Costume designer Ann Roth’s template for Working Girl (1988, directed by Mike Nichols) is especially astute with regards to the social and geographical make up of its characters. Protagonist Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is a homely girl raised and living in Staten Island, New York. Currently working as a secretary in Manhattan (not ‘executive assistant’, reflecting vernacular of the time), as is her best friend Cynthia (Joan Cusack). Tess, however, has gained a degree through night school and harbours ambitions to use it for more constructive tasks than answering the telephone and fetching toilet paper for bawdy stockbrokers. After being set up for a ‘date’ that turned out to be…

Doctor Who, the quirky British sci-fi television series about a time travelling alien and his friends, premiered in 1963. Since then there have been twelve Doctors (and a War Doctor), each with their own unique looks to match their unique and often eccentric personalities. With the debut of the Twelfth Doctor fast approaching, this post takes a look back at the three Doctors we’ve seen so far (not including the War Doctor) on Doctor Who since it was rebooted in 2005 (or New Who, as some like to call it) and guesses at what we can expect from Doctor number twelve. The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) arrived on our screens……

Penny Rose, costume designer on video game adaptation Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time talks us through her intentions for the movie, including 800 year old embroidery patterns and priests dressed in bedspreads. Penny Rose has been costume designer on nearly forty films. As evidenced by her CV that includes Shadowlands (1993), Evita (1996) and The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (2003-07), she prefers period/fantasy to contemporary and typically favours bigger budget Hollywood productions. Her team for Prince of Persia swelled to seventy five incorporating jewellery, armoury and boot makers, three seamstresses, two craft makers, a five strong design team and chief cutter, among others. Listing Zulu (1964) as…

Here are some images and the latest trailer from Water for Elephants starring Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz and Robert Pattinson. Early 1930s costumes by Jacqueline West, and they look to be dazzling. Based on the book by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants is a romantic drama told primarily in flashback to the great Depression. Young veterinary student Jacob (Pattinson) by fate finds himself travelling on a train carrying the Benzini Brothers circus. Joining said circus to care for the animal menagerie, Jacob falls for equestrian star Marlena (Witherspoon), despite her marriage to charming but dangerous August (Waltz). It is a sweeping, against-all-odds tale of lifelong love. To watch this video,…

Friday 6th May sees the release of Florence Foster Jenkins, the 1944 set true story of a woman, Ms. Foster Jenkins herself (played by Meryl Streep) who heard nothing but sweet angels in her head, yet couldn’t actually sing for a toffee. Her manager and husband St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) hides the truth during the private recitals, but when Florence agrees to sing live at Carnegie Hall, things begin to get a little tricky… Costume designer for Florence Foster Jenkins is Consolata Boyle, a BAFTA award winner probably best known for her work on The Queen (2006), The Iron Lady (2011), and more recently Philomena (2013) – and yes there…

A new compilation of sartorially revealing James Bond photographs by Terry O’Neill. Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment 10 Feb ’12 5 Apr ’11 12 Oct ’18 Think Lulu’s theme song is the loudest thing in The Man with the Golden Gun? Think again. Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments 26 Feb ’10 8 Feb ’20 10 Dec ’10

Doctor Who, the quirky British sci-fi television series about a time travelling alien and his friends, premiered in 1963. Since then there have been twelve Doctors (and a War Doctor), each with their own unique looks to match their unique and often eccentric personalities. With the debut of the Twelfth Doctor fast approaching, this post takes a look back at the three Doctors we’ve seen so far (not including the War Doctor) on Doctor Who since it was rebooted in 2005 (or New Who, as some like to call it) and guesses at what we can expect from Doctor number twelve. The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) arrived on our screens…

Because the sun is out making us all feel like we’re in Cannes (probably not by the time you read this), and because it’s the weekend, let’s have a look at some of the coolest movie sunglasses money can buy. Of course there are hundreds of memorable movie sunglasses, so no list written will ever be enough – or no list written today will be enough anyway. These, however, should get the ball rolling. Iconic, purposeful, and above all, cool, here are five filmic shades to beat the Riviera rays. Anthony Hopkins in Cutler and Gross for Hannibal Supposedly hiding out in Florence, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) cannot resist…

Thanks at least in part to the wintry weather, this week’s costume round up is coats on film. A look at the costumes you can expect to see and enjoy at Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style. Think Lulu’s theme song is the loudest thing in The Man with the Golden Gun? Think again.

Think Lulu’s theme song is the loudest thing in The Man with the Golden Gun? Think again. Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments 10 Dec ’10 26 Feb ’10 8 Feb ’20