Neo-noir is an unusual genre from a costume perspective because although rooted in reality it is generally not specific to one era or setting. This means a variety of influences fill the screen incorporating past, present and future suggesting a particular story could be told anywhere at any time. Yet with noir’s literary and cinematic heyday belonging to 1940s, certain period details are necessary in order to satisfy that vital element of the genre and its all subsidiaries: atmosphere. The Grifters (1990, directed by Stephen Frears) is about as bleak as noir gets. Its central characters are shysters; they live on the wrong side of the law, fleece the innocent…

Two different costume opinions on one film. Our first Dual Analysis with Costumer’s Guide. To kick off, here is what Chris from Clothes on Film had to say. We discuss the clothing, jewellery, even underwear of The Young Victoria with Maggie from The Costumer’s Guide. The Big Lebowski is brilliantly designed; the characters are concisely and efficiently illustrated, says KB from FrockTalk.com. Let’s tell you why The Big Lebowski costume design rocked in an almost completely non-subtextual way. Recently Clothes on Film chatted with Kristin Burke from FrockTalk about The Big Lebowski. We discussed weightlifting pants and feminism. Part two of a new Dual Analysis. Costume designer Kristin Burke from…

There are already a lot of excellent interviews with Oscar winning Beauty and the Beast costume designer Jacqueline Durran online, so with our limited communication we wanted to ask a little more about Belle’s (Emma Watson) day-to-day ensemble and the creation of Gaston’s attire (Luke Evans), arguably the closest character to his 1991 animated counterpart. Ms. Durran, currently hard at work on a new project, was kind enough to provide a few brief responses: Clothes on Film: How did you go about creating costumes for a computer generated Beast? Jacqueline Durran: When I first started prep on the movie the Beast was going to be a prosthetic beast. Had this……

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…