19 sept 2011

Clothes That Fit

I recently watched two movies from the 1950s, "The Bad Seed" and "Appointment with Danger." Watching them I couldn't get over how well the clothes fit the lead actors in both of these movies, Nancy Kelly and Alan Ladd respectively. Kelly's silhouette from head to toe was just exquisite in whatever clothes she wore: always that unbroken line down to the floor. Ladd's suit seemed like a second skin. Call me superficial, but that was what my attention was most drawn to, even though I'm far from a fashionista. There is something that is just not replicable in later movies that try to recreate the retro look of the 40s or 50s. You can't just slap a fedora on Kevin Costner and expect him to look like Bogart or Ladd.

3 comentarios:

Clarissa dijo...

I am very much a fashionista (I'm from Montreal!) and I really know what you mean. Even though I can't stand American movies from the 50ies. :-)

Jonathan dijo...

Well you could enjoy those movies just for the aesthetics of the clothes and the cars. That's what I do when I get bored with the plots. It's interesting how the villain often has an ill-fitting suit, as though there were a morality to dressing well.

Clarissa dijo...

The Soviet movies of the 1950ies have the opposite phenomenon: the villain is always dressed impeccably. And often wears a hat. This is how you know you are seeing a really evil person: a hat. :-)