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fangrrl_squees*rolls up sleeves, again*
This is partially about costuming, partially about gender and partially about fangrrl being the sort of person who overthinks things on a regular basis.
I've been muttering, off-and-on, about the Lucy Saxon As The Master costume for, oh gods, it must be over a year. But there are challenges. A lot of them. And not just ones like oh my god, that coat's going to require 7 yards of fine wool sort of challenges.
Thanks to that oh-so-cheesy epilogue bit in Last of the Time Lords, I'm cheerfully in the camp that believes the next time we see The Master,he she will be played by Alexandra Moen.
Costume speculations are, of course, inevitable. And I like creating costumes for characters yet-unseen (or described only in vague terms, in print) as that gives me a lot of room to muck about and have fun.
Before I get into specifics, here is a small sampling of the thoughts that are eating my brain about the whole concept.
- As far as us cheerful viewers know, The Master has always been (outwardly) male for all of his, erm, 15 lives.
- And now he ain't.
- Imagine you're in that situation - several hundred, possibly over a thousand years - identifying as a fella, and then you try putting on a skirt. No matter how advanced your civilization is, I think some deep-rooted ganglion in your brain is going to shriek "That's not right!" despite the fact that the mirror into which one is looking shows that one is, indeed, female.
I'm not going to get into a bunch of character meta about surely The Master made the choice to go hijack a female body and is therefore quite comfortable with the idea because that's something we couldfanwank talk about for ages, and I'll be glad to do so - in another entry. Short version: my fanon for the decision is a combination of 'needs must' (Lucy's available) and 'my mind is wired so bloody differently from any other person's, don't even try to speculate about my reasoning because you simply can't Get It but, yes, it's something I chose to do'. Ow. My head is hurting, already. Anyway...
So you've got this character who has always been male now faced with being female. He might, indeed, be quite comfortable with it emotionally and intellectually but that doesn't mean they've sorted what to wear - not yet, at least.
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jblum made a point about the Master being a bit, well, flamboyant and probably quite keen on playing it to the hilt. I think that's a fair point, but I'd argue flamboyant - distinctive, certainly but, with the exception of Roberts!Master, not too flamboyant, I'd say. Also, I would prefer to leave the absolutely outrageous woman overdressed for success role to Servalan. No-one could come close to her utter fabulousness and while I'm on the subject, thank you, Servalan, for not wearing a godawful sci-fi interpretation of a late 1970s/early 1980s power suit whilst Empress of known space. When you've got it, flaunt it!
*ahem*
After too many hours of poking and prodding at the idea, I think a costume would combine what us early 21st century folks would consider traditionally feminine and masculine elements. As in, the character would find certain fabrics and silhouettes a comfort, whilst simultaneously wary of going too far in one direction or another. A slightly insane hodge-podge would result.
(Again, let's not go into the debate about 'what is feminine? What determines masculinity?' because we'll be here for days)
In my mind, there are two ways of interpreting a costume for Lucy!Master. The first is creating a costume for Alexandra Moen and the other features a certain petite Brit of y'all's acquaintance. Talk about two different body types, oy...
Moen, I'd retailor Simm's overcoat (it's not a security blanket, it isn't!), nicely-tailored, slim-legged, dart front (death to pleats!) trousers with a waistband resting just above the hip (but not hip huggers, v. formal style, not hipster), and a cream-colored knitted silk jersey with a high collar and long sleeves. Definitely get her away from the boxy suits (and, why yes, I'm a control freak halter-neck dresses) of the pre-LotTL days. I'd also give the woman a few peanut-butter sandwiches because she's too skinny but that's a topic for another day...
And then there's yours truly. As I've said before, I'm a hobbit, not an elf, and I'd rather costume in a way to play up my curves, rather than try to hide them. I've tried the hiding route and it just doesn't work. I'm fooling no-one - and I tend to look very dumpy whenever I try.
So, all those ideas applicable to the slender blonde actress? Out the window with 'em.
Trousers. Gotta be trousers. I'm sorry, but there's too much running down corridors - even for The Master - to make a skirt practical, although I wouldn't rule out culottes of a sufficiently drapey material, so it's not immediately apparent that they're culottes. But probably these pants in a fine black wool, because the pattern falls squarely under co-opted male fashion and I like the old-fashioned high-waisted cut of them. And they have pockets. Very important, pockets.
Shirt. As mentioned for another costume concept, the design on the upper right simply must be worn by a female Time Lord. But I wouldn't do the contrasting sides, I'd make the whole thing out of a single fabric. I'm thinking well-washed sapphire/black cross-woven tafetta - just a hint of shininess to it, but nothing too outré - and some embroidery on the collar (Ainley!Master homage, there). I'd change the cuff to a more masculine style - that extra-long fold-back sorta-Regency cuff, the proper name of which I forget, but I've got a shirt with 'em, so I can copy that pretty easily. If I can find Ouroboros cufflinks, great.
A coat. There's got to be a coat, and this is where the gibbering really starts. Something princess-seamed and definitely girly (I've made that coat, it's as girly as all get-out and I love it because a princess seam is flattering to my build) but made from a more 'masculine' fabric. Or something a bit more boxy and vaguely masculine but in a lighter fabric - maybe even a subtly patterned brocade? Again, it'd have to be a dark color, and whilst I'd default to black, there's no escaping that, er, it's a very dark ensemble, so far. Again, with only occasional exceptions did the Master vary beyond dark/monochrome palettes himself but there's too much of a good thing.
(annoyingly enough, I can't find any long overcoat patterns designed for men. Apparently there's no demand, dammit.)
I spent a lot of time staring at overcoats on the trains, yesterday and today. Unfortunately, it seems that - in this town, at least - the difference between a long overcoat for men and one for women is a slight tweak in the tailoring - bringing in the waist, adjusting the shoulders - and women's coats come in a somewhat broader palette. Oh, and I've noticed that more men's coats have a back vent than women's coats and that's a rant I'll save for another day. Apparently women still aren't expected to take big steps when walking, or cross their legs when they sit, or something.
Keeping my body-shape in mind, I should go for something that falls under the feminine/co-opted male fashion look - like the coat mentioned, above, this pattern (which I bought when I had a mad idea to do a costume from Velvet Goldmine but that's another story) and then muck about with subtle gender cues in terms of fabric choice - a heavier wool, bright scarlet red lining (nod to Simm!Master, there). But coats are, increasingly, unisex, so it makes it difficult to do without abandoning subtlety, entirely. But a coat's important. We rarely see a Master in just his shirt sleeves, y'know? I'd have to have a coat, and don't ask me why, but I'm all for it being a full-cut (go on, bung another two yards in!) overcoat. I think it's the Simm fan in me, creeping out - and maybe, just maybe, a grudging bit of luv for flamboyant-Roberts!Master.
And, no, I won't wear a nehru/turtleneck jacket. Talk about a style designed that looks bad on me. Covering up my bosom with yards of fabric? Bad idea. Besides, it won't go with the shirt.
I love the 70s-ish madness of this coat, but I think it would ultimately fail with the costume concept. And speaking of omg! but it won't work, dig the coat on the right. Talk about Ainley-luv, but it would hide the shirt and, again, it's not a look that works for me. I've a long torso (for my height), a thick waist and the oft-mentioned bosom. It'd look fabulous on some costumers of my acquaintance, but not me.
Oh, and I should make it clear that I concede that women have a far easier time co-opting male fashion - it's been done for centuries - than vice-versa. Otherwise, no-one would give a damn about Eddie Izzard's wardrobe. So, yeah, doing the co-opted masculine garments with 'feminine' fabric/tailoring could be considered a bit of a copout on my part but, well, there's my comfort level to keep in mind. As I've said, short of surgery, I'm not made for crossplay/gender-shifting.
There's more roiling around my head, but I really need to get to work, now.
Thoughts? Opinions? Cool compresses for my overheated forehead?
This is partially about costuming, partially about gender and partially about fangrrl being the sort of person who overthinks things on a regular basis.
I've been muttering, off-and-on, about the Lucy Saxon As The Master costume for, oh gods, it must be over a year. But there are challenges. A lot of them. And not just ones like oh my god, that coat's going to require 7 yards of fine wool sort of challenges.
Thanks to that oh-so-cheesy epilogue bit in Last of the Time Lords, I'm cheerfully in the camp that believes the next time we see The Master,
Costume speculations are, of course, inevitable. And I like creating costumes for characters yet-unseen (or described only in vague terms, in print) as that gives me a lot of room to muck about and have fun.
Before I get into specifics, here is a small sampling of the thoughts that are eating my brain about the whole concept.
- As far as us cheerful viewers know, The Master has always been (outwardly) male for all of his, erm, 15 lives.
- And now he ain't.
- Imagine you're in that situation - several hundred, possibly over a thousand years - identifying as a fella, and then you try putting on a skirt. No matter how advanced your civilization is, I think some deep-rooted ganglion in your brain is going to shriek "That's not right!" despite the fact that the mirror into which one is looking shows that one is, indeed, female.
I'm not going to get into a bunch of character meta about surely The Master made the choice to go hijack a female body and is therefore quite comfortable with the idea because that's something we could
So you've got this character who has always been male now faced with being female. He might, indeed, be quite comfortable with it emotionally and intellectually but that doesn't mean they've sorted what to wear - not yet, at least.
jblum made a point about the Master being a bit, well, flamboyant and probably quite keen on playing it to the hilt. I think that's a fair point, but I'd argue flamboyant - distinctive, certainly but, with the exception of Roberts!Master, not too flamboyant, I'd say. Also, I would prefer to leave the absolutely outrageous woman overdressed for success role to Servalan. No-one could come close to her utter fabulousness and while I'm on the subject, thank you, Servalan, for not wearing a godawful sci-fi interpretation of a late 1970s/early 1980s power suit whilst Empress of known space. When you've got it, flaunt it! *ahem*
After too many hours of poking and prodding at the idea, I think a costume would combine what us early 21st century folks would consider traditionally feminine and masculine elements. As in, the character would find certain fabrics and silhouettes a comfort, whilst simultaneously wary of going too far in one direction or another. A slightly insane hodge-podge would result.
(Again, let's not go into the debate about 'what is feminine? What determines masculinity?' because we'll be here for days)
In my mind, there are two ways of interpreting a costume for Lucy!Master. The first is creating a costume for Alexandra Moen and the other features a certain petite Brit of y'all's acquaintance. Talk about two different body types, oy...
Moen, I'd retailor Simm's overcoat (it's not a security blanket, it isn't!), nicely-tailored, slim-legged, dart front (death to pleats!) trousers with a waistband resting just above the hip (but not hip huggers, v. formal style, not hipster), and a cream-colored knitted silk jersey with a high collar and long sleeves. Definitely get her away from the boxy suits (and, why yes, I'm a control freak halter-neck dresses) of the pre-LotTL days. I'd also give the woman a few peanut-butter sandwiches because she's too skinny but that's a topic for another day...
And then there's yours truly. As I've said before, I'm a hobbit, not an elf, and I'd rather costume in a way to play up my curves, rather than try to hide them. I've tried the hiding route and it just doesn't work. I'm fooling no-one - and I tend to look very dumpy whenever I try.
So, all those ideas applicable to the slender blonde actress? Out the window with 'em.
Trousers. Gotta be trousers. I'm sorry, but there's too much running down corridors - even for The Master - to make a skirt practical, although I wouldn't rule out culottes of a sufficiently drapey material, so it's not immediately apparent that they're culottes. But probably these pants in a fine black wool, because the pattern falls squarely under co-opted male fashion and I like the old-fashioned high-waisted cut of them. And they have pockets. Very important, pockets.
Shirt. As mentioned for another costume concept, the design on the upper right simply must be worn by a female Time Lord. But I wouldn't do the contrasting sides, I'd make the whole thing out of a single fabric. I'm thinking well-washed sapphire/black cross-woven tafetta - just a hint of shininess to it, but nothing too outré - and some embroidery on the collar (Ainley!Master homage, there). I'd change the cuff to a more masculine style - that extra-long fold-back sorta-Regency cuff, the proper name of which I forget, but I've got a shirt with 'em, so I can copy that pretty easily. If I can find Ouroboros cufflinks, great.
A coat. There's got to be a coat, and this is where the gibbering really starts. Something princess-seamed and definitely girly (I've made that coat, it's as girly as all get-out and I love it because a princess seam is flattering to my build) but made from a more 'masculine' fabric. Or something a bit more boxy and vaguely masculine but in a lighter fabric - maybe even a subtly patterned brocade? Again, it'd have to be a dark color, and whilst I'd default to black, there's no escaping that, er, it's a very dark ensemble, so far. Again, with only occasional exceptions did the Master vary beyond dark/monochrome palettes himself but there's too much of a good thing.
(annoyingly enough, I can't find any long overcoat patterns designed for men. Apparently there's no demand, dammit.)
I spent a lot of time staring at overcoats on the trains, yesterday and today. Unfortunately, it seems that - in this town, at least - the difference between a long overcoat for men and one for women is a slight tweak in the tailoring - bringing in the waist, adjusting the shoulders - and women's coats come in a somewhat broader palette. Oh, and I've noticed that more men's coats have a back vent than women's coats and that's a rant I'll save for another day. Apparently women still aren't expected to take big steps when walking, or cross their legs when they sit, or something.
Keeping my body-shape in mind, I should go for something that falls under the feminine/co-opted male fashion look - like the coat mentioned, above, this pattern (which I bought when I had a mad idea to do a costume from Velvet Goldmine but that's another story) and then muck about with subtle gender cues in terms of fabric choice - a heavier wool, bright scarlet red lining (nod to Simm!Master, there). But coats are, increasingly, unisex, so it makes it difficult to do without abandoning subtlety, entirely. But a coat's important. We rarely see a Master in just his shirt sleeves, y'know? I'd have to have a coat, and don't ask me why, but I'm all for it being a full-cut (go on, bung another two yards in!) overcoat. I think it's the Simm fan in me, creeping out - and maybe, just maybe, a grudging bit of luv for flamboyant-Roberts!Master.
And, no, I won't wear a nehru/turtleneck jacket. Talk about a style designed that looks bad on me. Covering up my bosom with yards of fabric? Bad idea. Besides, it won't go with the shirt.
I love the 70s-ish madness of this coat, but I think it would ultimately fail with the costume concept. And speaking of omg! but it won't work, dig the coat on the right. Talk about Ainley-luv, but it would hide the shirt and, again, it's not a look that works for me. I've a long torso (for my height), a thick waist and the oft-mentioned bosom. It'd look fabulous on some costumers of my acquaintance, but not me.
Oh, and I should make it clear that I concede that women have a far easier time co-opting male fashion - it's been done for centuries - than vice-versa. Otherwise, no-one would give a damn about Eddie Izzard's wardrobe. So, yeah, doing the co-opted masculine garments with 'feminine' fabric/tailoring could be considered a bit of a copout on my part but, well, there's my comfort level to keep in mind. As I've said, short of surgery, I'm not made for crossplay/gender-shifting.
There's more roiling around my head, but I really need to get to work, now.
Thoughts? Opinions? Cool compresses for my overheated forehead?
