Friday, May 1, 2015

Frivolous Friday...Fashion of Reign

 
Song: Can't Help Falling in Love
Hello Lovely Readers,

I know I cast myself as being a lover of historical stories and I love historical accuracy, but I have to admit I have a guilty pleasure in the CW show Reign. Saying that it is a CW show should tell you that it is not going to be historically accurate in both story and fashion. It is the story about Mary Queen of Scots and her time in the French court. If you are like me, I don't really know much about Mary Queen of Scots except she was beheaded by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I and her son became King James I of England. So I am enjoying watching this how that has now been on for two seasons and renewed for a third. Francis and Mary have had their ups and downs... but I keep shipping them and hoping they will have a happy ending (even if it is not historically accurate).

No matter what the plot line the fashion is fun to watch as well so here are some of my favorite dresses from Reign, in no particular order:

To start Mary's coronation dress-
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While the front has beautiful it is the back with all those pleats that capture my eye.
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At the start of the show Mary is suppose to be this almost naive girl about the way of politics and I notice she wore more colorful outfits with lots of prints on them (example above). I loved these mismatched prints and how well they work together. 

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This is probably my favorite dress of Mary's from season 1. It might be that Mary and Francis have such a tender moment in this dress. A lot of the first season is bringing Mary and Francis together only to separate them again... causing this shipper a lot of angst. 


These are some of my other favorite dresses of season 1. As you can tell they have lots of details and still full of color. I think these dresses do a good job showing off Mary's femininity. Even though Mary is Queen of Scotland, she is a pawn a lot of time being pushed to follow the politics of French Court.   
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Over time though Mary grows more powerful as a character (it is good character development) and her fashion represents this. While this dress might look feminine, in the scene she not only fighting for her ladies in waiting, and herself, she is fighting for her love (Francis) and the French court. Up to the point in this series it is the most powerful thing she has done. 

Even after she marries Francis (sorry SPOILER Alert... but seriously it's history) she is not safe and has to defend herself. I actually feel in season 1 she is more under attack after Francis and she get married than before. Above are some of her more "fierce" outfits. 

These are just the outfits from season 1- Even though she is Queen of France in Season 2, life does not get easier for Mary, and I keep watching every week for a glimmer of hope.
When you see this dress you think everything, colorful and cheery, you would think everything is happy. Uh but Reign is good about making you think things are good but wait five seconds and everything changes. However this pink dress might be the most historically accurate dress.
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Speaking of everything changing this picture is from after, probably most shocking moment on the show, but I love this dress because it shows her power and how she is not willing to be the victim of circumstances. I also love this photo because Catherine de' Medici (played by Megan Follows aka Anne of Green Gables) is standing beside her which is not usually the case. 

Outside of Mary's fashion there is also her "Ladies in Waiting" fashion, though they also verge on being a bit ridiculous as well. Sometimes I think the strength of the show is showing women who at the time would be completely vulnerable standing up for themselves and having great courage. Also though Mary is Queen she sticks by her friends even when they do follow the rules of the times, and are usually scandalous. So while it is not always historically accurate and sometimes the plot lines are ridiculous, I am still on the edge of my seat through each episode as keep holding onto my Frary shipping though right now it feels in vain, however the hopeful romantic in me cannot let it go.
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Okay I mean this post to only have only have the top ten dresses I like but if you are following there are fourteen...sorry but not really because the fashion of the show is intriguing (even if sometimes it is is eccentric).

Some spoilers in video:
Song: Say Something

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