Hollywood

Not the town in California, but the exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in central

English: Victoria and Albert Museum in London Svenska: Victoria and Albert Museum i London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

London, where there is an exhibition of clothes designed for some of the most famous characters in films.

Amongst the exhibits was the navy tailored suit, Meryl Streep wore when she played Mrs Thatcher and next to it the outrageous playsuit she wore in Mama Mia. One clearly spoke of power and control and the other of sex and outrageous behaviour; there is no way they could be interchanged.

Another exhibit explained how the clothing for Harrison Ford as Indianna Jones was designed and then aged to provide the lived in look of a 1940’s explorer. The designer had used as a blueprint, the early adventure films.

I began to think about the importance of  clothing to establishing character. I do imagine them in various clothes until I find something I think is appropriate for their personalities and for different events in the story line. Obviously, a barrister will wear a wig and a gown over a dark suit, when she is in court, but what about when the character is not working.? Is she a jeans and T-short type or would she wear a skirt and blouse. What about a female detective? Would she wear trousers to work with a trench coat or something more feminine?

Do you imagine characters in different outfits and do you use the clothes to help define the character to the reader.