about

My Website is my Castle.

Welcome, and thank you for visiting!

about Costume Cocktail

The main aim of this blog is to celebrate and share the love for historical costumes. The focus lies on female fashion throughout the ages, although once in a while you may also stumble upon Mr Darcy-like subject matters. The COSTUME COCKTAIL website first and foremost is a labor of love intended as a place of worship, inspiration and information for historical costume lovers, costumers & reenactors, those addicted to dreaming whilst looking at pictures of the past, or simply for anyone who wishes to learn more about historical costumes.

The COSTUME COCKTAIL website also aspires to be a helpful resource and useful research tool for fashion history as well as the creative industries. Every image on this website is tagged and categorized in order to make it easier to navigate through time, as well as finding specific subject matter. In the À LA CARTE section you can find a more extensive search menu which easily lets you pick specific search keys.

The unique content of this blog are the COSTUME COCKTAILS: a visual rhyme of historical costumes throughout the ages (see examples below), mixed with love by Anna.

Screen Shot 2016-05-30 at 10.45.43

about Anna

Born in the wrong century and displaced in time, shipwrecked in the 21th century but the soul still centuries and centuries behind…

Screen Shot 2016-05-30 at 11.24.51

(Miss Anna in Florence, @costumecocktail)

Ever since watching the Sissi movies as a child I am passionate about historical costumes and film. In the end my love for film triumphed and I graduated in directing at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematrografia, Italy’s national film school in Rome. But instead of forgetting about my obsession for historical costumes, studying at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia only fanned the flames — the school being situated opposite Cinecitta’ film studios where many epic historical costume films have been shot, with the highlight of it’s teachers being the legendary costume design genius Piero Tosi, close collaborator of directors such as Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini, responsible for some of the most magnificent (and above all: historically accurate) costumes in film history. For who could forget a dress like this, worn so elegantly by Claudia Cardinale in the movie Il Gattopardo?

133113473-4128e0df-bc9b-466e-b425-1583061ee335

Needless to say that I dream of directing period movies in order to restore the beauty of historical costumes and bygone eras back to life!

I am also an avid collector of original historical costume pieces, my soft spot being historical corsets. These pieces, if not too fragile, are available for film & photo shoots upon request. Next to assignments in film I am also available for historically themed styling. I love (re)creating atmospheres of the past or adding historical touches to modern settings.

Alas, I am a crappy seamstress. I have no patience or precision whatsoever that is so indispensable for creating these intricate pieces. But I do indulge in dressing up in vintage & historical gowns. And when no physical costumes are at hand I am also more than content with cardboard dummies such as this one @Rijksmuseum:

Screen Shot 2016-05-30 at 12.30.58

I am currently living in the Netherlands, married to a Dutchman and mother of two little girls. When not working on film or having fun with the kids, this website is my refuge and my antidote for the turbulences of the 21th Century. Next to that this website is also a means of connecting and reaching out to fellow historical costume passionates. I would love to hear from you, exchange ideas, inspire or collaborate. You can follow me on Facebook.

In the mean time:

make yourself at home,

indulge in COSTUME COCKTAIL

and feel free to be intoxicated!

anna profile

sincerely, Anna

(image sources: Kat Tan, La Repubblica)