CC33-CU-01a: Capital Couture

Image 1 of 61

CC33-CU-01a: Capital Couture | Category: Miss Ellen's Portieres (draperies) | Designer(s): Laura Ulak | Maker(s): Laura Ulak | Presenter(s): Laura Ulak (Photo ID: Eric Cannon, Rare Recorded Videos | Event Date: 2015)

Staff:

• Single Pattern Contest Director: Rob Himmelsbach
• Master of Ceremonies: Gordon Rose
• Presentation Judge(s): Kathy Bushman Sanders & Karen Heim

Rules:

“Miss Ellen’s Portieres” Competition

What is the “Miss Ellen’s Portieres” Competition?

In Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Gone with the Wind, the protagonist Scarlett O’Hara makes a new dress from her mother’s green velvet portieres. Although the term is used incorrectly in the movie. The characters are talking about green velvet window curtains while portieres are so named because they hang in doorways. (the scene was famously parodied on The Carol Burnett Show when Carol Burnett, playing the role of Scarlet, wore not only the fabric but the curtain rod as well).

The competition “Miss Ellen’s Portieres” (loosely based on “Gone With The Wind”), will involve contestants taking a single set of “Dollar Store” or “Thrift store” draperies and coming up with a dress or other costume as creative as Scarlett O’Hara was with hers, or even do as Maria did with her children’s play clothes in “The Sound of Music

Take the challenge and see just how creative you can be.

Portieres Competition Rules

For further information, send email to Miss Ellen’s Portieres.

Miss Ellen’s Portieres

The Competition and Rules as Submitted by creator and show director CC-33 Co-Chairman

Rob Himmelsbach

As any obsessive reader of Gone with the Wind (such as my co-chair) knows, like the notorious Rhett Butler, Scarlet’s mother, the eponymous Miss Ellen, comes from an old Charleston Family. In her honor, we are including a small side competition at CC33, entitled Miss Ellen’s Portieres.

The rules are pretty simple – buy, find or even make a set of curtains; then make clothing or a full costume out of them. As simple as a pinafore from a set of kitchen cafe curtains. As elaborate as a Klingon wedding suit from an old set of theater curtains. Turkish harem outfit from something garish you found at the dollar store. Or maybe even Victorian Dalek (velvet, fringe and trim for days).

Here, in no particular order are the Rules:

1. First and foremost – NO, not the Scarlet O’Hara nor Carol Burnett’s take on it. Anything else is fair game.
2. If you make the curtains first, bring a copy of the pattern (Xerox the envelope) as documentation.
3. If you buy already made curtains, a picture from the packaging of how they are supposed to look serves as documentation.
4. Let’s say you dig out that hideous set Aunt Violet gave you from the attic – bring a photo of how they started out before you chop and reconfigure them.

That’s all, really – your final work will be pre-judged by a Judging panel based on creativity and workmanship so that a run-way show of entries can be held either during the Friday Night Social OR the Sunday Cotillion and prizes awarded. Scheduling for this particular competition is being decided however will be most likely held either during the Friday Night Social OR the Sunday Cotillion and prizes awarded.

Any further questions regarding this competition should be directed to the competition director Rob Himmelsbach at [Removed].