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 Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Clothes from now

    Woman Inherits the Earth: Femininity in Jurassic World

    19 Jun ’15 /

    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 ‘feminine’ traits at the same…

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    World War Z and the Art of Breaking Down

    27 Jun ’13

    The New Batsuit Reveal: Cute But Sinewy

    14 May ’14

    Fantasy Reality: Catherine George on Costuming Okja

    14 Jul ’17
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 2000-10,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Beautiful Oppression: Tilda Swinton in I am Love

    5 Jun ’15 /

    From stills of this film alone you could easily be forgiven in thinking that I am Love (Io sono l’amore, 2009) was set during the 1960s. The designer clothes draped worn by lead members of the Recchi family, as selected by costumer Antonella Cannarozzi, are generally minimalist, in plain colours with little embellishment. I am Love is actually set in Europe around 2000, but its central characters are trapped as the well-heeled repressed of the sixties. Just as sexual, artistic and cultural expression was blossoming, the old guard struggled to make sense of this new world so regressed even more vehemently into their old one. The Recchi’s seem to live…

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    A Cat of a Certain Breed: Breakfast at Tiffany’s

    11 Aug ’12

    Review: Breakfast at Tiffany’s

    8 Dec ’09

    Blaxploitation Dress Codes in 1970s Cinema

    20 Sep ’13
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Internal Affairs: A Black and White World

    6 Dec ’14 /

    Internal Affairs (1990) is an excellent stone cold thriller. The costumes are a subtle tease, revealing personal information that the characters never say out loud. Like many movies released in the late 1980s/1990s, Internal Affairs radiates uneasiness caused by shifting societal attitudes – anything that threatens a straight male chauvinist black-and-white world. Costume designer Rudy Dillon punches through this black-and-white world with ensembles that poke fun at the status quo and subsequently subvert them with eroticism, perhaps ironically using only a colour scheme of black and white. The straight white male chauvinist is Dennis Peck (Richard Gere), a police officer in Los Angeles who controls his colleagues by involving them…

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    Dual Analysis: Beetle Juice – KB’s Thoughts

    31 Oct ’09

    Hot Tub Time Machine Trailer: Colourful Past

    25 Dec ’09

    Meryl Streep in Costume for The Iron Lady Trailer

    7 Jul ’11
  • Clothes from now,  Girls on TV,  Premium

    Costume Encounter: Sheridan Smith as Sally Thorn in The 7.39

    10 Jan ’14 /

    Two-part BBC drama The 7.39 could have been your average ‘man meets woman and has an affair’ tale. However, the overall verdict has been one of admiration at not only the amazing acting from its star players but also the script, which took the audience on an emotional rollercoaster throughout its glorious two hours. But again, often overlooked is the costume, in this case contemporary. The story of the female lead, Sally Thorn, played by Sheridan Smith with a wonderful naturalness, is particularly clearly told through what she wears (costume design by Lucinda Wright). Carl Matthews (believably played by David Morrissey) is stuck in a rut. Tired of his job,…

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    The Royal Tenenbaums: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Tennis Dress

    1 Feb ’10

    Brian de Palma’s Passion: Costume as Contemporary Hitchcock

    16 Oct ’14

    Black Swan International Trailer is Beautiful

    8 Dec ’10
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Clothes from now,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Realism through Identity: Clothing in The Last of Us

    30 Nov ’13 /

    If you have played The Last of Us on Playstation 3 it has likely ruined video gaming for you. The world created is so vivid and believable that every game afterward just feels dated and empty. Throughout, The Last of Us is unwaveringly real, full of seemingly inconsequential details such as every weapon or object you carry being attached or able to fit into your character’s backpack. Contrast this with Grand Theft Auto V where a rocket launcher appears out of your trouser pocket and it’s clear that if game developers really want to create a living, breathing parallel to reality they need to treat it as reality – no…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 2 Comments

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    See Toy Story 3 Early! Two Pairs of Tickets to Give Away!!

    8 Jun ’10

    Why is Miss Piggy Wearing a Vivienne Westwood Wedding Dress?

    11 Feb ’14

    World War Z and the Art of Breaking Down

    27 Jun ’13
  • 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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    Coming to America: Prints & Turbans in Contemporary Fashion

    17 Feb ’11

    Meryl Streep in Costume for The Iron Lady Trailer

    7 Jul ’11

    Get on Up: Sharen Davis Shares Costume Design Sketches

    9 Dec ’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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    Cinema Paradiso: Invisible Costume

    9 Feb ’15

    Style & Identity in Do the Right Thing

    17 Feb ’12

    Behind the Candelabra: Wearing Liberace On Stage and Off

    31 May ’13
  • Clothes from 1970s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Kramer vs. Kramer: Meryl Streep in a Burberry Trench Coat

    21 Mar ’13 /

    Meryl Streep’s timeless Burberry trench coat is one of the most recognisable contemporary costumes of 1970s.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments

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    Film Review: Freebie and the Bean

    25 Jul ’09

    Get on Up: Sharen Davis Shares Costume Design Sketches

    9 Dec ’14

    Dual Analysis: Saturday Night Fever

    10 Aug ’09
  • Clothes from now,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Illuminate More Than Hide: Costume Design in A Separation

    1 Jun ’12 /

    The religious and cultural significance of the costume design in foreign language Oscar winner A Separation.

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    Contributor 4 Comments

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    The Hangover Costume Guide: Black Suits and Shades

    15 Dec ’09

    Trailer for Spike Lee’s Oldboy: Nothing New?

    10 Jul ’13

    The Hangover 2 Image Debuts: More Costume Wackiness to Come

    29 Nov ’10
  • Clothes from 1950s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Doris Day in Pillow Talk: Couture Allure

    18 May ’12 /

    Doris Day’s last hurrah for 1950s fashion wearing some of the most exquisite costumes ever seen on screen.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 8 Comments

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    The Iron Lady: Costume as Distinction, Gender and Protection

    4 May ’13

    Grease: Stockard Channing as Rizzo

    17 Aug ’09

    Edith Head Sketches for Grace Kelly Costumes to be Auctioned

    11 Nov ’10
  • Clothes from now,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Crazy, Stupid, Love: Suits and 407s

    27 Jan ’12 /

    Crazy, Stupid Love is every inch the ‘fashion film’, both in terms of narrative and costume designer Dayna Pink’s elegant menswear styling.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments

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    The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Full Costume Trailer

    24 Sep ’11

    Stoker: Colour the Narrative

    8 Nov ’13

    Much Ado About Nothing: Colour Blind Costuming

    11 Jul ’13
  • Clothes from 2000-10,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Winter’s Bone: Rebecca Hofherr Interview

    12 Jan ’12 /

    Costume designer Rebecca Hofherr talks exclusively to Clothes on Film about her incredible contribution to Winter’s Bone.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    The Bourne Supremacy: Karl Urban’s Tunic Shirt

    18 Jul ’09

    Charlie Sheen Back in Braces for Wall Street 2

    9 Sep ’09

    Sandra Bullock in The Proposal: Small Wardrobe, Big Impact

    24 Feb ’12
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