Fashion Question
When Dracula was very "old," why the hell was he dressed like the stepmother from the cartoon Cinderella?
shareHave you seen the films, Barry Lyndon, Rob Roy, or Amadeus? Throughout history men of means have dressed in a variety of styles and fashions, many of which could be considered eccentric as well as feminine.
Personally, I think Dracula’s costume design was done remarkably well. It won 3 Oscars, one of which was FOR best Costume design, so there’s that.
I have studied historical fashion since I was 9 years old. Never, in all of my studies, did I ever see a time when a man in any century of Europe's history, ever wear his hair or a wig that gave him a ridiculous heart shape like that. And I've seen lots of crappy wig styles for men in the historical records.
The film won the costume Oscar for everything else worn in the film, not that one outfit alone.
So this film won an oscar for best costume design but you think you're the expert here because you've studied historical fashion since you were 9 years old eh! I think you need to go back to historical fashion school and buff up on your fashion studies again.
You know, I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
The Oscars are nothing more than a popularity contest with an exclusive club of snooty assholes that run the biz. They don't give a damn about historical accuracy or even films that are any good! There are many movies that should have got recognition, but don't because the producers that make them don't have access to the exclusive parties where schmoozing and bribery are going on. The only reason they gave the Oscar for best costume to this film is because the guy in charge of making this film probably greased a few palms, and the Academy would have been idiots not to give it that award.
So now who's the expert? And by the way, if it looks like I'm getting smaller, it means I'm leaving the room.
That wasn’t a wig, in relation to the context of the film, that was Dracula’s actual hair. It was being kept similar to how Sikhs keep their hair, who by the way, also, do no cut their hair, ever. So yes, pending on how long Dracula had grown out his hair, most likely centuries, it would indeed look like that if he wanted to put it up in a bun.
Do a bit of research on Sikh’s and hair, and the context of Dracula’s hair might make a bit more sense. Obviously Dracula was not a Sikh but Coppola most likely borrowed from their cultural heritage, which I think added a wonderful bit of flavor to Dracula’s character as well as to his aesthetic.
Okay, that and beau81's explanation make more sense. Although why Dracula would want to imitate a Sikh when he was raised an Eastern Orthodox Christian (before turning into a vampire) is beyond me.
shareJust an aesthetic choice made by Coppola, to have hair that was probably just as long as that gown that he dragged a mile behind him. For old man Dracula they were going for eccentricity more than anything, stylistic wise that is.
shareTrue. I mean, it was technically a dark, historical fantasy, so there were fantasy elements worked into the clothing. I still think Lucy's white, Elizabethan/Russian costume was a weird choice during the child sacrifice scene. Mia had some amazing costumes, like her blue dress, or the red gown.
shareAlmost everything about this film's costume design was weird and fantastical, except the costumes of the Londoners which were just plain historically inaccurate.
I'm okay with the unreal costume design, because the whole film is a fantasy, and it's meant to vaguely suggest Victoriana rather than to place the characters in a real world of gaslamps and chamber pots under the bed. The Transylvanian costumes are of course the weirdest of all, because the costume designer was indeed free to assume that maybe 0.00000000001% of the viewers would have any idea what Transylvanians wore from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, so they let their imaginations run wild! Long bathrobes for me, weird wigs, topless wisps, anatomical armor - why the hell not! Who's gonna know what these people really would have worn? Not even someone who's studied historical costume since they were 9!