Jenna's holiday duet dress

I was catching up on TV this week, including the December 10, 2009 episode of 30 Rock (Secret Santa), and don't you think Jenna's dress here looks just like Cynthia Steffe - Vogue 1151?

Bright Star

I made plans to go to a movie with a friend this past weekend. She suggested we see Bright Star, which I hadn't heard of before, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Directed by Jane Campion, Bright Star is the story of the poet John Keats and the girl he fell in love with, Fanny Brawne. What may be of particular interest to readers of this blog is that Fanny sews many of her own clothes and, especially at the start of the movie, there are plenty of close-up action shots of delicate hand-stitching.  At their first meeting, Keats learns of her interest in fashion and asks Brawne what she thinks of his clothes; she tells him he would look better in a blue velvet jacket and I thought for sure this meant she would surreptitiously sew one up for him during the course of the movie, but no such luck for him! Anyway, she does many great pieces for herself, including what she claims is the first "triple mushroom collar" in her part of the countryside, seen in both photos here.

Photos from IMDB

If you're up for a period piece with eye candy costumes, a love story, and a tear jerker all rolled into one, this is the film for you!