Helena Bonham Carter in a Role of a Lifetime

Just as I've finished with my Miss Havisham costume, along comes this feast for the eyes in the form of Helena Bonham Carter in a Mike Newell adaptation of Great Expectations. 

Helena Bonham Carter has take on a number of kooky, spooky and downright creepy roles, but certainly Miss Havisham was a part she was meant to play. Though the actress is a bit too young to play it (Dickens has written the character as a woman in her mid-fifties, and HBC is only 45). 

Interestingly, it has been suggested that Miss Havisham was not a figment of Dickens's imagination, but was inspired by real events and a real person, though scholars seem to have trouble agreeing who this real person were. 

Frederic George Kitton in The Life Of Charles Dickens suggests that Miss Havisham may have been inspired by a lady who lived near Hyde Park and who was burn to death in her house. The other possibility is that the 'real' Miss Havisham was not a lady, but a gentleman by the name of Nathaniel Bentley. Bentley was a wealthy young man whose fiancee died on the morning of their wedding day after which the wedding banquet was left to rot and the house came into disarray. Bentley himself refused to wash and was dubbed Dirty Dick. There is a pub in London named after him which heavily draws on the legend.

There is another story that says that Miss Hvaisham was inspired by a lady from Australia who wanted to marry beneath her station and whose groom disappeared on the day of the wedding. She stayed in the house and left everything as it was on the day of the wedding, hoping that he would come back.

While Miss Havisham is a wonderful Gothic character, I would hate to think that there was a real person who inspired the story. Such tragedy may be interesting in a work of fiction but it's gut-wrenchingly terrible if happens in real life.

Miss Havisham Halloween Costume: The Result

This is my Miss Havisham costume. I tried it on the night before the party and was satisfied. But I decided not to use the cobwebs since I couldn't find a way to attach them without sewing them onto the fabric, which I didn't want to do.

I wasn't barefoot at the party, though. I had no luck finding a pair of white slippers or ballet flats (winter is coming and shops are pretty low on these kind of shoes), so I ended up wearing a pair of white lace stockings. 

This was the final result

And here is a close-up of my makeup and hair.

  

        

I was trying to create a ringlet hairstyle similar to the one above, but my stubborn hair refused to stay curly. But, in the end, it worked well enough since Miss Havisham should have a general air of negligence about her. I've also applied some baby powder to my hair to make it look gray. It's a good trick, but you really need a lot of powder and even if you set it with hairspray it tends to slowly disappear. 

         

I loved putting together this costume and the evening was a great success. Though I was slightly annoyed that nobody recognized me. It may be due to the fact that no one at the party has ever read 'Great Expectations'. Can't wait to start working on my next year's costume. 

Happy Halloween!

Miss Havisham Halloween Costume: The Makeup

The secret to a great Miss Havisham costume is, of course, the make up. Though she is often portrayed as an old hag, Dickens's notes suggest that she is only in her mid-fifties. However, living without active pursuits, sunlight or happiness can leave one looking much older than one's years.

There are many great 'aged' makeup tutorials online, so here are just a few of my favorite ones.

This is really great and easy to do.

Miss Havisham Halloween Costume: The Look

Miss Havisham's look is eerie and Gothic. There are many ways to bring this character to life and my initial idea was to use this for inspiration

Source: The Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes

This is the crone's dress from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999). It's tattered and old and spooky, so it would have been perfect for Miss Havisham. The veil is also a nice touch. It obscures the face and makes the whole silhouette more ghost-like. 

But I decided not to use a veil since they tend to get really cumbersome at a party.  I am also going to use my Mom's dress and I don't want to shred or dye it to get this tattered look.    

The Crone's Dress, bodice detail

However, I do love the cobwebs, and I will hopefully achieve something very similar with my bag of decorative spider webs. 

In different film versions Miss Havisham has very different hair. 

There is the crazy, puffy hair that makes me think of  late 18th century.  

There is a more sweet and girly 'Victorian' look with curls that reminds you that this old, bitter woman was once young and carefree.

In one of the more recent films, which was clearly trying to match the costumes to the time frame of the story, there is a more sophisticated and polished hairstyle to go with a regency wedding gown. 

But I think, my own hairstyle will largely depend on how much time I'll have before the party. I will probably go with a very simple up-do of some sort and add a few flowers to make it look more bridal. This way I can spend more time on my makeup.   

See also, Miss Havisham Part I and Miss Havisham Part II  

Miss Havisham Halloween Costume: The Prep Work

When it comes to fancy dress, Miss Havisham is a very easy character to bring to life. Here are the bits and bobs that will help me embody this bitter, vengeful lover of vintage and cobwebs.

A watch
Miss Havisham's world stopped the moment she had heard of her fiances's betrayal. In fact, she ordered all her clocks to be stopped at that exact moment - twenty minutes to nine.  

I don't have a real pocket watch, but I do have this lovely little necklace from H&M. The clock face is just a picture inside a frame, so I made a new picture with the correct time, aged the paper with tea to give it a yellowish tint and attached it to the frame.

The paper flowers I got from a local crafts shop and I'm planning to wear them in my hair. I'm not going to have a veil so I thought they would give a nice 'bridal' feel to my costume. But since Miss Havisham has been wearing these flowers for decades, I aged them a bit with some watercolors.           

Fingerless gloves  
Fingerless gloves make me think of old-fashioned weddings. Also I own a pair. Sometimes it's tough to find a legitimate reason to wear them. Luckily, there's always Halloween.

Jewelry   
Miss Havisham is a very wealthy woman, so it would make sense that she would wear her best jewels on her wedding day.

Cobwebs and a spider 
Miss Havisham has lived as a shut-in for many years and I imagine her sitting for hours without moving, staring off into space, wrapped up in misery and letting spiders weave webs around her.

This is the most simple cobweb you can get form any costume shop. It's usually used for decorating the house but I thought I could add it to my costume to give it an old, withered look.

A dress
Miss Havisham has not changed her clothes since she had been left at the altar. So, naturally, she should be wearing her wedding dress. My trip to several second hand shops yielded no results, so I decided to use my Mom's old wedding dress.

The image does not do it justice. It's a lovely off-white silk dress that acquired just a hint of yellow over the years. It has a diamond pleat around the wrists and on the shoulders. The neckline is very high and there is a frill around the throat. The neckline and the pleats make me think Victorian, even though it was made in the early 80s. Unlike many wedding dresses that are worn once and then never again, this one has served me faithfully over the years as a base for many Halloween costumes.

What I'm missing....
A shoe. Just one. Miss Havisham wears only one because she was in the process of putting her shoes on when she heard that her groom-to-be had run away. I pair of ballet flats would be perfect but I don't have any and I couldn't find a pair that wasn't black. I might just have to go shoe-less.  

See also, Miss Havisham Part I

Miss Havisham Halloween Costume: The Idea

October is one of the most important months in a year mainly because that is when we celebrate Halloween. I must say, I adore Halloween - it is one of the few days when you can dress up in the most ridiculous, over-the-top get-up and no one can judge you.

This year, after careful consideration, I've decided to go as Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. 

While I care very little for Great Expectations as a work of fiction or Dickens, for that matter, I find Miss Havisham to be a fascinating character.

With a zeal that becomes such an ardent lover of Halloween, I took to the Internet in search of inspiration.

Martita Hunt as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (1946)

This is a very witch-like Miss Havisham. Her hair and face remind me very much of the evil stepmother from Disney's Cinderella. The little flowers in her hair are absolutely inspired. They make me think of Ophelia. In fact, I am convinced that had poor Ophelia lived to old age she would have turned into Miss Havisham.

Miss Havisham with adult Pip in Great Expectations (1946)

The veil that covers most of her body has a wonderful spiderweb-like quality to it and looks old and withered. I find the dress itself a bit puzzling. I can't tell what period it supposed to be. One would think that if Pip and Estella inhabit Victorian England, Miss Havisham's dress should be from the Regency Era. But the shape of the dress and the long puffy sleeves seem all wrong for that time period. Of course, they may have been inspired  by late 1800s, but the neckline is a bit odd and it still doesn't explain the fanciful sleeves. But in a way, it kind of works. This Miss Havisham is out of place and out of time with her strange attire, musty house and rich jewelry.  

Joan Hickson in Great Expectations (1981) 

Lovely dress, love the color. The bright jewels create a gorgeous contrast with the faded fabric. The curls are really nice too. You can almost see the young pretty girl who had her dreams dashed. But this Miss Havisham doesn't look bitter. Just melancholy.

Charlotte Rampling in Great Expectations (1999)

I love Rampling's handsome face, cold expression and exquisite Regency style dress. The sheer fabric over the dress and on the sleeves make for a great cobweb effect. But I feel like this Miss Havisham is too put together. And she doesn't really appear insane, only a bit miffed.  

More Miss Havishams

Miss Havisham by Harry Furniss

Miss Havisham by Charles Green

Jean Simmons in Great Expectations (1989)

Miss Havisham

Catrin Osborne as Miss Havisham on Stilts

Catrin Osborne makeup for Miss Havisham