A straightforward loosely tied scarf around the handbag and Joan is the most stylish woman in the office. As office vamp Joan Holloway, Christina Hendricks gets the lion’s share of groovy outfits on 1960s set TV drama Mad Men.

Part 2 of Clothes on Film‘s sartorial rundown of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011, directed by Guy Ritchie), complete with exclusive input from the film’s costume designer Jenny Beavan. Assume spoilers within, and lots of them. We join the story for its second act, as Professor James Moriarty’s (Jared Harris) dastardly plot slots into gear… Departing respectfully early from Dr. John Watson’s wedding, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) arrives to meet Moriarty for the very first time in a black velvet frock coat with frogging (visibly looser than his previous coat), clean but un-pressed striped shirt with plain collar, dark brown silk scarf and grey check waistcoat. Conversely…

If you can get yourself to London’s West End for 11.00 am on Sunday 20th June, you could be watching Disney PIXAR’s Toy Story 3 at a very early screening – one month before the film is released in the UK on 19th July. Exciting, huh? Thought so. Read on. Just fill in the blank below to tell us the name of Ken’s safari style outfit he wears in the movie (hint: have a look around Clothes on Film, it may just help): _ _ _ _ _ _ LOVIN’ KEN That’s it. Send your answer to: competition [at] clotheonfilm.com (replace the ‘at’ with an ‘@’) by TUESDAY 15TH JUNE,…

Daphne du Maurier‘s original novel My Cousin Rachel apparently does not specify the exact period in which it’s set, but implies some time toward the end of the 19th century on the Cornish coast. This new version of the story starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin actually positions itself in a specific time frame, as decided upon by director Roger Michell and costume designer Dinah Collin, namely the year 1840. We have an exclusive featurette about the costume design of My Cousin Rachel, which although brief goes into some detail about what to expect from the finished film: What is most fascinating is just why 1840 was chosen. It was…

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT Having recently finished a six week, six episode run on the BBC, John le Carré adapted spy drama The Little Drummer Girl was divisive in terms of audience reaction. Some found the plot impossible to follow, others revelled in the cloak and dagger shenanigans of twenty-something Charmain ‘Charlie’ Ross (Florence Pugh), a low level actress drawn into a high stakes mission of infiltrating a Palestinian revolutionary group in 1979. The show’s costume design by Sheena Napier and Stephen Noble inspired equal division. While most enjoyed the eye-popping period ensembles and how they exemplified character, just as many were left confounded by their conspicuous presence. One thing that cannot……

The arrival of Scarface on Blu-ray grants ideal opportunity to indulge in Patricia Norris’ exemplary, disco couture costumes. Win a Scarface limited edition Blu-ray DVD, scarf and money clip. Three sets to give away. Look as tasteless as Tony!

House of Tolerance (original French title L’Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close, 2011) is set in a Paris brothel during the twilight of 19th century/eve of 20th century. The story focuses entirely on twelve females aged around 16-30 living and working in the brothel as prostitutes. This is not a ‘knocking shop’, as Madame Marie-France (Noémie Lvovsky) is keen to impress, but a respectable establishment where elegant, if sometimes dangerous men go to meet elegant woman bedecked in semi-revealing Belle Époque fashions and fine silk lingerie. Costume designer for House of Tolerance, Anaïs Romand (César award winner), approached the project with a view that true period authenticity can never be…

How Richard Burton’s character in Villain (1971) dresses to impress and intimidate. A brief video dip into the costume design of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Actually that title is a tad misleading – it’s all the clothes worn by Lee Marvin as kick-ass-tough-guy-on-a-mission Walker in Point Blank. This is the second video in a new Clothes on Film feature breaking down costume design in sartorially interesting (or just way cool) movies and, in some cases, television.  Costumed by Margo Weintz, Point Blank is stone-cold neo-noir thriller, one of the best of its kind, focusing on Marvin’s Walker and his score settling against those who double crossed and left…

Actually that title is a tad misleading – it’s all the clothes worn by Lee Marvin as kick-ass-tough-guy-on-a-mission Walker in Point Blank. This is the second video in a new Clothes on Film feature breaking down costume design in sartorially interesting (or just way cool) movies and, in some cases, television.  Costumed by Margo Weintz, Point Blank is stone-cold neo-noir thriller, one of the best of its kind, focusing on Marvin’s Walker and his score settling against those who double crossed and left him for dead on an abandoned Alcatraz island. The film is known for its sharp suits, which are all covered in the video, but also for some…

Bit late to the party for this one, but what the hey. Did you know that Calvin Klein has re-released the white shift dress that Alicia Silverstone made famous in Clueless? Yes, you probably did. Thanks to Mona May’s costume design reinventing the look of an era, replacing baggy jeans and grunge with brightly coloured femininity and for (rich) boys, 1950s drape jackets and high-waisted trousers, Clueless (1995) remains a sartorial time capsule. That May went onto design for the 1996-97 television series demonstrates just how important her fashion contribution was at that time. Perhaps unsurprisingly Alicia Silverstone’s Cher is the most memorable character in terms of costume for a…