Trying to make Wendy's costume-HELP!

[TheWendybird]

I am currently trying to make this costume from the original production of Peter Pan- http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/allscans/fullsize/1905-12-19-PX385.jpg

I remembered the color being kind of cranberry/burgundy in "Finding Neverland" but other than that the costume in the movie seemed a little off to this picture. Is the overcoat near that color in reality? And what about the dress underneath? It looks like it would be more of a brown or something but in Finding Neverland it was a lighter green...in these pictures however it looks to be a darker color. I'm also wondering what the strips of fabric are along the lining of the jacket (where the jacket would zip up)...what the round object on the chest is and is that holly all over the hat? I'm really wanting to make this costume but I have a lot of questions obviously and no idea who to ask other than on here lol

[GOSH]

That's a lovely idea, Wendybird. I can't remember the colours in Finding Neverland, but the Peter Pan Keepsake describes her costume (or part of it) as a 'pretty brown frock, the colour of autumn leaves, with scarlet berries'. These are probably holly, as you thought.
Have you had a look at the Peter Pan Magic Lantern 'slides" i recently put on our Flickr account?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24671749@N07/sets/72157624363498725/
They were made around 1910 and obviously based on the original production, like the Keepsake, but of course in colour. Wendy's dress is green, and her jacket brown (so the 'frock' could have meant a 'frock coat', not a dress?). The strips of fabric look like a lighter shade a green. Can't really see more details, though...
I think the costume will look stunning so good luck with it! Hope you will post the final result so that we can all see it.

[TheWendybird]

HEY! Thanks so much for your response...I had never seen those pictures before. I'm including links to my photobucket account...I just took some screen captures off the Finding Neverland DVD....I kind of imagine if the dress part IS green that it would be darker than this based on the black and white photos... does this look right to you? I know Finding Neverland is off in other areas so I wasn't sure about the costumes either lol

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/pans_wendybird/iplayer2010-07-2517-29-13-22.jpg?t=1280093619

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/pans_wendybird/iplayer2010-07-2517-31-37-51.jpg?t=1280093622

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/pans_wendybird/iplayer2010-07-2517-31-41-94.jpg?t=1280093626

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/pans_wendybird/iplayer2010-07-2517-31-48-06.jpg?t=1280093631

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/pans_wendybird/iplayer2010-07-2517-32-02-70.jpg?t=1280093635

Any input would be great!

Here is a couple pictures of the fabric I bought for the coat so far...one is with flash and one without because the color is actually somewhere in between and the camera doesn't capture it perfectly.

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/pans_wendybird/IMG_0312.jpg?t=1280094284

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/pans_wendybird/IMG_0313.jpg?t=1280094286

It does seem to be an autumn color.

[GOSH]

I love your fabric, and its colour! Well chosen.

Finding Neverland was indeed off in so many areas, it is somewhat surprising to find they had researched the original costume and tried to keep close to the original. Wendy's costume in the film is very pretty, but I'm not sure about the hat... Or is that because Hilda Trevelyan's hair made it look different? I see that the film has the strips in brown, rather than green as on the pictures of the Magic Lantern but of course that could have been their own interpretation.

You got me interested in this question now so I might contact the the V&A Theatre Museum here (who have many of the original props and archives from the DoY's production) to see if they can shed any light on this. I'll keep you posted.

[TheWendybird]

I love your fabric, and its colour! Well chosen.

Finding Neverland was indeed off in so many areas, it is somewhat surprising to find they had researched the original costume and tried to keep close to the original. Wendy's costume in the film is very pretty, but I'm not sure about the hat... Or is that because Hilda Trevelyan's hair made it look different? I see that the film has the strips in brown, rather than green as on the pictures of the Magic Lantern but of course that could have been their own interpretation.

You got me interested in this question now so I might contact the the V&A Theatre Museum here (who have many of the original props and archives from the DoY's production) to see if they can shed any light on this. I'll keep you posted.

I thought the hat looked off too...it might be because Hilda's hairstyle is more whispy than the girl in the movie. The girl in the movie seemed to always have her hair in a pulled up style rather than down on her shoulders. I'm thinking the strips might actually be the same color as the jacket as well because if you look at the photos it doesn't come off as the same shade as the dress at all and the thing about artwork i find is that many times things get miscolored by accident...I'll have to click your link again but i think it wasn't green in all the pictures which might mean it was miscolored. I'll check again.

Did you by any chance get in touch with that Museum afterward?

[TheWendybird]

Yeah i just checked..here's an example of what I was talking about..in this picture wendy's full outfit under the cloak is green..not even two toned http://www.flickr.com/photos/24671749@N07/4790836139/in/set-72157624363498725/ So it might be hard to say what was what in the original costume.

[GOSH]

Yes, I did get in touch with the V&A Theatre Museum and have just heard back from them. Disappointing news though, as they told me they have nothing relating to Hilda Trevelyan's original Wendy costume, and no idea of what happened to it... Can anyone on this forum shed a light on what happened to it?

But I agree with you - the magic lantern pictures aren't consistent with the greens of the dress (nor the brown/red of the jacket), and looking again at the photos from the play, it does look as though the strips should be the same colour as the jacket. It would make more sense too, as they look as though they're attached to the jacket, not the dress. Go with your instinct!

Going back to Finding Neverland, it's as if they wanted to make Wendy more boyish with her hair flattened than in the original version, perhaps to make her less twee and more appealing to a contemporary early 21st Century audience. Hilda Trevelyan has her hair styled in what the French call 'anglaises', ie tight ringlets. One wonders where Wendy found curling tongs in Neverland ... but then, you have to suspend disbelief out there, haven't you?

Christine

[Xavier Pan]

Dear TheWendybird,

I also wrote to the V&A Theatre Museum, as I found this:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PETER PAN 100 YEARS OLD AND STILL FLYING

30 NOVEMBER 2004- 31 JANUARY 2005

The Theatre Museum celebrates the centenary of Peter Pan by J M Barrie, which was given its first performance at the Duke of York's Theatre on 27 Dec 1904 with a display including original costumes and an Edwardian flying harness which helped create the effects which have made the play so magical for generations of children. The Museum is also running a number of costume workshops and storytelling sessions exploring the myth of Peter Pan in different cultures.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Next week I'm visiting the museum. So, in case that I find something interesting for your costume, I'll take a picture and send it to you.

Thank you Christine for being so helpful.

[TheWendybird]

Yes, I did get in touch with the V&A Theatre Museum and have just heard back from them. Disappointing news though, as they told me they have nothing relating to Hilda Trevelyan's original Wendy costume, and no idea of what happened to it... Can anyone on this forum shed a light on what happened to it?

But I agree with you - the magic lantern pictures aren't consistent with the greens of the dress (nor the brown/red of the jacket), and looking again at the photos from the play, it does look as though the strips should be the same colour as the jacket. It would make more sense too, as they look as though they're attached to the jacket, not the dress. Go with your instinct!

Going back to Finding Neverland, it's as if they wanted to make Wendy more boyish with her hair flattened than in the original version, perhaps to make her less twee and more appealing to a contemporary early 21st Century audience. Hilda Trevelyan has her hair styled in what the French call 'anglaises', ie tight ringlets. One wonders where Wendy found curling tongs in Neverland ... but then, you have to suspend disbelief out there, haven't you?

Christine

That's kind of shocking..they lost the costume? wow..i dunno whether to laugh at how crazy that sounds or cry at how tragic that would be if it's true! As for going with my instinct..will do!
Hehe yes the ringlets would be hard to believe unless i suppose they were suppose to be natural curls for the character but I'm guessing not. I always liked how Rachel Hurd Wood...Wendy from the 2003 film starts off with really pretty proper london hair...she gets to neverland and begins to look like a pixie herself with the messy locks. Looked cute though!

[TheWendybird]

Dear TheWendybird,

I also wrote to the V&A Theatre Museum, as I found this:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PETER PAN 100 YEARS OLD AND STILL FLYING

30 NOVEMBER 2004- 31 JANUARY 2005

The Theatre Museum celebrates the centenary of Peter Pan by J M Barrie, which was given its first performance at the Duke of York's Theatre on 27 Dec 1904 with a display including original costumes and an Edwardian flying harness which helped create the effects which have made the play so magical for generations of children. The Museum is also running a number of costume workshops and storytelling sessions exploring the myth of Peter Pan in different cultures.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Next week I'm visiting the museum. So, in case that I find something interesting for your costume, I'll take a picture and send it to you.

Thank you Christine for being so helpful.

That would be EXTREMELY helpful thank you!

[TheWendybird]

Also does anyone know for sure if it's grapes or perhaps christmas holly on her outfit? And the round object on her chest..does anyone know what that is...also in this picture I noticed she seems to be gloved on at least one hand or am i seeing the picture wrong because it's black and white?

http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/allscans/fullsize/1904-12-27-PX393.jpg

[GOSH]

I don't think the museum would have lost Wendy's costume, it's more the question that they never had it.  They only have Pauline Chase's Peter Pan costume. Since Hilda Trevelyan play the part of Wendy for many years, it might not have survived.

I found another colour reference to Wendy's costume as worn by Hilda Trevelyan - illustrated on the Peter Pan card game from around 1910, by Charles Buchel and based on the cast of the original production. See this link http://www.museum-of-childhood.com/vintage-cards/peter-pan/pan6.php . Just to confuse us, the dress has become blue on the card though...

I'm pretty sure it must be holly berries on her head and along the front of her jacket. I think grapes would be too large and they're never traditionally worn as a crown (except by Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, so you might want to avoid that connotation!). Also the Peter Pan Keepsake actually mentions 'scarlet berries' and I don't think Daniel O'Connor would have used those words if they had been grapes.

The round object is a circular brooch with a pin pushed through it, and possibly through the fabric of the dress,  to hold the sides of the jacket together. It's the sort of brooch or clasp that was used in the Middle Ages to hold cloaks together, before they had buttons. You can see it more clearly on the picture on page 15 http://www.flickr.com/photos/24671749@N07/4758849806/in/set-72157624290175153/

She does seem to be gloved in one hand on the picture but I can't see any other with the same. The text on that particular page only mentions she was 'busy mending the children's socks by the fireside' - so here's a thought: could it be one of the socks she's mending? Otherwise, i can only think she's taken the other glove off for a moment...

Sorry I can't be more positive. Good luck!

[Xavier Pan]

Dear TheWendybird,

I also wrote to the V&A Theatre Museum, as I found this:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PETER PAN 100 YEARS OLD AND STILL FLYING

30 NOVEMBER 2004- 31 JANUARY 2005

The Theatre Museum celebrates the centenary of Peter Pan by J M Barrie, which was given its first performance at the Duke of York's Theatre on 27 Dec 1904 with a display including original costumes and an Edwardian flying harness which helped create the effects which have made the play so magical for generations of children. The Museum is also running a number of costume workshops and storytelling sessions exploring the myth of Peter Pan in different cultures.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Next week I'm visiting the museum. So, in case that I find something interesting for your costume, I'll take a picture and send it to you.

Thank you Christine for being so helpful.

That would be EXTREMELY helpful thank you!

Dear WendyBird,

I recently visited the theatre collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Unfortunately, there was nothing displayed related to Peter Pan. Nevertheless, you'll be able to see all the things used in the original productions if you make an appointment sufficiently IN ADVANCE. For me, it was too late.

Good luck!