Top moments of
sartorial splendour on film.
Wild at Heart (1990)
“This is a snakeskin
jacket and for me it’s a symbol of my individuality and my belief
in personal freedom” proclaims Sailor Ripley in David Lynch’s Wild
at Heart. And boy, does he know how to wear his statement piece of
couture – with tight, tight jeans and a southern drawl smoother
than Elvis’, of course. No one messes with shooting, smoking,
speed metal-loving Sailor, and no one should EVER tell him he looks
like a clown in his snakeskin jacket. In fact, we hope no one has
ever made a similar comment to Nicolas Cage, because it’s his
jacket, and we all know what happens when Nicolas Cage loses his shit.
Paris, Texas (1984)
Who can forget the
haunting image of Jane (Nastassja Kinski) under the sleazy, sullen
blue lights of the peepshow room wearing THAT fuchsia, backless
dress in Paris, Texas? The soft angora gem – perhaps a nod to
her delicate disposition – worked a dream with her high-octane,
honey-coloured bob and heartbroken demeanour.
A Bout de Souffle
(1960)
Godard once mumbled in his Gallic tones that all you need
to make a great movie is “a girl and a gun”. True, but very
well-dressed girl at that. Cue Patricia, the doe-eyed flirt flying
the proverbial flag for gamine chic and inducing serious outfit envy
in A Bout de Souffle. Whether parading up and down the
Champs-Elysées in a New York Herald Tribune t-shirt and black
cigarette pants or seducing her felonious lover Michel with
her delightful fifties dresses, adorable elfin crop and
kitten-flicked eyes, Patricia takes the cake for her American spin on
timeless Parisian style.
Grey Gardens (1975)
Edie Bouvier Beale,
faded socialite and close relation to Jackie O, brings new meaning to
the expression “all dressed up with nowhere to go” in the
documentary Grey Gardens. Despite the crumbiest of existences,
Edie displays a dedication to glamour that is most honourable –
dressing to the nines everyday in glossy furs, headscarves and skimpy
bathing suits to roam her ramshackle Hamptons house and soak up the
East Coast sun in her post-apocalyptic garden.
Lolita (1997)
In the most recent film
adaptation of Nabokov’s novel, often described as a “beautiful
portrait of a paedophile”, was it Dolores Haze’s playful and
provocative style that got Jeremy Irons all hot under the collar? Who
wouldn’t be intoxicated by her whimsical look – all frilly crop
tops and cherry lipstick, swiss braids and bubblegum. Don’t get us
wrong, Lolita was definitely a nubile young woman, but it does make
us wonder, would he have fancied her had she been clad like a
nun? No, probably not.
Annie Hall (1977)
Woody Allen had such
faith in Diane Keaton’s taste that he left her to her own devices
to style Annie, which she did with clothes from her own closet.
Although a vulnerable and neurotic character, Annie’s clothes said
very different; dressed in her staple fedoras, waistcoats and
ties, often layering with one piece too many but doing so with brazen
confidence, Annie’s masculine and oversized aesthetic screams
chutzpah. Proof if you ever needed it that you don’t have to bare
flesh and embrace feminine shapes to be sexy. Word up Annie.
Gummo (1997)
With Chloe Sevigny in
charge of costume design, Gummo was always going to be a
winner. Amongst the wacky denizens of the backwater town of Xenia,
Ohio, it’s the efforts of image-obsessed Dot (Sevigny) and her
sister Helen that stand out the most. The two pour all their energies
into experimenting with extreme sartorial styles; not content with
having peroxided their mullets within an inch of their lives, they
shave their eyebrows and tape their nipples, creating a strong and
captivating look that can only be described as ‘albino chic’.
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