Our Muppets DVD came yesterday and I had a little free time this morning to grab some screenshots of Mary's wardrobe (Amy Adams). I would wear every piece! I'll try to go in order of appearance (as close as I can remember!)
We first meet Mary in this sweet floral blouse and yellow circle skirt. Mary favors fitted bodices and swishy skirts, with accentuated wast (usually a snappy color belt). I wonder how many of these pieces were custom made? The minty green pearl buttons on this top are sweet and unusual. The placket also has a tiny ruffle.
The next dress we see is my favorite, the seersucker dress. I'm still determined to have one of my very own!
This was a new outfit to me. Is it funny I got so excited over a simple top and skirt combo?? This is a sweet grey, white and pink dainty print cotton blouse, with pink lucite or pearly buttons. Note the "collar" buttons back too. And the sleeves are sweetly scalloped and I *think* the topstitching is pink (instead of a hem, I think the sleeves are faced). Paired with another simple solid pink circle skirt.
I think this next dress is probably vintage. Isn't it beautiful? I love the ruched bodice and the bias trim with bows at the neckline. This purple belt shows up a couple of times. Mary's a schoolteacher, so she's on a budget! She reuses items!
Only a brief shot of this sweet sundress, but it does show up more than once. Just never a full view. Rats. I'm thinking it is probably vintage too, those oversized shoulder ties and the colors seem very 1950s. Love the crossover bodice! It's like an extra little detail that is easy to skip, but adds another interesting layer. In another scene, Mary wears it again with a cardigan. I love that the cardi doesn't quite match, but is good enough.
The next dress had the BRIEFEST of appearances in the actual movie. I could tell it was a different dress, but Mary is always behind a gaggle of cute muppets. I was so frustrated! Until we watched the "bloopers" reel. And there it is!! Just for a couple of seconds, and it's an "outtake" but sooo cute. Adorable dress (vintage?) and Amy Adams being adorable in it (being silly and stealing a scene she's not actually in!)
Doesn't the green and yellow stripe pattern seem very vintage tablecloth?? Maybe it was a custom made piece. The dress itself seems familiar to me. Maybe I have a similar vintage pattern in my stash. LOVE the "cap sleeves". Brilliant.
Another too-brief peek at an outfit. This one appears in a couple of scenes, top half only. I wish we could see the skirt fully! It appears to be a circle skirt with extra large polka dots of multiple colors (I spot yellow, green, and possibly brown or black). Paired with a white eyelet peasant blouse and red cardigan.
Another dress that was impossible to catch many details for in the actual movie, but that I snagged some good shots of in the bloopers reel. This was in the office of "French Vogue", when they were trying to persuade Miss Piggy to return with them. This dress is gorgeous. Cream lace tipped in red, with a red underdress or slip. The sleeves are lace only, and I believe it buttons up the front with creamy buttons, but it's really hard to tell for sure. Maybe someone with an HD tv can tell us!
The skirt is not full, and is the only skirt in the film that is not. It does seem to be a-line though.
And I never got a good snap of this dress' skirt either, but it
is a dress, not a top. You can see the skirt portion when Mary is sitting. I LOVE this bodice, and note that the collar buttons back just like the grey/white/pink blouse above. Except for the shoulder change (these shoulders are gathered, very 1940s/50s!) and the cute cap or flange sleeve, this could be the same pattern. (Another custom?) The fabric looks vintage though. I really want to knock this one off.
Very sweet eyelet dress, with sweetheart neckline, reminiscent of the seersucker dress. Once you have the bodice in place, swap the sleeves for a more tailored gathered sleeve and swap the circle skirt for a gathered one. It appears to be lined in red or a very deep pink. And there's the purple belt again!
This is another of my favorite outfits. I love the peach color, and the simple dress. I thought perhaps it was two separate pieces since the peach color doesn't quite match bodice to skirt. But in one scene, the belt slips and you can clearly see the skirt/bodice seam. It's a dress! LOVE the border print, and I adore pintucks, so the bodice is a win too. Maybe it's another vintage piece? The purple belt again.
The last outfit Mary wears is in the finale dance scene, and it's one of the most modern things she wears (right before this she also wears a modern dress or top/skirt in blue, but...it was kind of homely, and the scene was "outdoors" at night so the lighting was dark. So I didn't nab a photo of it). The top is orange print silk with a crossover bodice and fluttery sleeves (that are open to the shoulder). The skirt also appears to be silk or satin...it's a modern design with circular shaped side pieces. I think the side pieces use one side of the fabric and the center front/back uses the other side of the fabric so that one is matte and one is shiny. Burda Style magazine had a skirt pattern just like this a couple of years ago.
Not one of my favorites. In fact, I dislike it a little bit...I don't think it fits the rest of the movie wardrobe. I like the top OK...not crazy about the print. And the skirt is fine too...not crazy about the color. Just a miss for me, but I thought I would include it because it
is the finale.
Mary's shoes are the same throughout the movie...at least I think they are. They're the Seychelle's Fig, which is long gone. Mostly I think Mary wears this version, with the green strap:
But I think she also wears them in this colorway too:
If you're interested in recreating Mary's wardrobe, you're in luck! Most of the shapes are simple and easy to replicate with a couple of basic patterns. Let's figure it out!
Mary's wardrobe consists of:
4 short sleeve tops:
--1 puff sleeve floral with ruffled placket
--1 scallop sleeve floral with turn back placket
--1 eyelet peasant, bow/tie in front
--1 silk wrap top with flutter sleeves
4 skirts:
--1 circle skirt in yellow
--1 circle skirt in bright pink
--1 circle skirt in white with polkadot
--1 silk with shaped side inserts
8 dresses:
--1 sweetheart neckline, seersucker, tulip sleeves, circle skirt
--1 sweetheart neckline, eyelet overlay, tailored sleeve, gathered skirt
--1 scoop neckline, bias and bow trim, ruched princess seam, gathered skirt
--1 wrapover bodice, stripes, tie shoulder, gathered skirt
--1 square neckline, contrast bodice fold, gathered cap sleeve, 4-gore skirt
--1 allover lace, button placket, a-line skirt
--1 gathered shoulder seam, center "V"-slash with button trim, cap/flange sleeve, gathered skirt
--1 basic fitted bodice with collar and fold back placket, gathered skirt
Now let's talk patterns! I'm not going to necessarily stick to "in print" patterns. Let's just focus on shapes.
First, you will need a simple shirt bodice with a placket that can be buttoned up or turned back (two of Mary's blouses or dresses feature a button trim on the turned back placket). I have this vintage mail order pattern 1839. It has two views, one with cap sleeves and one with 3/4 sleeves. I've already made it
here and
here.
This will work for every top and most dress bodices too, with a few tweaks. I happen to really like the fit of this top and I love the gathers at the shoulder seam, which work really well in place of a dart. But I could also convert these to pleats or pintucks for the peach dress bodice. The collar and placket work for most of Mary's wardrobe.
Here's a more modern top pattern with vintage flair that could be used for Mary's tops and dress bodices, Simplicity 2501. You can view mine
here.
There's no "basic" collar piece, but I just love this pattern and the variety of looks you can get from it. You could draft that little scalloped sleeve from the short sleeve in this pattern. (There are tons of basic top patterns out there, so I tried to pick one that was more than just "basic".)
My favorite circle skirt pattern is New Look 6889 . I've made it a dozen times, but one of my favorites is
here.
My favorite peasant top is this Built By Wendy pattern, Simplicity 3835 (I made it
here). It's not as full as most peasant tops, and has that cute band neckline option. Mary's top has a sweet tie in front, which you could "mock" by tacking on a bow, or you could make functional by adding a couple of buttonholes before you stitch down the neckline casing and running ribbon through.
Burda Style magazine 9/2011 had a sweet plus size peasant top too, #138, that had a button front placket. That would be another option, if you can wear those sizes.
Again, there are lots of peasant style blouses out there. Just find one you like!
As for the dresses, you already know my quest for the seersucker dress (go back a few posts if you're not familiar with that particular search and trial!) But once you find a pattern that works (the sweetheart bodice is really the important part for that dress...you can swap out any old skirt for a half-circle skirt pattern!) you can reuse it multiple times for different looks (a'la the seersucker AND eyelet dress above).
Both striped dresses are very individual...those might be harder to replicate. I'll keep my eye out for pattern suggestions for those (I'm guessing it will be vintage pattern recommendations).
The peach dress with the border print and the "ivy" print dress are easier. You can just use your basic top pattern (I'm going to use my vintage mail order pattern above!) and then add whatever skirt you like! Determine your waist length and add your skirt choice!
I love when a movie inspires all sorts of wardrobe ideas, don't you??
