#saraharthur

[recycledmoviecostumes]

Sarah Arthur was the costume designer for the BBC television film 𝑻𝒐𝒂𝒔𝒕 in 2010, where she utilized this sweater (or jumper, depending on your location) for Oscar Kennedy’s portrayal of young Nigel Slater.   Sarah also designed the costumes for the BBC’s television series 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌, where she used the same piece for Tom Stoughton’s portrayal of a young Sherlock Holmes in the 2017 fourth season episode entitled 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎.   See more photos at: Bit.ly/PostEd244    

[bucolicbook]

Once a Castle (Carrick Hall, #2) by Sarah Arthur 

Pub date - 2/11/25

While I read Once a Queen, I hadn’t read it in so long that I borrowed the audiobook from the library and listened before I started Once a Castle. 

I’ll reiterate from my review of the first title, that I am not religious in the slightest, but I loved the Narnia series to the degree that one of my children has the same same as one of the non-Pevensie characters. It’s a book series that I never understood was allegory, I just loved the stories, and Aslan. So a young person’s fantasy series so heavily affected by my favorite childhood series 

I enjoyed Once a Queen and I really enjoyed Once a Castle - I love that the series is so influenced by C.S. Lewis’s work and the result is a well written, engaging second story that’s suitable for 4th/5th grade and up. 

I probably would have read this as a bedtime story to my own kids when they were younger and as a now-retired homeschooler, I recommend this series for younger readers (in Christian families) who enjoy fantasy and magic. Great series for a read-aloud or family audiobook. 

Thank you to Waterbrook and NetGalley for the DRC 

Once a Castle (Carrick Hall, #2) by Sarah Arthur

[sylvianyc]

Yesterday (Saturday) morning-gram: cup of coffee, my planner, and a devotional. Yes, you read correctly, a devotional, lol. Although I'm not as religious as I once was before, the question of whether God exists, what role (if any) God plays in directing the universe is something that still runs through my mind. Honestly, I don't think the "God" question is one that was intended to be neatly filed away under any one camp, especially for me. Continuously questioning and exploring ones faith, or lack thereof, is an integral part of life, I think. With that in mind, from time to time, I read through the Bible, devotionals, and other spiritual and philosophical texts. Some of this reading and exploration is light, some is heavy. Yesterday morning wasn't heavy, it was light and quick, pre- at home workout. The specific devotional pictured is an old favorite of mine, more of a conversational, memoir-esque, blog-style, approachable way to delve into the God arena. It's called "The One Year Daily Grind" by Sarah Arthur. I would be remiss if I didn't say that the emphasis on coffee on the cover of this book didn't draw me into picking it up back when I did; a few years ago, LOL 😬Hope everyone had a great day yesterday! #Planner #SaturdayMorning #LoveSaturdays #Reading #Devotional #QuestionsOfFaith #Coffee #CoffeeIsLife #Planner #Bookstagram #TheOneYearDailyGrind #SarahArthur #BookLover #LoveReading #Latergram #NYC

[fashionedforthegeek]

Sherlock: The Suits: Part 2

The perfectly tailored suits and the nuanced designs by Sarah Arthur have brought a new fashion trend to the forefront, Sherlock chic. This trend started in the fall of 2010 and is going to continue on into this fall. The long tailor coats for men and fashionable ponchos for women. We are taking a page out of the Sherlock costume designer’s handbook, classic, great fabrics, and tailored.

Sarah Arthur picked wonderfully classic and beautifully designed shirts for the characters. The simple and tailored designs of the shirts help emphasis the classic style of Sherlock but also complement Benedict Cumberbatch’s thin frame.

The Dolce & Gabbana shirts have darts going down the back, forming to the body of the wearer. The pleat that goes from top to bottom is a great design, it is functional and yet it is a simple design that helps with the tailoring. Other shirts that are used are from Spencer Hart, same as the suits.

Spencer Hart started in 2002, by phenomenal tailor Nick Hart. Hart in creating this brand was influenced by jazz music of the fifties and sixties. Spencer Hart did not start out with the skinny suit, Hart started on the idea of the magic that a suit can bring to the wearer. The label is named after his son, and the brand is known for being sleek and elegant.

    Spencer Hart has the perfect elegance that a character like Sherlock Holmes needs, the suits scream classic and polished. Sherlock being the man that he is, he would not be terribly worried or interested about what is trending in fashion. If he was, that would most likely push something of much more importance out of his head. Sherlock has a good eye and knows what will look good on him, and what looks good are tailored, form fitting suits that show off his long slender frame.

“Westwood”

Vivienne Westwood, the epitome of British fashion. Westwood has been extremely influential over many decades. One could easily go on for pages about Vivienne Westwood, it is not a hard thing to do. We are here to talk about the suits, please read more about Vivienne Westwood if she piques your interest.

Fashionably casual to sleek formidable suit, a character of deceiving looks, his introduction in a chic suit is monumental. Sarah Arthur picking an exceptional suit from such an English designer has impact. The suit is polished and refined, it is form fitting with darts to emphasis the waist. The small design details of the suit, like the slightly angled pockets are very elegant. Jim Moriarty is an opulent, fashionable man, that is self assured, and he wears classics with a twist of charismatic anarchy.

  Being so English, the tie is also by another brilliant British designer. Alexander McQueen, the extremely talented and beautifully artistic fashion designer, who left us too early. McQueen is another designer that can be written about for pages. Please read more about Alexander McQueen if he piques your interest.

The tie is beautiful, 100% silk with polka dots and skulls. The design is small enough to not even notice but the small details go along way with the character. The description from the website is perfect for a man about to kill.

“Get a clue and dress to kill accented with the occult opulence of this delightfully devistating Alexander McQueen™ tie”

This is exactly what the tie is doing for Jim Moriarty, this man is dressed to kill. He has a great suit and he needed a tie to accent his blood lust.

The shirt is classic, possibly from Spencer Hart, with a penny collar, and also very British. It brings to mind the Edwardian era and ties this character to a time he was once part of. It is a nod to the old, with the modern twist of a Vivienne Westwood suit and an Alexander McQueen tie. The costumes are the packaging for this, the viewer will tie together where these characters have come from and where they are headed in the 21st century. 

Next Time: Sherlock: The Women: Part 3

Spencer Hart: Flagship store opens September 2011!

Nick Hart Interview with GQ

Sherlock Chic

[fashionedforthegeek]

Sherlock: The Suits: Part 2 

Will be coming soon! Need to add pictures and fix a few things. I think this is going to turn into a 3 or 4 part series. We will see how much stuff I have left to write about after part 3. 

[fashionedforthegeek]

Sherlock: John Watson's Costume: Part 1

Being a costume designer always sounded like a fantastic job to me, as a designer you are allowed to mix character analysis with physical creation. This job has great appeal to me, and when watching Sherlock, it is apparent in viewing the 3 fantastically done episodes the impact a costume designer has. Designers like Janie Bryant, costume designer for Mad Men has had a huge impact on fashion. Not only is Mad Men an amazing show, but all the designers who work on the show have a great eye, and are influencing what is trending. Women and men are craving vintage style in their lives. Bryant now has a Mad Men collection with Banana Republic, the public now has easy access to beautiful vintage inspired clothing, and at not a bad price. Let’s get back to Sherlock…

  Images from Sherlock pilot and other showing the pleating, volume, and some details of the coat. 

Ray Holman, BAFTA winning costume designer, and costume designer for the Sherlock pilot must be giving credit for picking one fantastic coat, and setting a tone. You can also see Ray Holman’s work in series 5 of Doctor Who, he designed the now very influential look of Matt Smith’s doctor. Check out his website, he has some awesome pictures of his work. There is also a great interview with Holman on Clothes on Film. All links are below.

Sarah Arthur is the costume designer for series 1 of Sherlock, Arthur has done an incredible job designing the characters and really showing the viewer who these characters are. Arthur’s designs are inspirational and have spawned many exciting things! I scoured the internet for people who have been inspired by Sarah Arthurs costume designs.

I came across a blog, by Nin͂a, she has done her own Sherlock inspired wardrobe. Using the website Looklet, here is an example of Nin͂a’s John Watson, from The Blind Blanker.

I would like to try my hand at this, but that is for another day. Last night and today I spent at least 3 hours playing on Looklet, here is one design.

Playing with Looklet: Sherlock test , now back to Sherlock costumes...

Every time I watch Sherlock, I am absolutely taken with how brilliant the costume choices are, one of my favorites include John Watson’s coat. Sarah Arthur really shows her eye in John Watson’s coat. This coat is a personal favorite of mine, even though Sherlock’s coat is hard to look over, the subtleness of John Watson’s coat is engaging and so fashionable.  

The jacket is from the Haversack Collection, designed by Koji Norihide. Just the name of the brand is screaming traditional military wear. Norihide takes inspiration from uniform and military wear, Norihide describes his brand

           “In one sentence is very difficult. It’s basically a traditional old brand but it’s been revamped for modern day, so we’re talking the military look, the semi-formal formal look, we’re talking the casual look. But it’s all integrated, it’s all co-ordinatable.”

Norihide is passionate about aristocratic British style from the twenties, Norihide is very good at what he does, and his look is military with a modern twist.  

This is exactly the look that a modern day John Waston would be wearing. John Watson knows how to dress himself, he knows what he looks good in but lingers around a more traditional, military inspired style. His dress is functional, classic, but with modern touches. The Haversack jacket is prefect, the traditional army jacket look, but with touches of leather that gives a higher fashion display and modern feel. The jacket also plays with texture using corduroy for the collar, very inspirational. The leather elbow patches bring this jacket to the 21st century, and my favorite part is the shoulder patches, a perfect touch, adding a fashionable feel to a classic.

John Watson’s color palette is subdued and muted colors, natural browns, grey blues, and dark moss greens with pops of dark rich wine. His palette is classic and easy to mix and match, showing his practical militaristic background. John Watson also sports some great patterned shirts and a few textures. All of these factors make Sarah Arthur’s designs work unbelievable well. Arthur brings Sherlock into the 21st century in a subtle yet fashionable work of art.

This post is kicking of a series of my favorite costume pieces from Sherlock. Next time: the D&G shirts, Spencer Hart suits, and the Vivienne Westwood suit. 

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Please check out Clothes on Film, it is a fantastic website, great information for people interested in costume designing. Also check out these other websites if you are interested.

Clothes on Film

Clothes on Film: Ray Holman interview

Ray Holman

Sarah Arthur Interview with GQ

Nin͂a: The Epic Year Project: Sherlock Styling

Looklet

Haversack

Janie Bryant

Banana Republic: Mad Men Collection