As another Summer draws to a close, I'm looking back at some new costume design favourites from the past few months.
Summer is such an exciting time and I love nothing more than discovering new movies to backdrop those sunny months. This season, I was particularly drawn to 90s and early 00s films. So, here are five films that I loved the costumes from, which I watched for the first time this Summer!
The Mists of Avalon (2001)
This is actually a two-part mini series that aired on TNT in the Summer of 2001. It is an adaptation of the Marion Zimmer Bradley novel from 1983, and is a retelling of Arthurian legend from the perspectives of the women of Camelot including Morgan le Fay. It had a fantastic cast in Julianna Margulies, Anjelica Huston and Joan Allen. It was the highest rated original movie of that Summer on basic cable and received a number of Emmy, Golden Globes and SAG award nominations. This was the beginning of a Roman empire of fantasy film and costuming- we were only a few months away from the releases of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Philosopher's Stone.
The costumes were designed by Oscar winner James Acheson (Dangerous Liaisons, The Last Emperor, Wuthering Heights) and Carlo Poggioli (Cold Mountain, Van Helsing, The Brothers Grimm). As with many fantasy tales, the costumes take their cues heavily from a medieval time period, which is when the Arthurian legends were written down. However, the story is supposed to be set in Sub-Roman Britain (5th-6th Century). I actually wrote my BA thesis on the subject of medievalism in fantasy costuming in 2011 but somehow never managed to watch this classic until now. In any case, it's a broad topic which I can't get into here, but needless to say, the costumes are quite beautiful and do a wonderful job of immersing the viewer into the romantic world we associate with this type of story. I'm a sucker for rich embellishments on natural fabrics in whimsical shades. Not to mention the sleeves, which are to die for!
Anjelica Huston kept several of the dresses she wore in the film and later she and other family members wore them to her nephew's baptism.
Harriet the Spy (1996)
This adaptation of the 1964 children's novel stars the late Michelle Trachtenberg in the title role. Another classic I had somehow missed in my youth! The costumes were designed by Emmy winner Donna Zakowska (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and she really nailed Harriet's tomboy character. If you were a tomboy girl in the 90s like myself, you'll be able to see yourself in Harriet and love her look. Her bright yellow raincoat is her signature, worn with baggy pants, hoodies and canvas trainers. She wears a red Aran jumper with matching red pants and hairband in one scene! It's just so charming, so 90s and so right! As it's set during Autumn, this is a great halloween costume- don't forget your tool belt, notebook and binoculars!
A fun fact is that the movie was shot in Toronto in the Fall of 1994, with filming extending into 1995. Toronto looks beautiful in Autumn! High Park stood in for New York's Carl Schurz Park and you can prominently see the huge Canadian maple leaf in the garden!
The Hot Chick (2002)
Disclosure, I probably had seen this already back when it first came out, but it had been so long that it was like the first time, so I'm counting it.
This fantasy comedy is a riot and also Rachel McAdams' film debut!
Alix Friedberg (But I'm a Cheerleader, Big Little Lies) did the costumes and if you want what has since been christened as 2000s "McBling", this is for you! This may not be a highly rated movie because it's utterly ridiculous but if you're a millennial who wants to go back to your youth, you'll probably still get a kick out of it. Ashlee Simpson and Tia and Tamera Mowry even have cameos in this!
Anna Faris' character was absolutely adorable in an array of Powerpuff Girls, Barbie and Winnie the Pooh branded clothing!
There's a lot of low rise jeans, tiny tops, tight pants, short skirts, bright colours and fun accessories. A lot of this stuff is back in style in 2025. It even has a token early 2000s goth girl character!
Party Girl (1995)
The first ever film to premiere on the internet! Parker Posey stars in this 90s fashion film classic with costumes by Michael Clancy. It encapsulates the underground club scene happening in New York at the time and feels like a precursor to Sex and the City with it's fashion-first approach and distinct New York setting. With a new generation catching on to Posey due to her appearance in season 3 of The White Lotus, as well as it being the 30th anniversary of the release of the film, it was the perfect time to dive into it!
According to director Daisy von Scherler Meyer, "the fashion was really invented for the film. [Michael Clancy] created an aesthetic for the character and for the movie and combined that with Parker Posey's own fashion obsession."
Posey says that they relied on favours to assemble the outfits: "The wardrobe designer, Michael Clancy, and his assistant Vicky Farrell ... pulled a lot of things from their friends", such as designer Todd Oldham.
There's a scene in which Mary trades in her designer pieces at a clothing store for cash so she can pay her rent. She doesn't get much for them! Today, she could command a much higher price by selling them on The Real Real.
As Vogue wrote in a 2020 article "Mixing vintage Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier with pieces picked up at the local thrift store, or an eye-popping ensemble of layered Comme des Garçons tees in every colour of the rainbow with hotpants, heels, and black tights, Mary has become an unlikely style icon for generations of outsiders since."
With so much to be said on such an iconic film, I recommend checking out Vogue's full article or any of the blogs that have catalogued all of Mary's looks in the film, including one who ranked them!
Clancy, who passed away in 2022, left behind a scrapbook from his time on the film which went on sale earlier this year. You can read more about it here: https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/66541/1/in-photos-never-before-seen-bts-pics-set-of-party-girl-parker-posey-costumess
Uptown Girls (2003)
This Brittany Murphy X Dakota Fanning cult classic isn't one of my favourite movies but I can definitely appreciate the costumes. Sarah Edwards (The Last Days of Disco, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) was at the helm of the wardrobe department and did a fantastic job bringing Brittany's character Molly to life with some of the best glam 2003 had to offer! I am of course referring to THAT hyper-feminine Blumarine dress. 2000s movies featured so many iconic dresses, from the Versace one in 13 Going on 30 and Keira Knightley's green dress from Atonement, this too certainly fits into that category- dresses that became just as recognizable as the film's they were in. The dress from the film (which was a runway sample and taken home by Murphy after filming) sold at auction in 2012 for less than $2,000 at the time. It would go for a LOT more today.
The whimsical Moschino Cheap & Chic doll dress featured on the movie's poster is also highly coveted, as is the denim dress with butterfly patches, which was actually a vintage piece owned by Edwards' sister. Her name (Kate) is embroidered into the back, which Brittany wore a backpack over to cover.
If it hadn't cemented itself as a fashion film in the first 5 minutes (it had!!), it certainly sealed the deal by the end when Molly enrols in fashion school after all the rock stars want her to style them when they see how she customized Neal's leather jacket.
I also asked my co-worker Carolina what movies' costumes called to her over the Summer, and she chose The Devil To Pay. See what she had to say below:
The Devil To Pay (1930)
Costume designer: Legendary Adrian Adolph Greenberg (responsible for the Wizard of Oz and the Philadelphia story).
This is an early talkie, and it shows! I love that you can see the transition from silent films to taking pictures. The audio isn’t perfect but it pinpoints it to that particular period of Hollywood history.
The Devil To Pay is a romantic comedy starring Ronald Coleman and Loretta Young (it also features Myrna Loy in a smaller role.) The story is of Ronald (son of a rich man), returning home after spending all of his money in British East Africa. Upon arrival, his father disapproves and turns down his request for more money. But Ronald's luck suddenly turns when he meets Dorothy (and also buys a dog! - One of my favourite scenes).
Loretta Young is a vision in this film, the costumes are stunning and are perfect for Spring/ Summer. I love the hats and accessories, I felt inspired to do some vintage shopping after watching it!
