{"id":1974,"date":"2011-10-24T07:30:49","date_gmt":"2011-10-24T14:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/?p=1974"},"modified":"2011-10-22T08:20:33","modified_gmt":"2011-10-22T15:20:33","slug":"mrs-d-w-griffith-on-early-film-costume-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/2011\/10\/24\/mrs-d-w-griffith-on-early-film-costume-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Mrs. D.W. Griffith on early film costume practices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Linda Arvidson (Mrs. D. W. Griffith) circa 1910-1915<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAny one with \u2018clothes\u2019 had a wonderful open sesame. A young chap whom we dubbed \u2018the shoe clerk\u2019 \u2013 who never played a thing but \u2018atmosphere\u2019 \u2013got many a pay-check on the strength of his neat, tan, covert cloth spring overcoat\u2014the only spring overcoat that ever honored the studio (An actor could get along in the spring with his winter suit and no overcoat!)<\/p>\n

Clothes soon became a desperate matter, so Biograph consented to spend fifty dollars for wearing apparel for the women. Harry Salter and I were entrusted with the funds and told to hunt bargains. We needed negligees, dinner dresses, ball gowns, and semi-tailored effects. The clothes were to be bought in sizes to fit, as well as could be, the three principal women. (71)<\/p>\n

In that day, on Sixth Avenue in the Twenties, were numbers of shops dealing in second-hand clothing, and Mr. Salter and I wandered among them and finally at a little place called \u2018Simone,\u2019 we closed a deal. We got a good batch of stuff for the fifty \u2013 at least a dozen pieces\u2014bizarre effects for the sophisticated lady, dignified accoutrements for the conventional matron, and simple softness for young innocence.<\/p>\n

How those garments worked! I have forgotten many, but one\u2014a brown silk and velvet affair\u2014I never can forget. It was the first to be grabbed off the hoot\u2014it was forever doing duty. For it was unfailing in its effect. Arrayed in the brown silk and velvet, there could be no doubt as to one\u2019s moral status\u2014the maiden lady it mad obviously pure; the wife faithful; the mother, self-sacrificing.<\/p>\n

Deciding, impromptu, to elaborate on a social affair, Mr. Griffith would call out: \u2018I can use you in this scene, Miss Bierman, if you can find a dress to fit you.\u2019 The tall, lean actresses, and the short ones found that difficult, and thus, unfortunately, often lost a day\u2019s work. Spotting a new piece of millinery in the studio, our director would thus approach the wearer: \u2018I have no part for you, Miss Hart, but I can use your hat. I\u2019ll give you five dollars if you will let Miss Pickford wear your hat for this picture.\u2019 Two days of work would pay for your hat, so you were glad to sit around while the leading lady sported your new head-piece. You received more on a loan of your clothes, sometimes, than you did on a loan of yourself. Clothes got five dollars always, but laughter and merry-making upstage went for three.\u201d (72)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

–Linda Arvidson (Mrs. D.W. Griffith). When the Movies Were Young<\/span><\/a>, New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1925. pgs 71-72<\/p>\n

Below is an early film (by D.W. Griffith) The Adventures of Dollie, starring Linda Arvidson and Harry Salter.
\n<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I have no part for you, Miss Hart, but I can use your hat. I\u2019ll give you five dollars if you will let Miss Pickford wear your hat for this picture”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,93,94,1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1974"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashionhistorian.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}