Specifically - Long Dresses?

[Fox78]

...Ball gowns? Wedding dresses? Hoop skirts?...

Yes.

Another big vote for yes here.

[pt200386]

Long, short, doesn't matter as long as they are wearing nylons or pantyhose.

[mudxdresser]

I personally like long dresses, on both me and models! And yes, they sure get heavy quick. The real problem is that when filming a model in a long dress, it is very difficult to stage a scene such that you can even tell the model is wearing a long dress for more than a few seconds.

So, ulimately, my advice is to only use a long dress if you are willing to go to the hassle to make the long dress visible for most of the scene as that is what those of use who like to see long dresses are looking for. To do that, I would recommend using some rather thick mud. You need for the model to be crawling around and struggling with the dress covered in mud and to show it clinging to her body, not submerged.

And if you don't have just the right kind of thick mud, I would recommend studying Dave's classic scene with Kym in a dress for some pointers for how to do it without really thick mud. A long dress could have been used in that scene and still come out looking good.

The bottom line is show the dress folding around and moving on the model.

[jack c]

A long, tight, split-leg silk dress would be appropriately appealing. People are right - hard to sink in and heavy to get out with it on. But a scenario of a Lost Cocktail Waitress might work. Color: white first preference, then turquois or purple - not sure why. Both the QS and the dress would be constricting, so there is a kind of consistency there.

[Duncan Edwards]

... its hard for the actress to get back out...

I think that's become part of the attraction for me. Makes it as difficult as possible. Causes me wonder if it's more of a "look" for some people or the added struggle is the main attraction. Kind of like dragging a ball and chain.

That part is also usually after the scene is over so can be observed only by the crew. You might recall a clay scene done in a long dress by Kristine, way back when. As strong as Kristine was, and I presume is, she could not get out of the pit with the dress still on. I rescued the dress the next day and it took more than an hour to do so. I still have it here somewhere, I think.

Yes, I recall it very well. Thought Kristine was going to be "one with the clay". The whole thing with her must have weighed several hundred pounds plus the suction of the long skirt. I know Nessie has had similar experiences too. I've just got in my mind a more open necked version of what Jane is sporting here -

Tarzan_512.jpg

Something about the romance of that Victorian era jungle explorer lends itself to all manner of jungle hazards while still trying to look proper. Corsets, lace up boots, all kind of making a subtle suggestion of bondage to begin with and when you throw in the quicksand, especially traditional Hollywood quicksand, it just makes a perfect combination in my mind. One of the Tarzan scenes we never got.

[DJlurker]

Oh yes. My all-time favorite QS fantasy is an elegant, sexy woman in a black long evening gown with full-length opera gloves. I would love to see such a woman slowly sink to her chest in thick, sucking mud, smiling at you as she does so... preferably with her arms sunk in as well...

[Fred588]

This is a reply specifically to Duncan's most recent post in this thread. I tried to do it with a quote of that post but there were too many levels of quotations.


Well we came pretty close on the Tarzan scene. Jane just took the clothes off after the first encounter. I guess we have to blame the director for that. With your last comment I think you may be changing the outfit to something more practical. Its not the LENGTH of the dress tha1 makes things difficult, its the amount of material that folds on itself and traps mud. A tight, Victorian-style corset might make breathing difficult and digestion impossible for the wearer but it won't interfere with extraction. Whereas a scene with the elaborate dress is pretty much in the custom scene category (for me at least) one with just something long might be just a regular scene or perhaps a partial custom.

[Magic Engineer]

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[PM2K]

Wondering.... is there a way of getting a long dress which looks great, but doesn't have these difficulties of weighing our ladies down during their performances?

[Fred588]

Wondering.... is there a way of getting a long dress which looks great, but doesn't have these difficulties of weighing our ladies down during their performances?

Complicated question to answer. "Looks great" is, of course, a matter of personal preference of the viewer so that cannot really be addressed. The issue of "weighing down" the actress might be addressed most easily by the actress simply taking it off after the scene is over and before exiting the pit. The actual design of the dress might affect whether this is possible non-destructively or not. Another approach might be to use a dress that is long but that does not have loose material that con fold on itself and trap mud. Another factor might be the actual material the dress is made of. The mud seems to cling to some kinds of material but easily slide off of other kinds.