It seems like a silly question. Doesn’t everyone go to the movies (or at least watch them at home)? While most people do just that for the enjoyment of it — and we’re no exception — we love to go to the movies for inspiration. Ogle all you want over George Clooney (and we do), but we also drool over the sets and costumes. Who can forgot that wonderful Matthew McConaughey vehicle, Sahara. Okay, who remembers the plot, but all those sand and turquoise colors throughout the film kept us abuzz for weeks. On this hot August day, we’re also thinking about another great film with great costumes and sets.
Mamma Mia!
Can you believe it’s been 10 years since the first Mamma Mia movie came out? To be sure, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård’s collective charms couldn’t compensate for their “inadequate” voices, but if you had watched it with the two of us, not only would you have been singing along to every song, you would have been mooning over the costumes (come on, click on the link, you know you wanna check out the costumes and sing “Dancing Queen” one more time!) . . .
The real gems in the movie, though, were all the great bed sheets, towels, and linens that you see hanging on the wash line and draping the tables and beds. At some point you realize how much care goes into making a movie look the way it does. Take a look at this shot where Meryl Streep’s character Donna is lying on the bed.
And there you have it: inspiring fabric, a visionary businesswoman, and color – all that color. Watch the movie again and look for the fabrics. The fabric in this shot comes from the Swedish fashion house of Svengst Tenn, which was founded by Estrid Ericson in 1924. Here are a couple more samples to enjoy:
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!
We’re writing this on Monday morning because we are taking Kris’s mother-in-law Jane (Deb’s mom couldn’t make it) to see the sequel this afternoon. Rest assured this movie falls into our research time. What will Cher be wearing? Will we see some new color combinations to try in our own work? Time will tell, but in the meantime, we’re priming our voices! We hope you get inspired to go to the movies. Happy viewing!
2 responses to “Why We Go To The Movies”
Oooh yes, costumes are a key criteria for many a movie that I put on my top-view list. Thanks for the info on MM #1 — I must look up Svengst Tenn. In a
very different style, but well worth viewing from the color and textile angle: Marie Antonette, starring Kirstin Dunst. Pure confectionery!
Yes, that’s a good one, Mary Lou. I still have Phantom Thread with Daniel Day Lewis on my watch list. So many movies, so little time!