Fashion from the big screen

Films, TV shows and sometimes books influence fashion. Characters in movies or on TV shows often inspire us to dress a certain way. Sometimes the character may be a role model, like Mary Tyler Moore, or influence a certain way of dress, like Don Johnson in "Miami Vice." The way characters dress can tell you a lot about them before they even say their lines. \nThere are also movies that have left a lasting impression on American culture. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" inspired woman everywhere to buy a little black dress and pearls. Now it is a fashion rule that every woman should own a little black dress. \nJames Dean made blue jeans cool for rebellious teenagers in "Rebel without a Cause." People still wear the button-down shirt under the tiny sweater like Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. \nOne of the books that has influenced fashion, or at least predicted fashion, is "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. It is about the future of America and the placement of people into classes that determine the way they think and live in society.\nThe book describes pants with a pocket or satchel on the belt used by women to carry their contraceptives. Similar pants were seen on runways and in catalogs last season. Huxley also mentions men wearing khakis and button-downs to work. If you haven't read the book, it makes the most eerie fashion predictions. \nAnother book that makes fashion predictions is "The Screw Tape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. This book is one of his more adult books. The book is a collection of letters between two demons and their plan to corrupt the world. In it, Lewis describes the ideal of beauty in the future, which is the current standard of beauty. \nI have compiled my own list of my favorite fashionable and stylish movies. Briana Rauen, a sophomore, suggested I do TV shows, so I included a list of shows that have influenced American fashion.\nThe "most stylish" means a movie's style was just as important as the characters. The movies under "best costumes" are films where the actors/actresses had to live up to the costumes they wore. \nThese are just a few of the movies I could come up with. If anyone would like to help create IU's top 10 fashionable movies and TV shows then e-mail me at pworthy@indiana.edu. The list will be made and published in the IDS.