Suzy Bishop. Oh to be Suzy Bishop for a day. She's misunderstood. She's fearless. She's a collector. She goes berzerk. She has one of the best blue steels ever.
Sam: What happened to your hand?
Suzy: I got hit in the mirror.
Sam: Really? How did that happen?
Suzy: I lost my temper at myself.
Suzy is played by Kara Hayward in Wes Anderson's most recent offering, Moonrise Kingdom. You forget when you are watching this film that these are just two kids acting in a movie. Like any Anderson film, you enter their world completely and remember the pain and rebellion and excitement of childhood love.
Suzy and Sam Shakusky both live on the island of New Penzance and meet very briefly when Sam- a khaki scout- sees Suzy in a church pageant. They begin writing to each other and hatch a plan to both run away from their dysfunctional home situations to be together.
Sam: I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about.
Suzy: I love you too.
They have a long day of freedom on the island together. Relying on Sam's scouting skills and Suzy's adventurous imagination, they carve out their own little kingdom in a secluded cove on the island. But the next morning they are found by the well-intentioned but mostly incompetent adults in their lives. Being together after that becomes a bit trickier. I can't really give away any more of the plot here... but if you haven't seen it, you need to. Very soon.
Suzy: Was he a good dog?
Sam: Who's to say? But he didn't deserve to die.
This little dress was made out of thrifted women's blouse and mostly made up by me. I started with a basic a-line pattern shape and then added long sleeves and a self-drafted collar. That part was actually easier than I thought it would be, but I should have tacked down the collar in the back. I used the front of the shirt for the back piece so that I could use the blouse buttons for closure. Really simple, I just had to add one more button at the top, a unique vintage beauty that a blogging friend gave me. (Thanks Destri!)
I was lucky to kind these perfect knee socks at GapKids. But the smallest size was a 4, so I had to chop the entire foot off and sew up the bottom for a good fit. I love them. She's going to wear them with everything in the spring.
Sam: Why do you always use binoculars?
Suzy: It helps me see things closer. Even if they're not very far away. I pretend it's my magic power.
Sam: That sound like poetry. Poems don't always have to rhyme you know. They're just supposed to be creative.
There is a scene in the movie when Sam and Suzy are camping together where he makes her pair of earrings out of iridescent green beetles and fish hooks. But her ears aren't pierced, so she lets him do it with the earrings. Hardcore love stupidity. I attempted to make a hair accessory inspired by the earrings, but, a) She has never worn anything in her hair and wouldn't keep it on, b) it turned out ginormous, and c) I shoulda put it on elastic for a headband. Also, it's really huge.
Those. Knees.
This was such a fun Film Petit for all of us. Yes, we have officially done more Wes Anderson films than not, so maybe we should just call it Wes Petit. Just kidding. Half. But if you have never seen a single one of his films, you should see this one. (Also, January's FP is definitely not Wes. It's a favorite from your childhood. I know that about you.)
Now go see Kristin's amaaaaaaazing work. She did both a Suzy look and a Sam look and she nailed it. Dead.
And our guest this month is the super talented Robin, who also nailed it. She made a look inspired by Bill Murray's hilarious character Walt Bishop, AND a dress inspired by the khaki scout tents. So creative. Thanks for playing along with us this month Robin!
If you are new to Film Petit, the basic idea is that Kristin and I and a different guest each month all sew and post outfits for our kids from a movie we love. Not a kid movie, just a great movie we love with lots of creative inspiration. You can see all my previous FP posts here.
And as always, we'd love to see your movie-inspired kid clothes in the Film Petit Flickr group.
Laura Bishop: Poor Suzy. Why is everything so hard for you?
Suzy: We're in love. We just want to be together. What's wrong with that?
