Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Days 14 & 15

And once again a crazy day prevented me from having the leisure time to get online and blog, so today you get two fashion answers!

Day 14 - Favorite Outfit
As I'm sure you can imagine, I am once again torn between two:  the gorgeous white dress that Galadriel wears and the lovely blue velvet dress with red sleeves that Arwen wears.  The gold dress

that Eowyn wears is a very close second.  So Galadriel's dress.  It is simply stunning.  I'm not a huge fan of all white clothing on anyone, least of all myself, unless it's a wedding dress.  I generally think it's just too, well white I guess.  Whatever piece of clothing is white has to be just the right style and shape with the right fabric for it to really work, in my opinion.  There, now you know something about my fashion taste. lol  What I love about her dress though is that it's a very long white dress, but it doesn't look like a wedding dress, though I'm quite certain it would make a lovely one.  It's elegant and it makes her look even more like the queen she is.  And it's such a simple design.  It doesn't have a lot of frills or anything other than, if memory serves, all the hand-sewn beads.  But I think the fact that it does have that simple elegance just allows her natural beauty to come forth.

As for Arwen's dress, well I am not an Arwen fan, at least not in the movies, but I do love several of her dresses.  My favorite is the one that she wears when she's asking Elrond to reforge Narsil, the sword that was broken.  Besides the fact that it's absolutely beautiful, I have a special affection for it because my mom and I made a costume for me years and years ago based on this dress.  It's just such a richly colored dress with that dark blue velvet that looks almost black and the dark red of the sleeves.  The gold embroidery along the neckline and the top part of the sleeves just brings it all together.  And I'll admit as much as I'm not an Arwen or Liv Tyler fan, she looks stunning in this dress.  I really like velvet and the way that it lays as a fabric and it just works so well here.




Day 15 - Favorite Armor
And we have another tie, this time between the Elves armor and Theoden's armor.  One of the things I have always loved about the Elves is how they take so much of their design in terms of
architecture and decoration from nature.  The same is true with their armor.  As their race began to decline, the Elves of the Third Age reflected that in the design of their armor with autumnal themes and colors like coppers, browns, and golds.  The hauberk (a type of mail armor which is constructed of interlocking loops of metal woven into a tunic or shirt) was made to give the appearance of a carpet of leaves fallen from a tree.  The cuirass (a piece of armor consisting of breastplate and backplate fastened together) and fauld (a piece of armor worn below a breastplate to protect the waist and hips) were also designed to look like fallen leaves.  The armor was also detailed with filigree of delicate vines and the tengwar of Quenya.  The helmet was designed to give the appearance of a torn leaf.  Every piece, while fully functional, was designed to reflect the Elves love of nature.  As someone who loves nature and being out in nature, the Elves' armor is just amazing to me and frankly is the most beautiful that I've ever seen.

Theoden's armor, while not as elegant as the Elves', was no less beautiful in my opinion.  As king, his armor was naturally made from the finest materials and with the utmost care which I think

truly shows.  One of the things I really appreciate about his armor and all the Rohirrim's armor is that, like the Elves', it's not the typical silver color you usually see.  It was made from bronze which I think gives it a more rustic feel.  Since the armor was mostly covered with black leather, the uncovered bronze really stands out and just highlights the beauty of the armor.  The leather was carved with designs of horses, suns and swirls that were meant to suggest the movement of the mearas (a race of exceptional horses), adding a lot of interest to it all.  Even his helmet was painstakingly decorated and topped with a crest in the shape of a horse.  The detail of it all has just always astounded me.  And I love horses, so armor extensively carved with horse designs?  Yup, I'm gonna love it!