reign

Happy Friday!

I've been taking a break from blogging, since we had some family in town last week and then I got a cold and, more honestly, all I've been wearing are skinny jeans and big sweaters. Not super blog-worthy, so I'll just admit to the laziness!

Amidst my comfy cold-weather wear, I have been admiring fashion from other sources. Most notably, Reign, which is a new show on the CW (I know, I know. Guilty pleasure).
I have to confess I've fallen head over heels for the period drama, despite its glaring historical inaccuracies and supernatural whims. (Or maybe that's why I like it...those are pretty standard requirements for guilty pleasure shows, I think).

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If you're completely unaware of the premise of this show, it is loosely based on (but at this point is a completely fictitious account of) the journey of young Mary, Queen of Scots, as she resides in the French court awaiting her eventual marriage to young Prince Francis, heir to the throne of France.
In this version they're all supremely gorgeous people, dealing with politics, power plays, strange ghost figures, castle drama, court drama, love drama, and just so much delicious drama.

Perhaps I'm still devastated by Downton Abbey, and having another Mary in my life is somewhat therapeutic. Whatever the reason, I'm hooked.

For those of you familiar with the show, I think the enchantment comes from a mixture of Francis's wispy facial hair, Mary's full lips, Bash's mystical eyes, Nostradamus's husky voice, Queen Catherine's stern brow and Clarissa's mystery. A few other ingredients, such as the cutesie names of Mary's ladies (Greer, Kenna, Aylee and Lola. Ha) and the absolutely superb soundtrack make for a rather enjoyable show.
Truly, the music is amazing - I hope they come out with an official soundtrack eventually, but for now I've just posted featured songs in a playlist on my Spotify. There are only a few songs missing, including the theme song "Scotland" performed by the Lumineers, which aren't on Spotify.

Also, the costumes. Oh, the costumes.

The costumes are clearly period-inspired, but they've really created an entirely new genre of style, specific to the show. It's a concoction comprised of the Renaissance feel with a modern twist, using touches of bohemian and vintage, custom-made to make me drool and go on Etsy to search for crystal bodychains. 

I often find myself wondering if the secret agenda of this show is to bring headbands back.

If that's the case, they've totally succeeded. I've been shopping online for headbands all day. 

Or shall I say, headpieces. Because these take headbands to a whole new level. 

You could also just pull an Aylee and use your ridiculously braided hair in lieu of a headband. 

I found an excellent tumblr page about the fashion on Reign, and I'll definitely be checking that out every week. If you're interested in seeing some of the specific pieces and how/where to get a hold of them (or just to dream about them, like me) then check that out here. 

In the meantime, let me know if you also watch Reign and find yourself oddly attracted to velvet again, or if you've started looking up local Renaissance festivals so you can take part in all this nonsense for a day or two or five.

If you don't watch, and start to watch, contact me immediately. We'll have a whole new host of things to talk about, including whether or not you think Clarissa is really Scarecrow from the Batman movies.

p.s. see all reign posts