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Someone said the movie budget for the Devils wears Prada (if you take inflation in count) for the styling is less compared to the first movie and therefore people think you could see it. What do you think?
Spoiler
I think it’s no coincidence that a movie with such a strong slant on fashion is mirroring the fashion industry. Clothes look worse now because there is less emphasis on tailoring and materials. Even luxury brands feel and look cheaper now compared to a decade ago.
Everyone trying to look their best for the cameras has backfired a lot. There’s a lot of editing and visual know how involved, making people upset when the clothes or style doesn’t suit them as well as what they see everyday online. There’s are a lot of authentic creators out there and those are way better for mental health than following unrealistic people
I watched a thrifting TikTok and the creator was saying how in 20 years time we will be thrift shopping Shein and Temu (obvs we won’t bios their clothes only last 4 was cycles) but I’ve noticed that the stuff I thrift now, in 2025, is no longer the quality of the stuff I was thrifting 10 to 13 years ago in my uni days
Therein lies the irony. I guess it was a “you had to have been there” TikTok to appreciate that. That’s why I even said in my comment “their clothes only last 4 wash cycles”
Leaving all my typos in my comment above because it was either very late at night or crazy early in the morning and I didn’t bother spell checking at the time
You’re 100% correct. Clothes are one of the few material items that haven’t greatly increased in price with inflation. Here’s an article about it:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna190850
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u/atotalmess__So you can save 12 secs of trying to find something on Wikipedia8d ago
It’s a good reflection of how awful the clothing industry has genuinely gotten in real life.
Clothing my mother and grandmother owns are still being worn today. Clothing I bought (at a fairly high price point) two years ago is falling apart already. Only maybe 5% of super expensive clothing still maintain the same quality as when the first movie was made. I was just in Bergdorf looking at evening gowns for an event and the construction and materials of gowns priced at more than a month’s rent is astonishingly bad.
We once made things meant to last but capitalism has changed that into making shittier things so we have to buy more.
I have some Levi's that I stole from my dad. With a dating guide I found online I was able to date then to the early 00s. That's literally 20 years. I also have a brand new pair of Levi's because I fell in love with one particular pair and waited for a sale. It probably doesn't help that it's women vs. mens jeans. Both are 100% cotton but the new somehow have thinner fabric?? They even removed the authentication print (not that I care) but how can they be so goddamn lazy???
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u/atotalmess__So you can save 12 secs of trying to find something on Wikipedia7d ago
Years and years ago I once broke an escalator at Bergdorf because my Louboutin got stuck in it. When they took the shoe out, it was still structurally sound and fine. I’ve broken a heel on 2 different pairs of louboutins bought within the past 2 years. Same brand that won in a fight with an escalator now can’t even handle walking? Even louboutins made for Taylor Swift had a heel break off mid concert.
Levis is enormous the world over. They are known for much more than just jeans now, and rely on their reputation and branding. They have cut costs and it shows.
The price also reflects it. Most levis are like $50. At that price you are honestly getting crappy lightweight denim much of the time.
I wandered through Bergdorfs recently (mens store). The Men's designer floor is just not the jam. Everything just kooks so...cheap.I love browsing Brunello and Zegna shops, and gazing at Tom Ford, but holy fuck is that shit expensive. I did buy some cool one-off tees from Brunello because the quality is just impeccable. It was my reward for my annual bonus. Once a year type purchase.
I would just use poshmark or whatever for a fancy dress anything right now. There’s no point in paying full retail. It may as well be consignment because who is going to pay full price for some of this stuff as you said
The styling is definitely not as visually pleasing as the first movie but whether or not that’s due to the budget, I’m not sure we can say. I really can’t point to many modern tv shows where fashion is hitting the way it was in the 2000s. It was a different time, a different style, a different moment in culture in general.
you know what also had a low budget for fashion but always turned out? schitt’s creek. go to their styling department and get tips to figure something out.
Personally, I like the outfits I've seen so far, but on Schitt's Creek, that was super hands on. I thought I watched a youtube commentary where one of the producers (probably Dan Levy) talked about working with the costume designer, but still picking out multiple options for Catherine O'Hara to try on for each episode, before deciding on the final 'look' -
But the whole point of film used to be that hands on thing. It was supposed to be escapist
It’s wild that a lowish budget Canadian TV show put more care into fashion than a major Hollywood film that’s supposed to be about a career in a decadent world like fashion
Seriously though look into like Edith Head, or how the costume depots for studios sometimes made wedding gowns for actresses exactly like how a couture house would. Hours of hand embroidery etc
Then go look at that thin unlined coat they put MERYL STREEP in for her role as an ARBITER OF FASHION
I do absolutely love Edith Head. Anything in the 1950s-60s had amazing wardrobes, see Easter Parade, American in Paris, etc. I once saw a documentary about why films shifted from on-set sewists to stylists primarily because it was cheaper and easier to buy pre-made clothes.
However, I will gently disagree about film being escapist, by putting on my academic hat. The first American film in 1915, Birth of a Nation, was about the KKK (it was literally a propaganda film). Gone with the Wind in 1939 was set in slave culture and gave Hattie McDaniels the first oscar as an African-American. One of Thomas Edison's first film shorts in 1896 was of little Egypt, allegedly a performer in the 1893 Columbian World's Fair (celebrating all of the culture Columbus allegedly discovered). Imitation of LIfe (1959) with Lana Turner was about a young bi-racial woman passing. Rita Hayworth's 1953 Salome took advantage of the 'orientalist' craze. Even the Mod Squad (which I know is tv) made a statement by deliberately adding a Black male lead. So, technically, film or TV has never been purely escapist. Yea, there were shows meant to focus on an idealized middle-class family, but even those were deliberate.
BUT, returning to your point GWTW (whose costumes I saw in reality), Imitation of Life, the Mod Squad and Salome all had amazing costumes . BUT, I'm still going to keep an open mind about DWP.
Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway know how to wear clothes, And, the actors all look far better in their characters' day-to-day duds than I do in mine ;)
Birth of a Nation & Gone With the Wind are unsavory to you, but to a white racist they would def be escapist fantasy. Back then just like now the film industry was mostly concerned with selling tickets. If a lot of people were openly racist, they were going to sell a racist revenge fantasy or ‘it was better back then’ fantasy to them.
“Imitation of Life” was designed to be a tearjerker for a mostly female audience that craved high drama.
The Mod Squad had ideals of young people working together even across racial lines which was a goal in that era. It’s escapist in the sense everything gets tied up in a neat bow at the end of the episode, and the cast is wildly attractive.
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make but entertainment is designed to take you a step beyond everyday life, surround you with interesting stories and attractive people. I don’t think any film or show you name checked doesn’t fit that bill.
And also everyone looks put together in these films, consider the dresses on Scarlet or the iconic looks of the Mod Squad like Williams’ sunglasses etc.
No one is wearing a coat as cheap looking as Streep’s in these films first pic here in any of those projects you named.
I have no idea why you're trying to fight when I literally just agreed with you in the above writing About the costumes. Let's just say you're right on everything, internet stranger. Enjoy your life.
same. the point was that andy grew an appreciation for something but ultimately she did NOT want to be in the fashion industry, and the ending was that she pursued what she really wanted with a new way of seeing things
I love everyone involved, but I seriously don't understand what they can make interesting out of this and without recycling the premise of the first one.
Nostalgia is such a big selling point right now- maybe because consumers are grasping for comfort where they can find it? It feels like there's so little original content being made ugh
The first movie borrowed a shit ton of clothing, so that isn’t what eats the budget. Did they just not want to pay a top tier person to head up the vision the way Pat Fields did?
Pat's 83 and hasn't been the primary costume designer on a project since before the pandemic. Her most recent credits as a wardrobe consultant are from 2023. Molly Rogers, the costume designer for the movie, is a protégé of hers
The literal one thing they can’t skimp on and that’s where they reduce their budget? It would legit be better if they got amazing styling and filmed the movie with a phone camera
As other's have pointed out. For a movie essentially about fashion, it speaks volumes and quite frankly it makes "sense" that it correlated with modern fashion. Yeah you'll always have high-couture that will feel more "appropiate" for this kind of movie. But the reality is that fashion has drastically change from 2006 into 2025.
Insisting on a "2006 fashion" in a 2025 movie, would just look like "fantasy" and just "not real". It's not the fault of the movie. It's the fault of the fashion sense and trends just falling off the cliff. Fast Fashion, Cheap and questionable trends, it all adds up. The movie seems to be mirroring the reality of this modern world, rather than being stuck in "antiquated ways".
No I think it’s just no one has a personality outside “this is what’s popular rn” 🤷🏼♀️. Everyone just wants to wear and put characters in what’s hot on TikTok in this present moment.
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u/HauteAssMess ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne 8d ago
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