Time for the decider ...

Now, I've become stuck on two scripts. Voyage of the Damned (1910-20's ocean liner setting) and The Girl in the Fireplace (Louis XV setting) and so by the process of elimination through the aspects I'd like to do ... I'm still stuck. So below I have a few images of a bit more design research delving further into more detail of the Louis XV period.

Louis XV Costume research

Researching the costumes for this period was quite interesting and there were many explanations and images for the womens' clothes, however it was tricky to find a good amount of images for the mens' clothes. Women wore quite a range on the types of clothes in the 18th century, which were: the polonaise, the circassiene, the caraco, the pelisse and odd bits from the Redingote and the Levite. The polonaise, originally robe à la Polonaise, consists of a gown with a fitted bodice and cutaway, draped and poufed overskirt, worn over an underskirt or petticoat, I think this also may be a couple of years later than the period in the script but I can take inspiration from these images. The circassiene, or robe à la circassiene, is a variation of the polonaise: short funnel sleeves, through which fitted sleeves of the undergarment are drawn through. The caraco is a hip-length robe worn over skirt (usually contrasting) with flounced hem. There are also variations of the caraco such as, caraco a coqueluchon that has a hood as well, and the caraco a la francaise that has a robe with loose pleats at the back. The pelisse is an extra that is worn ontop, it's a padded cloak or coat worn for warmth. The redingote is more of an English inspired dress as it's a gown patterned after English riding coats. The Levite is a gown that's sleeveless or short-sleeved, straight in style and sashed at waist.

As well as their costume there were many variations of wearing the hair in the Louis XV period: the coiffeur à la dauphine where the hair is gathered up and rolled into curls that fall on the neck; the coiffeur à la monte au ciel that had extreme height; the coiffeur loge d'opera that is more like a show piece divided into several zones and completed with three large feathers attatched on the left temple, with a bow of rose coloured ribbon and a large ruby (gaining as much height as 72inches from the chin to the top of the hair); the coiffeur à la queasco, which is the same as before but the three feathers are placed at the back of the head. The real showpiece on the head is the pouf coiffeur that has a huge composition of feathers, jewellry, ribbons and pins, butterflies, birds, painted cupids, branches, fruits and vegetables. Imagine carrying that around with you.

Louis XV Props research

The props research board is just as ornate and detailed as the costume research. All furniture was made to a very high standard and with plenty of gilded detail as a show of the higher class, and all of which, produced in a strong Rococo style. The Rococo style is found in architecture, interior design, decorative arts, painting and sculpture that originated in Paris in the early 18th century but soon spread across all of France and into other countries, most notably Germany and Austria. Rococo is characterized elegance, and a surplus of curving and natural forms in ornamentation such as flowers and plants. During the reign of Louis XV there were an enormous number of homes owned by royalty and nobility and the makers of furniture and designs produced exquisite and plentiful items for these homes.