[Original] - THE FASHIONABLE CHRISTMAS FILM

What better way to celebrate than with a good movie? (Or two or three or seven?) I present, a list of unconventional Christmas films to inspire your holiday aesthetic:

LOVE STORY

Considered one of the most romantic films of all time (by AFI), with a wonderfully timeless costume design - very classic preppy North Eastern vibes. Inspired Roger Ebert to coin Ali MacGraw Disease, in which "the only symptom is that the patient grows more beautiful until finally dying." Features a higher than average number of fantastic winter coats.

TANGERINE

Surprisingly poignant storyline makes Tangerine a solid contender for one of the best films of 2015. Remarkably shot using an iPhone 5s, which gives the film a beautiful intimacy with its characters. Vibrant colors and vampy wardrobe add a wonderful visual dimension to the side of Los Angeles not often shown on screen.

WHITE CHRISTMAS

(Okay this one isn't so unconventional) An old holiday standard from the 50's featuring lots of showtunes and increasingly gaudy costume choices. The hyper-feminine color palette is an interesting departure for a holiday film.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS

NOT included on AFI's "100 GREATEST LOVE STORIES OF ALL TIME" because they are terrible fuck ups, obviously. Easily one of Tim Burton and Colleen Atwoods strongest collaborations - the cotton candy pastel wonderland Edward invades makes this movie something I could watch forever. 

ELOISE AT CHRISTMASTIME

Are there any movies that conjure up the Spirit of Christmas(TM) better than made-for-TV vehicles that pop-up at non-prime-time hours during December? No. No, there is not. Eloise is the best of these obviously - it features the eponymous Eloise, a 6 year old who lives in the penthouse suite of the Plaza hotel in NYC with a pug, a turtle, a British nanny, and an apparently endless bankroll. Heavily features adorable pinafores and the color pink.

EYES WIDE SHUT

For all your erotic Christmas needs. Detached, surreal, and clinically sexual as any other Kubrick film. Notably features Tom and Nicole while they were still married (pre iconic #freenicole divorce settlement). Features tons of really lovely lingerie moments and people wearing capes and masks. 

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000)

All of Wong Kar Wai's films are such a joy to watch - time and again he captures the perfect fusion of image and sound the way only cinema can pull off. In the Mood for Love is one of my favorites for many reasons. And a huge reason is Maggie Cheung's amazing wardrobe (designed by Wong's long time collaborator William Chang)

I've internet acquired a ton of rumors about Cheung's wardrobe - that there were originally over 40 cheongsams made for Cheung's character but only half made the final cut; that getting Cheung ready to film took up to five hours because, in addition to the hair and makeup, she had to be sewn into the dresses each day. 

Most of which is probably made up because an hour googling interviews w/ Chang about this film turned up very little in terms of concrete info. But they add a sort of mythical importance that fits A Monumental Achievement in Costume Design, which is what is happening here. 

(A Monumental Achievement in Costume Design occurs whenever I am distracted by the plot of the film because the wardrobe is Just. So. Good. And that happened pretty much each time she changed her dress in this film).

This takes the idea of a uniform to a whole new level - identical silhouettes, and a wide array of colors, patterns and textures.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005)

There's always going to be a debate about The Best Adaptation of Jane Austen's Highly Celebrated and Well Beloved Pride and Prejudice*. As much as I love the 1995 BBC miniseries with its careful attention to the nuances of Austen's writing (and Colin Firth), ultimately I am a shallow movie-goer and am easily won over by things like prettier cinematography and production design. 

(I'm being somewhat sarcastic and actually think Joe Wright's adaptation does a substantially better job of capturing the emotion of the novel. Also, Keira Knightley)

*(you're welcome for not going the "it is a truth universally acknowledged" route)

The costumes in the 2005 adaptation are sooooooo good though you guys. Set in 1797 specifically to avoid the Edwardian empire silhouette, which Wright and costume designer

Jacqueline Durran thought stiff and unflattering. As a result, the costumes have a wonderfully lived-in feel that you rarely get with period pieces. I love historical dramas but it's very easy for the wardrobe to feel very blatantly "costume-y", and that's been entirely sidestepped here in favor of a more naturalistic approach. 

Lizzie's wardrobe is very simple and practical, with lots of rich earth tones (warm browns, greens, and blues, with the occasional white). She's the tomboy of the family, very clever and witty and more interested in nature and the world around her than her clothing. 

SCREAM QUEENS (2015 - ?)

CHANEL, PASTELS & NIGHTMARES
inside the delicately deadly world of Scream Queens

Like the rest of the internet, I've been sucked into the girlishly hued vortex that is Ryan Murphy's latest train wreck tour-de-force. Logical characterization and narrative coherency be damned, you HAVE to admire a show that commits this hard to its feathery cotton candy aesthetic.

Borrowing heavily from Clueless (in terms of outlandish prints, mini-skirt & sweater sets, kneesocks, and general 90s nostalgia) and Heathers (in terms of monochromatic color designs and murderous girl gangs who happen to share a single name), costume designed Lou Eyrich has cultivated a strikingly fashionable atmosphere that lends a sugar-coated edge to the show.


Onto the clothes....

PUSHING DAISIES (2007)

WHY PUSHING DAISIES IS THE PERFECT SHOW

• film noir fairy tale vibes
• body horror
• romantic rivals turned bffs
• star crossed lovers
• puns used as plot devices
• immortal golden retriever
• saturated monochromatic design schemes
• retro/kitsch-chic costumes
• the costumes
• the costumes????
• the costumes!!!!

SUSPIRIA (1977)

The first film in Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy, Suspiria, follows a young ballet student who travels to Germany to train at a prestigious dance academy, only to uncover a supernatural mystery when her classmates begin disappearing. 

Part fairytale, part nightmare, part underground rave - this is an elegantly crafted film with one of the best examples of production design. 

In the original script, the dance school was intended to be for girls younger than twelve, but Argento's producers were concerned that a film with such violence towards children would not pass the censors. Although the characters were aged up, the costumes are designed to convey a sense of youthfulness - lots of simple silhouettes in neutral colors (whites, lavenders, pinks, and occasionally black) with lacy adornments. The color palette worn by Suzy and her classmates is also in sharp contrast to the bright, often garish lights.

                                     

[Original] - DRESS LIKE A SCREAM QUEEN

THE MADONNA/WHORE COMPLEX AND YOU

For as a long as there have been people, probably, dudes across the world have been categorizing women into two categories: the “good” women who deserve love and protection and the “bad” women who don’t. This dichotomy is a fundamental tool of oppression that has been used for centuries to keep women in line with social conventions (and punish those who break them). Cool, but what does that have to do with slasher films (and more importantly, the costumes worn by characters in slasher films)??

A lot, actually.

THE FINAL GIRL

As equally a defining feature of the genre as the slasher himself, the Final Girl is an unassuming “girl next door type” who is the only character capable of facing down the killer and living to see another day (and the sequel).

Friday the 13th (1980)

Scream (1996)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Halloween (1978)

Patterns in their character designs:

-       minimal “natural” make up

-       often a brunette* 

-       loose, boyish silhouettes

-    more conservative, in coverage and color palette

-       shy & virginal**

*Alice and Laurie are blondes, but note how different their hairstyles are from their friends.

** This changed in the 90s largely because of Buffy, who was conceived as the anti-final girl. Lampshaded pretty effectivelyin Scream

The Final Girl's character design is in sharp contrast to her worldlier, more disposable friends. Note the more obvious presentations of femininity

-       usually blonde

-       heavy make up

-       close fitting clothes, skirts,

-       outgoing, overtly sexual

OUTFITTING YOURSELF FOR SURVIVAL

IRIS (2014)

I remember first reading about Iris Apfel on a livejournal community AGES ago when I was in middle school and livejournal was still considered cool. Someone had scans of her Rare Bird of Fashion exhibit, which I immediately saved and meticulously organized on my harddrive (the highest honor 14-year-old me could give). I haven't ever followed her closely, but she'll pop up time and time again throughout my internet adventures and I'm reminded that there is a magical woman named Iris who lives in New York and has two apartments and a storage loft full of clothes.

So I pretty much died of happiness when I found out that

a) Albert Maysles (aka co-director of my #1 fave documentary Grey Gardens) just made a doc about Iris

b) My One and Only, Netflix (TM) had it available for streaming last week

I watched it. It was amazing. 

THE OFFICE (2005)

So, further proof that the Selfie Generation ™ is destined for worldwide destruction or something; I have reached the point where simply fucking around on the internet is no longer enough to occupy me. I do this thing where I have a Main Browser Window for me to do all my Interneting, and then a small Safari window off to the right side so I can watch Netflix so I won’t be bored during all of my Internet Misadventures. The problem** is, this limits me to a VERY limited range of media because it needs to be watchable without requiring more than 26% of my attention at a given time (ie; The Office, US Version).

**disclaimer: I realize there are a lot of problems with this.

So anyway, that’s the long explanation for why I felt guilty for depriving Michael Scott & Co of my full attention, and decided to rewatch the first season ... while actually like, watching it. And I made the startling realization that the first season of The Office has this really remarkable, hyper-realistic aesthetic that got lost along the way as the show grew into this Thursday-night-comedy-juggernaut (and the increase in budget that came with it).

Something about the low-budget, unpolished production design led to these small moments of beauty in a show that wasn't quite aware of what it would become. Sitcoms aren't really thought of as being artistic, so I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the unexpected beauty of The Office:

[Original] - BACK TO SCHOOL STYLE

fashion&film original

BACK TO SCHOOL WITH CINEMA'S MOST FASHIONABLE SCHOOLGIRLS

For when you're dreaming of Paris during your British Lit class or being wined & dined by your smarmy con-artist boyfriend

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Jenny's style is very classic girly, with lots of clean silhouettes and crisp lines. Neutral colors (pops of color for evening wear). Simple touches - her heart shaped locket, classic trench, black watch, rainbow Sobranies - complete her look.

For when you spend your freshman year pining over some nerd who doesn't know you exist but don't let it stop you from being a badass and winning the science fair

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Margaret is very preppy and understated. Dark neutral colors with almost severe lines. She knows the importance of a signature accessory - a beret, tortoiseshell specs, chunky scarves, ID necklace (Carrie Bradshaw who?)

GOSSIP GIRL (2007 - 2012)

 I’m always hesitant to cap TV shows because of the sheer amount of costumes. (Particularly with a show like Gossip Girl which, with the exception of a few menswear pieces, famously avoided using a single article of clothing in more than one scene.) But a number of people have requested it so I decided to take on the show in its dazzlingly over-costumed glory…

…And promptly ran into the same problem I did last year when I tried capping it for the first time [exhibit A], namely that there’s like 80 hours of this shit. So I decided to take a different approach, and focus on the true style icon of the show

BLAIR CORNELIA WALDORF

I compiled all of Blair’s 476 outfits into the graphics below. (That’s right. Four. Hundred. Seventy. Six.)

By the numbers:

Total Costumes: 476

Avg costumes/season: 79.3

Avg costumes/episode: 3.967

# of lingerie sets: 76

# of headbands: 74

# of iconic old Hollywood looks: 7

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Examining Blair's wardrobe in such a macro way revealed a lot of trends that I probably wouldn't have noticed if I was analyzing the show on an individual episode level. Namely, the dominance of the color red (followed closely by black & yellow - I see you taking cues from the coral snake, B).

Other stray observations:

• Blair's clothes tend to be the most colorful in the first few episodes of each season.
• Season 1 as the lightest and most varied in terms of color palette. Season 1 also featured the most headbands (total count: 36)
• Season 2, by contrast, is the darkest - and features the most costume changes (total count: 113)
• Season 3 has a significantly smaller range of color than the first two seasons, and the silhouettes are much more structured and conservative. We've officially moved away from the schoolgirl uniform of circle skirts and headbands (Blair only wears 4 in the entire season).
• Season 4 is even more muted than Season 3 - it's almost entirely neutrals and reds. 
• Season 5 shows more color and more light - we start to see whites creeping their way back in Blair's wardrobe. (Fitting as her wedding plays such a huge role in her story arc. This is also the only season where there are NO HEADBANDS!!)
• Season 6 was a bit harder to get a cohesive sense of because of it's length, but you can see it following the well-established patterns of her look - lots of reds, blacks, yellows with a few pops of bright color. Her pastel Elie Saab dress looks out of place against the rest of her wardrobe this season, which is interesting because it was easily one of my favorite things she wore throughout the entire show.