MovieChat Forums > Born to Kill (1947) Discussion > Loved the clothes!

Loved the clothes!

posted 18 years ago by Noir-It-All
16 replies | jump to latest

I just loved the clothes the women wore in this film, especially Claire Trevor's. Her traveling costume for the railroad trip from Reno to San Francisco was great, a suit and a helmet-like hat. She must have packed the rest of the clothes she wore during the previous six weeks in a trunk as I remember at least two other hats worn outside the courtroom and at the casino. In addition to the hats, the gowns, suits and gloves Claire and her sister wore were the epitome of the arch style of the mid 1940's.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] ladynoir15 18 years ago

I loved those clothes too. Especially the circle purses. helen's sister also wears a nice dress towards the end of the film where Helen is telling her that Sam is a murderer. And Claire Trevor hairdo. I would give my right arm to transport myself back in time just dress like them.

Perfect timing! You just saved me from a three hour tour of the SS Lurk. -Lorelai Gilmore

[–] LCShackley 14 years ago

I like what Mrs. Kraft, the tough old broad, was always wearing - looked like saloon clothes from the 1890s.

[–] iconqueredthebes 18 years ago

I loved the clothes too! Especially the women's SHOES! sexy platform 40's style, really gorgeous (and i love the cool photo of the legs at the end under the credits... those shoes!). I love this film.

[–] Noir-It-All 18 years ago

Great to read your replies about the clothes shown in this film. I'll check out the legs and shoes next time I watch the DVD.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] ladynoir15 18 years ago

I rewatched the film again last night with my husband and he loved a lot of the suits and the sheer elegance of all the fashion. He especially loved that circle purse!

"Lorelai Gilmore, disappointing mothers since 1968."
Edina, disappointing mothers since 1980.

[–] Noir-It-All 18 years ago

I am going to have to watch "Born To Kill" again. I find the crimes in the beginning a little rough but I'll concentrate on the clothes. I love the train travel, too. I read somewhere that the clothes of the '40's were a little "arch" and I can see why in the film. Love 'em, though.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Devans00 15 years ago

I couldn't wait for a new door to open, so we could see what new outfit Helen had on. All the women, had glamorous hair dos. Even the maids.

That one round Helen's purse with the strap that looked like a studded shoulder pad was killing me. So funky, so weird, so cool.

I knew I would love Mrs. Kraft when they showed her sitting there with her studded dog collar necklace. A woman in her mid 50's rocking the bondage look? Can't be all bad.

I hated Sam's pinstripped suit though. Lawrence Tierney obviously had a nice athletic muscular body. That too baggy suit did him no favors.

What was up with the ugly, short, wide ties all the men wore? They spoiled Fred Grover's outfits more than once. He dressed sharp otherwise.

No two persons ever watch the same movie.

[–] eddie-83 14 years ago

How about those hats, the women kept them on indoors and even when they danced!

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kerrydragon 12 years ago

I thought the clothes were over the top,and I hated most of the hats.These clothes would of been worn by the wealthy,only.

[–] essex9999 10 years ago

These clothes were custom-fit and worn by the very slim, elegant Claire Trevor, so of course they looked better than most women's outfits. But women did wear suits a lot, and they wore them as well-cut and expensive as they could afford.

People did in general dress much more formally in the 40s than they do today. Middle-class men wore suits much of the time. Women wore suits and dresses and dressed up just to go downtown or go out to a restaurant. If you don't believe me, just look at contemporary sources, like photographs and Life magazine.

[–] Noir-It-All 8 years ago

I was born in 1953 and you are correct about how people dresses. We wore gloves and lace gloves in the summer. I grew up outside of Philadelphia. If we went downtown we did dress up. I remember riding on a dirty train on a sweltering day in July, wearing a straw hat and lace gloves. Even today, if I go to Philly, I dress up a little more formally, pulled together.

In the '60's, hats for men and women began to stop and "coming as you are" started. I think the new casual style was easier on women with kids. On the other hand, today's clothes look sloppy compared to the more formal clothes yet you need many, costly pieces to pull an outfit together.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] Cosmonican 10 years ago

Try watching this whole series of movies on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzC3FMbB7E

These were contemporary to this film, and you have to note what the women are wearing; those are their ordinary clothes.

My mom was born in 1920, and I showed her this movie before she died. I asked her if the women back then actually dressed like that, and she said yes, all the time.

Of course men dressed up too, things were different back then.

[–] texastreasure517 8 years ago

Hard to say who exactly was responsible for the clothes you admire.

Edward Stephenson is credited with the "gowns", which always confused me as a credit. Do they mean evening gowns only? I don't think a suit would be considered a "gown". Edward Stephenson did the costumes for "Citizen Kane" and "It's A Wonderful Life" among many, many others and won an Oscar for "Facts of Life" starring Bob Hope and his good pal Lucille Ball.

If Stephenson is responsible for just "gowns", then I'd bet the rest of the costumes were done by the head of costume design at RKO at the time, Bernard Newman. Unfortunately, he died rather young (in his 50s), but he designed the danceable costumes for Ginger Rogers in the films with Fred Astaire, many of the actresses in "hard-boiled" RKO films, as well as for Katherine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall.

[–] butaneggbert 8 years ago

"Gowns by" was a more prestigious credit than "costumes by" or "costume designer. According to what I've read, it's a designation that could only be bestowed by the studio head.

The "gowns by" credit didn't mean that the same person didn't contribute to other costume design in the same picture. They may or may not have. But Edith Head, Adrian, Jean Louis, Orry-Kelly - designers of those caliber didn't work on any but the A-list actors. (Barbara Stanwyck even had Head design personal outfits for her.) Lesser players were dressed by the department crew.

Remember, this was a time when women across the country looked to Hollywood movies for the latest styles. Showing them a gowns credit really boosted the image of the designer - quite the ego stroke!

_______________

Nothing to see here, move along.