A year ago, I applied to a Craigslist want ad and got the call: “Will you accept playing the part of a young Depression-era housewife in the Johnny Depp gangster melodrama Public Enemies?” Will I accept? “How much can I pay you?” was more the question. And so my experience as a background starlet, er, extra in this summer’s blockbuster began.
Left: In costume on the Public Enemies set. Right: At a premiere party for the film.
Photos by Chris Kaphaem and Eric Tadsen.
That’s me up there on the Public Enemies set just after my hair was sculpted into a finger-wave coif, my lips stained scarlet red, and the wardrobe department dressed me hat to heel in authentic 1930s garb personally selected by Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha). On the right, I’m hamming it up next to some vintage autos at a premiere party. I decided to honor the retro look (ringlet hair, flapper-like tiers) but inject a 2009 update (chain fringe earrings, ankle-wrap pumps, and what looks like a dress but is actually a romper). Questions of the night included: Did you meet Johnny? (He was not in my scene, but I did get a sly grin flashed my way from Christian Bale.), And where did you get those impossibly smoldering shoes? (Loeffler Randall from shopbop, of course!)
Wartime-inspired looks from the fall 2009 runways.
Although my guy friends were digging the rat-a-tat shoot-outs, as a fashion writer, I was dissecting the clothes. It was an era when no-nonsense gents wore slick suits, cocked fedoras, and smoked cigars, while their dames were everyday elegant in dainty felt hats, fur-trimmed coats (mine had copper fox tails swirling around the forearms), gloves, intricate clutch purses, and T-strap pumps. Listening to the evening radio show while wearing back-seam stockings was de rigueur.
The movie's romanticized fashions reminded me of one of our biggest fall trends: ’30s and ’40s wartime looks inspired by the men who went away and the loves they came home to. The key for Fashion Forwards is not to interpret this period verbatim, but instead seamlessly mix in elements of now. Channel the spirit of Public Enemies leading lady Marion Cotillard, a French bombshell who always manages to bring an Old Hollywood aura to her couture. (Love this pic of her with designer John Galliano at the Met gala.) Toughen up the look by pairing an androgynous military coat or leather bomber jacket with a tank and a flowy silk skirt. Bonus points for feather, faux fur, or medallion accents. Brands like DSquared2 (coming to the Designer Boutique very soon), Charlotte Ronson, and Chris Benz (all pictured) do a brilliant job of merging modern insouciance and masculine elements with the golden age of glamour.
--Suzanne
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment