The dresses by William Chang

Apart from the original sound track of this film, which by the way is fantastic, the Chinese dresses wore by Maggie Cheung were the most eye-catching scenery. To reconstruct the exact kind of Cheongsam from 1950s, the art director William Chang and the director Kar Wai Wong extracted over 300 old film clips within which the actresses were wearing Cheongsam. William Chang even took some premium cloths out of his personal collection and contributed them to the costumes of the film. Together with a few experienced retired tailors from Shanghai, William Chang made 46 pieces of fine Cheongsams for Maggie Cheung. Though some of them did not survive to the final cut, we can see the beauty of them from a few snapshots here.

The history of Cheongsam

You must have noticed that the Cheongsams Maggie Cheung wore were extremely tight, but actually Cheongsam as a general kind of clothing worn by the noble class of Qing Dynasty, was baggy and loose. The reason led to this is that Qing Dynasty was built by a minority group; Qi people—whom used to live in the north-east part of China and usually rode horses to fight or to travel. For the convenience of riding horses gradually their clothes adopted a loose-fitting one-piece dress style. After Qi people dominated the country, they popularized their Cheongsam to ordinary Chinese people in other regions of the country.

The appearances of Cheongsam for women did not change much during nearly 300 years of Qing Dynasty. It was until Xinhai Revolution that it changed its style—the sleeves were shortened and the overall piece was fitting. In Shanghai, during the 1920s, the modern style of Cheongsam emerged and became the favorite of upper-class Chinese women. As the rise of womens’ position in the society increased, women were allowed to wear clothes that revealed their body curves. Of course today Chinese women can wear whatever they want, but the freedom to choose was not always there.

References: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0151858/bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongsam

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118694/

For guys I highly recommend the classical appearance of Mr. Colors from Reservoir Dogs, 1992. Again, it is super simple: all you need is a black suit, a white shirt, a skinny black tie, and a pair of ray ban sun glasses. Sure you’ll be in need of more guys to help you achieve the stylish spectacle, since in Reservoir Dogs there are six of them.

Quentin himself admitted that he borrowed this gangster style from a look created by French director Jean Pierre Melville. This director inspired a few New Wave directors and was famous for his minimalist film noir crime dramas. However, the “borrowing” nature did not harm the charm of Mr. Colors. Quentin is a remix genius. (here is a video about his remix ability, <start from 7:20>) He combined songs, looks, styles, shots from so many movies and created his own legend. For example: though all the people recognize Bruce Lee from his yellow tight gym suit, if a woman wears it with a long knife in her hand, people would say that’s Uma Thurman from Kill Bill. This remix gift gave popular culture vitality; this remix gift made him a director who will never be neglected.

References:

http://entertainment.msn.com/beacon/editorial1.aspx?ptid=2038c9a7-3e3d-49fd-a6f4-78cfc10eeeb4

http://i-am-db-cooper.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-dress-like-the-guys-in-Reservoir-Dogs

pictures come from www.douban.com

‘Her outfit is a black, tight-fitting top with a full, white layered net skirt, and a white chiffon shawl worn with a pearl choker.’

Clearly the idea behind this outfit came from the famous ‘New Look’. (for New Look you can check out this post)

Apart from this outfit, the green suit and the white day dress with yellow flowers also fascinate many women. If you think Grace Kelly was behind all these beautiful costumes, you are definitely wrong: Edith Head—Hollywood’s most celebrated costume designer was the hero behind the breathtaking beauty of Lisa. In 1925, Edith Head became Paramount’s costume designer and in less than thirty years she won 8 academy awards for best costume design. If you have seen The Incredibles, you will be familiar with the appearance of Edith Head. Rumors said that the costume designer (Edna Mode) for the superman family in the cartoon was based on Edith Head.


From a feminism point of view

Although Lisa’s outfits were feminine, her image was very active and strong. She first provided the critical statement for the cracking of the murder case that ‘No woman would go on a trip and leave behind her purse and her wedding ring,’ and then she sneaked into Mr. Thorwald’s apartment to find further evidence.

Originally Jeff was not satisfied with Lisa’s obsession over fashion and her reluctance to take risks. However, Lisa was the one who acts. On the other hand, Jeff ‘looks but does not act, failing to take even one photograph that would surely help to corroborate his story. The plaster cast on his leg symbolizes Jeff’s crisis of masculinity and also conveys his weakness in identity.’ (<Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window>, Edited by John Belton-- ‘The Dresses Had Told Me’, <Fashion and Femininity in Rear Window> by Sarah Street, page 94)

In the end, Lisa wears a pink shirt and a pair of jeans with a very serious magazine in her hands. Many people stated that since this outfit was relatively masculine, Lisa finally became the kind of woman Jeff wanted her to be. However, my point is Lisa was more independent than Jeff assumed. In order to capture Jeff’s heart, or to entertain him, Lisa can be adventurous. However as soon as Jeff fell asleep, she picked up her Harper's Bazaar: perhaps it is always hard to change a real woman-- her true color insisted.

Photos come from www.douban.com

References: <Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window>, Edited by John Belton-- ‘The Dresses Had Told Me’, <Fashion and Femininity in Rear Window> by Sarah Street

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Head

So, it surprised me a little bit when I read of Woody Allen’s dislike of Annie Hall. In 1977, on the premiere of the film, as Julian Fox stated “Pessimistically, he declared it, like a number of his films, ‘a personal failure’: a view scarcely borne out by its enormous critical and commercial success.” (Woody—Movies from Manhattan, Julian Fox, page 97) In fact, apart from the commercial success, the film Annie Hall also had an impact on fashion--The style of the female leading role Annie, played by Diane Keaton, “Fueled a world-wide phenomenon and a trend in cross-dressing that continued to influence womens’ wardrobes into the 1980’s.”

When Diane Keaton first came to the shooting scene, it is said that her way of dressing was criticized by the costume designer Ruth Morley—“Curiously, Annie Hall’s costume designer, Ruth Morley, had been initially resistant to Diane’s ‘crazy’ way of dressing, but Woody, considering the actress something of a sartorial ‘genius’, persuaded Morley to let her have her own way. ” (Woody—Movies from Manhattan, Julian Fox, page 98)

At last, Diane’s style was a little bit masculine: baggy shirts and pants, waistcoats, ties and a very big tote (she even put her tennis racket in it). The whole style was androgynous, but very cheeky, and suitable for the character Annie. She was confused sometimes and needed Alvy (the leading man’s) help to gain confidence (he encouraged her to sing publicly), but she was brave and independent enough to leave him and fly to Los Angeles for her own career. Although in the actual movie’s end, Annie returns to New York, though my version of the story would have been more feministic—Annie would have been fine in LA. Two years after the release of Annie Hall, another film Kramer vs. Kramer captured the beat of the era—the second wave of feminism reached its climax in the 1970’s.

Although the film was largely created by Woody Allen and in it he expressed his bitterness and confusion toward life, the success of the film owed a lot to the character Annie. ‘It was on Annie that the emotional heart of the movie finally fastened and thus provided for America, as elsewhere, a feminine ideal for the late 1970s.’ (Woody—Movies from Manhattan, Julian Fox, page 92) Like the dressing style, the personality of the character, Annie, greatly resembled Diane Keaton. It is said that, “The film has been seen by many observers as a cinematic love-letter to Diane Keaton and, indeed, makes use of the couple’s off-screen as well as the entrancing quirkiness Woody and Brickman discerned in Diane’s personality.” (Woody—Movies from Manhattan, Julian Fox, page 87)    

Annie’s look was referred to as the “Annie Hall look” since the popularity of the film. All the elements of the look are easy to find nowadays, what’s hard to copy is the spirit behind the look. Annie was quirky, sentimental, and daffy, but most importantly, she was independent, or at least, she wanted to be independent. For women in hardship or deep poverty, Annie’s image should provoke more insights.  

References:

http://movies.msn.com/movies/galleryfeature/film-fashion/?photoidx=2

http://www.missomnimedia.com/2009/04/fashion-meets-film-annie-hall/

http://www.costumedesignersguild.com/aw-archive/aw-recipient.asp?AwardID=34&award

A photographer named Hans Silvester in the book <Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa> provides us with amazing pictures of young Surma and Mursi people. It’s unbelievable that these people made all their decorations with materials they can find easily: leaves, twigs, flowers, fruits, white clay pot, etc. It’s more unbelievable if you take their reserve of make-up devices into consideration: they don’t have mirrors—they create these beautiful decorations without the aid of mirrors!

If you think the beautiful decorations of them indicate a very joyful culture, then you are definitely wrong. Young children in Surma and Mursi tribes are used to getting scars. The more scars one has, the more courage he/she possesses. Some anthropologists indicate that this is a kind of training—preparing for danger and bloody fight in the future.  Once adolescents are mature enough to get married, for males, what lies before them is the fiercest fight—stick fighting. (Some young people use guns these days) and for females, lip plates are a necessary. Cattle is the most important commodity in the Surma and Mursi tribes. It is said that “every boy is given a young bull to look after, and his friend call him the name of the bull.”

Surma and Mursi people inhabit in the Omo valley of Ethiopia, which locates in the area bordering Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan.  Visitors rarely tour this area because it’s too far and the culture is different from other parts of Ethiopia. Recently because of the building of a national park and the wars in Sudan, Surma and Mursi people were evicted and displaced. On one hand they are forced to fight with enemy tribes who moved to their land because of war; on the other hand, they have to sign on papers which indicate they are the illegal residents on their own land. Look at these beautiful young faces; can you imagine the hardship and cruelty in their upcoming lives? I can’t and I know there is not very much I can do to help.  

References:

http://www.monstrous.com/Monstrous_Literature/Natural_Fashion_Tribal_Decoration_from_Africa_by_Hans_Silvester.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surma_people

http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/suri/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omo_River

Pictures come from:

http://www.monstrous.com/Monstrous_Literature/Natural_Fashion_Tribal_Decoration_from_Africa_by_Hans_Silvester.html
and
http://www. wildfrontiers.co.uk

‘We have limited evidence, but it seems that at least some of the lower levels of society held similar religious and political beliefs to the elite. They even played the same games, though with much less luxurious materials.’

Amulets

Ancient Egyptians loved to wear amulets. They believed amulets could bring them peace and health. Since Ancient Egyptians value life after-death more than this life, they even bury more amulets with mummies. Here are some Wedjat eye’s amulets:

According to the introduction of these amulets: ‘The wedjat eye of the falcon-headed god Horus was injured and subsequently restored. The eye, with characteristic markings based on those of a falcon’s head, was regarded as a potent amulet, maintaining the wearer ‘uninjured’ or ‘sound’, and conferring protection. 

Scarab beetle is the one of the most frequent symbols used to make amulets. Ancient Egyptians envisioned a beetle pushing the sun into the sky everyday; as a result the beetle was associated with ‘rebirth’. Here are some beetle amulets in the British Museum.

references :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax

http://ezinearticles.com/?Egyptian-Scarab-Jewelry---Symbolism-and-History&id=3680720

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ancient-egyptian-clothing.html

http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women%27s%20clothing.htm

http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egypt-fashion.html

 ‘Nany’s wig was found in the inner coffin, lying by her head. It is made of braids of human hair, fastened at the top with a cord. The plaits were treated with beeswax to set them, and a layer of grease covers the whole wig.’


Jewelry:

Both men and women from Ancient Egypt dug jewelries. Wealthy people were able to use gold or shell and other expensive materials to make all kinds of jewelries—necklaces, broad collars, ankle bracelets, earrings, and rings, etc. But there were also jewelries made of pottery and beads. The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses thousands of Ancient Egyptian handicrafts. When I visited the museum this March I was shocked by those exquisite jewelries produced four thousand years ago. For example, the two necklaces of the mummy—Wah (who was unwrapped in 1940) were beautiful: one was gold and the other silver.

The illustration of these necklaces tells us that:

‘The beads of the gold and silver necklaces are hollow; each bead is made of two hemispheres of hammered metal sheet that have been attached using a method akin to soldering. The seams have been burnished so as to be almost invisible. Ancient Egyptian jewelry of silver is relatively rare, because unlike gold, which was mined in Egypt, silver had to be imported.’

Something also impressive was the broad collar. Here are a few examples of broad collars demonstrated in Metropolitan Museum.

The illustrations said: ‘Broad collars were the most frequently worn pieces of jewelry among the royalty and elite in ancient Egypt.’

Cosmetics:
I am sure people who have seen the movie <Cleopatra> would be impressed by the make up of Cleopatra--The blue eyeshade and the emphatic black eye lines. In history, the Ancient Egyptians used plant extracts and minerals to make cosmetics. The color green came from malachite; black came from galena; red was derived from ochre. Though green was heavily used and welcomed, malachite was not a mineral that could be acquired locally. According to the introductions at Metropolitan Museum, malachite ‘came from deposits in the Eastern Desert and along the Red Sea coast.’

The technique of Ancient Egyptians to reserve things was unmatched-- a wig crafted four thousand years ago was not decayed. Considering the fact that wigs consist primarily of amino acids, the resolution of Ancient Egyptians to enter their next lives with perfect bodies amazed me. Next time we will explore the clothes and fabrics of Ancient Egyptians—it looks like clothes were more tightly related to social class.

Faced with shortages, designers and consumers accommodated their aesthetic tastes to tough circumstances. On the designer’s side, (in Lauren Olds’s words): ‘because rubber was necessary for the war effort, designers promoted styles that did not require girdles.’ On consumers’ side: since nylon stockings were unavailable at the market, ladies painted their legs to pretend they were wearing stockings—some even used black eye pencil to draw “seams”. Governments also tried very hard to persuade civilians to make full use of their current wardrobes. A booklet called <800 Ways to Save and Serve or How to Beat the High Cost of Wartime living> contained many handy tips: such as buy more cotton clothes since cotton is cheaper and hard to wear out; or buy fabrics that are tightly woven.

During the WWII, austerity was the key word. Women clothes during war time were indeed simple and practical, after all Rosie the Riveter can not wear feminine gowns to work. However, new designs emerged during war time. According to the research of Lauren Olds, ‘keyhole neckline’ as a new design first appeared in 1941. Apart from this, ‘the variety of ladies hats during the war is also evident…there are hats with wide brims, small caps that rest on the back of the head, and many other unique, fanciful designs.’

In 1945, the war ended. However the haze hovering fashion world did not disappear until the year 1947—when Christian Dior introduced his ‘New Look’. With plenty of fabrics and cloth, women rebuilt their elegant images with long gloves, wasp-waisted silhouette, full-length skirts and high heels. The skirts alone used as much fabric as 10 or even 15 wartime skirts, some using as much as 30 yards of fabric! (Lauren Olds.) Within ten years, rationing, coupons and scarce nylon stockings seemed forgotten by the same generation. Some people said the drabness and uniformity of womens’ clothes during wartime manifested the patriotism of women. However, comparing with the actual sacrifices female soldiers made during WWII, obsolete or stale clothes were only pieces of cake.

Dior----New Look, 1947

References:

http://www.fabrics.net/joan702.asp

Olds, Lauren (2001) “World War II and Fashion: The Birth of the New Look,” Constructing the Past: Vol.2:Iss.1, Article 6.

Pictures come from: http://www.fabrics.net/joan702.asp

http://brilliantlybritish.blogspot.com/

By Xin Wen

When Louis XV was still alive, and when Marie Antoinette as a young dauphine was still popular among French people, she once wore men’s breeches and a riding coat. The audacious outfit gave her the fame of ‘the only man of Bourbon’. In fact, only after the revolution broke out, did she act as a political figure. At first she refused to leave France and then she wrote letters to her relatives in Austria with the hope that they would rescue her and her family.

However, this time she was out of luck. After a very short stay in the Tuileries, in August 1792 she and her family were transported to the Temple, where they were captivated as prisoners. The royal family’s life in the Temple was filled with indignities: one of the queen’s valet recalled that the guards of the Temple even put their hats on in order to express their disrespect when they saw the royal couple. As for clothing —Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe shrank greatly: with the small amount of money the Commune de Paris gave, she ordered ‘two white bonnets, nine gauze and organdy fichus of varying sizes, one skirt, one white linen capelet, one black taffeta capelet, and three lengths of white ribbon, several shifts made from linen and muslin…’ (Caroline Weber, 2006, Queen of Fashion, page 255)

Let us not forget this was a woman who used to purchase more than 300 new outfits a year, a woman who spent thousands of livres to comb her hair into a series of new styles, and a woman who was imitated by all the aristocratic women in France. However, when ‘the only living creature in France who still cried “Long live the King!” was a parakeet’ (Caroline Weber, 2006, Queen of Fashion, page 259), the crowd with admiring glances disappeared--partly because they were blocked by the tall, thick walls of the Temple, partly because they didn’t care anymore.

After her husband was executed, Marie Antoinette wore a black mourning gown day after day for two months. Her body condition got worse because of the abominable environment of her cell; her hair became white as her trials went on. She was steady and calm in front of most of her charges; however, she couldn’t remain silent when she was accused of ‘incest’—having a sexual relationship with her son—then a 7-year-old boy. Though hard to believe, the aggressive revolutionists indeed invented this absurd accusation. Maybe they thought for a chief culprit who relentlessly depleted the French national treasury (though actually France’s aid for America also contributed to the depletion of the French national treasury), the charge of incest was something she deserved.

On the morning of October 16, 1793, Marie Antoinette changed into her last outfit—a white chemise with the stare of a gendarme. This scene reminded me of the stripping ceremony she went through 23 years ago. Over these years she failed as a queen, but succeeded as a fashion example. In Caroline Weber’s account:

‘She slipped into her plum-black shoes, a fresh white underskirt, and her pristine white chemise. To complete the ensemble, she put on the white dishabille dress Madame Elisabeth had sent her from the Temple and wrapped the prettiest of her muslin fichus around her neck. Marie Antoinette’s final fashion statement eloquently condensed her complex sartorial history into a single color with a host of different associations: white.’

Marie on her way to her execution, by Jacques Louis David

According to Stefan Zweig, only one person was truly woeful after Marie Antoinette’s death: her lover from Sweden—Mr. Ferson. He could never forget the glamour and radiance of the Austrian lady. However the turbulent wave of history did not have the leisure to mourn an evil queen’s death, or an old man’s misery. It took 22 years until people identified the corpse of Marie Antoinette among hundreds of dead bodies. Sarcastically, it was a piece of cloth that led the searchers to Marie Antoinette, in Zweig’s words:

‘A moldering garter enabled them to recognize that the handful of pale dust which was disinterred from the damp soil was the last trace of that long-dead woman who in her day had been the goddess of grace and of taste, and subsequently the queen of many sorrows.’


References : Stefan Zweig, <Marie Antoinette>, Pushkin Press, 2010

Caroline Weber, <Queen of Fashion>, Henry Holt and Company, 2006

The sketch came from Wikipedia.

by Xin Wen

At the age of 14, Marie Antoinette was sent by her mother- Maria Theresa of Austria to France to be the wife of the future king- Louis XVI. On her way to the foreign country, just after she set foot on the soil of Bourbon, she was asked to get rid of all the Austrian things she was carrying. Even her little puppy was taken from her. (As shown in the movie <Marie Antoinette>, directed by Sophia Coppola). In front of many noble people’s staring, she was stripped bare and given a whole set of French clothes. The little young princess burst into tears.

241 years later, we don’t know whether this awkward experience ruined the first impression of French people for Marie Antoinette, what we do know is that French people in 18th century pretty much hated her. Why? Because in Zweig’s words: ‘From the outset, the Queen’s mistake was that she wished to conquer as woman instead of as queen.’ During her 15 years of Queen she cast her primary energy on clothes, hairstyle, party, and gamble. She had great interests in everything except for the affairs of state. A typical day of Marie Antoinette starts at 11pm, ends at 5am approximately. As soon as she got up, she had to decide which gown to wear (which could take a few hours), and after that she let her hair done by her beloved hairdresser- Monsieur Leonard. 

The hairstyle this gentlemen offered was exaggerated, pretty fit into the zeitgeist of 18th century—Rococo art. Here is how the hair was done: ‘To begin with, by means of huge hairpins and a lavish expenditure of stiff pomade, the hair was strained upwards from the temples like a huge flaming candle, about twice the height of the pointed head-dress of a Prussian grenadier.’ (Stefan Zweig, <Marie Antoinette—the portrait of an average woman>) When Marie Antoinette’s mother in Vienna heard about the 36-inch-height of hair her daughter was carrying, she was furious and wrote letters to warn the Queen of France. However, Marie Antoinette did not take any cordial advice.

Soon the hairstyle was popular among the circle around Palais de Versailles. Since the hair of noblewomen was too high, the ceilings of boxes were changed into vaults. Sometimes women could not sit in the carriages-- for the safety of their hair, they had to kneel down.

However, height was not the only object; political sensitivity was also valued: the hairstyle even reflected current events. ‘In the free space, eighteen inches above the eyebrows, began the artist’s plastic realm. Not only were landscapes and panoramas, with fruit, gardens, houses, ships, the sea in a storm, the whole motley world, but, to provide for sufficiently frequent changes in fashion, the event of the day had to be symbolized in this superstructure.’ (Stefan Zweig, <Marie Antoinette—the portrait of an average woman>) Though hard to believe nowadays, Marie Antoinette actually got a boat on her head: ‘When France joined forces with the American revolutionaries, Marie Antoinette showed her support by wearing an intricate hairdo displaying a French frigate that won a key victory against the British in June 1778.’ (Caroline Weber, <Queen of Fashion>)

Marie Antoinette was a classic representative of 18th century. She totally embraced the zeitgeist, and even elaborated and extended it at the cost of her life. Over the years, she squandered money on nothing related to the governing of the country. (She was not that into shoes as the 2006 movie showed). Her poor husband never blamed her; instead he paid her debts and tried his best to let Marie be the only peacock in the court.

However, French people did not have the same tolerance as Louis Louis XVI: sarcastic cartoons and rumors pervade; people attributed the empty national treasury to the life style of Marie Antoinette. Meanwhile she retained her extravagance without being slightly aware of the upcoming danger. That’s when the seed of her future death was planted. That’s when the tragedy of the Queen of Rococo started. 

Reference: Stefan Zweig, <Marie Antoinette>, Pushkin Press, 2010

Caroline Weber, <Queen of Fashion>, Henry Holt and Company, 2006

Anne Hollander, <The Queen's closet—What Marie Antoinette really wore>, Slate

Liesl Schillinger, <The Queen's Wardrobe>,NY times

The first picture comes from the website of Palais de Versailles
The second picture comes from http://www.cfa.ilstu.edu/lmlowel/
The last one comes from <The Queen's wardrobe>, by Liesl Schillinger