quotidian / journalist's garb: 'zodiac' (2007)

The rise and fall of writer for the San Francisco Chronicle Paul Avery in Fincher's Zodiac is easily charted through his clothes. We begin with ascots of varying colors and designs; mainly jewel tones like bottle green and navy blue and a surprising canary yellow. All against emerald and mustard-toned button downs sometimes sitting underneath a satin vest of similar hues that probably belongs with a flashy three piece suit tucked away somewhere in his wardrobe. Paul Avery is doing well. He's the Chronicle's top crime writer and after the Zodiac case breaks in 1969, the anonymous killer eventually writes to Avery directly showing Avery's importance and status at the newspaper. Played so elegantly by Robert Downey, Jr. (pre-Tony Stark during his "comeback phase") Paul Avery is notorious. He's brash, he chain smokes, drinks straight liquor at the bar after work. He's social and confident and cocky and he outshines Jake Gyllenhaal's Robert Graysmith as Graysmith becomes enthralled with the case and eventually proves to be more helpful than Avery himself. Paul Avery is depicted as someone who thrives off of his social status. If he's well respected, praised, and admired at work then he's doing well. As soon as the Zodiac case blasts off across the state of California, and more and more chaos clings to the Chronicle and those around it, Avery begins to slip away from his spotlight.

As the Zodiac case begins to grow bigger than Paul Avery ever expected it to (he laughed at Graysmith's fascination), Paul Avery begins a noticeable decline. He starts to do away with the jewel-toned silk shirts and ascots and dons more of a grungy 70s look with denim and corduroy shirts in safe shades of blue, layers of beige cargo jackets and army vests (a nod to his service in Vietnam), and light wash jeans. Jeans at the office. The story focuses itself on Robert Graysmith and his ad nauseam search for the Zodiac killer. Eventually Paul Avery fades from the main story line as well as the lives of the characters in the film. When Graysmith pays a visit to Avery to request some old Zodiac documents from the retired reporter, we see Avery's rock bottom: living on a dirty house boat, drinking at 9am, silk shirts no where to be found. His only priority is far from Graysmith's and he becomes horrified at the state of decline of Avery. And so do we. His unhinged behavior: fighting with lead detective Dave Toschi (an extremely handsome Mark Ruffalo wearing true 70s plaid blazers), barking and disrupting office moral at the Chronicle, and preying on Graysmith and his introverted and shy tendencies all lead to his demise in the film. This isn't to say that cargo jackets and jeans are the uniform of demise but when you started with silk shirts and ascots, its hard not to associate the two with success and failure.

Cinematic (Holiday) Style: Kate Winslet's English cottage in 'The Holiday'

I've been thinking a lot about homes in the English countryside: their coziness, their warmth, their gardens, candles, white framed windows, perfectly broken in kitchens, comfy reading nooks, books spewing out of shelves. And of course I was mesmerized by the cottage Cameron Diaz stays in in The Holiday after watching it for the millionth time (that's the joy of re-watching movies: you get something different out of them each time). I don't know if I had a past life living in the U.K. at one point or if being there is my true calling, but I always feel a home-like attachment to England. It's the only explanation I've been able to give myself so far. That or the universal sings of comfort and staying in all snuggled up are quite British: hot tea, rainy and misty weather, grey skies, meat pies, soft tartan and sherpa, a Thomas Hardy or Jane Austen novel. If only Cameron Diaz's character could relax for a minute, put the kettle on, watch Love, Actually, and enjoy a British meat pie then The Holiday probably would've been a bit less dramatic but hey, those are the holidays for ya.

Dissecting Stella Gibson's Wardrobe

Not quite a Cinematic Style since The Fall is a television show (or a Netflix show for us here in the U.S.) but I couldn't help not talking about Gillian Anderson's character's wardrobe. Stella Gibson is a Detective Superintendent for the Northern Ireland police and an all around badass bitch. An unannounced feminist, Stella pushes through gender norms and misogynistic co-workers to catch a man who strangles and kills female victims throughout Belfast.

Some people see clothes to be a superficial quality to focus on but I see it as a way to tell an underlying story. It's one of my favorite things to pay attention to in film and now television (especially since the state of television right now is so good - everything sort of has a filmic quality to it - another post for another time). What I saw in Stella Gibson's wardrobe was one of my favorite things when looking at styling: a feminine and masculine contrast. Sure there's a lot of pencil skirts and stilettos and blush colors and that red blouse (wow) and they're all more or less made of silk - I'm sure the sweaters she wears are cashmere. But the button downs are strong. They're eye-catching but they don't wear her, she wears them. And she wears them with confidence and strength. The wide leg trousers she wears against said blouses perfectly exemplifies the masculine/feminine mix I'm talking about. And the two peacoats she wears through seasons one and two are long and commanding (sidenote: how does Gillian Anderson pull off these long-lined coats so well when she's around 5'3''??)















A lot of her blouses and sweaters are wrapped around her waist for an added feminine look that deflects from the manly silhouettes that are seen on men and women throughout the police station. It's almost intimidating - which Stella is in a lot of cases. A woman who is so confident in her body and herself accentuates possibly the most womanly part of a female's body: the waist - something men do not have.

I also love how practical she is (I mean she lives out of a hotel room while in Belfast) and how she recycles blouses (the pink, collarless piece is seen in season one and two) and she throws on her navy blue peacoat over every outfit despite what she's wearing underneath. She also seems to switch between two pairs of shoes: a black pump and a chunky black ankle boot and wears the same black pencil skirt on many separate occasions.

She also uses her clothes to make statements. For example, the red sweater was worn when questioning Jamie Dornan's Paul Spector who had an obsession with the symbolism in the color red. And, again, the pink collarless blouse was worn when giving a televised press conference about the recent murder victim Sarah Kay to show innocence and femininity to the people of Britain and specifically to Paul Spector.










Of course, nothing beats a good pair of trousers. These slew of looks feel more paired back and relaxed - she wears pants when she isn't giving a press conference. I also noticed when she wears the trousers she's out investigating a crime scene or is dealing with her sexist male colleagues (looking at you Assistant Chief Constable Jim Burns). She's supplied some of her best quotes wearing the pants (literally and metaphorically):

"That's what really bothers you isn't it? The one-night stand? Man fucks woman. Subject man, verb fucks, object woman. That's okay. Woman fucks man. Woman subject, man object. That's not so comfortable for you is it?"

"What if he kills a prostitute next? Or a woman walking home drunk? Late at night in a short skirt? Will they be in some way less innocent therefore less deserving? Culpable. The media loves to divide women into virgins or vamps, angels or whores. Let's not encourage them."









As much as I love picking out the symbolism in colors and clothes and all that, I love face masks and makeup too. And so does Stella. The first scene of the first episode in season one is Stella doing a face mask in her very normal-girl pajamas. It sort of brings her down to a relatable level; all girls (should) do a face mask in their pajamas. And damn it, even her lingerie and silky dressing gown are up to par - I'd like to imagine she wears Agent Provocateur.

Then onto her makeup. It's glowy and professional and feminine. I was of course wondering what they used on Gillian's face and thanks to the woman herself, she tweeted a photo of her character's makeup bag. Lots of products I was expecting: Clarins, Dior, Chanel, Lancôme. Products that warrant devoted customers and strong women who know what they want and stick to what they know.




Okay, even her going out look is smart and chic: slim trousers, another silky blouse, black stilettos, and a sort of sweater-like blazer combination.




And of course, her accessories. A navy blue Longchamp bag and a leather bound crocodile skin notebook with the most elegant pen I've ever seen. This woman knows what's up.

Screen caps by me from Netflix