Clothes on film

Throughout eight episodes of The Kennedys, Katie Holmes evolves her style as Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Bouvier, Kennedy and then Onassis from New Look debutante to elegant socialite hidden behind huge plastic sunglasses. Unquestionably her most important outfit is a Chez Ninon pink wool suit for JFK’s fateful trip to Dallas, recreated here by Giorgio Armani under guidance from The Kennedys costume designer Christopher Hargadon. The real suit, still covered in President Kennedy’s blood, is housed at the Maryland National Archives; however the accompanying pillbox was lost at Parkland Memorial Hospital where he died. This suit is symbolic of a tumultuous period in American history and of an eternally glamorous woman who…

The leggy lure of Bombshell. There has been an insane amount of discussion online about Bryce Dallas Howard’s character, Claire Dearing, since the release of Jurassic World (2015, costume designed Daniel Orlandi), mostly concerning the ‘running in heels’ sequences. I felt it would be interesting to take a broader look at the costumes of the female leads in both the original Jurassic Park (1993, costume supervised by Sue Moore) and Jurassic World and contrast in the characters. Dr Ellie Sattler the Paleobotanist as played by Laura Dern in the original movie is a hugely underrated feminist action hero. She is allowed to be clever, brave, practical and physical yet display…

For most cinemagoers Piper Perabo arrived on the big screen in her breakout role for Coyote Ugly (2000). Since then she has worked in television, on Broadway and continuously in movies. Costume wise Ms. Perabo has mixed period with contemporary though tends to work in the latter. For Looper she plays Suzie, a nightclub dancer struggling to bring up her young son in a decaying near future, and the lover of Joe (Joseph Gordon Levitt) before he attempts to mend his hedonistic ways. Speaking exclusively to Clothes on Film, Piper Perabo talks dressing the character of Suzie and working with costume designer Sharen Davis: “The stage wear was my favourite…

‘Sator’ From The Tailor and Cutter forum takes a look at the superior costume design of Edwardian set British classic, Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949). Kind Hearts and Coronets is a delicious Ealing black comedy starring Dennis Price as Louis Mazzini, distant heir to a dukedom, but with eight members of the D’Ascoyne family standing in his way. He vows to avenge the premature death of his beloved mother who dies in poverty after being ostracised by her family for marrying below her station, after eloping with an Italian opera singer. Mazzini sets out to murder his way to the Dukedom of Chalfont, with each of his victims played to…

The subtle differentiation of character through costume design in Moon. Contributor 2 Comments 25 May ’10 19 Jul ’13 22 Jan ’16

The first trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes update starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson is online and it looks, well, lacking. Watch it HERE. Not lacking in excitement; there are more explosions and fist fights here than the average Jason Statham movie. Yet one vital ingredient appears to be missing – Sherlock Holmes is not wearing his deerstalker cap and Mac Farlane cape coat. Apparently none of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books specifically state the great detective ever donning a deerstalker cap. However he wore a cape, as many stylish Victorian gentleman would have at the time, especially for travelling. Obviously…

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer Directed By: James Watkins Victorian was a transitional age between classical romance and practical industry. It eventually gave way to economic upheaval in the Edwardian era, when Gothic mystery became less important than socialism. Clothing too was on the cusp of change. Frock coats and heavy lace dresses would soon be lost to ceremony, imbuing them with a theatricality that performs especially well in the horror genre. From recently resurrected production company Hammer, The Woman in Black is more accurately a ghost story; though do not think for a second that will dampen your fear. It won’t. Estate lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe)…

“We are stardust, we are golden”, sang Joni Mitchell of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, held August 15-18th 1969, at a dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York. The irony was, she wasn’t even there. A further irony follows in that whilst a myriad of psychedelic colours are synonymous with the Woodstock nation, one of the most revered choices of dress, clearly shown in the documentary Woodstock (1970) is a simple white leather fringed lace-up tunic-style vest and bell bottom trousers. It is worn by one of the first female rock stars, the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane,…

The merest glimpse at Seth Rogen’s costume for The Green Hornet has turned up online. And it is a glimpse. For those unfamiliar with The Green Hornet, and let’s be honest he is perhaps not that well known outside of fan circles, the premise is classic crime fighter lore. Brett Reid is a newspaper publisher by day, but by night he dons an eye mask and leather gloves to become vigilante ‘The Green Hornet’, ably aided by his chop-socky manservant Kato. The Hornet possesses no superpowers and is not even that strong in a fight. Though he does have a couple of gadgets, namely a gun that fires knock out…

As Contessa Teresa ‘Tracy’ Di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diana Rigg embodied a complex and charming, if sadly terminal ‘Bond girl’. Decked in glamorous, era-specific trends by Marjory Cornelius, Rigg’s costumes were subtly symbolic of her tomboyish nature, culminating in a memorably daring wedding ensemble. Glamour and symbolism were director Peter Hunt’s idea; he intended a return to the more distinguished Bondian elements of dress and production design as established in Goldfinger (1964). Acknowledged for his dapper style on set, Hunt even sent new 007 George Lazenby to his own tailor. Lazenby’s Bond is one of the sharpest attired in the series, principally because he reflects…