Modern Film - Vintage Fashion

[John in Covina]

There seem to be some (recent) films that are pretty accurate in representing the dress of the eras from the 1900's to the 1950's. I was wondering if any of you would care to list films that you feel are either accurate or capture the ideals of the fashions of an era.

Or if you wanted to show someone your ideal fashion representation in a film, what would it be?

Sincerely,

 

[Lauren]

1900-1919
The Golden Bowl. Absolutely stunning costumes and a good showing of upper vs. lower classes.
Howard's End To me the end all film of Edwardian costuming. They got it all right. And the story's fabulous.
Out of Africa Another great look of costume of the time from the view of a fashionable lady who needs sensible clothing. And the story's amazing, of course.
Titanic Yeah, annoying acting but brilliant costumes. A lot of the hats and the extras wore authentic pieces, much to my dismay when they threw them in the ocean. (Marc has a heartbreaking story about this)
Wings of the Dove Recommended to me by Hemingway Jones- this is a fabulous view of how the more artistic or fashion forward women of the time dressed. And the hats are fabulous. This one ties for me of the best costume films of the period.
A Very Long Engagement goes into the 20's, I believe. Is a heartwrenching story, beautifully filmed, and wonderful acting. The clothes are great, too.

1920's
Enchanted April Probably my favorite of the 20's films- the story's great, the clothes are great- AND it shows the difference in class structure and interest through clothing. Fabulous.
The Cat's Meow Pretty close in costumes, a fun look at 20's clothing with a little bit of a modern twist but not really noticable. And Kirsten Dunst is the perfect actress for Marion Davies.

1930's
Mrs Henderson Presents They got it all right- the hair, the clothes- the acting is fabulous. The best representation of 30's since...
Gosford Park The end all 30's costume film. Upstairs Downstairs, fabulous ladies suits and gowns- super slow plot but worth it for the clothes.
Seabiscuit has to be mentioned, though. Stunning clothing- but I wish we could see more of a class distinction. Still- stunning and nearly perfect- right in line with the other two.

I really recommend Kendra's site on Costume in Cinema- I pretty much agree with all her reviews, and she is an amazing costumer- in my book one of the top Go poke around her site and just look at some of her fabulous creations. If you look really hard you'll spot Vanessa and I in the events section

 

[moustache]

Still

I still rate "Road to Perdition" as one of THE best at portraying the American wardrobe in 1931.Yes,"Miller's Crossing"did an admirable job,but it seemed to me that the film was just too dark quite a lot of the time.Not enough light to bring out the clothing. Just my opinion,of course.

And i watch RTP at least once a month!!!

Jim in Vancouver,Wa

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Lauren, that is a wonderful site that I had never seen, thanks for the link.
Also, I agree with all of the films you have listed. Not only are they great representation of the fashion of said era's, but most of them are overall enjoyable to watch.

As an addition, I'd add "The Notebook". It's not the greatest acting, but it's a pretty movie to watch. It was a departure for Rachel McAdams, a completely different character than she usually plays. Compare her in this film to her portrayal of a neurotic, overly weight conscious, snotty brat in "Mean Girls" (Yes, I admit to seeing this movie!!) Not only, in "The Notebook" are the clothes she wears quite beautiful, but she carries herself rather well in them. I really enjoyed the costuming in this film, it's probably the only reason why I watch it as often as I do. You get the complete package, not just great outfits, but wonderful hair, great accessories and make-up.

I would also add to the list "The Aviator". What a fun movie to watch, although it does start dragging at the end, and the movie would have done just as well if not better if certain scenes had been taken out. But, just about every actor in the film really stepped into their roles. Women's clothes were superb as well as hair, accessories and make-up too. Both Cate and Kate looked incredible. What I wouldn't do to get a hold of some of those dresses and hats! Or anything, for that matter, from the closet of this film. I don't know too much about men's vintage clothes and accessories, but from what I saw, they all looked great. Leo does a great job capturing a likeness of Hughes. His clothes, IMO, were really incredible. This film is a beautiful film to watch.

Good call on "Road to Predition" Also an enjoyable film to watch.

"Wings Of The Dove" is another film that has beautiful costumes.

 

[Lauren]

Oh, I totally forgot Oh Brother Where Art Thou! Perfect for representing midwest America at the time. Wonderful costumes in that film- and a great movie to boot!

And glad you liked the site, Daisy! She did a great job putting it together, I think

 

[Lady Day]

Altho Im sure not SUPER accurate, it did have some great styles from the early 30s in it.

And funny to boot.

LD

Also Devil in a Blue Dress is a great one as well.

 

[LadyDeWinter]

I would say Remains of the day Howards End, Room with a view.

 

[scotrace]

Weakness for Victorian

The French Lieutenant's Woman, Age of Innocence, The Dead.

Any of the Shelock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett.

I'm unsure of accuracy, but I loved the ladies looks in Pearl Harbor.

 

[Feraud]

The following films represent what I like from the era. Some have been menionted and others not. Some are not recent but stylistic influences so I have listed 'em.
The Natural
Hollywoodland
The Man Who Wasn't There
Miller's Crossing
The Aviator
O Brother, Where Art thou?
Road to Perdition
Once Upon A Time In America

There are plenty more I cannot think of right now..

 

[herringbonekid]

i also rate 'Miller's Crossing' and 'Road to Perdition' (which i'm pretty sure was influenced in its look by the earlier 'Miller's'). i like the muted palette of both and the general masculine feel of the clothing.

 

[Feraud]

Any of the Shelock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett.

That series, along with Poirot have amazing clothing in it! I never get tired of watching the episodes.

 

[John in Covina]

Last Man Standing

I don't know how totally accurate this one was, but it seemed so elements were pretty good in "Last Man Standing" we have reference the Christopher Walken character "Hickey" for his long over coat.

 

[Lauren]

The French Lieutenant's Woman, Age of Innocence, The Dead.

Any of the Shelock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett.

I'm unsure of accuracy, but I loved the ladies looks in Pearl Harbor.

Age of Innocence is nearly perfect for Victorian costuming

 

[moustache]

Forgot!

I had completely fogotten to add another with splendid vintage attire:

The Godfather I and II

The first movie did a spectacular job with traditional clothing in 1930's and 1940's New York and New Jersey.
The Godfather II also did well with not only 1950's to 60's attire,but the scenes in Old World Sicilly were accurate as well.

The scenes in 1950's Havana were to die for as well!!

JD

 

[VargasGirl]

I really liked The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, based on the book by Terry Ryan with the sub-title How My Mother Raised Ten kids on 25 Words or Less. It mainly focus on their lives from the 40s-50's.

The costumeing in MY opinion was really good. The family can be considered lower class-very low middle class. I only wish they had put the part where she has to make her own girdles in the movie. The company that made the girdle she liked dicontinued them, so she went to the store and bought several. She only wore one and used the others for parts. When a rubber part wore out she would cut a piece off another, then melt it on using her iron, which ended up filling the house with a burnt-rubber smell. Gosh I live that movie.

 

[Lauren]

1900-1919
The Golden Bowl. Absolutely stunning costumes and a good showing of upper vs. lower classes.

Just realized I got this one confused with House of Mirth. Whoops! Well, both have great costumes

 

[CharlieH.]

Chinatown. Period.

 

[K by the bay]

Evil Under The Sun. Don't know if it's accurate but it's a fun movie. Roddy McDowall has some great outfits.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Chinatown, The Two Jakes, Bugsy, Tucker: The Man & His Dream

Not just the clothes - the cars, man, the cars . . .

 

[JeffOYB]

"Sea Bisquit"...for the hats. "De-Lovely" for outfits...

Say, I've made a few searches here for subjects that I thought would surely be covered and can't come up with anything specific. Like, I searched for "Sea Bisquit" and got a couple hundred hits but didn't see the movie referred to in the first dozen thread-titles. Am I misusing the search somehow?

Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I thought "Sea Bisquit" had great hats.

Maybe I just don't watch enough movies. I suppose there are hundreds of Golden Era period pieces being made these days.

I'm now watching "De-Lovely." It's maybe not quite as good of a movie as "Sea Bisquit"---and that's not saying much---but I am liking the outfits!

But I couldn't really find any comments on it, either, in the search.

Maybe period style is easy to find these days for almost any period. It's something that is technical. And because art is at such a low point, it's a straw that moviemakers can grasp at. (Ouch!)

Oh well, at least there are some nice things to look at, for whatever period you might like... JP