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 1950s,  Clothes from 1980s,  Clothes on Film Video,  Guys in Films

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

    29 Nov ’19 /

    The scruffy gumshoe style of Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987). With very special trousers.

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    Phantom Thread: An Insight into Autism and Relationships

    23 Mar ’18

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

    29 Aug ’13

    Katie Holmes in The Kennedys: Armani’s Copy of a Copy

    5 Aug ’11
  • Clothes from 1950s,  Clothes from 1960s,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Shifting Trends: Claire Foy in First Man

    25 Oct ’18 /

    MINOR SPOILERS First Man (2018) is not a movie overly preoccupied with fashion, And why would it be? The focus of the story is astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his journey to become the first person to ever walk on the surface of the moon. Armstrong wears a lot of button down shirts, short sleeve checks, neutral slacks, the odd dark single breasted suit for formal occasions – largely dour attire for a dour man. He also wears a space suit, several of them. However, outside of Emilio Pucci’s involvement in designing the logo for the Apollo 15 flight in 1971, fashion rarely intersects with the requirements of surviving…

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    Rebel Without a Cause: James Dean in Denim

    1 Jul ’10

    Film Review: The Killer Inside Me

    19 Jun ’10

    North by Northwest: Cary Grant’s Kilgour Suit

    13 May ’09
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1970s,  Clothes from 2000-10,  Interviews

    Deena Appel on the Costume Design of Austin Powers: Goldmember

    9 Oct ’18 /

    Goldmember (2002, directed by Jay Roach), the final film (so far) in the Austin Powers series again shifts its timeline. However, rather than a negligible, though comparatively significant, jump from late to very late 1960s, here we dive into that most raucous of decades – the 1970s. And then back to 2002 (do keep up). For costume designer Deena Appel (pictured above, bottom left with Jay Roach) it was a wildly ambitious undertaking. Not to mention the film also features a well-known music and movie star, just about to launch into the stratosphere: Beyoncé. Speaking exclusively to Clothes on Film and closing out our epic in-depth look at the Austin…

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    Two For the Road: Audrey Hepburn’s outfits – Part 1

    8 Jun ’09

    Rosemary’s Baby: Chris and KB Chat About the Film

    4 Jan ’10

    Katie Holmes in The Kennedys: Armani’s Copy of a Copy

    5 Aug ’11
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews

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

    2 Oct ’18 /

    The second installment (part one HERE) of our extensive interview with Austin Powers trilogy costume designer Deena Appel, this time focusing on The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999, again directed by Jay Roach). Things change up in The Spy Who Shagged Me, for in addition to costuming the modern and swinging sixties world of Austin Powers, his character also travels to 1969, i.e. the ‘hippie era’. The first film was a tremendous success and Appel’s contribution solidified her as the only person who could return to costume this fabulous, vibrant landscape. Speaking exclusively to Clothes on Film, and providing never before seen or published costume sketches from the movie, Deena…

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    Dual Analysis: Rosemary’s Baby – Chris’ Thoughts

    1 Jan ’10

    George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

    12 Oct ’12

    The Suits of Lee Marvin in Point Blank (1967)

    2 Sep ’19
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Deena Appel on the Costume Design of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

    25 Sep ’18 /

    With Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), costume designer Deena Appel created one of the most iconic screen looks of all time. That is no overstatement; Austin Powers has been copied and homaged and wheeled out every year as a Halloween costume, with very little credit put Appel’s way. It is a rather sad indictment of how the industry works that, despite its importance, especially in a film such as Austin Powers, a costume designer will rarely see any kudos come their way. Awards? Well, you might have a chance if your film is set in Victorian England or Disney-verse, but other than that not so much. With this…

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    2001 and Hardy Amies: When Fashion and Film Collide

    21 Dec ’12

    Grace Slick Wears Woodstock

    28 Oct ’14

    The Royal Tenenbaums: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Tennis Dress

    1 Feb ’10
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Superfly Solo

    18 Jun ’18 /

    MILD SPOILERS Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) is far and away the most ‘A New Hope-like’ film in the series yet. In terms of tone, sure, but particularly costume. What costume designers Glyn Dillon and David Crossman have so expertly achieved with Solo is making a contemporary looking movie set during the late 1960s. Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 which puts Solo’s timeline around a decade before, or likely just over. But hang on, isn’t this a science fiction movie? What does when it’s made have to do with the space opera world being brought to life on screen? Well the seventies in particular was…

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    Tron Legacy: Merchandising the MCP

    17 Dec ’10

    Game of Thrones Costume Analysis: Daenerys Targaryen

    16 Jul ’13

    The New Batsuit Reveal: Cute But Sinewy

    14 May ’14
  • Clothes from 1930s,  Clothes from 1940s,  Clothes from 1950s,  Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes in Films,  Girls in Films,  Premium

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

    6 Jun ’18 /

    Author Caroline Young has just released a fascinating new book entitled Hitchcock’s Heroines (published by Insight Editions). It celebrates and studies the women in Hitchcock movies; their influence, semblance and iconography. What’s more, Young also examines the role costume design plays with these women, both the characters and the actresses who played them, and how they can be interpreted as far more than just ‘icy blondes’. Here we have an extract of the book exclusively for Clothes on Film: Kim Novak’s grey suit the colour of San Francisco fog in Vertigo, Grace Kelly as the too-perfect woman in Rear Window, and Janet Leigh’s black and white sets of underwear to…

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    Review: Water for Elephants

    10 May ’11

    Top Hat: Ginger Rogers’ Ostrich Feather Dress

    11 Aug ’10

    Status and Signifiers: Costume in There Will Be Blood

    1 Apr ’14
  • Clothes from 1950s,  Clothes in Films,  Film Reviews,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Phantom Thread: An Insight into Autism and Relationships

    23 Mar ’18 /

    SPOILERS If you’ve heard anything about Phantom Thread (2017, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson), you are bound to uncover a multitude of thoughts on the astounding Academy Award winning costume work of Mark Bridges or the retirement role of Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, 1950s fashion house couturier. But one of the key components to Reynolds is missing from the discussion: Autism. Phantom Thread opens with Reynolds (Day-Lewis) getting dressed to formalities of the era. Polished shoes, ironed trousers, a fresh button-down shirt, with the addition of long magenta socks to introduce the notion of creativity, or perhaps particularities to the character. The scene moves to breakfast, which quietly adds…

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    To Catch a Thief: Grace Kelly’s Coral Top and Skirt

    21 May ’11

    The Iron Lady: Costume as Distinction, Gender and Protection

    4 May ’13

    Grease: Olivia Newton-John is Squeaky Clean, Jellybean

    2 Apr ’10
  • Clothes from 1930s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

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

    2 Nov ’17 /

    Clothes on Film were fortunate enough to be invited to a display of costumes from the latest adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (2017), plus interview its costume designer Alexandra Byrne. An Oscar winner for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2008), and well known for her period design work, since 2011 Byrne has become connected to the world of Marvel, her most recent project being Doctor Strange in 2016. Here she chats candidly about recreating the (mainly) glamorous side of the early 1930s and the challenges that faced her and her team. Alexandra Byrne on shooting in 70 mm: “Director Ken (Branagh) and I did Hamlet (1996) together which was…

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    Film Review: Chinatown

    19 Oct ’09

    Atonement: Keira Knightley’s Green Dress

    23 Jun ’09

    Tom Hardy in Lawless: The Knitwear Anti-Hero

    21 Sep ’12
  • Clothes from 1940s,  Girls in Films,  Girls on TV

    The Star Wattage of Mildred Pierce (1945)

    6 Mar ’17 /

    The 1945 cinematic adaptation of Mildred Pierce, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring, of course, Joan Crawford, is a very different beast to the 2011 HBO mini-series starring Kate Winslet. In all honestly it is not as good, but more significantly it is very different in terms of costume. Interestingly enough the mini-series, which is evidently a period piece, is closer in terms of historical accuracy than the near contemporary set Crawford version. This is not the be all and end all, because while Winslet’s Pierce may feel more real in terms of costume and setting, Crawford’s is arguably more fun. If for no other reason than to exemplify how…

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    Get on Up: Sharen Davis Shares Costume Design Sketches

    9 Dec ’14

    His Girl Friday: Rosalind Russell’s Chevron Striped Coat

    18 Jun ’09

    Atonement: Keira Knightley’s Green Dress

    23 Jun ’09
  • Clothes from 1990s,  Clothes from now,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    T2 Trainspotting: Nostalgia Trip

    6 Feb ’17 /

    MINOR SPOILERS Like any film with an extended period of time between the original and sequel(s), T2: Trainspotting (2017) is required to form an immediate connection with its audience. Twenty years have passed, yet we must feel accustomed to this world. For every element of change, something else must remain the same. We take comfort in what we know; it allows us to enjoy the new without fear of the unknown. If T2 had been released a couple of years after Trainspotting (1996), it could potentially have been set in Benidorm. Transplanting our anti-heroes from Scotland to Spain is fine when they are fresh in our conscious mind, but twenty…

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    Win an Official The Big Lebowski Pendleton Cardigan

    11 Oct ’11

    Kiss of Death: Nicolas Cage as Little Junior Brown

    8 Oct ’09

    Clueless: Crayola Brights & Rich Girl Prep

    11 May ’12
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Clothes from now,  Guys on TV,  Premium

    Luke Cage: Swiss Cheese Hoodie

    14 Nov ’16 /

    MILD SPOILERS The hoodie has as much to say about it’s wearer as, say, the white t-shirt does. By which I mean that, depending on context, it can say anything. The white t-shirt can imply clean, erotic, the worker – or a combination of all three. In the eyes of contemporary media, the hoodie largely suggests youth. Shady youth, someone not keen to reveal their identity because they are planning on robbing you or worse. Put the hoodie on a black man and it is pretty much akin to walking down the street in a striped jumper with a sack marked ‘swag’. Luke Cage is not set to change that…

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    New Tron Legacy Banners Bring the Costumes

    17 Sep ’10

    King Kong: Naomi Watts’ White Evening Dress

    23 Oct ’09

    Seventh Son Trailer: Filthy Fantasy

    12 Jul ’13
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