Our first Dual Analysis with Costumer’s Guide. To kick off, here is what Chris from Clothes on Film had to say.

The 1970s are a scary decade because everything appears the same on the surface, cars, clothes, technology, so we can relate to what we see, yet somehow it has an otherworldly atmosphere. At times the seventies can seem like a strange, beige parallel universe where cholesterol was for sissies and sideburns mandatory (less so for women). With its most recent trailer The Conjuring, set in 1971, embraces this idea wholeheartedly. Warner Bros. are pushing The Conjuring hard – and with good reason. It is directed by James Wan who made the original Saw (2004) and even more impressively Insidious, which was officially the most profitable movie of 2011. If this…

His Girl Friday (1940) is an old fashioned comedy with old fashioned dialogue. It thunders along like a washing machine on spin cycle, much like its central protagonist, Rosalind Russell as ace reporter Hildy Johnson (not first choice for casting by director Howard Hawks, but she earned her stripes so to speak). Russell is a hoot as she bounds back and forth between her boss and ex-husband Walter Burns (Cary Grant), soon to be new husband Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy) and key to her big scoop, patsy murderer Earl Williams (John Qualen). Hildy is tenacious and classy, although – and quite charmingly so – she is not graceful. Robert Kalloch…

The 1945 cinematic adaptation of Mildred Pierce, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring, of course, Joan Crawford, is a very different beast to the 2011 HBO mini-series starring Kate Winslet. In all honestly it is not as good, but more significantly it is very different in terms of costume. Interestingly enough the mini-series, which is evidently a period piece, is closer in terms of historical accuracy than the near contemporary set Crawford version. This is not the be all and end all, because while Winslet’s Pierce may feel more real in terms of costume and setting, Crawford’s is arguably more fun. If for no other reason than to exemplify how……

A brief video dip into the costume design of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 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…

Well, first proper look anyway, here in the still untitled Spider-Man reboot directed by Marc Webb. There is not much to see, though it is a nice shot of star Andrew Garfield in the full outfit, minus mask. (15/02/11): Now first and second look… here is the next teaser image released by Columbia, this time what looks to be an entirely CG pic. At least we get a nice reveal of the web spinners + a title: The Amazing Spider-Man. In this image it does not appear that costume designer Kym Barrett (The Matrix, Eragon) has reworked the classic (or should that be ‘ultimate’?) Spider-Man uniform too heavily. The ‘webbing’…

A young man goes on the lam for supposed sabotage of an aircraft factory in California where he works during the Second World War. Some immediately judge him innocent, others guilty; though there is one point on which they all agree: to be a saboteur you must surely dress like one. The ‘saboteur’ in question is Barry Kane (played by Robert Cummings). Kane spends the entire story chased from West Coast to East Coast by law enforcement officials and, eventually, those responsible for his predicament – the real saboteurs, a shadowy group of mostly high society types who dress in top hat and tails and have friends in very high…

Costume catch up time. Puttin’ on the Glitz Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty will be teaming up with the incomparable Amber Jane Butchart for an exciting talk at the British Library. Man of Steel Michael Wilkinson talks about his design process on the film, plus his overall approach to costuming in general at this LACMA event. For Tyranny of Style, Brianne Gillen records the details. Divergent Carlo Poggioli’s costume sketches and character info. Looks good, but will probably save reading this until after watching. Due 21st. Constantine First look at the trenchcoat wearing, Sting-alike lead character for NBC’s new television series. True Detective Costume designer Jenny Eagan talks about……

Costume designer Ann Roth, arguably one of the greatest of her craft still working in Hollywood, has costumed director Steven Spielberg’s latest The Post, and by the looks of this first trailer we are in for a muted treat: What we have are gentlemen sporting classic collar points with moderate spread, sometimes short sleeve (always with a chest pocket – a very American touch) and medium breadth neckties. The occasional kipper, but this 1971 is a very different world than, say, The Deuce (costume designer Anna Terrazas). The seventies may have ushered in increasingly wide flared trousers and oversized lapels but it’s doubtful we’ll see much of those in The……

A quiet week for costume. Game of Thrones New costume and props exhibition to travel around the world. No dribbling over the embroidery, but you can sit on the Iron Throne. …and check out Daenerys’ ‘hot new dress’ in this video featurette at The Mary Sue. Avengers: Age of Ultron Another day, another superhero story. Possibly a few early clues about freshly cast Paul Pettany’s costume. Silent Witness We’ve just stumbled across this article, probably from the early 2000s, that neatly demonstrates what costume designers have to put up with when stars of popular drama series’ overindulge. The 22nd Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition Actual costumes from…