Bernadette Banner (Part 3)

[b4dave]

The new video has been *yawn* released…

[LadyViorica]

Man, I don't generally get worked up over Bernadette's content but as a romance writer and reader . . . the whole premise of the thing is so stupid. The reason most romance novel covers are inaccurate is that publishers just plain don't spent money on them. There are a few lucky exceptions that get their own cover photoshoots (Alexis Hall's A Lady For A Duke is a recent example, and there's a reason it's an outlier: they just were not going to be able to find a stock image of a trans woman in historical dress, and they knew there'd be a rightful shitstorm if they put a cis woman on the cover) but for the most part, romance novel cover photos come from a few regular stock photo banks. It's why you see the same pictures/models over and over again (i.e. Cat Sebastian's A Little Light Mischief and Olivia Waite's The Hellion's Waltz both have covers that come from the same shoot - it's by Jenn LeBlanc, you can see the originals in the gallery on her website). Authors who write LGBTQ and/or nonwhite leads have talked about how much of a struggle it is to find stock photos that fit their books, and why the current trend of cartoony covers is in many ways a relief because it's easier to have someone throw together a vector image than try to track down a photo that looks like your lead and that you can afford and that hasn't been used a dozen times already. The video isn't, like, an outrage-worthy offense, and "designing historically accurate romance novel covers" is a cute idea, but she really knows nothing about the industry she's discussing.

(Also, if she was going to pick one of Olivia Waite's books to talk about, she should have gone with The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows because that one is inaccurate AND ugly as hell.)

(Also-also Venus in Winter isn't a romance novel, it's trashy historical fiction. That one's not our fault!)

[Cirith]

The topic of the video aside, I do sincerely enjoy watching her do her watercolor sketches. Do any watercolors make an appearance in her book?

[Cinamomo]

Idk, I think its a good way of talking about historical fashion, while also having a quick fun thinking how thing might"ve looked in these covers if things were different. I surely did like some of her drawings more.

At least to me she came up very respectful about it and seemed aware of why they were like that

Then again, Im not one to speak, you'd have a bigger chance of ramdomly dinding the solution to the equation of life in a chemical bathroom than finding me reading those books. Romance aint my cup of tea.

[Betwixtthefigs]

Before I even even watch that video, is she even a smut reader?

I'm a huge historical romance reader. Yes, we know the covers are cringe and often embarrassing to have out in public lol.

Also, what era of HR novels is she going to cover? Because the genre has changed in content *and* cover styles drastically over the last 30 years.

[pensandthreads]

Before I even even watch that video, is she even a smut reader?

I'm a huge historical romance reader. Yes, we know the covers are cringe and often embarrassing to have out in public lol.

Also, what era of HR novels is she going to cover? Because the genre has changed in content *and* cover styles drastically over the last 30 years.

I'm pretty sure she's admitted to being deeply into tumblr era fandoms that have a huge presence of dirty fanfic. I would be shocked actually if she hadn't gone down a smut rabbit hole or two.

[LadyViorica]

Re - eras, it seems like she's mostly doing recent-ish novels. She does one of Alyssa Cole's Loyal League books, Olivia Waite's A Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, and a couple others I don't remember. She's for sure not a romance reader, though.

[popmypopcorn]

Guess she's progressing splendidly with the sash-belt to finish the lace dress at last! Wish she'd be as fast forward with sewing, as with painting.

[Justagoat]

Remember a couple weeks ago when I said I was worried she might unintentionally cause offence with Coven of Sisters? Well scratch that, because it's way worse than I thought it was going to be - and it was intentional.

To start - I emailed her my concerns and explained in detail the history presented in that film (basically, it's about the Inquisition's attempted genocide of the indigenous Basque people - the Spaniards did not actually believe in witches at the time, but did believe Jews and indigenous people should be killed, and the film acknowledges this). She emailed back stating that she was going to include it anyway, the "expert" did a great job, and it was okay because other regions didn't get much time either, she'd remove it IF there was a subsequent uproar AFTER the video was uploaded. I told her its very inclusion would be offensive within the context of the video being lighthearted and joking. No response.

I thought the video would simply gloss over the full gravity of what the film's context was and focus only on dress history without the historical context of what the girls are wearing. I was wrong. It's worse than that. The "expert" clearly knows nothing about Basque dress ("what are thoose" "it's fancy" "why is it laced like that" when these are costumes that are practically the same as modern Basque costumes), googled pictures to pretend he knows about Spanish dress, and, on top of that, knows nothing about what the film is showing. He's a random Spanish Bernadatte fan who just wanted to be in her video. I knew more about the Basque costumes than him, and I'm by no means an expert in them, just done some research to make my own. What's most offensive though, is how he repeatedly says "they're the witches!" re the Basque girls being tortured by the Inquisitors. They're not witches, they're scared girls being tortured by grown men while their fathers are at sea. It's not a made-up thing for a fantasy film. It's a real genocide my family went through. It's worse that it's a Spaniard joking about this because he SHOULD know better. The film itself shows they're just terrified girls trying their best to survive a horrific situation. While not perfect comparisons, to put this in perspective for other Americans: think how awful it would be if two non-Jewish people made a video joking about genocide against Jews at the hands of the Inquisition, called them witches and never acknowledged them as victims, said the clothing was weird and inaccurate because it didn't look like what Christians wore, and to boot, were warned about the offensiveness beforehand. To boot, had "cancelled" someone else two months before for even thinking of making a dress tied to colonialism?

At best, it's hypocrisy. At worst, it's her intentionally joking about a genocide and the victims, misrepresenting an oppressed people, etc so she could joke about the funny hat. Oh, and she's making money off it.

Oh my god. I am so sorry. I have to admit didn't know anything about this history until you posted it, and I think most Americans would be equally ignorant...BUT YOU TOLD HER. She wasn't ignorant and she did it anyway. That's flat out awful.

[Koalaty_knits]

She posted a picture of her Edwardian dress today. It's deftinitely pretty.

[formerdennysemployee]

Bernadette please. Your floating head clips. I understand dramatic lighting but no one can see you. Turn thirty five degrees toward the window or something. Put a lamp in the corner.

[Stargirl9001]

Man, I don't generally get worked up over Bernadette's content but as a romance writer and reader . . . the whole premise of the thing is so stupid. The reason most romance novel covers are inaccurate is that publishers just plain don't spent money on them. There are a few lucky exceptions that get their own cover photoshoots (Alexis Hall's A Lady For A Duke is a recent example, and there's a reason it's an outlier: they just were not going to be able to find a stock image of a trans woman in historical dress, and they knew there'd be a rightful shitstorm if they put a cis woman on the cover) but for the most part, romance novel cover photos come from a few regular stock photo banks. It's why you see the same pictures/models over and over again (i.e. Cat Sebastian's A Little Light Mischief and Olivia Waite's The Hellion's Waltz both have covers that come from the same shoot - it's by Jenn LeBlanc, you can see the originals in the gallery on her website). Authors who write LGBTQ and/or nonwhite leads have talked about how much of a struggle it is to find stock photos that fit their books, and why the current trend of cartoony covers is in many ways a relief because it's easier to have someone throw together a vector image than try to track down a photo that looks like your lead and that you can afford and that hasn't been used a dozen times already. The video isn't, like, an outrage-worthy offense, and "designing historically accurate romance novel covers" is a cute idea, but she really knows nothing about the industry she's discussing.

(Also, if she was going to pick one of Olivia Waite's books to talk about, she should have gone with The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows because that one is inaccurate AND ugly as hell.)

(Also-also Venus in Winter isn't a romance novel, it's trashy historical fiction. That one's not our fault!)

All of the books she chose were published by Avon, which, to my knowledge, does not utilize stock images the way a self-published author would. They have themes and massive shoots where they do multiple stock images at a time for the brand specifically so that they can then go through their own selection of cover art and choose the best fit.

Also, what does it matter if she knows the industry? She was on the money: romance covers are designed to be sexy, romantic, and alluring. They aren’t worried about a ruff bc they aren’t sexy and we don’t read romances to hear about the ten layers people are wearing bc they can’t give themselves a proper bath every day.

[LadyViorica]

Man, I don't generally get worked up over Bernadette's content but as a romance writer and reader . . . the whole premise of the thing is so stupid. The reason most romance novel covers are inaccurate is that publishers just plain don't spent money on them. There are a few lucky exceptions that get their own cover photoshoots (Alexis Hall's A Lady For A Duke is a recent example, and there's a reason it's an outlier: they just were not going to be able to find a stock image of a trans woman in historical dress, and they knew there'd be a rightful shitstorm if they put a cis woman on the cover) but for the most part, romance novel cover photos come from a few regular stock photo banks. It's why you see the same pictures/models over and over again (i.e. Cat Sebastian's A Little Light Mischief and Olivia Waite's The Hellion's Waltz both have covers that come from the same shoot - it's by Jenn LeBlanc, you can see the originals in the gallery on her website). Authors who write LGBTQ and/or nonwhite leads have talked about how much of a struggle it is to find stock photos that fit their books, and why the current trend of cartoony covers is in many ways a relief because it's easier to have someone throw together a vector image than try to track down a photo that looks like your lead and that you can afford and that hasn't been used a dozen times already. The video isn't, like, an outrage-worthy offense, and "designing historically accurate romance novel covers" is a cute idea, but she really knows nothing about the industry she's discussing.

(Also, if she was going to pick one of Olivia Waite's books to talk about, she should have gone with The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows because that one is inaccurate AND ugly as hell.)

(Also-also Venus in Winter isn't a romance novel, it's trashy historical fiction. That one's not our fault!)

All of the books she chose were published by Avon, which, to my knowledge, does not utilize stock images the way a self-published author would. They have themes and massive shoots where they do multiple stock images at a time for the brand specifically so that they can then go through their own selection of cover art and choose the best fit.

Waite (whose book she featured and whose covers feature stock photos) is an Avon author, so no, you are incorrect. Also, Alyssa Cole's Loyal League books were published by Kensington.

[Rubber_and_Glue]

The Mary Poppin's video has dropped. I am watching it right now. The title is "I Remade Mary Poppins' Dress to be Actually Edwardian."

[popmypopcorn]

I still can't get my head around her choice for binding the bottom of the shirtwaist with that heavy & thick twill tape! The finished dress is deffinitely charming, although I could sabotage the silly red picot ribbons on the skirt with a pair of scissors

[hysterically_adq]

I still can't get my head around her choice for binding the bottom of the shirtwaist with that heavy & thick twill tape! The finished dress is deffinitely charming, although I could sabotage the silly red picot ribbons on the skirt with a pair of scissors

Yep, the silly red bows on the skirt...meh.

[Iamnothere]

I admittingly haven't been watching much HCC YouTube content lately, but I did check in with BB's latest one about her Mary Poppins dress. It does look very charming and pretty. I'm not sure how I feel about the bows on the remake or the original dress, but it still looks good. It does make me wonder how it'd look with a deeper red like she normally goes for, than the bright red. I don't know if that would work with the summery vibes, though, and could make it look Christmassy? I guess a good thing with that dress is you could do the belts in a rainbow of colors, and pop the bows off and on whenever you see fit.

It was nice to see BB adding in more of her personality and humor, and being more comfortable being her dorky self. I also really liked that cardigan/plaid ensemble she was wearing. A bit different that her usual era/aesthetic, but still worked really nicely on her. Seems like she may start branching out to try different things in her personal style, and not just her makes? That’s always fun to see people do.

[LakeGalore]

Again with the "the corselet belt thingy" being a 1950s creation.
Bernadette, you haven't found it styled with lingerie gowns *because you're looking in the wrong place*.

[b4dave]

I just rewatched her how to use a treadle machine video….

And it’s become evident she does NO research considering how she threaded the machine.

The thing she keeps wrapping her thread around “with the thread grooves” is actually the tension bar for the presser foot - those grooves are the threads to tighten it.

A simple google found the manual for me - and it shows a completely different way to thread the machine (the little notch at the top right of the front plate is where it goes).

How can I take whatever she says seriously when she can’t even get simple, researchable facts correct…

[sporkspeaks]

I just rewatched her how to use a treadle machine video….

And it’s become evident she does NO research considering how she threaded the machine.

The thing she keeps wrapping her thread around “with the thread grooves” is actually the tension bar for the presser foot - those grooves are the threads to tighten it.

A simple google found the manual for me - and it shows a completely different way to thread the machine (the little notch at the top right of the front plate is where it goes).

How can I take whatever she says seriously when she can’t even get simple, researchable facts correct…

Oh dear. If she wanted to be seen as more than a lazy brainless walnut obsessed with Aesthetic, she's not exactly doing it. Of course, the stans aren't going to hunt down her mistakes.