gner has done his job correctly. One subject that HBC has been able to find little information on is how decisisions on children's clothing are made. Presumably the producer meets with the costumer designer. One would think that the greatest attention is given to the adult actors, especially the women. One might think that the costume designer may have more latitude concerning the children's clothing than the adult's outfits, especially if thdey are not the central characters. This probably varies from producer to producer. Also film budgdets are a factor. Low budget foreign films, for example, may not even costume the children, but allow them to wear their own clothes. Another factor is that sond producers may costume the children in a way that might attract audiences. Disney for example rarely outfitted the children in movies with contemporary American settings in short pants, apparently comcluding that American boys would consider them sissies. By the same token, productions of films like Little Lord Faintleroy often take pains to avoid dressing the main character as depicted in the book. Presumably the costume designer is given strict guidelines by the producer in these instance.
Costumes are especially important in period film. Unfortunately, costumes in period films are not always that authentic. The 1949 version of The Great Gatsby starring Alan Ladd, for example, had
clothes that were more late 1940s than 20s. But in the 1974 version Mia Farrow's flapper dresses were true to the 1020s period. Sometimes producers don't budget for real period costuming whichcan be quite expensive. Other times the movie stars balk and don't want to wear the period clothes designed for them because they don't think they are flattering. In 1975 Raquel Welch insisted on more provocative costumes for The Four Musketeers whereas Geraldine Chaplin allowed herself to be made up and dressed true to the period. There are often major mistakes. In the latest version of Titanic Kate Winslet's ruby-red lips were teribly inappropriate. Any young woman her age would
have been banned from polite society as a "loose" woman with such makeup. Not to mention the evident mascara. Accuarte period costuming can require extensive research. Professional costuming companies have been known to undertake enormous
research for authentic fabrics and trimmings of the era to use in the costumes, as well as using old homemade dyeing processes to get the exact color. The greatest effort is normally given to womens' costuming. Items may be involved that the camera never records. Actresses have often been quoted saying that wearing tight corsets and layers of petticoats in period films affects their posture and carriage and helps them to "feel" the character. Less attention is often given to children's costuming--especially boys' costuming
Many movies show clothing and school uniforms worn in specific countries during certain countries. In most cases those films were made in the country in which the story is set. The clothing depicted is often quite accurate when dealing with contemporary times. More care needs to be taken with films set in historical eras. Some films take great care while others with limited budgets can be very misleading. HBC as with much of the site is most familiar with American and British films, but is aware of some foreign films, mostly French. Hopefully HBC readers will suggest other relevant foreign films. These are particularly rich sources of information for countries for which HBC has no local correspondent. HBC has noted several Australian films of interest, but at this time can not recall the titles. Perhaps the most famous is Walkabout which shows a brither and sister in school uniforms. Belgian films look remarably similar to French ones. I do not know of particularly classic Belgian films, but HBC correspindents have provided some sample images.
English clothes at the turn of the century are shown in How Green is My Valley (19??) including Eton collars. Clothes during the 1930s are depicted in Lassie Come Home. English school boy clot