Fashion in Film: Gaslight

I have a confession. Despite my love for classic film, I have yet to see Casablanca. Criminal, I know. As it stands at the moment, my favorite Ingrid Bergman movie is the 1944 adaptation of the play Gaslight. The film features a genius psychological plot, a twisted romance, and Joseph Cotten before I saw him in Shadow of a Doubt and became terrified of him. The movie is set in the year 1880, and in the interest of full disclosure, a big reason why I like the film so much is because of the amazing, late Victorian costumes. Let's jump right in.

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Near the beginning of the film, Paula's costumes are youthful, with whimsical details such as lace, flowers, and ruffles. This costume we see below is a white or pastel walking dress with a high, ruffled collar and lace accents. The hat is by far the centerpiece of the outfit, with flowers and floral lace covering it entirely.

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Another costume from a little earlier in the film is a suit that Paula wears when she first returns to the house where her aunt was murdered years ago.

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From the above picture, we can see that this dress has a princess bodice that ends well below the hips. The lack of bustle lends itself well to the early 1880's. The color is a light tan with an ombre effect on the ruffles of the skirt. The neck kerchief and ruffled hem make it fun, but the structure and smart buttons make it a little more mature than the lace-and-flower extravaganza we saw before. Not that I have anything against lace, flowers, and ruffles, but it does seem like the costume designer is trying to show Paula's youthfulness and innocence, or perhaps how she hasn't moved on from the traumatic event that happened in her childhood.

Paula's costumes go downhill as quickly as her marriage and peace of mind do. She goes from feminine, put-together suits to dark, simple dresses, and eventually wears a loose-fitting suit that looks like little more than a housecoat. 

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Source. Her hair also seems to be slightly mussed here.

I think this sliding scale from dainty to disheveled shows the corruption of Paula's innocence. At the beginning of the film, Paula is energetic, optimistic, and seems to finally be healing after the tragedy that struck her family. As we near the film's climax, we see her become paranoid, bitter, and broken-spirited as she doubts the man she loves and her own mind.

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Paula's hair is one of my favorite elements of the character's style. It's textbook 1880's, with frizzled bangs in front of a high bun.

Source. Love the cameo earrings.

My favorite costume in the film is the evening gown Paula wears to a party late in the story. Despite her increasingly haggard appearance at home, she cleans up very nicely. Perhaps this is because of how hard she had to fight for the social interaction she's been denied for several months. If you only leave your house once every few months, I guess you've got to look your best.

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The dress is a spot-on example of early 1880's evening wear, with a low neckline, thin sleeves, no bustle, a gathered overskirt, and a respectable train. The floral trim near the hem is gorgeous.

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In the above photo, we get a better look at her accessories. It looks like she's sporting a gorgeous brooch, with a matching flower-and-pearl piece in her hair. A thin choker also seems to be involved.

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Is it just me, or does this light, decadent gown feel like kind of a throwback to the costumes Paula wore earlier in the movie? To me, this shows how Paula is striving to regain the normalcy she lost.

The attempt was valiant, but unsuccessful. Paula immediately goes back to her dark robes and dark thoughts. But as the film draws to a close, it's interesting to see how Paula manages to compose herself when facing the man who's been torturing her all this time. The black, scalloped suit seems more fitted than before (perhaps because she's wearing it closed now? I can't be sure), and her hair is once again perfectly in place.

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I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that by the film's close, Paula is decided, strong, and very much in her right mind. This last costume shows this very well. 

Paula's costumes in Gaslight reflect the themes of the film itself: destroyed innocence, deterioration, and restoration. Gaslight is a lovely, thought-provoking piece of classic film, and it's definitely worth a watch.

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Bonus Round: Check out this gallery of Angela Lansbury's character in the film. Her fun, flamboyant costumes (when she's not wearing her maid's uniform) show the character's conniving, attention-seeking nature. Plus, it's just really neat to see a young Angela Lansbury.

Bonus Bonus Round: When looking for sources for this post, I happened upon this auction of Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood memorabilia collection (from whence I got the color photo of Paula's suit from the beginning of the movie). It contains hundreds of iconic costume pieces from different movies, and it made my nerdy heart skip a beat.