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 1960s,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Take Me to my Tailor: Michael Caine in The Italian Job

    28 Jan ’14 /

    The following is an expanded article Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty wrote for men’s style resource MR PORTER analysing Michael Caine’s suits in The Italian Job. This post covers all the costumes he wore during the film. If The Italian Job (1969) needs any introduction at all it might be possible you’ve been in a coma for the past 40 years. It’s so well known and so well loved that were it not for the fact that no-one has really delved into the sartorial details of Michael Caine’s suits there would be nothing left to talk about. As it happens we have spent time studying and researching The Italian…

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    Quadrophenia: Mod Girl Wearing Stockings

    20 May ’09

    Costume Designer Theadora Van Runkle Dies Aged 83

    8 Nov ’11

    From Tailors with Love Podcast: Discussing the Tom Ford Look

    24 Jan ’20
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1970s,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Black Caesar: Blaxploitation Gangster

    1 Nov ’13 /

    Fred Williamson as Tommy Gibbs adopts the gangster codes of 1930s cinema in blaxploitation classic Black Caesar.

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    Michael Caine in The Italian Job: Part 2

    20 Feb ’14

    Mad Men: Maggie Siff’s Tweed Suit (S1)

    5 Jul ’10

    Costume Designer Theadora Van Runkle Dies Aged 83

    8 Nov ’11
  • Clothes from 1837-1919,  Premium

    Peaky Blinders: Q&A with Costume Designer Stephanie Collie

    15 Oct ’13 /

    If you’re not watching BBC 2’s gangster western Peaky Blinders, stop reading now and seek it out on iPlayer – there’s still one episode left so you have time to join the party. Peaky Blinders is the slow burning tale of a volatile, family led criminal gang, headed by calculating brother Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), and their rise to power in post-World War I Birmingham. It does not sound glamorous and it isn’t, yet is all the more compelling for embracing the filthy side of what many considered to be the cusp of the ‘Roaring Twenties’. Not in Birmingham it wasn’t. Thankfully Peaky Blinders had costume designer Stephanie Collie (Lock,…

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    Bright Star Trailer Online: 19th Century Costumes Afoot

    9 Oct ’09

    Sleepy Hollow: Q&A with Costume Designer Kristin M. Burke

    4 Feb ’14

    The Woman in Black Trailer: Creepy Frock

    19 Aug ’11
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Costume, Colour and Semiotics of Heathers

    4 Oct ’13 /

    Filmmaker and costume designer Sophie Black recounts her personal interpretation of Heathers, a film defined by vivid visual interpretation. It is just a coincidence that the first time I saw Michael Lehmann’s Heathers (1988) was within hours of the first time I saw David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986), and I immediately made comparisons between the two films which I may have not noticed otherwise. More people are quick to compare Heathers to the work of Tim Burton, because of the associates he had on the film (producer Denise Di Novi and star Winona Ryder, to name but two) and the fact that the candy-coloured suburban setting mirrors that of Edward…

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    The Costuming of Joaquin Phoenix in Joker

    14 Oct ’19

    Mr Nice starring Rhys Ifans: Lots of Nice Photos

    14 Aug ’10

    Tailoring The Wolf of Wall Street

    7 Feb ’14
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Working Girl: The Culture of Power Dressing

    27 Sep ’13 /

    Costume designer Ann Roth’s template for Working Girl (1988, directed by Mike Nichols) is especially astute with regards to the social and geographical make up of its characters. Protagonist Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is a homely girl raised and living in Staten Island, New York. Currently working as a secretary in Manhattan (not ‘executive assistant’, reflecting vernacular of the time), as is her best friend Cynthia (Joan Cusack). Tess, however, has gained a degree through night school and harbours ambitions to use it for more constructive tasks than answering the telephone and fetching toilet paper for bawdy stockbrokers. After being set up for a ‘date’ that turned out to be…

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    The Gumshoe Chic of Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987)

    29 Nov ’19

    Coming to America: Prints & Turbans in Contemporary Fashion

    17 Feb ’11

    Tailoring The Wolf of Wall Street

    7 Feb ’14
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1970s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    Blaxploitation Dress Codes in 1970s Cinema

    20 Sep ’13 /

    Fabric of Cinema is Clothes on Film editor Chris Laverty’s regular column in design journal Arts Illustrated. Its second issue has recently gone to print covering the subject of activism in art (subtitled ‘Wake up, stand up’). Fitting neatly around this theme from a costume perspective is the movement known as Blaxploitation, the subject of Laverty’s latest column, analysing how young people in America, particularly males, assumed the dress codes of gangsters and outlaws on screen. Was this actually an artistically progressive movement in cinema or ultimately regressive? The following are extracts from the article in question, which can be read in full on pages 94-97 of Arts Illustrated volume…

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    The Birds: Tippi Hedren in the Green Suit

    7 Aug ’13

    Costuming Hitchcock: An Extract from Hitchcock’s Heroines by Caroline Young

    6 Jun ’18

    Costume Designer Theadora Van Runkle Dies Aged 83

    8 Nov ’11
  • Clothes from 1837-1919,  Clothes from 1920s,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Dress like a Peaky Blinder

    13 Sep ’13 /

    Let’s get this straight: Peaky Blinders is not Boardwalk Empire. It’s a post World War I gangster drama, during roughly the same time period (1919 as opposed to the early 20’s), it’s gritty, features loyal yet warring brothers, is as cool as ice chips and doesn’t pull any punches. However Boardwalk Empire is set in the attractive seaside landscape of Atlantic City, USA, while Peaky Blinders is set in Birmingham. The whole palette is different too. Boardwalk is colourful and vibrant, Peaky is dark and dingy. Evidently this extends to the clothes. You wouldn’t have got far walking around Birmingham in an orange silk shirt and camel coat; this was…

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    Dark Shadows Trailer: Campy, Period Blending Costume Fun

    16 Mar ’12

    Lucinda Wright on Costume in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

    2 Jul ’13

    True Grit: Full Trailer Moseys Along

    5 Oct ’10
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls on TV,  Premium

    Game of Thrones Costume Analysis: Cersei Lannister

    6 Sep ’13 /

    Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is the quintessential evil queen, right up there with The Queen from Snow White and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Or is she..? Throughout Game of Thrones we have been given clues as to Cersei’s motivations and character, and by the end of Season 3 she has become, partially at least, a sympathetic character. While Cersei was not involved with the Walder-Frey-Marry-One-Of-My-Daughters plotline, which famously leads to the gruesome ‘Red Wedding’; that plot really drove home that point that in this world women are only worth how beautiful they are. Even Robb Stark, one of the so-called good guys, was horrified at the…

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    The New Batsuit Reveal: Cute But Sinewy

    14 May ’14

    The Last Jedi: Interview with Costume Designer Michael Kaplan

    24 Dec ’17

    Game of Thrones Costume Analysis: Sansa Stark

    24 Jun ’13
  • Clothes from 1950s,  Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1970s,  Clothes from 1980s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

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

    29 Aug ’13 /

    As is often the way with costume designers, Stephanie Collie is something of an unsung hero. We will not reel off her entire back catalogue, but it does include South Riding (2011, TV), Telstar (2008) Peter’s Friends (1992) and perhaps most exciting of all, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Now, anyone old enough to remember when Lock, Stock arrived will remember just what an incredible influence its Mod inspired costumes had on the world of fashion. You could not pick up a men’s magazine of the time without seeing some guy in slim trousers and a jersey polo shirt. Stephanie Collie invented this look, thus providing one of…

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    Doris Day in Pillow Talk: Couture Allure

    18 May ’12

    To Catch a Thief: Grace Kelly’s Beach Wear

    5 Apr ’11

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

    9 Dec ’09
  • Clothes from now,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Alpha Papa: Dress like a Partridge

    21 Aug ’13 /

    Stone slacks, leather cardigan, pale denim – who wouldn’t want to dress like Alan Partridge? This may be dad brand clothing, but it announces you as the most confident man in the room. Driving gloves? That’s nothing. Try removing your coat and jacket then leaving the driving gloves until last. That takes guts, or failing that a complete lack of personal awareness. In other words it takes a Partridge. Steve Coogan co-created and has played sports-journalist-turned-chat-show-host-turned-DJ Alan Partridge on and off for 22 years. Nothing his character wears is random. For costume designer Julian Day (Berberian Sound Studio, Rush), working alongside perfectionist Coogan on Alpha Papa must have been a…

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    Review: Black Swan

    21 Jan ’11

    The Royal Tenenbaums: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Tennis Dress

    1 Feb ’10

    Luke Cage: Swiss Cheese Hoodie

    14 Nov ’16
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    The Look of Love: Dressing the No-Body Body

    14 Aug ’13 /

    How changing body shapes can affect the appearance of period costume.

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    Black Caesar: Blaxploitation Gangster

    1 Nov ’13

    2001 and Hardy Amies: When Fashion and Film Collide

    21 Dec ’12

    Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: To Die For

    24 Jun ’11
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    The Birds: Tippi Hedren in the Green Suit

    7 Aug ’13 /

    Why does Tippi Hedren wear a green suit in The Birds, and what does it mean?

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    Goldfinger: Sean Connery in a Towelling Playsuit

    29 Mar ’11

    Two For the Road: Audrey Hepburn’s outfits – Part 2

    30 Jun ’09

    Deena Appel on Creating the Costume World of The Spy Who Shagged Me

    2 Oct ’18
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