Just a few words to inform you all of Vanity Fair’s interesting looking Fashion in Film festival upcoming this weekend at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. We would say lots more but are too grumpy that Clothes on Film cannot attend (3,500 miles to travel is a bit much). The event is essentially in honour of NY Fashion Week so all of the screenings are tied to that theme in some way or have inspired catwalk trends from the screen. However, the line-up is surprisingly diverse, featuring a few you may have seen, Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) and Qui Êtes-Vous,…

A few costume design links on this fine day. Orange is the New Black Jenn Rogien talks about this season’s costumes. Colleen Atwood She’s making handbags now, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, look a bit like a cross between Fendi and Hermès. Jem and the Holograms Soyon An is the stylist tasked with bringing the best dressed cartoon of all time to life. The Women Kay Noske nails it again with this post about Adrian’s brilliant and totally bonkers costumes. Pretty Little Liars Video: Even if you haven’t seen the show (it’s huge in the US), this interview with uber cool costume designer Mandi Line is well worth four minutes of your…

More clip than teaser trailer, but Meryl Streep certainly does look the part. A prevalent theme in the first episode of Mildred Pierce starring is how domestic costume can be read as a signal for sexual availability. This coral pink ensemble encompasses and challenges the absolute femininity of Grace Kelly. Judianna Makovsky demonstrates that contemporary fashion with a plot is far more fun than a flick through Vogue.

Despite having watched Catfish at the Leeds International Film Festival, you will find no review of it here.

Suzy Benzinger, the costume designer of Blue Jasmine, chose iconic brands like Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Missoni to serve as visual shorthand of what the modern-day wealthy socialite wears, but it is the white Chanel jacket that follows Jasmine from the beginning of the movie to the end which tells its own tale of what is happening to its owner. When we first see Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) she is flying first-class from New York to San Francisco to see her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins). On the flight she dazzles a fellow passenger with the story of how she met her wealthy businessman husband Hal (Alec Baldwin). Or so she thinks.…

Starring: Michael Caine, Jude Law Directed by: Kenneth Branagh The filmed stageplay is often just avant-garde cinema for the masses; this new version (2007) of Anthony Shaffer’s mystery play Sleuth, here rendered so post-modern by director Kenneth Branagh it was practically dated the moment it was shot, is no exception. Strictly speaking this is a remake of the 1972 movie of the same name starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier; Caine remains on board (now playing Olivier’s part with Jude Law taking his original role) and bolstered by a screenplay from renowned playwright Harold Pinter. The plot is similar to seventies version, though Pinter, who hadn’t seen the previous film…

Disney has just released an international trailer for their latest, Scotland set Pixar offering, Brave (directed by Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews). Delightful, it is. Brave takes place in fairytale ‘ancient times’, telling the story of Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), a flame haired, headstrong tomboy keen to break convention and change her destiny in a male dominated land. Nothing new there, but this does look sumptuous. Plus the level of detail on the costumes is immense. Just look at Queen Elinor’s (Emma Thompson) Tudor style green dress as it realistically shimmies and sways around her. If you are still not convinced that costume design has any place in animation,…

Clothes from films set during 1970s It was late November, 2016 when I visited the set of The Conjuring 2 (directed by James Wan). The reason I never wrote about it for Clothes on Film or anywhere else was because of my official role on the day: I was playing an extra (or background artist if you like) during the film’s Maida Vale pub scene. Specifically this is the moment when real life husband and wife paranormal investigator team, Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) meet with noted experts in their field to discuss the validity of their current case, aka the Enfield poltergeist. I made the finished…

We get a lot of questions at Clothes on Film about where to buy garments similar to those seen in the movies. We always respond, though being as these are listed as comments you may have missed them. As such here is a brief list of the most commonly requested items and where you might seek them out. It is worth noting that we are not affiliated with any of these companies. We may like some of them, but none are paying us money to send you there. In fact, on arrival, please tell them we sent you. Much obliged. Flashdance (1983) Jennifer Beals’ ripped grey sweater: Buy a plain…

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt Directed By: Rian Johnson Often wildly preposterous as it leaps from sci-fi to horror and back again, Looper is still accessible thanks to an engaging plot, excellent chemistry between Gordon-Levitt and Willis, and gently futuristic costume design by Sharen Davis. Davis (The Help, Django Unchained) strikes right at the heart of character personification. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as ‘looper’ Joe Simmons in a fitted leather jacket, white shirt and tie is flashy and full of himself. With the ignorance of youth, his look channels the 20th century as a rejection of the present (2042). Joe believes he can buy his way to happiness, yet emotional…