Clothes on Film

The study of costume design in cinema and television. Featuring exclusive articles, news, interviews, videos, podcasts, essays and competitions.

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  • Clothes from 1980s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Smooth Talk: “Tomorrow Night I’ll Wear the Halter”

    23 Nov ’13 /

    Moments of sartorial significance, and that glimmer of recognition that we feel upon seeing an onscreen outfit worn more than once are found throughout Smooth Talk, Joyce Chopra’s underseen 1986 adaptation of a Joyce Carol Oates short story. The film is rife with all the monotony of life and charming ensembles we expect of a teenage girl in the summer, yet it simultaneously offers complexity and creepiness. Laura Dern plays Connie, an ingénue spending her days as an “unfinished girl, waiting for completion of some sort” (Quart 74). In her essay, “Smoothing Out the Rough Spots: The Film Adaptation of ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” Rebecca Sumner…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    Costume, Colour and Semiotics of Heathers

    4 Oct ’13

    The Look of Love: Q&A with Costume Designer Stephanie Collie

    29 Aug ’13

    Scarface: Dress and Excess

    5 Sep ’11
  • Clothes from 1970s,  Clothes from 1980s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Scarface: Dress and Excess

    5 Sep ’11 /

    The arrival of Scarface on Blu-ray grants ideal opportunity to indulge in Patricia Norris' exemplary, disco couture costumes.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 11 Comments

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    American Hustle: Beneath the Glamour

    13 Jan ’14

    Meryl Streep in Costume for The Iron Lady Trailer

    7 Jul ’11

    Favourite Fashions From Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

    4 Oct ’10
  • Clothes from 1930s,  Film Reviews,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    Review: Water for Elephants

    10 May ’11 /

    Old fashioned and sentimental, Water for Elephants still has much to offer with its very readable costume design.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    Kate Winslet in Mildred Pierce: Sex and the Housedress

    1 Jul ’11

    Win Tickets to W.E. at the London Film Festival

    4 Oct ’11

    Murder on the Orient Express: Interview with Costume Designer Alexandra Byrne

    2 Nov ’17
  • Clothes from 1940s,  Clothes from 1950s,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    To Catch a Thief: Grace Kelly’s Beach Wear

    5 Apr ’11 /

    This is the most fun and elaborate outfit Grace Kelly wears in To Catch a Thief.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 8 Comments

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    To Catch a Thief: Grace Kelly in Blue Chiffon

    2 Mar ’11

    The Maltese Falcon: The Shirts That Dreams Are Made Of

    23 Sep ’19

    UK Film Review: Inglourious Basterds

    19 Aug ’09
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Goldfinger: Sean Connery in a Towelling Playsuit

    29 Mar ’11 /

    The blue towelling playsuit in Goldfinger is typically remembered as Bond’s one sartorial disaster. Yet it might be worthy of reconsideration.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 11 Comments

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    Janie Bryant Talks Mad Men Season 4: “Glitzy, not so glitzy”

    1 Jul ’10

    Meg Ryan in Proof of Life: Hopeless Hippie

    11 Jan ’11

    From Tailors with Love Podcast: Discussing the Tom Ford Look

    24 Jan ’20
  • Clothes from 1930s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  News

    Water for Elephants: Latest Trailer and Stills

    18 Mar ’11 /

    Some images and the latest trailer from Water for Elephants. Period costume design by Jacqueline West.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    Murder on the Orient Express: Interview with Costume Designer Alexandra Byrne

    2 Nov ’17

    Lawless: Interview with Costume Designer Margot Wilson

    27 Sep ’12

    Film Review: Chinatown

    19 Oct ’09
  • Clothes from 1940s,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Carice van Houten in Black Book: The Red Dress

    21 Sep ’10 /

    Carice van Houten is a Resistance beauty of Jean Harlow-esque proportions in an unmissable red halterneck dress.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments

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    UK Film Review: Inglourious Basterds

    19 Aug ’09

    Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were: Forties Meets Seventies

    16 May ’11

    To Catch a Thief: Grace Kelly’s Beach Wear

    5 Apr ’11
  • Clothes from 1950s,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Grease: Annette Cardona as Cha-Cha

    10 Nov ’09 /

    One of the most famous costumes in Grease comes from Cha-Cha DiGregorio in her ruffled Flamenco-style dress at the dance-off.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 5 Comments

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    How to Steal a Million, or £60k for an Audrey Givenchy

    9 Dec ’09

    The Iron Lady: Costume as Distinction, Gender and Protection

    4 May ’13

    Grease: Stockard Channing as Rizzo

    17 Aug ’09