topcoat | Clothes on Film

NO SPOILERS Real and mythological, figurative and literal; monsters of all kinds abound in Sky Atlantic’s new period horror series Penny Dreadful. We might expect a skulking figure in a top hat and frock coat to be scary, though who would have thought a bustle and redingote could be so terrifying? Well, step forward Eva Green as enigmatic Vanessa Ives. Not hero nor villain, but a dead eyed clairvoyant who definitely shouldn’t be invited to dinner parties. Penny Dreadful is set in 1891, although is more a literary parallel universe than true reflection of the era. Some of the characters featured are written for the show (Vanessa), some existed in…

The Phantom of the opera demonstrates that the colour, size and shape of a character’s costumes can communicate on a subliminal level.