The Marie Antoinette Colour Palette

As I type this I'm watching the Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette. I've fallen in love with the colours! The fashion and the decadance is soaked in these vibrant pastel colours, like an exploded candy store. Everthing in the film is intensly decorated and over the top. It is not a serious historical study, but it is still a very interesting portrait of a young woman thrown way out of her depth.

I've heard people criticise this film for its lack of historical accuracy. People cringe that these american actors don't even put on a french acccent as they frolic around 18th century France. These people need to lighten up a bit. The film is Copolla's personal vision of Marie Antoinette. Yes, it is girly and lavish and over the top, but isn't that fitting for a film that describes a royal shopaholic? It's a romp and it's fun. It's not realism, it's a romantic impression - like an Adam Ant film clip.

By ignoring the usual constraints of period drama, Copolla has brought the 18th century to life. She knows that her audience is modern and sees with a modern eye, therefore she has adjusted various elements to suit. The colours are exciting, the lighting pops, the music is an ecletic combination of pop, punk and alternative rock. At the same time she has paid real attention to other historical details, such as the food and the locations. The resulting film is a beautiful desert and I cannot help but be drawn to it.

For a more indepth and richly written look at the fashion in this film head to: http://www.bandelle.com/blog/page/2/
I poached the image from her blog as well.

In other Copolla news...
Leigh and I watched the new Francis Copolla film, Youth without Youth, the other night. It's brilliant and gorgeous. Tim Roth is fantasic in it and the cinematography is spot on. Worth a watch for sure!

Something Old...

My Nan was a wonderful woman. After my Pop passed away she sold their home and came to live with us, allowing me the privilege being able to really get to know her. She lived in a granny flat downstairs because: a) it was there, and b) my folks didn't want her feel like she'd lost her independence as well as her husband. I spent a lot of time with Nan and got to be really close to her. We would chat and have cups of tea, or some times we would just sit together. I'll never forget how deeply touched I was when she called me her 'little mate'. That was the nickname she'd had for Poppy.

Nan died a four years ago now. Each year I forget how long it's been because she still seems so vivid in my mind. It blows me out to realise how long it's been. I still miss her and I have a bit of a cry about it sometimes. Most of the time I think of her and smile about who she was and how lucky I am to have known her. I wish Leigh could have known her. He appeared in my life just a little too late for Nan, but I know she would have liked him. She would have liked how supportive and loving he is to me. She would have liked his cheekiness and boyish charm. I think also, she could have seen a bit of herself in him. They both have this inherent generousity and sense of moral good. They are both gentle and treat people well, but they get fiercely protective of their loved ones. I love them both dearly and I know they would have loved eachother too.

It's no competition for having Nan around, but I am really lucky to have her engagement ring as my own. It's a beautiful ring, made in the early 1900s.

My Mum had it and was talking for a while about getting it enlarged for her finger, or doing something with the setting. So, when Leigh and I were talking about getting engaged and what kind of ring I would like, I didn't think it would be possible for me to have it. Still, I showed it to him one day when we were visiting my folks and told him that this is the kind of ring I would like to have. This was because I really like that decorative style of ring, and because I wanted to pay homage to my Nan.

I'm sure you can imagine how surprised I was when we finally made it offical and Leigh whipped out this ring. I thought it was so much beyond the realms of possibility that I literally thought to myself 'How did he find a ring that looks exactly like Nan's?!' He had been very brave and asked my folks if he could sneakily take it for my engagement ring. Understanding the sentimental significance, they were thrilled with the idea and gave it to him right away. He foxed it off to a jeweler for buffing and downsizing and then hid it in the cupboard till my birthday last year. On my birthday he presented me with the ring (much to my surprise) and 'The Question' (which was not so surprising).

Everyday since then I have looked at this ring and been reminded of two of the most beautiful people I've known. I really am the luckiest girl.

What Makes a Wedding?

Things I’m keen on:

Paper lanterns, a summer evening, flowers, colours, fairy lights, bubbles, tulle, rings, vows, a song, maybe.

Things that are necessary:

The actual getting hitched part (i.e. signing the certificate and sealing with a kiss), being surrounded by our loved ones, good food, party moods, dancing and fun times.

Ok, so perhaps we can get married without all of those things (except for the certificate) but these are reasons we’re bothering to plan a wedding at all. We did, early on in the game, consider elopement, but by really exploring that option we realised that we wanted a communal experience. I do care about our wedding and I do want it to be special celebration of our love. I want it to be sweet, but with a subtle sexiness. I want it to be memorable for us and for our guests. I want it to be beautiful and photogenic.

The thing about marriage for us is that it isn’t something that we feel is necessary to validate us a couple; therefore the entire process of getting married is a sort of extravagance. The wedding itself should reflect that. It’s about going beyond what we need to do and really treating ourselves to a fun time. With this attitude it is the details: the food, the music, the people, and the tiny moments within the day, which make the wedding. I’m not saying we should throw away all our savings in one day – that’s not the kind of extravagance I mean – but I do feel like we should go the extra mile to create something wonderful.

Lucky for us, we have lots of fabulous and creative friends who all want to be involved. Together I know we can build up layers of loving goodness to make, not just one special day, but also a whole series of special events.

*Image from: http://en.espritcabane.com/handmade-gifts/fairy-lights.php