best to answer! 

On one final note, not to be That Person™, but this took quite a lot of work (both the robe and this post) and I’m a chronically ill freelancer who’s income was hit hard by COVID. So if anyone wants to throw some change at my KO-FI if you found this helpful, I’d be very much appreciated.

[itswhatyougive]

Watching OFMD has had the unexpected side effect of getting me back into wearing rings.

I was looking at all the cool stones in this local shop and ending up getting a lovely one on a whim (and a pendant that looks like a regular stone but is also a hidden vial. You know, for poisoning people).