Cool New Library Colleague? Meet our Snow Queen

Here are some suggestions of things you might enjoy - seasonal and otherwise! Access all this goodness via the library catalogue or our dedicated web-pages.

CLICK HERE for our Library Portal pages 
CLICK HERE for the Library Catalogue
CLICK HERE for library guides on the Portal

Why not explore our costume eBooks?







 You might enjoy listening to  recordings of the ballet The Snow Queen on Naxos ...
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For a different take on the Snow Queen, consider Elsa, from Frozen.  Read Sarah Whitfield's chapter in The Disney Musical on Stage and Screen, locating Frozen as a Feminist Disney Musical.  This is available on Drama Online.

'Team Snow Queen: feminist cinematic ‘misinterpretations’ of a fairy tale': this online article in the E-Journal Studies in European Cinema looks at four female directors using Hans Christian Andersen’s story ‘The Snow Queen’ as hypotext. 












How about some 'Snow Queen' tracks in the Jazz Music Library?

Trouble accessing offsite? Try looking at our guides on the portal

Costume Making at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

The Whittaker Library supports our costumiers with a great selection of books and other resources.  Here's a link to all our costume books - a very substantial collection!  Don't hesitate to speak to our library staff if you need help sourcing books about costume-making.  Our Drama and Ballet librarian is in charge of this collection.

• Costume books at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's Whittaker Library

Because  our music librarian is a keen dressmaker, she also saves useful web-links on sewing clothes, which we share with you HERE.  See if there's anything that interests you.

The Linen, the Stitch and the Wardrobe - Making an early Victorian Shift

The clever people in the University of St Andrews Library Special Collections are blogging their way through a wide range of historic 'how to' manuals.

This week, it's all about following an early 19th century dressmaking pattern and using a 19th century embroidery manual, to make a simple linen shift.

The Wardrobe Department at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland might be very interested in this, as a creative experiment.  Though I suspect busy costume makers don't have time for Victorian embroidery!!

Take a look at 52 Weeks of Historical How-To's - it's a beautiful and intriguing blog.

Molière en Couleurs - Fabulous Exhibition at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

 
Exhibition: Molière en couleurs

Our Drama Librarian, Alan Jones, has arranged a fabulous exhibition of costume design paintings, with the support of Alliance Francaise de Glasgow and Bibliothèque de la Comédie-Française.  Charles Bétout drawings are now collected all over the world, and will be yours to admire in the Cafe/Bar from 31st October to 20th November.

The exhibition was opened by Bailie Liz Cameron, who was introduced by Hugh Hodgart; representatives from the Alliance Francaise de Glasgow also attended.  Our many guests unanimously agreed that the works are exquisitely drawn.

Costume and scenic design are two essential components of performance art. Operas, operettas, stage plays, ballets, and films all rely on design to create worlds that inspire the imagination.

From the library of the Comédie-Française (the oldest western theatre company in the world) to the Cafe/Bar of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland come the works of Charles Bétout.

Charles Bétout was a costume designer for the opera for various theatres in France, for fashion magazines and movies. He was the main costume designer of the Comédie-Française between 1919 to 1939.

As part of the Molière en couleurs (Molière in colour) exhibition, 22 of Bétout's watercolour costume designs for plays by Molière will be on display at the Conservatoire.

His drawings are particularly valuable for their intricacy and accuracy of the historical details. He has captured the very essence of Molière’s time in his work. 

Costume Design - Dressing like a Georgian

Have you ever wondered what a Georgian lady wore underneath all those petticoats?  We've just found a blog full of interesting historical information, and this particular posting is about Georgian ladies' costumes.

The blog is called Historical Honey.  (The author not only makes costumes, but also writes historical fiction.)

• Here's the link about Dressing like a Georgian.
• And here's the Historical Honey homepage in case you're curious to explore further.

We do have books on historical costume design here in the Whittaker Library, of course.  See what we've got ...

Costume Design and Millinery (Hatmaking)

We found costume designer Rachel Patoray's website the other day - she is interested in sewing, design and repurposing fabric.  Interesting ideas, nice pictures to inspire you.

http://www.rachaelpatoray.com/

Kyoto Costume Institute - Fabulous Images from Japan

Do you Work in a Wardrobe?

Costume designers in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Wardrobe department at Speirs Locks, Glasgow, will be interested in this Japanese digital archive of costume design.  The costumes are from all over the world, not just Japan.

KCI Digital Archive

19th Century Costume Design Website

Historical Sewing

Costume designers at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland might like to explore this website, offering instruction in designing and making 19th century costumes:-

http://historicalsewing.com/tutorials