1932: Premiere of White Zombie, starring Bela Lugosi. Capitalizing on previous voodoo zombie themes, it is regarded as the first legitimate zombie film ever made. Zombies are portrayed as mindless, shambling henchmen under the spell of an evil magician.

1930’s – 1960’s: Zombies, typically still voodoo-inspired, continue to appear in cinema periodically. Notable films include: I Walked with a Zombie (1943), the notorious Plan 9 from Outer space (1959) and EC Comics’ Tales from the Crypt.

1954: Publication of I am Legend, by author Richard Matheson, the story of a future Los Angeles overrun with undead bloodsucking beings, influences the zombie genre with the portrayal of a worldwide apocalypse due to an infestation. Although classified as a vampire story and referred to as “the first modern vampire novel,” it has an authoritative impact on the zombie genre through the work of George Romero. Romero, by his own admission, was greatly influenced by the novel and its 1964 adaptation when writing the film Night of the Living Dead.

1968: Night of the Living Dead crushes former horror film taboos to became a genre-defining classic, proving more influential on the zombie archetype than any other literary or cinematic work (see Zombie Evolution: Part 1 below)

1978: George Romero follows up Night with Dawn of the Dead. The film tells the story of four survivors of the expanding zombie apocalypse as they take refuge in an abandoned shopping mall, in Monroeville (Pennsylvania), where they intend to wait out the crisis. They clear the mall of the undead and barricade the entrances with tractor-trailers. But they have more than the undead to worry about. They also have to contend with a band of looting bikers and their own mounting tensions. Here’s a look at the trailer:

Make sure you check back for more zombie goodness, including tutorials on how to do zombie makeup on the cheap and information on the official World Zombie Day!

In honor of the fast approaching World Zombie Day on October 26th, it only makes sense to pay homage to the iconic film that shot zombies into horror movie pop culture.

George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was filmed in black and white, not to add a certain artistic tone, but because it was more cost effective. Oddly, though, the black and white tones of the movie increased the film’s heebie-jeebie quality.

Night Of The Living Dead follows two protagonists, Barbra and Ben, as they try to survive the night in a Pennsylvania farmhouse surrounded by zombies (recently dead bodies reanimated due to radio active explosion in the earth’s atmosphere and are now on a bloodthirsty hunt for human flesh). Will Barbra and Ben survive? (I’ll never tell…you’ll have to watch the movie).

Back in 1968, when Night of the Living Dead premiered, it was strongly criticized for its “explicit content.” However, in 1999, the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry, saying it was “historically, culturally or aesthetically important.”

While Night of the living Dead wasn’t the first zombie movie produced, it was certainly the most influential in shaping the modern zombie archetype. Take a look at the trailer…if you dare!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has converted the world’s largest collection of historical clothing and accessories, The Costume Institute, into a searchable database which is now available to view online.

This project begin back in 2000, and for eight years they’ve worked on formatting and digitizing their 31,000-piece collection. Amazing!

Harold Koda, the museum curator, reports, “Once we got the information together, we thought it would be ideal if the general public could log in and, for instance, find all of our Christian Diors.”

Wow, a person could spend countless hours on their website, and still not see everything. It’s so great that the museum is digitizing and preserving this information for countless generations to come.

When it comes to throwing a party as big as the Olympic opening ceremony, the Chinese take it very seriously.

It’s a chance to showcase their culture and history to the world so the show must be spectacular.

Based on some of the pictures I’ve seen, they succeeded. The 3 ½ hour show highlighted 5000 years of history, featured 20,000 performers and 33,000 fireworks.

And apparently, the creators of the show spared no expense on costumes.

I was not able to include some of the most impressive costumes here, but you can view them on the NBC Olympic web site.

Having been deemed as the writer with the most costuming experience, I am here to share with you–

A Short History of My Own Costuming Experience.

Part Two: College

The next few years saw a little improvement in my costume-making skills. Of the sewing I did at this time, my creation efforts were mostly redirected to making normal clothing, and I only made three real costumes during my years of college. One was a cosplay of Victoria Everglot from Corpse Bride, one was a Queen of Spades costume, and the other was a new, more awesome pirate costume.

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Originally, jousting tournaments were held as military exercises between the various nobles. Such tournaments started peacefully but often turned into bloody battles between jealous champions.

At the end of the thirteenth century, jousting tournaments started evolving into organized spectacles, subject to chivalry and fair play and often fought with blunted weapons. The knight’s object became one of knocking opponents off their horses.

Modern day Renaissance Fairs, The Society for Creative Anachronism and the National Jousting Association have kept the sport of jousting alive.

But a new style of jousting is emerging, quickly gaining widespread popularity.

Nowhere is there another sport that encourages more pageantry, chivalry, and excitement than what you’re about to witness…

This weekend I got the opportunity to go to the Scottish Festival at Thanksgiving Point in Utah. It was awesome! I got to see some rocking celtic bands, participate in celtic rituals like waulking, eat haggis for the first time (seriously, yum), and of course I was dazzled by the eye candy! Tartan was draped everywhere, there were hundreds upon hundreds of kilts, not to mention a variety of period costumes and other fun things to wear!

This family sang an a capella rendition of the national anthem for the opening of the Highland Games.

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My brother-in-law recently contacted me in regards to making a kilt for him. I’ve always been of the opinion that kilts are a garment for only the manliest of men, so naturally I was delighted to be a part of bringing another kilt into the world. Sadly, I’ve never made a kilt before, which lead me to do some research on this wonderful item of clothing.

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I like clowns, most of the time. I admit that a part of me, deep down, is scared of clowns. Sure, they’re lots of fun at the circus and at parties, but at night, when they hide in the shadows with an evil grin…. Ok, I better stop. I’m scaring myself. But to quote Lon Chaney, “There is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight….”

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Remember how Evel Knievel used to jump over greyhound busses in his star-spangled jumpsuits?

Apparently, there’s a new trend in jumping stuff…and all you need is a devil costume and some babies.

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Most people don’t think of Memorial Day as a great costuming event. What are you doing to do, go to a graveyard dressed in black? But if you’re a Civil War re-enactor, you feel a little differently about this holiday!

At Greenwich Village in Michigan, there is an event this weekend called Civil War Remembrance. It’s an awesome opportunity to learn more about this tumultuous time in America’s history. There are events and exhibitions regarding all facets of life at the time, as well as concerts and re-enactment shows! But what caught my eye, of course, was the costuming.

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On the more sophisticated side of costuming, a new gallery is opening honoring traditional costumes throughout history.

The Royal Ontario Museum will be opening the Patricia Harris gallery of Textiles and Costumes. The gallery will be opening on April 16thth, and will host a massive collection of textiles and costume pieces going back throughout time. Huliq.com reports:

The Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume presents highlights from the Royal Ontario Museum’s renowned collection of over 50,000 textile and costume artifacts, in a display of approximately 200 pieces dating from the 1st millennium BC to the 21st century AD. Outstanding examples include Chinese imperial costume, late Antique and early Islamic textiles from Egypt, western fashion from the Baroque period to the present day and early Canadian coverlets. These illustrate the extensive transformations in textile design and technology throughout the past three millennia. Due to conservation considerations, the artifacts are to be changed on a regular basis.

The ROM is a museum rich with tradition, and this new addition to the institution will further deepen its cultural influence by highlighting the history of dress. We’ve seen similar ambitions with the Costume Institute, and it will be a great opportunity to get a glimpse of this new collection.

We’ll be standing by for more information on some of the highlighted exhibits. Here’s an example of what is to be expected, according to the ROM main website:

 The Lynda Hamilton Printing Exhibit displays highlights of the ROM’s printed textile and costume collection through an exploration of the use of paint, ink and dye. Examples include Chinese painted silk, Indian chintz, a Japanese stenciled kimono, Javanese batik wrapper and a Turkmen ikat robe, as well as examples of the important collection of 18th and 19th century French and English woodblock, copperplate and roller printed textiles and costumes. Recent silk screened acquisitions include the c. 1954 furnishing fabric of Danish-born Canadian designer Thor Hansen and an early Vivienne Westwood toga dress (c. 1982-1983).