[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. 

CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994)

Aesthetically, Wong Kar-wai’s films are always my favorites – they inhabit a strange, ultra-saturated dream world that’s unlike any other. The color palates, the art direction, the cinematography, the editing all layer on top of each other creating a frenzied cinematic universe that almost flaunts its artificiality.

Chungking Express is split into two love stories. The first features Brigitte Lin playing an unnamed drug dealer who has a brief affair with a police officer:

She wears the same uniform throughout the film, navigating the seedy underbelly of the Hong Kong nightlife wearing a tan raincoat and bright red sunglasses (she doesn't know if it will rain or be sunny), pistol stowed neatly in her cream handbag. Her stiff blonde wig is a nod to the titular character in John Cassavetes' Gloria.

The second features Faye Wong as Faye, a young girl working at her family's fast-food restaurant dreaming of California and adventure. (She also has a brief love affair with a police officer).

In comparison, Faye's wardrobe is much brighter (and most of her story takes place during the daytime, unlike the first half of the film). Lots of blues, yellows, and whites reflect a lighter, more youthful energy - perfect for a young dreamer acting out an imaginary love affair with stranger. 

FRANCES HA (2012)

The first time I watched Frances Ha I didn’t like it – it was right on the heels of Girls and I was kind of over the whole hyper-aware, drenched in post-adolescent ennui schtick that pops up in every mumblecore film. (in my defense, how can you not hate something that gives itself a name as dumb as MUMBLECORE on principle). But last year my friend forced me to re-watch it and I actually enjoyed watching it. I’m glad I gave it a second (and third) chance, because on repeat viewings I found myself drawn into this story about a charming, unconventional dancer in New York.

It’s a deceptively simple film with a surprising amount of heart and depth, reflected in the film’s costumes. There’s a realism in the costume choices that isn’t often seen on screen. Unlike a typical, film where characters have an assortment of completely different costumes depending on the scene, Frances has a very specific (and small) wardrobe, consisting of loose dresses, capri leggings, overshirts, and a leather jacket.

The prototypical Frances outfit, she spends the entire film in some variation of this. It's actually a really great example of characterization through clothes. Everything she wears is well-worn, oversized, and a bit sloppy - but she manages to pull it off with surprisingly flair.

The plaid shirt carries from a variety of social situations, from lounging at home, to working at the studio, to dinner out with Sophie (also notice the contrast between Frances and Sophie in the last image - Sophie's rigidly conservative cardigan and pencil skirt and Frances's disheveled appearance.)

Not the best shot, but I love the sweater-around-the-waist (you can see an example of it above with her plaid shirt). Practical and unpolished, that's our girl. 

Her wardrobe does a really subtle shift at the end that's quite brilliant. 

Professional Frances! With glasses!! Her shirt is still wrinkled, but look how much more "grown up" she looks here than the earlier shot of her in the forest with the hoodie-over-dress-over-jeans look. 

Ditto with her outfit that she wore to the opening of her show - very tasteful & adult.

The final scene of the film - compare this with the very first scene (pictured above). Simple and cohesive, reflecting Frances's final coming-to-terms with herself.