Stereotypes Of Costuming In Film

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Since its inception as a medium, costuming in film has always had a soft spot for the elaborate and ostentatious. In particular, the idea of putting the lead actress in a selection of painstakingly crafted dresses is a near-omnipresent trope. Calling fancy costuming in film a cliche would be akin to calling wide shots a cliche. Often associated together via the elaborate panache of the red carpet, designer fashion and movie stars have arguably had an even more fruitful partnership on the silver screen. However, a great deal of variation exists within this large sphere of costuming, particularly when it comes to what those immaculate dresses tell us about the woman wearing them. Beyond the obvious surface-level connotations of wealth and style, …show more content…

While all three archetypes and the characters that best portrayed them share iconic dresswork and glamour to spare, how that glitz is used can vary. Comparing Hepburn’s innocent free spirit to Kelly’s refined debutante or to Stone’s narcissistic hustler reveals a world of difference in how filmmakers use fashion to code certain aspects of female behavior. Whether it represent the highest virtues or the basest vices, high-end fashion has always made for an eye-catching method of giving moral texture to a character and the world they …show more content…

He wants what he can spy at a distance, not what he can hold in his arms,” largely because of his “fear of impotence” brought on by Lisa’s mere presence. Hitchcock loved to use his mysterious blondes not as eye candy but as crucibles for his tortured male protagonists to be splaid upon, laying all their failings and insecurities bare for the audience to

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