The costumes of Mrs. Maisel
Feb. 23rd, 2019 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scripsiDon’t mind me; I’m just going to obsess a bit more on the costumes of The Marvelous Mrs- Maisel. The costume designer is Donna Zakowska and she’s done a wonderful job! Costume design is close to my heart; at one point I considered it as a career choice and even though I didn’t go that path, I used to design costumes for amateur plays and operas. It was a lot of fun but also very hard work, and when the kid came along I decided I wanted to make clothes for me and got into historical re-enactment instead.
Good costume enhances characters and storylines. A super easy example is Darth Vader and Princess Leia who are introduced in black and white and you really don’t have to spend any time at all in wondering who is good and bad. When it comes to historical costumes the bit about historical accuracy is added. No movie ever is 100% historically accurate, and I don’t think that is what should be aimed at either. But I do feel it’s important to have respect for the source period and not just throw things together to look history-ish. You have to understand the period you are aiming for, and then add and subtract to please the storyline, directors, and producers. Hats, for example, are often discarded if the fashion was for wide brims because it limits the angles you can film in. Or, very common, women go bareheaded because the producers are afraid it will diminish the sex appeal.
I could go on and on, but I will limit myself to go on about Mrs. Masiel. The costumes are very 50s in cut and colours, but they are not necessarily the exact fashions of the year 1958 and 59 and they don’t need to be to set the tone. The same goes for hair and make-up. Midge, for example, favours a hairstyle that is more early 50s than late.
>Midge is easily the most colourful character, and I love the colour combinations. Most of her clothes are in bright jewel tones and she routinely pair bright colours with other bright colours. If you ever ead tips on wardrobe building, then you know the advice is to bade your wardrobe on neutral colours like black, brown, navy or grey, and the add colour with assesoires or perhaps a sweater. If you have a limited wardrobe this is sound advice, though it can certainly be a bit boring if you don’t dare to add colours. Midge very often wears a coat and dress in contrasting or tone in tone shades, with added colourful accessories. While a more conventional look in the 50’s could certainly have favoured a bright red dress, for example, but probably paired with a coat and accessories in neutral colours, or with both dress and coat neutral and letting the accessories add colour. Midge is ALL colour and it works very well to show off her charismatic and energetic personality. And wealth! Clothes were not cheap in the 50s and Midge’s enormous wardrobe would be completely unreachable for most women then.
Midge's introduction outfit really sets the tone!
This is one of my favourites; the gown is so pretty!
Another favourite. It shouldn't work; we have two shades of pink, mauve, and blue-grey, bit it looks great!
Another somewhat quirky, but lovely, combination.
Midge clothes differs a lot depending on the situation. Usually bright jewel tones during the daytime, but more earthy and warmer colours when she goes clubbing, or spend time with her workmates. Daytime wear is also more elegant; she never wears trousers then, for example, which she does several times in the evenings.
I love this colour combination! Midge often wear blue and green together, which is a very 50s combination for me.
Lime, which was very popular in the 50s.
More severe colours when she is at work, albeit with fun details- much more interesting than her workmates' clothes.
But little black dresses when she does comedy.
And at vacation in the Catskills she wears summer clothes, of course, but also a lot of patterns, while she usually wear solid colours in New York.
I also noticed how different her clothes are in the two scenes where she and Joel are looking at apartments. Newly married and very happy she wears an unusually neutral dress- but you hardly notice because she is so happy. But when separated she is pretty in pink, but not at all happy.
Rose’s costumes are much more subdued compared to Midge’s, but they also say something about her character development and her relationship to Midge. In season 1 when Rose is increasingly unhappy her clothes go in grey, beige and browns, and is in stark contrasts to Midge’s brightness.
But in season 2 she is happier and wears more colours, and she and Midge get along better. In the scenes where they are at their closest, their clothes are very similar.
Shirley, on the other hand, dresses as tacky and loud as her character is.
Just for fun I checked my collection of reprinted vintage patterns and found quite a few who may very well have been used in the show.
Good costume enhances characters and storylines. A super easy example is Darth Vader and Princess Leia who are introduced in black and white and you really don’t have to spend any time at all in wondering who is good and bad. When it comes to historical costumes the bit about historical accuracy is added. No movie ever is 100% historically accurate, and I don’t think that is what should be aimed at either. But I do feel it’s important to have respect for the source period and not just throw things together to look history-ish. You have to understand the period you are aiming for, and then add and subtract to please the storyline, directors, and producers. Hats, for example, are often discarded if the fashion was for wide brims because it limits the angles you can film in. Or, very common, women go bareheaded because the producers are afraid it will diminish the sex appeal.
I could go on and on, but I will limit myself to go on about Mrs. Masiel. The costumes are very 50s in cut and colours, but they are not necessarily the exact fashions of the year 1958 and 59 and they don’t need to be to set the tone. The same goes for hair and make-up. Midge, for example, favours a hairstyle that is more early 50s than late.
>Midge is easily the most colourful character, and I love the colour combinations. Most of her clothes are in bright jewel tones and she routinely pair bright colours with other bright colours. If you ever ead tips on wardrobe building, then you know the advice is to bade your wardrobe on neutral colours like black, brown, navy or grey, and the add colour with assesoires or perhaps a sweater. If you have a limited wardrobe this is sound advice, though it can certainly be a bit boring if you don’t dare to add colours. Midge very often wears a coat and dress in contrasting or tone in tone shades, with added colourful accessories. While a more conventional look in the 50’s could certainly have favoured a bright red dress, for example, but probably paired with a coat and accessories in neutral colours, or with both dress and coat neutral and letting the accessories add colour. Midge is ALL colour and it works very well to show off her charismatic and energetic personality. And wealth! Clothes were not cheap in the 50s and Midge’s enormous wardrobe would be completely unreachable for most women then.
Midge's introduction outfit really sets the tone!
This is one of my favourites; the gown is so pretty!
Another favourite. It shouldn't work; we have two shades of pink, mauve, and blue-grey, bit it looks great!
Another somewhat quirky, but lovely, combination.
Midge clothes differs a lot depending on the situation. Usually bright jewel tones during the daytime, but more earthy and warmer colours when she goes clubbing, or spend time with her workmates. Daytime wear is also more elegant; she never wears trousers then, for example, which she does several times in the evenings.
I love this colour combination! Midge often wear blue and green together, which is a very 50s combination for me.
Lime, which was very popular in the 50s.
More severe colours when she is at work, albeit with fun details- much more interesting than her workmates' clothes.
But little black dresses when she does comedy.
And at vacation in the Catskills she wears summer clothes, of course, but also a lot of patterns, while she usually wear solid colours in New York.
I also noticed how different her clothes are in the two scenes where she and Joel are looking at apartments. Newly married and very happy she wears an unusually neutral dress- but you hardly notice because she is so happy. But when separated she is pretty in pink, but not at all happy.
Rose’s costumes are much more subdued compared to Midge’s, but they also say something about her character development and her relationship to Midge. In season 1 when Rose is increasingly unhappy her clothes go in grey, beige and browns, and is in stark contrasts to Midge’s brightness.
But in season 2 she is happier and wears more colours, and she and Midge get along better. In the scenes where they are at their closest, their clothes are very similar.
Shirley, on the other hand, dresses as tacky and loud as her character is.
Just for fun I checked my collection of reprinted vintage patterns and found quite a few who may very well have been used in the show.
