Paradise Problems
Nov. 18th, 2014 07:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chocolatepotI caught part of an episode of S2 of The Paradise the other week, so I decided I should go watch all of S1 on Netflix and see if I still felt the same about it. I probably will watch S2 now because what I saw in the episode intrigued me (namely drama for Katherine), but I still have some big problems with the show and I'll probably be watching against the show as I do often with Downton Abbey.
- Seriously, what is up with the costumes? The shopgirls' uniforms and Denise's other clothes are fitted so well ... but everything Katherine wears, plus the girls' off-duty outfits are so bad. It's like Merja made the uniforms and I made Katherine's wardrobe, and I'm not even exaggerating. Plus Katherine's stuff is all cheap-looking cotton prints. Her dresses are baggy, unboned cotton with ricrac stuck on.
- Plus, whyyy are the shopgirls so far ahead of Katherine? I thought at first that Katherine was being dressed in the past, but then I checked Wikipedia and the first season is set in 1875, which means that she's right and the girls are wearing clothes from the future. Natural Form is gorgeous and impressive, yes, but if this is supposed to be symbolic it's way too heavy-handed.
- The narrative is so bad to Katherine. I have a tendency to like the wrong characters so I wasn't surprised that I've always found her more interesting than innocent Denise, maybe because her drama seems less manufactured. (Mean Miss Audrey! Jealous Clara! etc.) Moray is a dick to her, leading her on and then being like, why are you trying to push me into marriage? How dare you patronize my rival, and so on. NEVER FORGET the scene where she says she'd like to administrate the Foundling fund and he basically told her she was too silly and stupid for it. She does not get a fair shake, and it's never really acknowledged how straitened her life is and how she'd benefit from having something to do other than get herself married. Maybe she'd do really well in charge of something at The Paradise. Fortunately it looks like S2 is more sympathetic to her.
- WHY does The Paradise sell all these fully-made gowns? "Ready-made" at the time meant partially made up and then finished for/by the buyer. The ladies' wear section would be essentially a mini-couture house, you would buy the fabric at the draping counter and have it made up by a house dressmaker.
- If Mr. Lovett is such a great dressmaker, why doesn't Moray try to hire him for the store? Lovett is obviously not doing well, his shop looks terrible, he would probably (have to) accept. But it's never addressed. And this would be a good, accurate plotline to introduce drama and conflict.
Really, it's mostly about Katherine, the rest is icing on the cake.
---
I think I need to replace my down coat. It's from 2006 IIRC and it's looking pretty sad. And I should probably shift the buttons over on my wool coat, it's kind of tight in the chest.
- Seriously, what is up with the costumes? The shopgirls' uniforms and Denise's other clothes are fitted so well ... but everything Katherine wears, plus the girls' off-duty outfits are so bad. It's like Merja made the uniforms and I made Katherine's wardrobe, and I'm not even exaggerating. Plus Katherine's stuff is all cheap-looking cotton prints. Her dresses are baggy, unboned cotton with ricrac stuck on.
- Plus, whyyy are the shopgirls so far ahead of Katherine? I thought at first that Katherine was being dressed in the past, but then I checked Wikipedia and the first season is set in 1875, which means that she's right and the girls are wearing clothes from the future. Natural Form is gorgeous and impressive, yes, but if this is supposed to be symbolic it's way too heavy-handed.
- The narrative is so bad to Katherine. I have a tendency to like the wrong characters so I wasn't surprised that I've always found her more interesting than innocent Denise, maybe because her drama seems less manufactured. (Mean Miss Audrey! Jealous Clara! etc.) Moray is a dick to her, leading her on and then being like, why are you trying to push me into marriage? How dare you patronize my rival, and so on. NEVER FORGET the scene where she says she'd like to administrate the Foundling fund and he basically told her she was too silly and stupid for it. She does not get a fair shake, and it's never really acknowledged how straitened her life is and how she'd benefit from having something to do other than get herself married. Maybe she'd do really well in charge of something at The Paradise. Fortunately it looks like S2 is more sympathetic to her.
- WHY does The Paradise sell all these fully-made gowns? "Ready-made" at the time meant partially made up and then finished for/by the buyer. The ladies' wear section would be essentially a mini-couture house, you would buy the fabric at the draping counter and have it made up by a house dressmaker.
- If Mr. Lovett is such a great dressmaker, why doesn't Moray try to hire him for the store? Lovett is obviously not doing well, his shop looks terrible, he would probably (have to) accept. But it's never addressed. And this would be a good, accurate plotline to introduce drama and conflict.
Really, it's mostly about Katherine, the rest is icing on the cake.
---
I think I need to replace my down coat. It's from 2006 IIRC and it's looking pretty sad. And I should probably shift the buttons over on my wool coat, it's kind of tight in the chest.
